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)
Wiener Philharmoniker: Jakub Hrusa conducts Kodaly, Bartok, Dvorak
This edition of the exclusive Vienna Phil subscription concerts, conducted by young conducting superstar Jakub Hrusa, features a carefully and beautifully selected programme of Czech and Hungarian music: Hrusa seizes every opportunity to derive additional bursts of energy from the rhythm and tension of the music, savours melodic developments and spurs the Philharmonic on to soloistic high-wire acts. Kodaly’s brilliance, Bartok’s fascinating motor skills, Dvorak’s picturesque fairy-tale sounds, Janacek’s austere grandeur: an opulent and haunting combination” (Die Presse). PROGRAM Kodaly: Dances Of Galanta; Bartok: The Miraculous Mandarin; Dvorak: The Wild Dove; Janacek: Taras Bulba (Rhapsody)
Fazil Say at Mozartwoche
The singular pianist Fazil Say centers this recital during Salzburg’s Mozart Week around Bach’s monumental Goldberg Variations. Although the late Bach is cornerstone of piano music and a milestone for many pianists, Say’s unique performance manages to make even this well-known and often played work a journey of discovery for the audience: “Time and again, the listener has the sudden impression that Fazil Say has just joyfully discovered something completely new in the piece and is letting everyone share in it
with his smiling gaze” (Opera Online). Say follows up the Goldberg Variations wit Mozart’s Fantasy No. 3 and his own piano sonata “Yeni hayat” (New Life), which he composed in 2021 during the pandemic. PROGRAM Bach: Goldberg Variations; Mozart: Fantasy No. 3, K. 397, Piano Sonata No. 11; Say: Piano Sonata “Yeni hayat”
Wiener Philharmoniker: Yannick Nezet-Seguin conducts Beethoven & Strauss
Yannick Nézet-Séguin gives his successful debut at the renowned, highly exclusive subscription concerts of the Wiener Philharmoniker. Joining him is piano legend Yefim Bronfman, who lives up to his reputation: “It was gratifying to hear how, in Beethoven’s Third Piano Concerto, a relaxed, silky-smooth beauty of sound repeatedly gave way to wiry accents of tension” (Der Standard). Bronfman proved an “ideal partner” (Kronenzeitung) for Nézet-Séguin and the Philharmoniker, who were “entirely in harmony with the soloist” (Die Presse). In the second half of the concert, “Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben was given a refreshingly invigorating shake-up” (Der Standard). Program: Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3; Strauss: Ein Heldenleben; Debussy: Images II, III. Poissons d’or
Wiener Philharmoniker: Thielemann conducts Brahms
Continuing their ongoing Brahms cycle, Thielemann and the Wiener Philharmoniker bring a “combination of magnificent sound and deep meaning” (Kurier) to their interpretation of the Fourth Symphony. Gautier Capuçon and Augustin Hadelich “enchanted” (Der Standard) with the Double Concerto for violin and cello. “Thieleman, Capuçon, Hadelich – the very best for Brahms” (Kurier) Program: Brahms: Concerto for Violin and Violoncello in A Minor, op. 102, Hungarian Dance No. 5, arranged for Cello and Violin, Symphony No. 4
125 Years Wiener Symphoniker – The Anniversary Concert
The Wiener Symphoniker celebrate their anniversary at the Wiener Musikverein, the very place where their inaugural concert took place 125 years ago. The concert looks back to the orchestra’s very first program in 1900 with Wagner’s rarely performed Faust Overture. It also celebrates two landmark premieres: In Alban Berg’s Seven Early Songs, “the orchestra provided Hanna-Elisabeth Müller with a soundscape reminiscent of an Art Nouveau painting” (Kurier); Anna Vinnitskaya’s performance of Ravel’s Piano Concerto for the Left Hand was “gripping and full of energy” (Der Standard) The evening concludes with Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony, performed an extraordinary 282 times over the orchestra’s 125-year history. PROGRAM Wagner: Faust Overture; Berg: Sieben Frühe Lieder (Seven Early Songs); Ravel: Piano Concerto for the Left Hand; Mozart: Symphony No. 41
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 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: 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)
Wiener Philharmoniker: Ivan Fischer conducts Mahler & Haydn
Leading the Wiener Philharmoniker in a traditional subscription concert for the very first time, conductor Ivan Fischer presents Haydn’s rarely heard Sturm und Drang symphony “with great sensitivity, encouraging the Philharmonic to play with transparency and delicacy” (Die Presse), before delving into Mahler’s Lied von der Erde with renowned soloists Tanja Ariane Baumgartner and Daniel Behle. PROGRAM Haydn: Symphony No. 52: Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde