House of Music

This guide to Vienna's House of Music centers on Otto Nicolai, the doctor's son turned conductor who lived in this palace and founded the Vienna Philharmonic with its first concert in 1842. It follows his rise, his early death at thirty-eight just as he landed his dream post in Berlin, and the artifacts of his legacy displayed upstairs, including batons from later conductors like Herbert von Karajan. Try the piano-key staircase on your way up.