Ground Floor

You're in the former palace of Archduke Charles of Austria-Teschen (1771-1847), where he took up residence in 1805. In the 16th century, the imperial foundry stood on the site of this palace, whose uses included the production of large cannons.

On the magnificent staircase featuring classicistic wall- and ceiling stucco, you’ll pass by some blue suspended sound installations on your way to the 1st floor.

The keys of the piano become the steps of a musical staircase. We invite you to create and play your own music on them, thereby discovering ever-evolving harmonies.

1. Floor - Vienna Philharmonic

You're now on your way to the Vienna Philharmonic exhibition.

You're now in the Vienna Philharmonic exhibition. To your left is the Waltz Dice Game, and the black doors on your right lead to our cinema showing the latest New Year's Concert and Summer Night Concert. 

Roll the dice to create your personal Viennese Waltz! Stand at one of the four tables and move your hand over the sensor. Take the virtual cube. Now roll the dice!

Learn more about the origin of this famous orchestra and take a look at our renaissance fireplace, beamed ceiling and carved wooden cladding (panelling).

The artistic collaboration between famous conductors and composers and the Vienna Philharmonic is illustrated by these four exhibition cabinets.

The first Vienna Philharmonic Ball was held on the 4th of March 1924, after only eight weeks of preparation. The event met all expectations – in terms of financial success and social glamour.

Every hour on the hour, you can enjoy high-quality video and audio recordings of the latest New Year´s Concert (2022). This year marked the 82nd run of the event which was once again conducted by DANIEL BARENBOIM, who participated for the third time this year. The Summer Night´s Concert (2021) screening starts 15 minutes prior– conducted this time by DANIEL HARDING.

2. Floor - Sonotopia

Sonotopia: Extraordinary experiments and sound experiences take you to the limits of your perception and establish a new awareness of hearing.

Listen carefully as you walk through this room and discover what each sound is composed of. Follow the markings on the floor and pause for a moment at a time.

Sound is generally defined as a mechanical vibration in a transmission medium (e.g. air).

Kundt‘s tube makes it possible to visualize standing sound waves in a glass tube.

There are six interactive touchscreens where you can experiment. Put the headphones on and touch the screen to choose a language.

Outer ear - Middle ear - Inner ear - Transmission of stimuli to the brain

In physics, the indicator of the intensity of sound is the sound pressure level. The unit of measurement is called decibel (dB).

Here, at the Instrumentarium, the principles of sound generation are illustrated by means of four giant instruments.

To be the director of this zoo you don’t need a permit from the Viennese Zoo Schönbrunn. A hands-on fairy tale for curious discoverers! This is how it works: Simply stand on the marked circle on the floor and raise a hand. Immediately your hand will appear on the screen.

Welcome to the Universe of Sounds!

You are invited to take a seat at one of the lab tables. All Clongs that populate "Sonotopia Universe" are created here.

3. Floor - Great Masters

On the way to the "great Masters" on the third floor, let your gaze wander upwards. Have you recognised what´s suspended there?

Busts of Haydn, Mozart or Beethoven seem to be levitating in the dark and give a mysterious introduction into their world of great composers.

The composer presented here, Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), is considered to be an innovator and pioneer of this musical style.

You´re now standing in the second room of the Viennese Classical era, where you can follow the evolution of the child prodigy Wolfgang, until he becomes the genius we now know as Mozart (1756-1791).

You're now in the third room of the Great Composers, with Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) as the final representative of the Vienna Classical era.

This room is dedicated to the composer, Franz Schubert (1797-1828) – we´re now leaving the Viennese Classical era and turning to the Romantic era.

We now turn to Johann Strauss Junior (1825-1899) – the king of 19th century Viennese popular music.

You're now entering the world of Gustav Mahler (1860-1911), a very industrious musician: not only a successful conductor and Court Opera Director, but also a successful composer.

You´re now entering the room of the so-called “Second Viennese School”, a period when Vienna once again turned the music world upside down, dare we say almost completely reshaping it.

Now you´ll enter an installation by Rudolf Leitner-Gründberg, the so-called “Exodus Room”, a place to pause and reflect.

4. Floor - Virtual Conductor

You're now on the 4th floor, where the Virtual Conductor awaits - a real highlight of our exhibition.

In this final room of the Sound Museum, you are walking through a sound-treated room that reduces reflections. Your journey through the world of sounds ends here — before it begins anew as you step outside, that is.

Finish your visit to the museum in our shop! Whether you´re looking for a remembrance for yourself or a unique gift for a loved one – you´re guaranteed to find a “musical present” here!

Goodbye - Feedback

Thank you for visiting our museum!