In 2024, the Platform on Politics of the Past was established at the Mozarteum University Salzburg. As a public platform, its purpose is to provide a forum for discussing questions and presenting research findings relating to the historical political positioning and decisions of the Mozarteum University. All university members are welcome to become involved and support its work.
Save the date: The Mozarteum University cordially invites you to experience Lisa Batiashvili (violin) and Claudio Martínez Mehner (piano) in person during a two-day masterclass. We are delighted to welcome these two outstanding musicians to the Mozarteum.
We warmly congratulate the winners of the first Vindobona Song Competition at the Mozarteum University, which took place from 15 to 17 December 2025. In addition to Quang Nguyen, a student of Bernd Valentin and Pauliina Tukiainen, who received the first prize of €6,000, Miriam Bitschnau was awarded the second prize of €3,000 and Gabija Utaraitė and Alice Dreier shared the third prize of €1,500. The prize of €2,000 for the most convincing student piano performance went to Miquel Esquinas.
2025 offers countless opportunities to look back on the past 80 years. The Second World War ended in Europe on 8 May 1945 with “Liberation Day,” marked by Germany’s unconditional surrender and the final collapse of the Nazi regime. In the months leading up to this, Allied forces had liberated the concentration camps.
The interdisciplinary teacher training programmes in art & design and technology & design have not only been given new names, but also a new focus in terms of content.
The Mozarteum University Salzburg is extremely happy and relieved about the release of its honorary professor Maria Kalesnikava and 122 other political prisoners, including Nobel Peace Prize winner and founder of the human rights organisation Viasna, Ales Bjaljazki, from detention in Belarus. Thanks to careful mediation by the USA, Kalesnikava was released from prison on Saturday, 13 October 2025 after almost five years of incarceration in apalling and inhumane conditions.
Leonor Dill received an Award of Excellence for her dissertation entitled ‘Schubert's Metamorphoses. C.G. Jung's Archetype Theory as a Basis for Musical Analysis – An Investigation of the Creative Process’. Congratulations!
Starting in autumn 2026, the Mozarteum University will offer new teacher training programmes in music and instrumental music. Andreas Bernhofer, professor of music education, provides an overview of the new content, perspectives and opportunities for students.
26th January 2026 sees the premiere of Benjamin Britten’s The Rape of Lucretia in the Max Schlereth Saal at the Mozarteum University. We spoke to the production team, Lena Matterne and Theresa Staindl, to learn more about their views on female identity, self-determination and social conscience.
The Mozarteum University Salzburg warmly congratulates all graduates who celebrated their achievement at the ceremony on 9 December 2025 in the Solitär.
Singing brings people together – even online. In the ERASMUS+ research project ‘Choir@Home’, the Mozarteum University Salzburg (Prof. Dr. Heike Henning), in collaboration with the University of Liechtenstein (Dr. Janine Hacker) and Anhalt University of Applied Sciences (Prof. Dr. Alexander Carôt), investigated how singing together can take place in virtual spaces and be reimagined.
The Boy Gobert Prize for young actors in the Hamburg theatre scene, worth €10,000, has been awarded to Payam Yazdani, a 2025 graduate of the Mozarteum University’s Thomas Bernhard Institute. We congratulate him on his success!
Violence against women (and minorities) is omnipresent, firmly anchored in our patriarchal structures, and is one of the most widespread human rights violations. In order to increase the visibility of the numerous initiatives of the United Nations and other organisations in relation to this topic, the UN campaign ‘Orange the World’ (OTW) introduced a uniform, strong subject colour. In keeping with its mission as an educational institution with social responsibility, the Mozarteum University is also taking part in ‘Orange the World’ during the ‘16 days against gender-based violence’ (25 November - 10 December).
Florentine Klepper and Kai Röhrig discuss their upcoming production of the two one-act operas Der Kaiser von Atlantis and L'Hirondelle inattendue, which will premiere on 6 December in the Max Schlereth Saal.
On 8 November 2025, at the closing dinner of the AEC Conference in the Carabinierisaal of the Residenz Salzburg – a gathering that brought together delegates from more than 120 music universities across Europe and beyond – the Mozarteum University awarded honorary doctorates to Dame Janet Ritterman and Professor Michael Worton. This marks only the second time in the university’s history that this distinction has been conferred: after Nikolaus Harnoncourt received the first honorary doctorate in 2008, it has now been bestowed on two individuals who have played a decisive role in shaping the Mozarteum’s research profile.
This year's RCM Award Ceremony took place on 11 November 2025 in the Faistauer Hall. Senate Chair Christoph Lepschy opened the event and emphasised the guiding principle of the Research Competition Mozarteum: openness to all disciplines, fields of study, career levels and alumni. Since 2019, this internal research funding instrument has contributed to establishing a diverse research culture at the university.
Yvonne Wasserloos, university professor of musicology, has been awarded the International Grand Prize for Science & Research (worth €12,000) by the Cultural Fund of the City of Salzburg for her outstanding achievements as a researcher, including her work on ‘Music and Power – Dimension and Context’ and her research on the social, political and cultural significance of music – especially in connection with democracy and the culture of remembrance. Congratulations!
Cristina Giurgea, alumna of the Master's programme in Applied Theatre at the Mozarteum University’s Thomas Bernhard Institute, has received a €12,000 grant – awarded annually by the State of Salzburg in the field of Performing Arts – to support her work at the intersection of research theatre and performance art in Salzburg. Congratulations!
It is with great regret that we announce the passing of Dr. Thomas Daniel Schlee, a former member of the University Council, on 10th November 2025. His unexpected death, at the age of 68, has left us deeply saddened. We extend our heartfelt sympathies to all those who were close to him.
