Listen to a concert on the new Giant Organ at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna! Mighty sounds from more than 12,000 pipes fill one of the most beautiful churches in the world on one of the biggest organ units of Europe. In the organ concerts, world-class organists play a wide-ranging programme from Bach over Reger to gems of organ music.

The Giant Organ is part of the organ landscape of St. Stephen's Cathedral, which is one of the largest organ systems in Europe, with its more than 12,000 pipes, five manuals and 130 stops. Although the Giant Organ is truly enormous, its name does not refer to the size of the instrument, but comes from the main portal of St. Stephen's Cathedral below it, the Giant Gate. From the mobile console, the giant organ and the choir organ in the side aisle can be played together.

During the devastating cathedral fire in April 1945, the old Giant Organ (90 stops) built by Eberhard Walcker in 1886 burned on the west gallery of St. Stephen's Cathedral. In 1960, the new Giant Organ (125 stops) built by Viennese organ builder Johann M. Kaufmann was consecrated on this site, but it only played for about 35 years and was then out of service for a long time as a silent wreck. This instrument was completely redesigned by Rieger Orgelbau in 2017-2020, using old pipes and keeping the appearance of 1960, but equipped with the newest technology.

The new console is centrally located in the nave, so you can watch the organists play the five manuals with masterful virtuosity. Blow you can find all information on the, dates, organists and their programme. A truly enveloping sound experience awaits you.

Programme

• Thu 2. July - 8:30pm: Domorganist Ernst Wally
  
  

  Johann Sebastian Bach: Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 547

  Johann Sebastian Bach: Adorn yourself, O dear soul, BWV 654

  Josef Friedrich Doppelbauer: Partita brevis

  - Mirror

  - Fughetta alla Toccata

  - Cantilene

  - Epilog

  Ernst Wally: Improvisation

  Jehan Alain: Variations sur un thème de Clément Janequin, JA 118

  Jehan Alain: Le jardin suspendu, JA 71

  Jehan Alain: Berceuse sur deux notes qui cornent, JA 7

  Jehan Alain: Litanies, JA 119

  
   

• Thu 9. July - 8:30pm: Bernadetta Sunavska (Munich)
  
  

  Béla Bartók: Slovak folk song, Sz. 39/C. 8

  Béla Bartók: From the Diary of a Fly, Sz. 107 / C. 142

  Béla Bartók: Burleske, Sz. 47 / C. 3

  Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach: Fantasy in C Major, Wq 59/6

  César Franck: Suite from "L'Organiste"

  Franz Liszt: Fantasia and Fugue on the Chorale "Ad nos, ad salutarem undam"

   

• Thu 16. July - 8:30pm: Gerard Brooks (London)

  Camille Saint-Saëns: Finale from the Organ Symphony, op. 78

  Edvard Grieg: Peer Gynt Suite No. 1

  - Morning atmosphere

  - Åse’s Death

  - Anitra's Death

  - In the Hall of the Mountain King

  Claude Debussy: Clair de lune

  Arthur Bliss: March from the Suite "Things to Come"

  William Lloyd Webber: Dedication March

  Arthur Meale: Vesper Song

  Louis Vierne: Carillon de Westminster

  
    

•  Thu 23. July - 8:30pm: Johan Hammarström (Stockholm)
  
  

  Louis Vierne: Hymne au soleil

  Wolfgang Amadé Mozart: Fugue in G minor, KV 401

  Zsolt Gárdonyi: Mozart-Changes

  Otto Olsson: Prelude and Fugue in D-sharp minor

  Johanna Senfter: Now all the forests lie still

  Jaques van Oortmerssen: Now all the forests lie still

  Joseph Jongen: Sonata Eroica, op. 94

   

• Thu 30. July - 8:30pm: Istvan Ban (Budapest)

  Vincent Lübeck: Prelude in D minor

  Jean Langlais: Prélude au Kyrie (Hommage à Frescobaldi)

  Jean Langlais: Rosa mystica (Triptyque Grégorien)

