GREAT MUSICAL CITIES PRAGUE, VIENNA & BUDAPEST APRIL 16-30, 2018 TOUR LEADER: LINDY MONTGOMERY GREAT MUSICAL CITIES Overview PRAGUE, VIENNA & BUDAPEST Enjoy orchestral music and opera of the highest quality in Central Tour dates: April 16-30, 2018 Europe’s most celebrated music venues. Learn about the rich musical traditions of Austria, Hungary and the Czech Republic with in-depth background lectures on the music you will hear in live performance. Tour leader: Lindy Montgomery This 15-day tour visits three of the great music capitals of Central Europe: Tour Price: $9,440 per person, twin share Vienna, Prague and Budapest. As well as attending a series of fine performances, this musical pilgrimage takes you to the places where Single Supplement: $1,950 for sole use of some of the great composers lived and worked. In Budapest, there are double room museums dedicated to Liszt and Bartók, and in Vienna an astonishing number of sites associated with Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. We Booking deposit: $500 per person will also visit two beautifully preserved baroque theatres, one in Český Krumlov and the other the celebrated Estates Theatre in Prague. Recommended airline: Emirates Centrally located four and five star hotels, many meals, tipping and best- Maximum places: 20 available tickets to performances are all included. Walking tours and museum visits with an emphasis on music round out the program. Pre- Itinerary: Prague (4 nights), České Budějovice performance talks enhance your understanding and enjoyment. (1 night), Vienna (5 nights), Budapest (4 nights) Music educator Lindy Montgomery will provide expert commentary on Date published: May 4, 2017 various composers and musical life and the 18th, 19th and early 20th century Austro-Hungarian world. Local guides will provide additional information on specific sites. Your tour leader Lindy Montgomery is a graduate of both the University of Sydney and the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, where she taught in the Musicology Department for thirteen years. Lindy possesses a fine soprano voice and has featured as a soloist with ensembles such as the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, Pinchgut Opera and Sydney Chamber Choir. She has travelled widely in Europe and North America and has led an Academy Travel music tour to Germany Enquiries and bookings For further information and to secure a place on this tour please contact Frederick Steyn at Academy Travel on 9235 0023 or 1800 639 699 (outside Sydney) or email [email protected] .au Performance program Eight or nine performances of opera, orchestral music, chamber music and drama are included, in some of Central Europe’s most celebrated music venues. Further details will be available from June 2017. In Prague Prague Symphony Orchestra conducted by Jac van Steen at Smetana Hall, featuring pianist Lukas Vondracek performing works by Prokofjev and Rachmaninov An opera at the Estates Theatre or the National Theatre A concert by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the Rudolfinum In Vienna Beethoven’s, Fidelio and Verdi’s, Aida at the Vienna State Above: Andris Nelsons conducts the Gewandhausorchestra Opera Gewandhausorchestra Leipzig conducted by Andris Nelsons, featuring pianist Yefim Bronfman performing works by Beethoven and Brahms at the Musikverein Pianist Piotr Anderszweski performing works by Mozart and Chopin at the Konzerthaus In Budapest Verdi’s, Un Ballo in Maschera at the Erkel Theatre Anton Bruckner Symphony No. 8 with the Budapest Festival Orchestra conducted by Jukka-Pekka Sarastre, at the Müpa Budapest This itinerary and our website will be updated as performance details become available. Above: the main entrance of the Vienna State Opera Above: Estates Theatre, Prague Above: Fidelio at the Vienna State Opera Detailed itinerary Included meals are shown with the letters B, L and D. Monday April 16 Arrive Prague Upon arrival in Prague, make your way to the hotel in the city centre and check-in. If you have booked your air travel through Academy Travel we will organise a transfer from the airport to our hotel. Please note that hotel rooms may not be available until early afternoon. Meet your tour leader Lindy Montgomery for early evening drinks and canapés in the hotel. Overnight Prague (D) Above: Charles Bridge, Prague Tuesday April 17 - Performance I Below: the extraordinary Astronomical Clock, Prague; the breathtaking vaulted ceiling of Vladislav Hall OLD town Prague The bohemian city of Prague, with its skyline of gothic spires and narrow cobbled streets, is one of Europe’s best-preserved cities. After a talk on this evening’s performance, we take a guided tour to explore the labyrinth of medieval cobbled stone streets of the Old Town including the Municipal House, the finest example of Art Nouveau architecture in Prague, with its fine concert hall named in honour of Smetana. Admire the Gothic Powder Tower and the Old Town Square with its colourful Astronomical Clock. From here it is only a short walk to Charles Bridge. We have a welcome lunch at a local restaurant, then the afternoon