“As a leading music institution, we are called upon to be there for everyone,” says Stephan Pauly, Director of the Musikverein. “We want to make music for everyone who wants to experience it and break down barriers that could prevent this. Everyone should be able to experience how enriching music can be.”

For decades, the Musikverein’s extensive children’s and family programme has been a testament to its efforts to promote cultural participation. In cycles such as “Topolina” and “Agathes Wunderkoffer”, young audiences learn about instruments and well-known pieces of music and understand how valuable music can be for their lives.

Last season, for example, the concerts of “The Power of Music”, which were launched in cooperation with the social and health centre CAPE 10 in Vienna-Favoriten, showed a vivid picture of how this can also work with children and young people who were previously unfamiliar with the Musikverein. Each season, 400 socially disadvantaged children and children at risk of poverty from schools with unique challenges in Vienna-Favoriten are given the opportunity to attend concerts and workshops free of charge. In the first season since its foundation, the programme included three performances of “Alberto’s Adventure”, three appearances by ECHO “Rising Stars”, and a Christmas sing-along in the Great Hall under the patronage of mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča. As part of the project, the primary school classes attend concerts at the Musikverein and CAPE 10 – the house that helps. Their teachers are also trained in how they can integrate music even more into everyday school life. On the one hand, the aim is to introduce the children to the Musikverein as a traditional cultural venue and, on the other, to pick them up literally on their doorstep.

The project is scheduled for five years and aims to inspire 400 children with music each season, awaken their creativity and create a sense of belonging. The aim is to break down barriers and promote social integration and cultural education in the long term. Silvia Bruni, CAPE 10 Managing Director, explains: “The aim is for the pupils and their parents to feel welcome and wanted in the music club.” Stephan Pauly is “overwhelmed by the response” and explains that CAPE 10 received 800 registrations for “The Power of Music” quickly in the first season. Silvia Bruni emphasizes: “We want to give the children concerts in a special place where they can feel the power of music and become part of the programme themselves. And we want to send them a message: You are important members of our society – you are seen, heard and valued.”

The considerations as to how low-threshold access can also bring in more of those who have not yet come to the Musikverein are by no means limited to children’s programmes. The “Souvenir” concert series has already proven its worth: in cooperation with the new – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and Caritas, people with dementia, who are often excluded from cultural life, and their companions can experience concerts in the Brahms Hall. They can listen to lively pieces of music and well-known melodies that will remind them of earlier times. All the musicians, the presenter and the staff, are attuned to the visitors’ needs. There is freedom of movement and accessibility, and spontaneous reactions are always welcome. In addition to the six concerts in the Brahms Hall, the Musikverein also organizes one in a nursing home every season to bring music closer to people in their familiar surroundings and to be there for those who no longer have the mobility to come to the concert halls due to advanced illness.

The Musikverein provides space for cultural participation in a wide variety of forms. In the coming years, even more projects and offers will be launched to appeal to other groups that have not yet joined the Musikverein.