  Johann Sebastian Bach: In my deep distress, I cry out to you, BWV 38/I

  Zoltán Kodály: Prelúdium

  Zoltán Kodály: Glória aus der Csendes mise - Missa brevis

  Peter Planyavsky: Holy, holy ("pro Stephano hungareso")

  Sigfried Karg-Elert: In my deep distress, I cry out to you ("quasi Fantasia"), op. 78/4

  Sigfrid Karg-Elert: Jesus, My Joy ("Passacaglia mit Choral"), op. 65/38

  
   

• Thu 6. August - 8:30pm: Johann Vexo (Nancy)

  Nicolas de Grigny: Ave Maris Stella

  - Ave Maris Stella en taille à 5

  - Fugue à 4

  - Duo

  - Dialogue sur les grands jeux

  Johann Sebastian Bach: Toccata and Fugue in F Major, BWV 540

  César Franck: Cantabile

  Maurice Duruflé: Prélude, Adagio et Choral sur Veni Creator, op. 4

  
   

• Thu 13. August - 8:30pm: Benedikt Bonelli (Kempten)

  Johann Sebastian Bach: Chaconne in D minor, BWV 1004

  Camille Saint-Saëns: Fantasy in E-flat Major

  Peter Planyavsky: Perpetuum mobile

  Max Gulbins: Sonata No. 3 for Organ, op. 19

  - Maestoso - Allegro moderato

  - Andante

  - Allegro scherzando

  - Allegro moderato

  
   

•  Thu 20. August - 8:30pm: Marcus & Pascal Kaufmann (Leipzig)

  Franz Liszt: Les Préludes

  Johann Sebastian Bach: Prelude and Fugue in A minor, BWV 543

  Franz Liszt: St. Francis of Paola walking on the waves

  Pascal Kaufmann: Improvisation

  Bedřich Smetana: The Vltava

  
   

• Thu 27. August - 8:30pm: Albrecht Koch (Freiberg)

  Johann Sebastian Bach: Passacaglia in C minor, BWV 582

  Sigfrid Karg-Elert: Voices of the Night (from “Three Pieces for Organ”), op. 142)

  Arvo Pärt: Mirror in the Mirror

  Max Reger: Fantasia and Fugue in D minor, op. 135b

   

•  Thu 3. September - 8:30pm: Domorganist Konstantin Reymaier

  Johann Sebastian Bach: Concerto for Harpsichord and Strings in E Major, BWV 1053

  - Tempo ordinario

  - Siciliano

  - Allegro

  Anton Bruckner: Scherzo from the Zero Symphony

  Robert Schumann: Night Pieces, op. 23

  - more slowly, often hesitantly

  - distinctive and lively

  - with great liveliness

  - simply

  
   

•  Tue 29. December - 8:30pm
  Organist and Programme will follow
   

•  Wed 30. December - 8:30pm
   Organist and Programme will follow

Venue

Where better to find calm and contemplation than in the wonderful, peaceful atmosphere of St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna? In the church, the magical Christmas concerts offer the ideal opportunity and venue to escape the hustle and bustle of the hectic streets & shops and to get back to reflecting about life’s essentials.

St. Stephen's Cathedral is considered one of the most striking landmarks of Vienna and is an absolute must on every visit to Vienna. The church with its unique atmosphere and history enchants visitors from all over the world each time anew.

St. Stephens’s Church (Stephansdom)
Stephansplatz 3
1010 Vienna

Duration

Concert lasts for 60 minutes, without intermission.

Tickets

Once your booking has been confirmed, you will receive an e-mail containing your booking voucher. Please print it out or download it on your smartphone/tablet to show it at the evening box on the day of the concert.

In case you do not receive an e-mail in the minutes following the booking, please check your Spam folder!

How to get there?

Take the subway line U1 or U3 to the station Stephansplatz, the elevator or escalator will take you directly in front of the magnificent St. Stephen's Cathedral.

Cancellations

It is possible to cancel your ticket up to 3 days before the concert date.