is at leisure. This evening we attend a performance at the Estates Theatre, one of the oldest European theatres operating continuously since 1783. Overnight Prague (B, L) Performance details Venue: Estates Theatre Program: To be announced Performers: To be announced Wednesday April 18 - Performance II Castle District This morning we drive to the medieval Castle District, or Hradcany, where we commence our walking tour at the Strahov Monastery with its two famous libraries. We visit St Vitus’ Cathedral, a masterpiece of gothic architecture which was only completed in 1929. Vladislav Hall, with its breathtaking vaulted ceiling, was used for banquets, receptions and even jousting tournaments. After a break for lunch we stroll Nerudova Street, certainly one of Prague´s most picturesque streets fulled with interesting house signs to Little Town/Mala Strana. There we find St. Nicholas Church, where Mozart´s Requiem was performed shortly after his death and Beethoven Palace where he lived during his first stay in Prague. We return to Prague with time to refresh before for this evening’s concert at the Rudolfinum. Overnight Prague (B) Performance details Venue: Rudolfinum Program: To be announced Performers: To be announced Thursday April 19 - performance III Prague’s rococo and art nouveau The Municipal House, completed in 1911, is perhaps the finest example of Art Nouveau architecture in Prague. Our guided tour takes us through the meeting rooms and exhibition halls culminating in the fine concert hall named in honour of Smetana. The beautiful rococo Estates Theatre was where the premieres of Mozart’s Don Giovanni and La clemenza di Tito took place in 1787 and 1791 respectively. Overnight Prague (B) Performance details Venue: Smetana Hall Program: works by Prokofjev and Rachmaninov Performers: Prague Symphony Orchestra, Jac van Steen (conductor), Lukas Vondracek (piano) Friday April 20 eský Krumlov This morning we depart Prague and visit Český Krumlov en- Č route to České Budějovice in Southern Bohemia. Český Krumlov is a picturesque old town and a UNESCO World Heritage site with over three hundred protected medieval buildings arranged in a lovely setting of rolling hills and winding river. We take a guided walking tour of the old town and the impressive castle complex. The highlight of our visit is the superbly preserved baroque theatre. After a break for lunch, we continue on to České Budějovice to check-in to the hotel and take a stroll through the town before dinner. Overnight České Budějovice (B, D) Saturday April 21 To Vienna Mid-morning, we travel by coach to Vienna, arriving early afternoon. After checking in to the hotel we take a short orientation walk and have dinner together at a local restaurant. Overnight Vienna (B, D) Sunday April 22 - Performance Iv Vienna’s musical heritage Vienna is a city with an impressive musical legacy. Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms and Mahler are among the celebrated composers who lived and worked here. Today, our guided tour starts at Pasqualati House, where Beethoven lived on different occasions over a period of about eight years. Several of his most important works were composed here, including the Seventh Symphony. We continue on to the outskirts of the city where Franz Schubert was born. The modest apartment presents an impressive account of his musical development, his circle of friends and the stages of his short life. From here we drive to the village of Heiligenstadt where the young Beethoven wrote the so-called ‘Heiligenstadt Testament’ in which he admits his despair at his growing deafness. Finally, we visit Grinzing cemetery where Gustav Mahler is buried next to his favourite daughter Maria, who died Images right: the Municipal House in Prague; view of Cesky Krumlov; conductor Jac van Steen leads the Prague Symphony Orchestra when she was just four years old. We return to Vienna with time to rest before our included performance by the renowned Gewandhausorchestra Leipzig. Overnight Vienna (B) Performance details Venue: Musikverein Program: works by Beethoven and Brahms Performers: Gewandhausorchestra Leipzig, Andris Nelsons (conductor), Yefim Bronfman (piano) Monday April 23 - Performance v Vienna’s musical heritage This morning we continue our exploration of Vienna’s musical heritage, starting with St Stephen’s Cathedral where Mozart’s funeral was held. We stroll through the old city to ‘Figarohaus’, where Mozart composed Le nozze di Figaro at the height of his success in the mid-1780s. The afternoon is at leisure for independent exploration of the city and to relax prior to this evening’s performance. Overnight Vienna (B) Performance details Venue: Konzerthaus Program: works by Mozart and Chopin Performers: Piotr Anderszweski (piano) Tuesday April 24 - Performance vi Vienna woods Today we drive to the Vienna Woods, first visiting the monastery at Heiligenkreuz, the oldest continuously occupied Cistercian monastery in the world. We continue on to the imperial hunting lodge at Mayerling where the tragic murder-suicide of Crown Prince Rudolf and his lover Baroness Marie Vetsera took place in 1889.