The Best Concert Halls of The World

As well as being one of the oldest in the world, The Vienna State Opera is the oldest and longest running opera in the Germanic countries. The Vienna State Opera performs over 50 operas and 15 ballets in their 300 day season. The construction of the original building began in 1863 and ended in 1869, however, during World War II, the building was ravaged by fire and bombs. The stage and the theater's 150,000+ costumes and props were lost. The theater reopened on November 5, 1955.

Golden Hall Concert

Concert at Vienna's Musikverein by HighlanderImages

The Musikverein concert hall in Vienna, Austria is a magnificent venue and it certainly lives up to its "Golden Hall" name. The concert I attended was a classical concert of "favorite hits" played by the musicians in period costume which added a certain grandeur to the whole event. Hit the SoundCloud button above and enjoy some of the concert.

Wiener Musikverein, (English: "Viennese Music Association"), commonly shortened to The Musikverein, has a twofold meaning: it is the name of a famous Vienna concert hall, as well as the short name for the music society, Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde [Society of Music Friends], that owns the building. This building is located on Dumbastraße behind the Imperial Hotel, between Bösendorferstraße and Karlsplatz. However, because Bösendorferstraße is so small a street, the building is better known as being between Karlsplatz and Kärntner Ring (part of Ringstraße loop). The back of the building faces Canovagasse [Canova lane].

The concert hall was built by the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, on a piece of land given by Emperor Franz Joseph, and it was opened on January 6, 1870. A historic organ was installed in it by the Austrian firm Rieger, in 1907. The Musikverein is famous for its acoustics and is considered to be one of the five finest concert/opera venues in the world. None of these halls was built in the modern era with the application of acoustics science, and, with the partial exception of the horseshoe-shaped Colon, all share a long, tall, and narrow shape. It is the home to the Vienna Philharmonic. The Große Musikvereinssaal, or Goldene Saal (Golden Hall), is forty-eight metres long, nineteen metres wide, and eighteen metres high. It has 1,744 seats and standing room for 300. Every year, the Vienna New Year's Concert is held here.

Battlefield Band Bagpipes

Bagpipes are a class of musical instrument, aerophones, using enclosed reeds fed from a constant reservoir of air in the form of a bag. Though the Scottish Great Highland Bagpipe and Irish uilleann pipes have the greatest international visibility, bagpipes of many different types come from different regions throughout Europe, Northern Africa, the Persian Gulf, and the Caucasus. 

This photo was taken at a concert with the Battlefield Band from Scotland and this is Mike Katz playing the bagpipes, with much gusto by the look of it.

Live Music at Sacre Coeur

What a great venue for a live performance .... the audience sit out on the steps with the musician at the base of the steps with the impressive Sacre Coeur church on top of the hill overlooking the whole scene.

Capercaillie

Capercaillie are a Scottish celtic-folk band founded in the early 1980’s by Donald Shaw and fronted by Karen Matheson. They recorded their first album, Cascade, in 1984. Their 1992 EP, A Prince Among Islands, was the first Scottish Gaelic language record to reach the UK Top 40 singles chart.


Capercaillie have popularised traditional Gaelic songs and music by using modern production techniques and often mixing musical forms combining traditional lyrics with drum and bass.

In May 2008 Capercaillie played a dinner concert at the Hilton Hotel, Kuala Lumpur arranged by the Selangor St. Andrew's Society (SSAS). The evening was an incredible success and the music simply outstanding.

The crystal clear voice of Karen Matheson lived up to every expectation and also to the famous quote from Sean Connery who said she has a voice “touched by God”.