About - European Music Institute Vienna

About us

"Don't only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets"Ludwig van Beethoven

As one of the world's leading summer academies, founded in 1975 as Wiener Meisterkurse by the late conductor Günther Theuring, and since 2016 operating as the European Music Institute Vienna under the artistic direction of Jörg Birhance, we want to pursue this Beethovenian tour de force together with our students, young musicians from all over the world:

Through the study and practice of the masterworks of the classic epoch we believe to consign a key to the understanding of all musical styles and epochs of the international concert repertoire up to contemporary music.

The epoch of Viennese Classics, the period in which music as art has found to its "highest clarity of inner and outer appearance" (Hans Swarowsky), is thus a key for our musical education. It can provide those striving for full understanding of all parameters of a musical piece – insofar they have learned to combine theory and practice – with the skills to accomplish every style of art music.

We introduce young artists to musical analysis, performance practice and to the various criteria for evaluating compositions. With additional features, European Music Institute Vienna aims to prepare students for the versatile and challenging future of the musician’s profession.

Music keeps its secrets, and yet, we can never stop striving to disclose them, even with the awareness that we might never disclose them at all. Therefore, as musicians, who feel compelled to our art, we must indeed follow the demanding and beautiful imperative Beethoven has left to us.

Venue: Otto-Wagner-Areal

New ideas need old buildings

From 1975 - 2010, the ideal place for our joyful pursuit of musical excellence has been the building of MuK in Viennas City Centre, then, from 2011 - 2023 the marvelous Laudon Palace, one of Vienna’s most beautiful Baroque palaces, and its sumptuous surroundings.

In the palace, whose halls are also an architectural statement of the Age of Enlightenment, musical performances have taken place since the times of Haydn and Mozart. Joseph Haydn dedicated his Symphony No. 69 to the owner, Gideon von Laudon, who was an enthusiastic patron of the arts and sciences.

However, tempora mutantur et nos mutamur in illis, due to the change of ownership of Laudon Palace, we are moving on to the Otto-Wagner-Areal, a former hospital site from the meaningful Viennese Art Nouveau period.

The area is centered by the Jugendstiltheater and crowned by the most beautiful Otto-Wagner-Church, located in a wide park on a hill in the west of Vienna, whose pavilions are now being made accessible to the arts and sciences by the City of Vienna.

Former Venue: Schloss Laudon

People

studied conducting with Sergiu Celibidache, Constantin Bugeanu and Jorma Panula. Further important impulses he received through the conducting school of Viennese legend Hans Swarowsky. He also studied Viola with Berta Volmer and Reiner Schmidt.

For years he has been dedicated to advancing and supporting young musicians, be it as an Artistic Director of EMIV or before as Vice Artistic Director and Head of Organisation of Wiener Meisterkurse.

He has held master courses in conducting at Wiener Meisterkurse as well as in Germany, Hungary, Italy and México. From 2013 - 2018 he was Guest Professor for conducting at ARTS2, École supérieure des Arts de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles in Mons, Belgium.

He appeared as guest conductor with the Kremerata Baltica, Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz, Brno Philharmonic, Orquesta sinfónica de Xalapa, Mexico City Philharmonic, Orquesta Ciudad de Granada, Orquesta Sinfónica de Málaga, Orchester der Beethovenhalle Bonn, Moscow Symphony Orchestra, amongst others.

Besides the symphonic standard repertoire, his passion belongs to the symphonic œvre from Haydn to the 20th century. Moreover, he is constantly seeking after re-discovering orchestral and opera masterworks of composers being lost or forgotten through the turmoil of the first half of the 20th century, such as Egon Wellesz, Ernst Krenek, Edmund von Borck, Erwin Schulhoff and Rudi Stephan. In March 2018 he conducted as American first performances Egon Wellesz’ Symphony No. 1. and in February 2019 'Prosperos Beschwörungen' of this eminent composer.

Jörg Birhance is also an active researcher and published his study ‘The Observation of Form: The form analysis method of Constantin Bugeanu in reference to the 1st and 5th Symphonies of Egon Wellesz’ with academia.edu.

This is also the place to pay tribute to Günther Theuring and the legacy he left to us with Wiener Meisterkurse's 40 years of contribution to the education of young musicians.

