Mozart Week Salzburg is the world’s leading festival dedicated to Mozart, bringing together the finest Mozartians every January in the city of his birth.
Mozart & ‘Mozarts’ – this is the motto around which the 2027 Mozart Week Festival revolves. It unites Wolfgang Amadé with kindred composers who were acclaimed in their own time as ‘other Mozarts’. Mozart’s reputation cast such a spell that other composers were keen to be awarded the same accolade and earn this seal of approval in the eyes of the world. Anyone who was compared with Mozart must be altogether exceptional. The packed concert programme of the 2027 Mozart Week Festival features numerous rarely heard works by these ‘other Mozarts’ and invites our audiences to listen in on these exciting conversations between Mozart and the ‘other Mozarts’, who include Juan Crisóstomo de Arriaga (1806–26), who was described as the “Spanish Mozart”; Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (1745–99), the “Mozart of the Caribbean”; Joseph Martin Kraus (1756–92), the “Swedish Mozart”; François Devienne (1759–1803), the “French Mozart”; and Josef Mysliveček (1737–81), the “Bohemian Mozart”. Mozart himself even knew some of these composers in person: the Bohemian musician Josef Mysliveček, for example, was friendly with him for a time and even influenced him. Other composers were just as talented and moved in similar circles to Mozart or else their paths occasionally crossed. In some cases it is no longer possible to say with any certainty who influenced whom. But Mozart became a fixed star and the yardstick by which an entire generation was judged.
Alongside our main focus of Mozart & ‘Mozarts’ we shall also be presenting a semi-staged performance of Così fan tutte with the Salzburg Camerata, which in 2027 is celebrating its 75th anniversary. A world-class team of singers includes Thomas Hampson and Kathryn Lewek. Thematically related to this is Die Schule der Liebenden (The School of Lovers), an innovative reinterpretation of Così fan tutte that will be performed in association with the Mozarteum University. Here the music of Mozart and his contemporaries will be brought face to face with the prospects and realities of the lives of young people today.
The bicentenary of the death of another great musician, Ludwig van Beethoven, will also be marked by a performance of his monumental Ninth Symphony. Other events that round out the programme of the 2027 Mozart Week Festival include marionette shows, plays, films with live music, a Mozart Crime Café, readings, artists’ interviews, family concerts and much more besides. The orchestras and soloists are all hand-picked and include regular visitors such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Adam Fischer, Igor Levit, the Chamber Orchestra of Basel with Kristian Bezuidenhout, Magdalena Kožená and Daniel Ottensamer. We shall also be welcoming for the first time the Potsdam Chamber Academy with François Leleux, the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine with Oksana Lyniv, Christoph Sietzen, Raphaela Gromes, Kian Soltani, Maximilian Kromer and the Cuarteto Quiroga with Veronika Hagen. Three debuts in particular stand out in 2027: Víkingur Ólafsson, Augustin Hadelich and Alexandra Dovgan.
Set in Salzburg, Austria, Mozart’s birthplace, Mozartwoche brings music to the city’s historic venues and concert halls. It is a chance to experience Mozart’s music in the very place where his story began.
By train: Salzburg Hauptbahnhof is the city’s main railway station, with regular connections to major Austrian and European cities.
By air: Salzburg Airport is the closest airport to the festival and is located around 6 km from the city centre.
Salzburg offers a wide choice of hotels, guesthouses and apartments, from central luxury properties to smaller independent accommodation. Demand is high during Mozart Week, so early booking is strongly recommended.
The festival takes place indoors in some of Salzburg’s most distinguished concert venues, including the Stiftung Mozarteum’s Great Hall, the Haus für Mozart and the Great Festival Hall, with events also on other stages in Salzburg such as the Salzburg Marionette Theatre or OVAL - Die Bühne im Europark.
Most venues are in or close to the historic centre and can be reached on foot; local buses and taxis are also readily available.
Salzburg has a strong café and restaurant culture, and visitors generally eat in the city rather than relying on festival catering. Festival venues offer bars and light refreshments before performances and during intervals. As Mozart Week is a busy period, advance reservations are recommended for popular restaurants, particularly for dinner. Local specialities worth trying include Salzburger Nockerl and Mozartkugeln.
The two Mozart Museums are essential: Mozart’s Birthplace in Getreidegasse and Mozart’s Residence on Makartplatz. Other highlights include Salzburg’s UNESCO-listed Old Town, Mirabell Palace and Gardens, Salzburg Cathedral and Hohensalzburg Fortress, which rises above the city and offers spectacular views. January is also a good time to experience Salzburg’s atmospheric winter landscape.
