Performances in the suburbs

The Augarten park in the north of the city was opened to the public under Joseph II, and became a popular spot for the Viennese to relax and enjoy their leisure time. The park's Garden Building housed a restaurant serving meals and “summer refreshments”, as Johann Pezzl described them in 1816, while concerts took place regularly in the Grosser Saal (Great Hall) through the period known as the “beautiful season.” Carl Czerny, a performer Beethoven rated highly as an exponent of his works, played Beethoven's First Piano Concerto at one of these concerts.

The pianist Nanette Streicher, who owned the Streicher piano company, was a friend of Beethoven’s, and also helped him with housekeeping and finding accommodation. She ran a music salon of her own in Ungargasse, which she arranged to have converted into a concert hall. The hall was opened in April 1812 with a performance of Beethoven's overture to “Coriolan.” Several instruments built by Streicher, whose pianos were renowned all over Europe, can found in the collections of the Vienna Museum of Science and Technology (Technisches Museum Wien – TMW).

The k. k. privileged Schauspielhaus an der Wien (more commonly known as Theater an der Wien), opened in 1801 and located in today's 6th district, is a multiple topo­graphical point of reference for Beethoven. When he was engaged at the theatre from 1803, he lived for some time in an official flat in the building, where he worked on his opera Fidelio, among other things. Above all, however, the city's most modern theatre at the time was a place where many of his works were presented to the public for the first time – often as part of so-called musical academies. In addition to Fidelio, the premieres included several symphonies and piano concertos.