Vienna State Opera
The opera house was the first major building on the Vienna Ringstrasse commissioned by the Viennese "city expansion fund". Work commenced on the house in 1861 and was completed in 1869, following plans drawn up by architects August Sicard von Sicardsburg and Eduard van der Nüll. It was built in the Neo-Renaissance style by the renowned Czech architect and contractor Josef Hlávka.
Vienna Philharmonic
Nicolai and the orchestra gave only 11 concerts in the ensuing five years, and when Nicolai left Vienna in 1847, the orchestra nearly folded ("New Grove" notes the disruption caused by the Revolution of 1848 as a hindrance). Between 1854 and 1857, Karl Eckert – the first permanent conductor of the Vienna Court Opera ("Wiener Hofoper")– led the (associated) Vienna Philharmonic in a few concerts. In 1857, Eckert was made Director of the "Hofoper" – the first musician to have been given the post; in 1860, he conducted four subscription concerts of the Vienna Philharmonic. Since that time,
writes Vienna Philharmonic violinist and president Clemens Hellsberg, "the 'Philharmonic Concerts' have been staged without interruption."