maya requires a 3-button mouse to do the basic viewport transformations. since i have a wireless 2 button and 1 wheel mouse (logitech) i couldn’t do the tracking in the first place. after consulting the online maya knowledge base i found an easy way to do this: simply define the scroll wheel in the mouse settings (logitech setpoint software) to behave as a middle mouse button.
you can still use your scroll wheel to zoom in and out, but alt + pressing down the scroll wheel perfectly tracks my stuff around. now all works fine and i’m ready to take the next basic steps. as an experienced 3ds max user i must say it’s really convenient to work like this in maya, let’s have a look if i’ll be a switcher one day 
p.s.: if you’re logitech mouse owner and you want to tweak the settings even further for optimal per application experience, check out the ingenious uberoptions, which patches the original logitech setpoint software.