Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

has been an important center of musical innovation. 18th- and 19th-century composers were drawn to the city due to the patronage of the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

s, and made Vienna the European capital of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

and

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (; ; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (), was an List of Austrian composers, Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well ...

, among others, were associated with the city, with Schubert being born in Vienna. During the

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

period,

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

and Hungarian

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

forms influenced Austrian music. Vienna's status began its rise as a cultural center in the early 16th century, and was focused on instruments including the

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck (music), neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lu ...

Yodel

Yodeling, a form of singing that involves rapid and repeated changes of register, was developed in the Alps. What Austria called it was "juchizn".

Rock and pop music

Falco was the most popular Austrian solo artist throughout the 1980s. His song "

Rock Me Amadeus "Rock Me Amadeus" is a song recorded by Austrian musician Falco (musician), Falco for his third studio album, ''Falco 3'' (1985). The single was made available for physical sale in 1985 in German-speaking Europe, through A&M Records, A&M. "Roc ...

" reached number one of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1986. His sudden death in 1998 in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

catapulted his music from the 1980s once again into the spotlight. Although Austria is not exactly the biggest exporter of international rock and pop-bands, there are a few notable musicians and bands.

Opus Opus (: opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera ...

also made it in the charts worldwide as well. In the last few years, several music groups toured Europe and had commercial success in the international charts. The most prominent being

Christina Stürmer Christina Stürmer (born 9 June 1982) is an Austrian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Linz, she rose to fame as the runner-up of the inaugural season of the ORF eins television talent series ''Starmania (TV series), Starmania''. Follow ...

. SheSays, who supported

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born November 5, 1959) is a British and Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and photographer. He is estimated to have sold between 75 million and more than 100 million album, records and Single (music), si ...

on his European tour and some other bands like

Cornerstone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

, are notable for their recent contributions. The bands

Wanda Wanda is a female given name of Poland, Polish origin. It probably derives from the tribal name of the Wends.Campbell, Mike"Meaning, Origin, and History of the Name Wanda" ''Behind the Name.'' Retrieved August 12, 2010. The name has long been popu ...

and

Bilderbuch Bilderbuch (English: "Picture Book") is an Austrian rock band and was formed in Kremsmünster, Austria in 2005 but has been based in Vienna since 2008. The current band members are Maurice Ernst (vocals, guitar), Peter Horazdovsky (bass), Mich ...

became successful in the 2010s.

Soap&Skin Soap&Skin is the experimental musical project of Austrian artist Anja Plaschg (born 5 April 1990). Life Anja Plaschg grew up in a small village called Katzendorf near Gnas in southeast Styria, where her parents have a farm. She has played pia ...

has found international recognition as well, being known for her contributions to the score of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

-series ''

Dark Darkness is the condition resulting from a lack of illumination, or an absence of visible light. Human vision is unable to distinguish colors in conditions of very low luminance because the hue-sensitive photoreceptor cells on the retina are ...

'', among other things. Blackened

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

trio

Belphegor Belphegor (or Baal Peor, Hebrew: בַּעַל-פְּעוֹר baʿal-pəʿōr – “''Lord of the Gap''”) is, in Christianity, a demon associated with one of the seven deadly sins. According to religious tradition, he helps people make discov ...

currently leads the Austrian metal scene, which also includes

Hollenthon Hollenthon is a heavy metal band from Austria founded in 1994. History The beginnings of Hollenthon date back to 1994, a time of an active Austrian Black Metal Syndicate and an incognito project known as Vuzem. He joined forces with drummer ...

Pungent Stench Pungent Stench is a death metal band from Vienna, Austria, formed in 1988. Their current lineup consists of Martin Schirenc (vocals/guitar), Jacek Perkowski (bass), and Mike G. Mayhem (drums). Pungent Stench achieved prominence in the death metal ...

Abigor Abigor is an Austrian black metal band formed in 1993. They are named after an upper demon of war in Christian demonology. Origin The band was formed in 1993 by Peter Kubik and Thomas Tannenberger. After the release of several demos, origin ...

Disharmonic Orchestra Disharmonic Orchestra is an Austrian death metal/grindcore band. History The band was formed in Klagenfurt in 1987. Two demos were recorded. A gig in Germany with Pungent Stench led to a deal with Nuclear Blast in 1989. The first outcome of th ...

Visions of Atlantis Visions of Atlantis is an Austrian symphonic metal band from Styria, founded in 2000. Inspiration came both from successful Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish and from the myth of Atlantis, as well as a Pirates in popular culture, pirate th ...

Dornenreich Dornenreich (up to ''Bitter ist's dem Tod zu dienen'' known as DornenReich) is an Austrian melodic black metal band, founded in 1996. Alongside their initial metal sound, Dornenreich also regard their music as being neofolk influenced.

, Summoning and Estatic Fear.

