Speak to an expert
020 7593 1899

Open 9 - 6 Mon to Thu, 9 - 5:30 Fri & 9 - 1 Sat

Speak to an expert
020 7593 1899

Open 9 - 6 Mon to Thu, 9 - 5:30 Fri & 9 - 1 Sat

Search Call Menu

The Grafenegg Music Festival

5 nights Price from £2,896 per person

Grafenegg’s varied and starry festival in Lower Austria, just one hour from Vienna, runs throughout the summer and always closes with a feast of music-making. Concerts are given in the spectacular Wolkenturm – the Tower of Clouds – an open air space with a stunning acoustic which is much loved by all the musicians who play here. The Austrian pianist, Rudolf Buchbinder is the Director of the Festival and regularly brings the world’s great orchestras and soloists to the Festival. The holiday includes a number of excursions into the beautiful surrounding countryside.

What's included

...when you travel with Kirker

  • Return flights
  • Five nights’ accommodation with breakfast
  • Tickets for performances as described
  • Five dinners and one lunch
  • All sightseeing, entrance fees and gratuities as described
  • The services of the Kirker Tour Leader and local guide

Itinerary

  • Day 1 - Fly to Vienna

    We fly to Vienna and transfer to Krems, a journey of about an hour. Krems is an attractive town on the banks of the Danube and is in the heart of the Grüner Veltliner wine producing region. We stay above the town at the 4 star Steigenberger. The hotel has a spa, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and you can walk to the centre of the quaint village of Stein in 15 minutes.

  • Day 2 - Kirchstetten

    This morning we drive to the village of Kirchstetten, close to St. Pölten. Here we visit the house where W.H. Auden lived with Chester Kallman from 1957, when he bought the cottage, until his death in 1973. We will see the house much as he left it, with his books and with photographs of many of the distinguished visitors who came to Kirchstetten, including Benjamin Britten, Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Spender. Auden is buried in the tranquil churchyard in the village. 

  • Day 3 - Cruising on the Danube

    Today we spend the morning cruising a beautiful stretch of the Danube between Krems and the magnificent Benedictine abbey at Melk. After a tour of the abbey we will return by coach to Krems.

  • Day 4 - Dürnstein

    During the morning we will drive alongside the Danube to nearby Dürnstein, an attractive village perched high over the river. We have lunch at the Relais & Châteaux hotel overlooking the river.

  • Day 5 - Krems

    During the morning we will visit the art gallery in Krems which holds more than 40 works by Egon Schiele, who was born in nearby Tulln.

  • Day 6 - Klosterneuburg and flight home

    On the way back to Vienna airport we visit the mighty 12th century Augustinian Monastery which overlooks the Danube river in Klosternenburg.

Flight Details

Flights with British Airways:

Depart from London Heathrow at 12.25 arrive Vienna at 15.45.

Depart from Vienna at 14.50 arrive London Heathrow at 16.10

Departure Dates and Prices

31 Aug 2022

Status Closed

Price from£2896

Single Supp.£198

Call 020 7593 2284

Music Programme

The closing weekend of the 2022 Festival included concerts by two of the world’s greatest orchestras – the Mariinsky, under the baton of its music director Valery Gergiev and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen together with the Festival’s own orchestra, the Tonkunstler Orchestra.

The Festival Director, Rudolf Buchbinder will also be the soloist in no less than three piano concertos, a real tour-de-force.

1 September (7pm):
MARIINSKY ORCHESTRA ST. PETERSBURG
RUDOLF BUCHBINDER , piano
VALERY GERGIEV , conductor
Grieg: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op.16
Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique, Op.14

2 September (7pm):
MARIINSKY ORCHESTRA ST. PETERSBURG
VALERY GERGIEV , conductor
Borodin: Symphony No. 2
Rimsky-Korsakov: Suite from The Tale of Tsar Saltan
This rarely performed piece is from the opera based on a fairy tale by Pushkin first given in Moscow in 1900
Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

3 September (7pm):
VIENNA PHILHARMONIC
ESA-PEKKA SALONEN , conductor
RUDOLF BUCHBINDER , piano
Ravel: Le tombeau de Couperin
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G major
Sibelius: Symphony No.2 in D major, Op.43

4 September (7pm):
TONKUNSTLER ORCHESTRA
RUDOLF BUCHBINDER , piano
LORENZO VIOTTI , conductor
Schumann: Piano Concerto in A minor Op.54
Mahler: Symphony No.1

Book or Enquire

Speak to an expert
020 7593 1899

To make an enquiry please speak to one of our experts on 020 7593 1899, or enquire online

Our expert reservations team regularly travel to a wide range of destinations to explore new cities, visit hotels and to research museums, galleries and restaurants so that we can offer the most up-to-date advice and recommendations.

Vienna