News

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.

Mozarteum University has recently marked ten years as a member of the Western Partnership for Teacher Education. Together with the University of Innsbruck, the University College of Teacher Education Tyrol, the University College of Teacher Education Vorarlberg and KPH Edith Stein, it prepares young people in Tyrol, Vorarlberg and South Tyrol for a career in secondary school teaching.

The Mozarteum University mourns the passing of Matthias Herbst, Professor Emeritus of Art Education, a dedicated pioneer in art education and a highly esteemed colleague.

Following on from the BioSphere & TechnoSphere 1 conference (Salzburg 2025), the year's conferences aims to place a particular emphasis on issues relating to emotion and the history of emotions. In interdisciplinary research on emotions, emotion and affect are sometimes strictly distinguished conceptually: emotions are understood as cognitive-intentional, communicative, socially shaped and thus historically changeable practices. By contrast, affects are understood as pre-conscious, bodily and instinctive reactions.

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.

The Mozarteum University Salzburg warmly congratulates all graduates who celebrated their achievement at the ceremony on June 16th 2026 in the Solitär.

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.

The Theodor Körner Fund was established in 1953 by the Vienna Chamber of Labour to mark the 80th birthday of Austria’s then Federal President, Theodor Körner. Since its founding, the Fund has supported outstanding achievements across a wide range of disciplines. The awards are presented annually at a ceremony held at the Vienna Chamber of Labour’s Education Centre and are traditionally conferred by the Chair of the Board of Trustees together with the President of Austria.

Elisabeth Gutjahr, former president of the Mozarteum University, was awarded the State Medal of Honor for her work as a driving force for culture and scholarship in Salzburg. She was the first female president of the Mozarteum University, which she led from April 2018 to March 2026. We extend our warmest congratulations!