The ( or ; ), commonly shortened to , is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. During the 1863 construction of the Vienna Ring Road (Ringstraße) a piece of land for a new concert hall was granted to the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna by Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Designed by Danish-born architect Theophil Hansen, the concert hall has housed the Vienna Philharmonic since its opening in 1870.
The acoustics of the building's 'Great Hall' () have earned it recognition alongside other prominent concert halls, such as the Konzerthaus in Berlin, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and Symphony Hall in Boston.
Building
thumb|left|The 's front [[façade by night]]
The 's main entrance is situated on Musikvereinsplatz, between Karlsplatz and . The building is located behind the Hotel Imperial that fronts on Kärntner Ring, which is part of the Vienna Ring Road (Ringstraße).
The plans were designed by Danish architect Theophil Hansen in the Neoclassical style of an ancient Greek temple, including a concert hall and a smaller chamber music hall. The building was inaugurated on 6 January 1870. A major donor was Nikolaus Dumba, an industrialist and liberal politician of Aromanian Greek - Albanian (Voskopoja) descent, whose name was given by the Austrian government to a small street () near the . Another important donor, also of Aromanian descent, was Simon Sinas.
The Golden Hall
thumb|upright=1.3|The Great Hall, also known as the Golden Hall
thumb|left|[[Staatskapelle Berlin, Wiener Singverein and Vienna Boys' Choir at the Golden Hall, 2009]]
thumb|left|190px|Pianist [[Yundi at the Golden Hall, 2024]]
The Great Hall (Großer Musikvereinssaal), also called the Golden Hall (Goldener Saal) considered one of the best concert halls in the world. It is especially ideal for Classical and Romantic music.
The Great Hall originally included a historic pipe organ built by Friedrich Ladegast. Its first organ recital was held by Anton Bruckner in 1872. The present-day instrument was originally installed in 1907 by the Austrian firm of Rieger Orgelbau, highly esteemed by musicians such as Franz Schmidt or Marcel Dupré, and rebuilt in 2011.
The Scandal Concert of 1913 was given there, and it is the venue for the annual Vienna New Year's Concert.
Acoustics
The Great Hall's lively acoustics are primarily based on Hansen's intuition, as he could not rely on any studies on architectural acoustics.
In 2001, Austrian Architect, Wilhelm Hozbauer and Dieter Irresberger were commissioned to design four new music halls beneath the Golden Hall. Holzbauer and Irresberger worked closely with acoustic consultant, Karl Bernd Quiring to ensure superb acoustic qualities that paralleled the Golden Hall. In 2004, the underground expansion was finalized, adding the Glass, Steel, Wooden, and Stone Halls. These halls serve as highly versatile venues for concerts, lectures, conferences, and receptions.
Magna Auditorium or the Glass Hall is the largest of the four rooms and should replicate the acoustic conditions of the Golden Hall when it is filled with people. These acoustic conditions are achieved through glass panels that are covered with a layer of gold leaves that are both fixed and moveable. The moveable convex glass elements enlarge the absorbing surfaces.