Vienna 2020 - Capital of Music

Musical sparkles of the gods in the Beethoven year

In no other city have so many famous composers lived and worked as in Vienna. One of the reasons why Vienna is considered the capital of music - and next year in particular!


Today, as 250 years ago, Vienna is the city that sets the tone for music.
It started a long time ago, for example with Ludwig van Beethoven, whose 250th birthday will be celebrated in 2020. He was a "musical Viennese by choice", meaning that he chose Vienna as the center of his life and work. The rich musical heritage of Viennese classical music lives on to this day in the "world capital of music" with unbroken vitality and diversity. And Vienna leads the way: with exhibitions, walks and numerous events in honor of one of the greatest musicians of all time. It is no wonder that numerous contemporary world stars have followed Ludwig van Beethoven's example and chosen Vienna as their special music venue. Billy Joel, Yuja Wang, Hans Zimmer and Joshua Bell, for example, are among the Viennese of choice today. Find out more here


Ludwig van Beethoven
was a radical elemental force, both as a man and an artist. A visionary who questioned and reinvented everything that had gone before - and thus set new impulses for music, but also for Vienna. Vienna was Beeethoven's place of life, work and inspiration for 35 years. In the Beethoven Year 2020, his revolutionary music will be heard even more often than usual in concerts, for example at the Musikverein and the Wiener Konzerthaus. The Vienna State Opera and the Theater an der Wien will present Beethoven's only opera "Fidelio" in a production by Oscar-winner Christoph Waltz. Special exhibitions, for example at the Austrian National Library and the Kunsthistorisches Museum Vienna, provide an insight into the many facets of his personality and the incredible genius of his works. There are many traces of the composer:
original Beethoven residences (now used as a large Beethoven museum, top restaurant or wine tavern), places of his triumphs and despair, monuments, Klimt's Beethoven Frieze in the Secession and even his honorary grave at the Central Cemetery. Vienna's sound museum, the House of Music, even presents Beethoven interactively.


So much for Vienna's sonorous past and present.
With its latest coup, Vienna Tourism shows that the topic of music will also determine the future in various ways: for the theme year "Vienna 2020. Capital of Music", exclusive content for the voice assistants Amazon Alexa and Google Home is being used for the first time. With the support of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, a voice application was produced as an interactive radio play about the life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven. This forward-looking trend around voice compatibility and speech recognition has now been taken up promptly - and it is well worth listening to. Anyone who activates the Alexa Skill or the Google Action "Beethoven's Vienna" starts an interactive radio play about the life and work of Ludwig van Beethoven, who was born in Bonn in 1770 and spent most of his life in Vienna. Stories and anecdotes are told that contain surprises even for Beethoven connoisseurs and reveal a lot about his works and personality. The order in which the contributions are listened to is up to the users themselves.


Another must-have for Beethoven fans:
The interactive Beethoven city walk with audio augmented reality glasses from Bose. These brand new sunglasses can be borrowed free of charge from the Tourist Information Office on Albertinaplatz and turn Vienna into a very special experience. With the help of the built-in headphones and perfect sound quality, Ludwig van Beethoven personally guides you through Vienna. Find out more!


2020--, when the world turns its spotlight on the Beethoven city of Vienna, proves once again: Vienna's musical heritage is living world culture, the world capital of music shapes the global music scene.

Comprehensive information for Beethoven fans is available at:
www.musik2020.wien.info www.wien.info

You can find everything about the Alexa skill here

To the Google Action here

Picture Secession: © Vienna Tourist Board/Christian Stemper