Austria: Großer Musikvereinssaal – The Golden Hall

The famous Großer Musikvereinssaal is widely-known as the best and most beautiful concert hall in the world. Moreover, the Musikverein is home to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the venue where its annual New Year’s Day Concert takes place.

“As high as any expectations could be, they would still be exceeded by the first impression of the hall which displays an architectural beauty and a stylish splendour making it the only one of its kind.” This was the reaction of the press to the opening of the new Musikverein building and the first concert in the Großer Musikvereinssaal on January 6, 1870.

At the opening concert, the audience was not only impressed by the architecture, they also discovered the acoustics of the Großer Musikvereinssaal to be a phenomenal achievement. This amazement has lasted until today.

The phenomenonal acoustics are the direct result of the architectural masterpiece. If the rectangular form represents the best basic structure for the acoustics of a concert hall, then the elements dividing the space – the partitioning of the ceiling, balconies, caryatids – provide for ideal propagation of sound waves.

Other details contribute to the hall’s wonderful sound. A hollow space under the wooden floor creates a resonant background, in a similar way to a violin’s body. The ceiling, which is made of wood, is not simply mounted but is hung from the rafters, and also gives the sound in the hall an extra dimension. All these factors are still pondered over by experts.

The golden hall is still a Mecca for acoustical designers from all over the world. Where can the magic interplay of sound and acoustics be better studied than in the Grosser Musikvereinßaal?
In addition, the Musikverein is also the residence of another famous society. Like the Musikverein, it has become an institution in itself - the Wiener Philharmoniker (Vienna Philharmonic).

The Philharmonic’s New Year’s Day concert, which has been broadcast on world-wide television since 1959, is the media event of the international classical music scene and at the same time at the heart of Viennese musical culture.

The C 12 VR used is an exact replica of the original AKG C 12, one of the most famous tube microphones in the history of recording and audio. The legendary AKG large-diaphragm capsule, and the original 6072A vacuum tube provide a detailed, up-front sound that is simply beyond words.

The C 414 stereo pairs used are selected by AKG's sophisticated computer-aided matching method which results in the highest possible correlation over the whole frequency range and virtually identical sensitivity for stunning, three-dimensional recordings.

For perfect monitoring by headphones AKG’s reference is used – K 702.

In addition to concerts, the Musikverein is also a perfect venue for lectures and readings. The necessary high-quality sound system installed at the Goldener Saal includes four channels of AKG WMS 400 wireless systems. A mobile lectern has been equipped with a CK 33 capsule on a modified GN 50 gooseneck that can also be connected to a bodypack transmitter to eliminate unnecessary extra microphone cables. The microphones are all controlled by an AKG AS 8 automatic mixer.

AKG products used:

C 12 VR
C 414 B XLS/ST
C 414 B XLII/ST
K 702
K 271 MK II
K 240 MK II
SR 400
HT 400/D
PT 400
PS 4000
RA 4000 B
CK 77
GN 50
CK 33
AS 8 TC