News

On 23 June, the Opera Studies Department at the Mozarteum University Salzburg will celebrate the world premiere of Agamemnon (Musical Director: Gernot Sahler; Director: Alexander von Pfeil). The commissioned work was created by the young Slovenian composer Vid Ožbolt, who is currently studying composition with Sarah Nemtsov. In a conversation with the composer and with set and costume designer Laura Trilsam, a student in the Department of Scenography, we take a look behind the scenes and at the creative process behind the production.

Making music together remotely—in real time, across an entire continent: this exciting EU-funded initiative to create a “European Symphony” aims to bring digital technology and classical music together in new ways. Musicians in 12 different locations will use innovative technology to overcome physical distances and perform a joint concert for symphony orchestra and large chorus. Compositions can be submitted until 31 July 2026. The Mozarteum University is also taking part.

The Ö1 Talentebörse Composition Prize in the amount of 10,000 euros is awarded by Ö1 and the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) and will be announced for the eleventh time in 2026. The composition prize is a composition commission for a chamber music work, which may also include electronics.

Prizes for an outstanding Master's thesis 2023/24 have been awarded to Tim Anselm Gebel, Carlos Goikoetxea Cancho and Andreas Johannes Neubacher - congratulations!

Composer Noh SeungJu, who was born in Seoul (South Korea) and is  currently resident in Salzburg, has been awarded the 2025 Music Grant by the State of Salzburg. Congratulations!

The Theodor Körner Fund supports young scientists and artists with the Theodor Körner Sponsorship Award, which is endowed with 5,000 euros. It is awarded for outstanding projects, provides direct support to the winners and is at their free disposal. Two Theodor Körner Prizes go to graduates of the Mozarteum: musician Alexander Bauer and writer Anna-Maria Stadler. Congratulations!

Marios Joannou Elia, a graduate of Adriana Hölszky's composition class in 2005, was honoured with the ‘Excellency Award and the Gold Medal of the Republic of Cyprus’.

The ‘With Dylan on the Road’ travel grant was conceived for the first time in 2022, enabling artistic teams to travel in the footsteps of Bob Dylan and develop projects. The trips took them to European countries as well as (North and South) American and African countries and brought back a variety of artistic works, from performance to song, from graphic work to theatre pieces, from video installations to artistically sophisticated documentation. With ‘With Dylan on the Road 2’, the Asian region (Japan, Korea, but also Turkey) is now also included in the above-mentioned geographical area, or rather opened up by the ten new artistic-scientific projects.

His ‘unconditional devotion and love’ for music, as his colleague Howard Arman aptly put it, will always be remembered and continue to inspire the Mozarteum University. Laurence Traiger passed away on 18 October 2024 at the age of 68.

After their first concert at the end of May, musical director Kai Röhrig and flautist Leona Rajakowitsch, founding members of the newly formed ensemble for contemporary music at the Mozarteum University, and composer Anna Skladannaya reflect on the potential and significance of new music - with a view to more to come.

On 24 May, "Doppler 15" will be the first concert by the newly formed ensemble for new music at Solitär. Kai Röhrig, the ensemble's musical director, flautist Leona Rajakowitsch and composer Anna Skladannaya (both students and founding members of the ensemble) talk about the genesis, current projects, challenges and the hunt for new, unheard-of soundscapes.