The Salzburg Festival brings Mozart’s monumental, unfinished Great Mass in C minor to St. Peter’s Abbey Church – the beautiful church for which the piece was composed and where it was probably also premiered. Gianluca Capuano conducts the orchestra Les Musiciens du Prince – Monaco and the vocal ensemble Il Canto di Orfeo. Mélissa Petit and Patricia Nolz are an “outstanding female duo” (Die Presse): Pétit’s coloraturas “sparkle like precious gems” and Nolz’s “darkly-shaded, slender soprano blends beautifully” (Salzburger Nachrichten)
Salzburg Festival 2025: Oedipus Rex
Under Esa-Pekka Salonen, the Wiener Philharmoniker perform Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex with explosive power. The stellar cast includes Allan Clayton, Marina Viotti, Michael Volle and Academy Award winner Christoph Waltz, who “performs this speaking role with subtle restraint” (BR Klassik). The concert also features Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique “in a performance where everything is just right” (Der Standard). PROGRAM Stravinsky: Oedipus Rex; Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
Salzburg Festival 2025: Mozart Matinee with Kyohei Sorita
“It’s all there in this Mozart adventure” (Kronenzeitung): Making his debut at the Salzburg Festival, Japanese pianist and conductor Kyohei Sorita (“a breath of fresh air” – Drehpunktkultur) performs two important piano concertos by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart alongside the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg as part of the traditional Mozart
Matinees in the Great Hall of the Mozarteum Foundation. PROGRAM: Symphony in G major K. 318, Piano concerto in E-flat major K. 271 ‘Jeunehomme’, Overture from Le nozze di Figaro K. 492; Piano concerto in D major K. 537 ‘Coronation’; Alla Turca (Allegretto) from the Piano Sonata in A, K. 331 (encore)
Salzburg Festival 2025: Mozart Matinee with Gonzalez-Monjas
The program of this Mozart Matinee with Roberto González-Monjas highlights Mozart’s vocal music including arias and cantatas. On this regard, an highlight is the Die Maurerfreude — Cantata for tenor, male choir and orchestra K. 471 performed by Bogdan Volkov and the Bachchor Salzburg together with the attempted reconstruction of the original version of the Maurerische Trauermusik. Bass Manuel Winckhler joins Bogdan Volkov as a soloist are then performing arias from Don Giovanni, Die Zauberflöte and La clemenza di Tito. To conclude, the Mozarteum Orchestra delivers a splendid performance of Symphony in E-flat major K. 543.
Salzburg Festival 2025: Andris Nelsons conducts Mahler & Shostakovich
Years into their joint Mahler symphony cycle, Andris Nelsons has proven time and time again that he is at home with Mahler at the podium of the Wiener Philharmoniker: “Under Andris Nelsons, the Tenth Symphony becomes an event.” (Salzburger Nachrichten). Symphonies Nos. 2-7 & 9 of this cycle are also available. “Nelsons is completely in his element” (BR Klassik) “Rich in colour and dynamics, and full of gripping suspense” (Kurier) PROGRAM: Mahler- Adagio from the Symphony No. 10; Shostakovich: Symphony No. 10
Salzburg Festival 2021: Thomas Zehetmair plays Bach
In the Great Hall of the Mozarteum, the Austrian violinist creates one of the most impressive concert dates of the Salzburg Festival 2021 with his solo concert. Zehetmair performs Johann Sebastian Bach’s six-part composition in a very profound way, making the epochal work with its many levels also a very personal, artistic statement. This makes the concert an overwhelming experience of over two hours. “A Zen master makes Bach shine. Thomas Zehetmair handles the work for solo violin uncompromisingly well.” (Salzburger Nachrichten) PROGRAM Bach: The complete Sonatas and Partitas
Salzburg Festival 2021: Gardiner conducts Mendelssohn Bartholdy
Sir John Eliot Gardiner and his Monteverdi Choir have a long-standing artistic partnership with the Salzburg Festival. With music by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy to Goethe’s “Walpurgis Night” and Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, Gardiner once again turns his attention to romantic music and confronts two great literary texts: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s ballad “The First Walpurgis Night” inspired the composer’s vivid depiction of the conflict between an ancient pagan community and the new aspirations of Christianisation, between faith and superstition on both sides. For Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” to the play of the same name by William Shakespeare the Monteverdi Choir is joined by seven top-class singers. PROGRAM: Mendelssohn Bartholdy: “Die erste Walpurgisnacht”; “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”
Salzburg Festival 2021: Blomstedt conducts Honegger & Brahms
Now in his nineties, Herbert Blomstedt, former conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, is still a powerful interpreter of the symphonic repertoire. His programme with the Vienna Philharmonic is straightforward: it begins with Honegger’s brilliant Third Symphony and ends with Brahms’ Fourth. The eminent maestro, one of the orchestra’s favourites since his debut at the 2011 Salzburg Mozart Week, continues to enchant audiences with his enormous presence, verve and artistic drive. “At the end, standing ovations and boundless cheers.” (br-klassik.de) PROGRAM Honegger: Symphony No. 3 “Liturgique”; Brahms: Symphony No. 4
Salzburg Festival 2021: Evgeny Kissin
Evgeny Kissin appeared in Salzburg in 2021 with compositions of the late Romantic and classical modern periods in the Großes Festspielhaus. Since his debut in 1987, the pianist has been a welcome guest at this festival, impressing with the maturity and brilliance of his playing. Kissin loves the dialogue with the audience and the direct power of the concert moment. PROGRAM Chopin: Scherzo Nos 1 & 2, Polonaise in A flat major, Op. 53 “Héroïque”, Nocturne in B major, Op. 62/1, Impromptu Nos 1-3; Berg: Piano Sonata, Op. 1; Khrennikov: Three pieces for piano, Op. 5: No. 3 Dance, Five pieces for piano, Op. 2; Gershwin: Three Preludes for Piano; Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Songs Without Words, Op. 38: No. 6 Duetto
Salzburg Festival 2021: Currentzis conducts Mozart
The concerts of Greek-Russian conductor Teodor Currentzis and his musicAeterna orchestra are often more of an art performance and sacred act than just the brilliant interpretation of a musical work and are among the highlights in classical musical life. The focus of the concert by Teodor Currentzis and musicAeterna at the Salzburg Festival 2021 was on two works – the symphonies K 550 and K 551, W.A. Mozart’s final contributions to the premier class of orchestral music. “It was just a stirring concert.” (Süddeutsche Zeitung) PROGRAM: Mozart: “Alzai le flebili voci al signor” Cantata K. 469; Symphony K. 550, Maurerische Trauermusik, Symphony K. 551 “Jupiter”, Aria “Non mi dir” from Don Giovanni