Christian Fennesz Christian Fennesz (born 25 December 1962) is an Austrian producer and guitarist active in electronic music since the 1990s, often credited mononymously as Fennesz. His work utilizes guitar and laptop computers to blend melody with treated samp ...

is an Austrian electronic musician. Other electronic musicians who call Austria home include

Der Blutharsch Der Blutharsch was an Austrian martial industrial, neofolk and psychedelic rock project created in 1996 by Albin Julius. Group leader Albin Julius died on 4 May 2022. History Originally a side project to The Moon lay hidden beneath a Cloud, ...

, active in the

Neofolk Neofolk, also known as apocalyptic folk, is a form of experimental music blending elements of folk and industrial music, which emerged in punk rock circles in the 1980s. Neofolk may either be solely acoustic or combine acoustic folk instrume ...

scene, as are Sturmpercht. Drummer

Thomas Lang Thomas Lang (; born 5 August 1967) is an Austrian drummer. He is the founding member of the Los Angeles–based progressive metal, progressive/avant garde metal band stOrk and is known for his international session work on a wide variety of ge ...

was born in Vienna in 1967, and has played with artists such as

Robert Fripp Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is an English musician, composer, record producer, and author, best known as the guitarist, founder and longest-lasting member of the progressive rock band King Crimson. He has worked extensively as a session mu ...

Geri Halliwell Geraldine Estelle Halliwell-Horner (''née'' Halliwell; born 6 August 1972) is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, author, and actress. She rose to fame in the mid-1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which ...

and

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, launching a solo career in 1996. His debut studio album, ''Life thru a Lens'', was re ...

. One of the few international touring bands is

Killed By 9V Batteries Killed by 9V Batteries is an Austrian indie rock band. Biography Founded in Graz in 2002, the members entered a temporary hiatus in 2005. However in the same year, they re-grouped and later signed to the Vienna-based indie label Siluh Records and ...

and Gasmac Gilmore from Vienna. Yearly the Waves Vienna Music Festival & Conference takes place in October. This festival is a showcase festival for European pop music acts.

Classical music

The

Vienna Philharmonic Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; ) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its members are selected from the orchestra of ...

is a classical music ensemble and tours throughout the year all over the world. Their New Year's Day concert held in

every year in the

Musikverein The ( or ; ), commonly shortened to , is a concert hall in Vienna, Austria, which is located in the Innere Stadt district. The building opened in 1870 and is the home of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra. The acoustics of the building's 'Grea ...

is one of Europe's most important classical concerts during the year.

Electronic music

There is a vital

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

scene in Austria. Groups and artists include

Parov Stelar Marcus Füreder (born 27 November 1974), better known by his stage name Parov Stelar, is an Austrian musician, producer, composer and DJ. He is considered a pioneer of Electro swing and is one of the most internationally successful artists ...

, Bernhard Fleischmann, Kruder and Dorfmeister and Elektro Guzzi.

Drum 'n' Bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-bass lines, samples, and synthesizers. The genre ...

also has a healthy reputation, with internationally successful Artists like

Camo & Krooked Camo & Krooked are an electronic music duo from Vienna, Austria with their musical roots embedded in drum and bass, consisting of Reinhard "Camo" Rietsch (born 12 November 1983 in Salzburg) and Markus "Krooked" Wagner (born 31 July 1989 in Lilien ...

, Disaszt, Ill.Skillz and Mefjus.

Neue Deutsche Härte

Neue Deutsche Härte (; "New German Hardness", sometimes abbreviated as NDH), also known as dance-metal, is a crossover style drawing from Neue Deutsche Welle, alternative metal, groove metal, electro-industrial and techno. It developed in Germany and Austria d ...

(New German Hardness) is most popular in Austria and the rest of the German Sprachraum. Notable bands include

Stahlhammer Stahlhammer (German for "Steel Hammer") is a Neue Deutsche Härte band from Austria that formed in 1992. They incorporate elements from hardcore, groove metal, industrial metal and symphonic metal into their songs. The band has to this date rel ...

and

L'Âme Immortelle L'Âme Immortelle (French for "the immortal soul") is an Austrian darkwave duo formed in 1996. Many of L'Âme Immortelle's songs feature melancholy or lovelorn lyrics in German or English, and juxtaposed harsh male and emotional female vocals. I ...

, both of which have had some international success. The German band

Samsas Traum Samsas Traum ("Samsa's Dream") is a German band fronted by Alexander Kaschte. Their music consists of elements of gothic metal, symphonic metal, industrial metal, black metal and cantastoria. The name is derived from the protagonist Gregor Sams ...

is now based in Austria as well.

Eurovision success

In 2014,

Conchita Wurst Thomas Neuwirth (born 6 November 1988) is an Austrian singer, fashion designer, human rights activist and drag queen who is known for his stage persona Conchita Wurst (or simply Conchita). He came to international attention after winning the Euro ...

won the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

representing Austria. Conchita Wurst is a drag queen portrayed by Thomas "Tom" Neuwirth, which sparked some controversy. Following the win, the 60th anniversary Eurovision was held in

in 2015. This was the second Eurovision contest to be held in Austria, first one being in 1967, after the winning performance

Merci, Chérie "Merci, Chérie" (; "Thank you, darling") is a song composed and recorded by Austrian singer Udo Jürgens with lyrics by himself and Thomas Hörbiger. It in the Eurovision Song Contest 1966, held in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, resulting in the ...

