Mozarteum University Salzburg

Mozarteum University Salzburg
Universität Mozarteum Salzburg
	Main building
Type	Public art school
Established	1841; 183 years ago
Vice-Chancellor	Elisabeth Gutjahr
Location	Salzburg municipality, Salzburg State, Austria
Website	moz.ac.at

Mozarteum University Salzburg (German: Universität Mozarteum Salzburg) is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the "Mozarteum" moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Mozarteum Foundation and the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg are the other two. It specializes in music, the dramatic arts, and to a lesser degree graphic arts. Like its affiliates it was established in honour of Salzburg-born musician Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

History and clarification

In 1841, Mozart's widow Constanze Weber Mozart founded the first of the “Mozarteum” entities: the “Cathedral Music Association and Mozarteum,” whose mission was the “refinement of musical taste with regard to sacred music and concerts.” The association operated as predecessor to the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg through the 19th century and was at the heart of the city’s musical life, offering concerts and related activities. It assumed its present name in 1998.

The International Mozarteum Foundation came next, toward the end of the 19th century. It built, and to this day maintains, a sizeable elegant office building on Schwarzstraße to which are attached two concert halls. Construction took place between 1910 and 1914 to a design by Munich architect Richard Berndl (1875–1955). The larger of the two halls is itself known as the “Mozarteum” and is world-renowned; its proper name is simply "Großer Saal." The smaller hall is the "Wiener Saal." Besides maintaining this complex, the foundation runs two museums devoted to Mozart (the composer’s birth house, or "Geburtshaus," and his main Salzburg residence, or "Wohnhaus") as well as an annual January music festival devoted to Mozart's music (Mozart Week).

The more recently rebuilt University^[1] main building is at Mirabellplatz 1.

Organ of the Großer Saal

The original 100-rank grand concert hall organ was built by the Austrian firm Rieger in 1914. A completely new organ in neo-Baroque style was installed in 1970 by E. F. Walcker & Cie. This was dismantled in 2008. In 2010 a new 50-stop tracker action organ was installed by Hermann Eule Orgelbau, Bautzen, and the 1914 façade for the instrument was reconstructed.^[2]

Organ of the Wiener Saal

The pipe organ in the "Wiener Saal" small concert hall, invisibly located in an organ chamber above the stage, was built in 1914 by Rieger with 25 stops and electro-pneumatic action. It was rebuilt in 1941, including a new console and some neobaroque modifications. The organ is in bad condition, but still playable.