With the death of Benjamin Britten on December 4, 1976, the music world lost one of the most important composers of the 20th century. Only shortly before his passing had the Estonian composer Arvo Pärt gained "an impression of the rare purity of his music." Overwhelmed by the "magnitude of such a loss," Pärt wrote his Cantus in Memory of Benjamin Britten in 1977 as a homage to the deceased artist, but also as a meditation on death. The bell tone at the end of the six-minute work fades into a tense silence, out of which the opening bars of Mozart's Requiem emerge. It remained unfinished after his death on December 5, 1791, thus making him a myth. Mozart: lux æterna.

Mozart Requiem on Mozart's death anniversary

Mozarteum Foundation

In an extraordinary double performance, the opera class of Florentine Klepper and Kai Röhrig brings two operas to the stage that were created under the most adverse circumstances – and whose artistic power continues to move and warn us to this day.

The Emperor of Atlantis & L'Hirondelle inattendue

Mozarteum University Salzburg

St. Nicholas is known to be an exemplary, helpful, and kind person. He's polite, has good manners, and is never late... or is he? Together with the cathedral choirboys and girls, we'll get to know St. Nicholas from a different perspective – because this one time, he actually was late! Of course, it wasn't entirely his fault: Servant Rupert and his colleague, Krampus, are also behind it! Why was St. Nicholas late? What did his friends have to do with it? And how did St. Nicholas cleverly solve this problem? This Advent treat for your ears will reveal it! Let's get in the mood for the most wonderful time of the year together!

When Santa Claus came too late...

Kapitelsaal NEU

Engelbert Humperdinck's musical setting of the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, premiered in 1893 , remains one of the most popular and frequently performed operas worldwide. The exciting story of the wicked witch and the world-famous children's songs make the work extremely popular even today. The Salzburg Children's Festival presents this late-Romantic opera in an abridged version, featuring fun interactive opportunities for all ages.

EPSG:4326

Family Concert · Hansel and Gretel

Carmen Würth Forum

University of Salzburg Great Hall of the University

Podcast link: https://youtu.be/4hagYvrYbuM

The Artelize Podcast and Kasper Holten - Pedefining Opera for the modern world

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d36M5Hi6O80

The Artelize Podcast - A legacy of innovation in Opera: Celebrating Marc A. Scorca

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59E40S_EQSY

The Artelize Podcast: A love letter that was never sent

Podcast link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THv6htilWtI

The Artelize Podcast and Adolfo Corrado: Mediterranean flavors, opera and social media

The matinee on the second Sunday of Advent promises a colorful and contemplative start to the Christmas season: Giuseppe Montesano conducts – side by side – musicians from the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg and the highly motivated Salzburg Orchestra Academy.

Christmas Concert Family Concert to listen and sing along

Engelbert Humperdinck's musical setting of the fairy tale Hansel and Gretel, premiered in 1893 , remains one of the most popular and frequently performed operas worldwide. The exciting story of the wicked witch and the world-famous children's songs make the work extremely popular even today. The Salzburg Children's Festival presents this late-Romantic opera in an abridged version, featuring fun interactive opportunities for young and old.

An absolute highlight for Salzburg visitors and locals alike: On selected Tuesdays, the International Mozarteum Foundation invites you to a half-hour organ lunchtime concert in its Great Hall, which, with its exclusive ambience and excellent acoustics, is considered one of the most beautiful concert halls internationally. Since 2010, the magnificent hall has housed the magnificent Propter Homines organ, custom-built for it, which blends visually and acoustically with the surrounding space to create an artistic unity.

Organ at noon

What could be better than magical fairy tales and romantic orchestral sounds at Christmas time? That's right: when "Die Gruaberin", Bavaria's funniest comedian, guides you through the world of fairy tales in her own unmistakable way. Don't miss this world premiere, in which Monika Gruber's cabaret Christmas program merges with symphonic masterpieces! Contemplative fairytale music and humorous, atmospheric stories about the Christmas season await you. We look forward to getting in the mood for the most wonderful time of the year together with you!

Monika Gruber Symphonic - Christmas program

Brass concert

Right in the middle of the action. Listen, hear, participate – music opens up a new world of diverse sounds for even the youngest children. The shared experience of music is the focus. Each program is unique and features different instrument groups. The focus is sometimes on the voice, sometimes on percussion, strings, plucked instruments, or wind instruments. Inclusive concepts ensure that every child – with or without special needs – feels included. Music, visual design, and tactile impressions enable a holistic experience.

GLITTER, BELLS, SOUND OF VOICES In the middle of it all concert

In the 2025/26 season, a long-held dream will come true: For the first time, CAMERATA will give a concert for people with disabilities, because music is for everyone!

Concert FOR EVERYONE – really everyone!

DomQuartier Salzburg

And there was light: By the end of the 16th century at the latest, affect had become an indispensable component of music. Stylus luxurians – "luminous style" – is what music theorist and composer Christoph Bernhard calls this creative device, which was also prevalent in the Baroque period and is characterized by theatricality and intense emotional expression. The Ensemble Astrum researches, experiments, and creates. In their program "And there was light ," the trio of artists led by award-winning Salzburg recorder player Felix Gutschi and Dutch soprano Noëlle Drost dedicate themselves to the stylus luxurians and take the audience on an emotionally profound journey through the Renaissance, Baroque, and early Classical periods.

Museum Concert: Ensemble Astrum And there was

Mozart Residence

Benefit concert - Save the child

Europark Salzburg

Thursday concert 03: Giovanni Antonini & Sabin Tambrea

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year for Christl. She works at the Christkindl Post Office and collects the children's wish letters. Her boss, Toni, is an expert on Christmas traditions. But then it happens: A letter with a special wish has disappeared – and so close to Christmas! Can the wish still be granted? This family concert, with plenty of opportunities to participate, promises a fun way to get into the Christmas spirit.

Family Concert · Christkindl Post Office

With the first three cantatas of his Christmas Oratorio, Johann Sebastian Bach creates a musical picture of the Christmas season full of light, hope, and inner emotion. From the triumphant jubilation of the birth of Christ ("Jauchzet, frohlocket!") to the touching scene of the shepherds and the first encounter with the newborn child – Bach's music brings the miracle of Christmas to life. Magnificently orchestrated and yet deeply felt, these cantatas combine Baroque festivity with spiritual depth – a work that touches the heart and soul and brings the message of Christmas to life with every note.

Johann Sebastian Bach. Christmas Oratorio. Cantatas I-III

Cuban joie de vivre meets festive Christmas flair: Guantanamo-born singer Yinet Rojas, together with Cecilio Perera on guitar, Kiril Stoyanov on percussion and Teodor Ganev on double bass, brings Caribbean musical magic to the Große Universitätsaula.

Buena Vista Sinfónica - Feliz Navidad

Cuban joie de vivre meets festive Christmas flair: Guantanamo-born singer Yinet Rojas, along with Cecilio Perera on guitar, Kiril Stoyanov on percussion, and Teodor Ganev on double bass, brings Caribbean musical magic to the University Hall.

Buena Vista Sinfónica – Feliz Navidad

For four mornings, the Mozart Residence will become a musical museum. In the historic Dance Master's Hall, stories and music blend into a unique experience. As lively melodies and delicate sounds fill the space, images of a bygone era emerge: How did Mozart live, work, and make music here? Charming anecdotes and fascinating insights bring him to life as a person—full of wit, curiosity, and musical genius.

The Sounding Museum: Christmas Sounds

At the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert there was a lovely tradition of the stage being decorated with flowers from the Italian city of San Remo. It is even nicer that the CAMERATA now really makes flowers come to life at its New Year's concerts. Famous floral bouquets such as Mozart's Overture to the opera The Gardener for Love , Tchaikovsky's  Flower Waltz from the ballet The Nutcracker and Johann Strauss's Waltz Roses from the South as well as the Bouquet Quadrille are brought to bloom. The musical floral decoration also includes Lehár's magnificent waltz Wilde Rosen and the immortal melody of Schenkt man sich Rosen in Tirol from Zeller's operetta The Bird Seller in an instrumental version. The Japanese piano "rising star" Hayato Sumino will perform a movement from the piano concerto "Memo Flora" by his compatriot Takashi Yoshimatsu and, together with the Russian violinist and conductor Alexander Sitkovetsky and the CAMERATA musicians, will also allow the immortal melody of the Air Irlandois "The Golden Rose of Summer" to blossom in the setting by the German Romantic composer Ferdinand Ries.

Events in Salzburg this month

Mozart Requiem on Mozart'...

Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

The Emperor of Atlantis &...

Universität Mozarteum Salzburg

When Santa Claus came too...

Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

Family Concert · Hansel a...

Kinderfestspiele

The Artelize Podcast and ...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast - A ...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast: A l...

Artelize

The Artelize Podcast and ...

Artelize

Christmas Concert Family ...

Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

Family Concert · Hansel a...

Philharmonie Salzburg

Organ at noon

Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

Monika Gruber Symphonic -...

Philharmonie Salzburg

Brass concert

Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

GLITTER, BELLS, SOUND OF ...

Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

Concert FOR EVERYONE – re...

Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

Museum Concert: Ensemble ...

Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

Benefit concert - Save th...

Philharmonie Salzburg

Thursday concert 03: Giov...

Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

Family Concert · Christki...

Kinderfestspiele

Johann Sebastian Bach. Ch...

Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

Buena Vista Sinfónica - F...

Philharmonie Salzburg

Buena Vista Sinfónica – F...

Kinderfestspiele

The Sounding Museum: Chri...

Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum

MEMO FLORA New Year's Eve...

Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum