A lovely evening of classical music in a picturesque setting. Is this purely for tourists? Probably! I highly doubt they need nightly concerts here for the locals as Salzburg isn't a major city by any means. If you are hoping for an authentically local experience, look elsewhere.
The Schlosskonzerte Mirabell was a really great experience though. I had booked tickets online well ahead of the concert date and was there on a Friday night so it was a full house. I've seen pictures where the hall is much emptier and looks like an even more pleasant experience, but for the night I went, I would say there was roughly 100 people in attendance. Dress is casual to dressy. There was one couple there in a gown and tuxedo, and I was wearing jeans and a long sleeved shirt as we had been on tours all day and didn't have time to go back and dress up for the evening. I didn't feel under dressed though. Several people were as casual as I was, but many at least had on slacks or a nice shirt. I wish I would have at least worn slacks.
The concert was an ensemble of violins, a bass, and a cello. Also, a soloist came out for several songs in each half of the program. Apparently it's a rotating group of performers so I won't go into too much detail about them as they'll be different anyhow. One note, the soloist who came out was ridiculously over dramatic in her playing even though she was very good. She just had a lot of breathy moments and swung around a lot which I thought was pretty funny and nearly laughed out loud a couple of times.
The hall is quite ornate and feels like the perfect place to have a concert. It's very cozy in there when full and the acoustics are quite good. I felt like the music was right in front of me, which, is was only 5 rows ahead of me, but I'm sure even the folks in the very back felt like it was in front of them too.
Not expensive and a good way to spend a few hours of the evening when in Salzburg. read more