This itinerary ran in 2024. It is subject to change in 2026.
Munich: DAYS 1 – 4
1. Munich City Highlights & Course Lectures: Asamhaus and Asamkirche (Baroque styles
and aesthetics), Bürgersaalkirche, Marienkirche, Residenz Schatzkammer, Cuvillier- Theater (Mozart), Orlando di Lasso monument, Rathaus Glöckenspiel
2. Welcome dinner at the Hofbräuhaus
3. Day at Ludwig II’s Neuschwanstein Castle (Wagner)
4. Glyptothek sculpture museum
5. Boat trip to the Königsee: Outdoor Baroque dance lesson, nature walk, and lunch at the Gastsätte St. Bartholomä
Salzburg: DAYS 5 – 10
1. Salzburg City Highlights & Course Lectures: Franziskanerkirche, Nonnberg Abbey, St. Sebastian cemetery (Mozart family), Mirabell palace & Residenz museum (Music and patronage in Salzburg), St. Peter’s cemetery and church (Maria Anna Mozart and Michael Haydn)
2. Lunch at the Festung (fortress) above the city
3. Guest lecturers at the Salzburg Cathedral archive, the Old University Library and Aula (Biber), The Mozart Manuscript Archive
4. Concerts: Mirabell Palace string quartet concert; Salzburg Marionettentheatre The Magic Flute; Joseph Haydn mass at the Franziskanerkirche; Organ concert at the Cathedral
5. Other activities: Music therapy workshop; Hellbrunn Palace with trick fountains, zoo,and Stone Theatre; Cable car to the Untersberg, hiking and traditional Austrian lunch on the mountain.
Stift Melk (Monastery): DAYS 11 – 13
1. Guided tour of the high Baroque style Imperial guest rooms, library, and church
2. Archival visit, with archivist’s presentation on manuscripts and early prints on medicinal plants in the library
3. Visit to the Abbey’s apothecary garden; lecture and sampling of Melk’s plant-based syrups
4. Concerts and music-making: Singing Vespers with the monks; Outdoor evening military band concert in the Abbey courtyard; Singing chant in the Maria Himmelfahrt Pfarrkirche in the city
5. Contradance lesson in the Abbey’s Baroque garden pavilion
Vienna: DAYS 14 – 21
1. Vienna City Highlights & Course Lectures: Grinzing cemetery & church (Mahler); Heiligenstadt Haus (Beethoven); Schubert birth house (Schubert); Strauss Casino and Museum (Strauss family); tour of the Musikverein (Brahms); Mozart Figaro House (Mozart’s Vienna years); Arnold Schoenberg Center (Schoenberg)
2. Lunch at the Strauss Casino Café; Traditional Viennese Heurigen dinner at Mayr am Pfarrplatz; Ice cream at the Gloriette at Schönbrunn Palace; Farewell dinner at the Zwölf Apostelkeller
3. Lecture and visit to the Archive of the Musikverein; Habsburg history lecture & Kaisergruft visit (music and patronage in Vienna)
4. Concerts: Beethoven mass with Vienna Choirboys at the Hofburg Chapel; Concert of typical Viennese arias, waltzes, and marches; Richard Strauss, Salomé at the Vienna State Opera; c. 1642 mean-tone organ, lecture & recital at Franziskanerkirche
5. Other activities: View of the city from the Kahlenburg; Prunksaal at the National Library; Karlskirche; St. Stephen’s Cathedral; St. Marx cemetery (Mozart’s burial place)