City symphonies for all: Innsbruck Promenade Concerts

The Innsbruck Promenade Concerts first played great music for little money a good 150 years ago. This coming weekend, the musical summer festival at the Imperial Hofburg will enter its next round. Until the end of July, this year's program will feature such a string of high-caliber events that it's best to get your calendar ready. Because evening dress is really not a must here - promises managing director Michaela Florian in the time-honored Café Central in Innsbruck. And with that, she serves up a journey back in time for breakfast.

15. October 1868. Johann Strauss Jr. hurries through the seemingly endless corridor in the Kursalon Oberlaa. He needs a sip of cognac now. Was that the right staircase, everything here looks so the same! He grabs the next best door handle and hurries unerringly to the open window in the next room. Down in the courtyard, people are in each other's arms, nobles and commoners, laughing and joking as if they were the same. Johann has to smile. Down there, no less a person than himself had just opened the first Viennese Promenade Concerts. And for all his modesty, that had been pretty crass. One hand rests on his shoulder in recognition, the other hands him a glass of cognac, and a well-known signet ring gleams on his finger. Johann's blood freezes in his veins as it dawns on him what room he has just stumbled into. The broad grin makes the famous whiskers look even more powerful: Well done, winks the emperor.

Excuse me, Michaela pulls me out of my daydreams, have you been waiting long? Not even two minutes, I answer and shake Strauß out of my head. There was no waiter anyway, would you like some breakfast? Sure, and look, I've brought you this year's program! Have you already marked recommendations for me? Yes, I have, Michaela answers, lowers the breakfast card and grins: Yes eh: all of them. So as always, of the finest, I ask. Exactly, Michaela nods and decides on the Viennese Wellness Breakfast.

What seems like a meeting among old friends is a bit like that: Michaela attended her first Promenade concerts as a child, now almost 30 years ago. I, too, listened to the symphony orchestra in the courtyard of the Hofburg before I even knew what it was. Since January, Michaela has been the elected managing director of the Promenade Concerts, but there is still no baroque office in a prime location: a small sticker on the mailbox of the private address, Michaela smiles.

Mozart, Bach, Strauss - prominent promenade concerts have been around since the 19th century. At first, the aristocracy might have turned up their noses at them, but the success story had long since been written: top-class musical performances for everyone, without any social constraints, with the music taking center stage. There is laughter, singing and dancing, a beautiful evening among like-minded culture lovers. Performances are always held outdoors, open-air, as they say today, in public places, parks and gardens. In Vienna in particular, there was a lot of waltz and polka, Michaela enthuses, in Innsbruck more brass music, but for a long time now it's been more colorful here, too: Big band, opera, symphony, string quartet and brass band. Requests from renowned orchestras from all over the world flutter into her semi-private mailbox every day, but without funds one unfortunately has to write many nice refusals, Michaela regrets between two sips of coffee. On the other hand, those who do get an acceptance quickly make history in Innsbruck: last year, for example, the "house band" of the White House was a guest - complete with Secret Service and bomb-sniffing dogs.

In general, the Innsbruck Hofburg offers a cultural program in summer that even accomplished musicians (Michaela plays the flute, trumpet, piano and choir) can only dream of: The start on the coming Saturday marks the Royal Netherlands Army Band with an opening concert of the extra class. Followed by the home game of the Innsbruck Symphony Orchestra, a guest performance of the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, a Bavarian opera evening or the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Philharmonic Orchestra - the emperor would certainly have been proud. A personal must for Michaela: the SWR Big Band feat. Max Mutzke on July 28 - but she will be present at every event anyway, winks the co-organizer mischievously. And she adds a nice story on top of it: Last year, a homeless man was a regular and bought a ticket every day. On one evening, he excused his absence because he first had to "go back to work" for the next ticket. The man indignantly refused the offered free social ticket: Seven euros is already a gift!

In the meantime, we have successfully finished our little Viennese journey through time at Café Central, and Michaela has to go flyering again. It's necessary for cost reasons, she says, but you also get a feel for the people - who even turn around for a program booklet of the Promenade Concerts and thank you happily: "See you there! Possibly a certain Johann Strauss will be there again to do the honors of the Viennese waltz.

Photo credits: The snapshot of Michaela at breakfast is by the author. The three photos in "Great art for little money" were provided by Michaela Florian from the Innsbruck Promenade Concerts. The cover photo as well as the last three pictures in the article were shot by Emanuel Kaser for Innsbruck Tourism.