The recording will be made available to international broadcasters through the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
These two historical instruments offer an unusually direct insight into Mozart’s musical world. The concert violin was made by the luthier Pietro Antonio Dalla Costa of Treviso in 1764, whilst the children’s violin was crafted by the Austrian luthier Andreas Ferdinand Mayr around 1746. Both instruments were once owned by Mozart and will be displayed and played during the tour’s four concerts in Rome.
“This year we celebrate the 270th anniversary of Mozart’s birth: a special opportunity to bring his unique, enduring and indeed profoundly modern legacy to life and make it felt far beyond his birthplace, Salzburg. It is not only Mozart’s music that moves us deeply. It is his life, his compassion for others, his deeply human qualities. The first-ever opportunity to see and hear two original instruments that belonged to W. A. Mozart in Rome offers a chance to experience his work and his spirit in a very special way."
Johannes Honsig-Erlenburg
President of the International Mozarteum Foundation
A particular highlight of the tour is the performance on 2 September in the Vatican Gardens. More than 250 years after Mozart’s first trip to Italy, his music returns in a special way to a place he himself visited as a fourteen-year-old.
This year’s tour theme, ‘L’Amenità del loco?’ – roughly translated as ‘the charm and beauty of a place’ – focuses on the significance of places in Mozart’s life and work. ‘Mozart’s gardens’ are not to be understood merely as actual gardens, but as a symbol of those spaces where encounters, nature, art and creative inspiration come together.
The Bella Musica chamber ensemble, founded in 2017 as part of the Pre-College programme at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, brings together talented young musicians aged between 10 and 22. Under the artistic direction of Stefan David Hummel, the musicians rehearse works by Wolfgang Amadé Mozart and other composers at the annual orchestra camp and subsequently perform them on concert tours along the European Mozart Routes. In 2026, the project was included in the Atlas of Good Teaching by the Austrian Federal Ministry.
“As a music educator, I am particularly moved by the way in which making music together here creates spaces for listening, understanding and responsibility. Within this community, one can experience how music brings people together fosters openness, peaceful coexistence and mutual respect.”
Constanze Wimmer
Rector, Mozarteum University Salzburg
“The Bella Musica Pre-College Ensemble epitomises the educational mission of the Mozarteum University in Salzburg: here, artistic skill is combined with a genuine commitment to teaching. Through the collaborative rehearsal process, the students develop not only their musical skills but also their ability to work in a team, self-organisation and communicative sensitivity – key skills for their artistic and personal futures. The award of the title ‘Rotary Ambassador 2025’ and inclusion in the Austrian Federal Ministry’s ‘Atlas of Good Teaching'’ 2026 serve as a particular testament to this quality.”
Helmut Schaumberger
Vice Rector for Academic Affairs, Mozarteum University Salzburg
“On the occasion of the 270th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadé Mozart’s birth, it is particularly important to me to bring his artistic legacy to life in all its immediate expressiveness and to carry it forward into the future. My long-standing collaboration with the Bella Musica ensemble is a prime example of this commitment. The Bella Musica Tour 2026, in particular the planned concert at the Vatican featuring the original Mozart violins, offers an exceptionally direct insight into Mozart’s musical world. In this unique setting, the ensemble makes a striking artistic statement – very much in keeping with the tradition that Mozart himself established with his performance at the Vatican in 1770."
Linus Klumpner
CEO International Mozarteum Foundation & Director of the Salzburg Mozart Museums
