News

Two violins from Wolfgang Amadé Mozart’s personal collection will accompany this year’s Italian tour of the Bella Musica Pre-College Ensemble of the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, conducted by Stefan David Hummel. Mozart’s extraordinary childhood violin and his concert violin, both from the collection of the International Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg, will be heard in Rome in September 2026.

From November 27 to 29, 2026, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Department of Fine Arts at the Mozarteum, we would like to trace our shared journey with our graduates, and we warmly invite all alumnae and alumni to join us!

For four intensive weeks, Salzburg once again became an international hub for talented young musicians. Around 500 participants from all over the world took part in the Mozarteum International Summer Academy, working across 50 masterclasses, Young Excellence classes and numerous other programmes under the artistic direction of Hannfried Lucke. Alongside the tuition, public concerts by teaching staff and matinees featuring the prize-winners ensured packed houses throughout.

From August 15 to 16, 2026, the 2026 Festival Academy, under the title FRAUEN.FESTSPIEL.PRÄSENZ*, will focus on the visibility, history, and future of female playwrights and composers at the Salzburg Festival. The two-day symposium will place pressing questions about representation, power structures, and the formation of the canon at the center of the debate.

The Belarusian flutist, conductor, cultural manager, and Honorary Professor at Mozarteum University, Maria Kalesnikava, delivered the opening speech at the Salzburg Festival last weekend. Her moving reflections on freedom, responsibility, and the unifying power of music deeply resonated with the audience, underscoring the vital role of culture in challenging times.

Vienna (OTS)* – Austria's nine public and private music universities and conservatoires have reacted with disbelief and concern to the announced budget cuts, the questioning of existing funding models, and recent developments surrounding the higher education strategy. They warn that these measures put at risk the future of Austria as a nation of arts and culture.

The winners of the 2024/2025 Outstanding Master’s Thesis Awards are Leonie Caterina Trips, Linda Elisabeth Nicolussi and Leo Feichtinger – our warmest congratulations!

The City of Salzburg recently recognized four projects featuring interdisciplinary ideas for Salzburg. One of the projects, titled “Stadt Raum Hörbar” (City Space Audible), submitted by Florian Brand, Ulrike Hatzer, Carla Stenitzer, and Karen Werner, invites the people of Salzburg to explore the sounds of their city.

Mental health issues, loneliness and an ageing population present Europe with major social challenges. At the same time, numerous studies show that art and culture can enhance mental wellbeing, foster social cohesion and increase the resilience of communities. The aim is for this potential to play a much greater role in future European health strategies.

A conversation with Bavarian soprano and Mozart specialist Teresa Boning about the high notes in *The Magic Flute* that led her to contemporary music, her work with street children in Costa Rica—which further strengthened her desire to study singing—and the influence of singing on psychiatric conditions.