Wiener Meisterkurse was one of the world's leading summer academies from 1975-2016. European Music Institute Vienna is proud to continue the legacy.

Günther Theuring began his musical training as a choirboy in the Vienna Boys’ Choir. Later on, he studied conducting with Ferdinand Grossman (choir) and Hans Swarowski (Orchestra) at the former Vienna Music Academy. He has been the condcutor of Vienna Academy Chamber Choir since 1955.

in 1959 he founded the Wiener Jeunesse Choir (Vienna Youth Choir), in close collaboration with honorary members Paul Hindemith and Leonard Bernstein. The choir has recorded Bernstein’s complete vocal-instrumental works under the direction of the composer.

In 1971 Günther Theuring founded the “Ensemble Contraste, Wien” which developed a reputation for the interpretation of the music of the “Second Viennese School”.

Günther Theuring has been active as a conductor since 1960, and has conducted Leipzig Rundfunkchor, the ORF Choir Vienna, the Bayrische Rundfunk Choir, the Budapest Rundfunk Choir, the Berlin Rundfunk Choir, the Choir of the Danish Broadcasting Company, Copenhagen, the Wiener Singakademie, the Slovenski Komorni Zbor, the Frankfurt Rundfunk Choir, and the Choir of the Slovenian Broadcasting Company Laibach.

He has been a guest conductor of the Wiener Symphoniker, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Orchestra of the Milan Scala, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Mozarteum-Orchestra Salzburg, the Orchestra of the Danish Broadcasting Company, the ORF Symphony Orchestra, and the Tonkünstler-Orchester.

In 1973 he was appointed as a full professor of a conducting class for choir-symphonic repertoire at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst, Vienna.

In 1975 he founded the Vienna Master Courses and has served as its artistic director for lifetime, passing it on to Jörg Birhance and his present project.

Get in Touch

We always love to hear from you and answer your queries.
Feel free to contact us at any time.

Venues

From 8 July to 8 August 2024:
Otto-Wagner-Areal
Baumgartner Höhe 1
A-1140 Vienna, Austria

Contact

Permanent Mailing Address:

European Music Institute Vienna

Kandlgasse 5a/1

A-1070 Vienna
Austria

Phone: +43 676 385 37 44

E-mail: info@emi-vienna.com

Partners

Partner Program:
If you want to become a sponsor or make a donation - every support for our students is most welcome.
Donations can easily be made via Paypal by clicking this link.
For receiving information about our sponsorship packages, please send us an email.

Scholarship Donators 2017-2023:
Elfie Rühl, Mag. Susanne und Dr. Rudolf Grünzweig, Isolde und Dr. Max Lobmeyr.

Special thanks to: Ahsen Chowdhury, Ana E. García Priego, Aitana, Alexander Basta, Andreas Popper, Isolde Lobmeyr, Dr. Manfred Matzka, Hermann Rauter, Moritz Schuschnigg, Wilhelm Steiner, Rudolf Plank, Bettina Gruber, Martin Riegler, but to name a few.

Photocredits: Francisco Araiza©Francisco Araiza, Jörg Birhance©Alexander Basta, José-Danile Castello©privat, Ioana Cristina Goicea©Zuzanna-Specjal, Eszter Haffner©privat, Martin Hughes©jbirhance, Vladimir Kharin©privat, Reinhard Latzko©chjungwirth, Svetlana Makarova©claudedussez, Anna Malikova©privat, Stephan Möller©privat, Magali Mosnier©privat, Miklós Perényi©Miklós Perényi, Rudolf Piernay©Rudolf Piernay, Uta Schwabe©privat, Henja Semmler@Maike Katherina Helbig, Snezana Stamenkovic©privat, Elsabeth de Trejo©mauriciodetrejo, Pavel Vernikov©claudedussez, István Várdai@Marco Borggreve, Claudia Visca©privat, Wladislaw Winokurow©privat, Photos Laudon Palace and Otto-Wagner-Areal all ©Joerg Birhance with Rolleiflex T3 on Kodak Portra.
Any violation of copyright is unintentional; we apologize if such occur, please send us, in case, a short notice.