Udo Jürgens Jürgen Udo Bockelmann (30 September 1934 – 21 December 2014), generally known as Udo Jürgens, was an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spanned over 50 years. He won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 for Austria, ...

. Austria won the

a third time in 2025 with the song " Wasted Love" by Viennese opera singer JJ. Austria will host the Eurovision Song Contest in 2026, with the host city set to be decided in the coming months.

Other musicians

Other commercially successful musicians are: *

Wolfgang Ambros Wolfgang Ambros (born 19 March 1952) is an Austrian ''liedermacher'' (singer-songwriter). He is one of the most important contemporary Austrian musicians and is considered to be one of the founders of Austropop. Early life Ambros was born ...

Rainhard Fendrich Rainhard Jürgen Fendrich (born 27 February 1955) is an Austrian singer, composer, entertainer, and actor. He is one of the most successful Austropop musicians, and his songs are written in Viennese German. He is very popular in Austria and in B ...

Georg Danzer Georg Franz Danzer (7 October 1946, in Vienna – 21 June 2007, in Asperhofen, Lower Austria) was an Austrian singer-songwriter. Although he is credited as one of the pioneers of Austropop (most famous are his comic songs "Jö schau" (about a s ...

, S.T.S.,

Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung The ''EAV'' (Erste Allgemeine Verunsicherung, German language, German for "First General Confusion/Uncertainty/'Uninsurance'") was an Austrian band, formed in 1977 and disbanded in 2019. Nino Holm first established a band called "Anti-Pasta", ...

Willi Resetarits Wilhelm Resetarits (21 December 1948 – 24 April 2022), better known as Willi Resetarits and Ostbahn Kurti, was an Austrian folk and early Austropop singer, actor-comedian and human rights activist. Biography Resetarits was born in Stinatz ...

Hubert von Goisern Hubert von Goisern (born Hubert Achleitner, 17 November 1952) is an Austrian singer-songwriter and world musician. With his mix of rock music and elements of traditional Volksmusik he has become a prominent exponent of the so-called New Volksmusi ...

, Papermoon,

Seiler und Speer Seiler und Speer is an Austrian band from Bad Vöslau that formed in 2014. The band is composed of comedian and actor Christopher Seiler and film producer Bernhard Speer. History Both artists started their collaboration in 2014, when Christop ...

, Pizzera & Jaus * Rap:

RAF Camora Raphael Ragucci (born 4 June 1984), known professionally as RAF Camora, is an Austrian rapper, singer and producer. Biography Raphael Ragucci was born in Vevey, Switzerland, to an Austrian father from Vorarlberg and an Italian mother from Napl ...

* Schlager,

Volkstümliche Musik Volkstümliche Musik (German for "folksy/traditional/popular music") is a modern popular derivation of the traditional ''Volksmusik'' genre of German-speaking regions. Though it is often marketed as ''Volksmusik'', it differs from traditional f ...

Andreas Gabalier Andreas Gabalier (born next to Friesach on 21 November 1984) is an Austrian folk and Rock and roll singer. Family and private life Andreas Gabalier is the second oldest of the four children of Wilhelm and Huberta Gabalier. He grew up in Graz. I ...

, Melissa Naschenweng,

DJ Ötzi Gerhard "Gerry" Friedle (born 7 January 1971), better known by his stage name DJ Ötzi (), is an Austrian music producer and singer. Successful mainly in German-speaking countries, he is best known in the English-speaking world for his 2000 singl ...

Hansi Hinterseer Johann Ernst "Hansi" Hinterseer (born 2 February 1954) is an Austrian schlager singer, actor, entertainer and former alpine skier. Sports Hinterseer is the son of Ernst Hinterseer, who won a gold medal in slalom skiing at the 1960 Winter O ...

, Die Seer, Nockis (previously: Nockalm Quintett) * Choirs:

Vienna Boys' Choir The Vienna Boys' Choir () is a choir of boy sopranos and altos based in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countries. The choir is a privat ...

The Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz The Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz is the artistic name of the Choralschola of Cistercian monks from the Lower Austrian abbey Heiligenkreuz Abbey, Heiligenkreuz who have so far recorded six CDs of Gregorian chant that have attracted the at ...

References

External links

Music Information Center Austria
*
Audio clip: traditional Austrian music.

Musée d'ethnographie de Genève The ' ("Geneva Ethnography Museum") is one of the most important ethnographic museums in Switzerland. History The MEG, or Geneva Museum of Ethnography, was founded on 25 September 1901, on the initiative of Professor Eugène Pittard (1867-1962), ...

. Accessed November 25, 2010.
Schrammel-Quartett
– from the web encyclopedia www.aeiou.at {{DEFAULTSORT:Music Of Austria