City of the month

Salzburg and music

Venues & Orchestras

History

Mozart: child of Salzburg
Mozart was born in Salzburg on 27 January 1756. His father, Leopold Mozart was deputy Choir Master, violinist and composer at the court of the Archbishop Prince of Salzburg. Very quickly recognizing his son’s musical talent, he devoted himself to teaching him and travelled frequently to centres of music to make his infant prodigy famous. At the age of 16, Mozart was officially appointed concert master at the court of Count Colloredo, new Archbishop Prince of Salzburg.
He regularly composed sacred works for the court, as well as symphonies, concertos, chamber music, serenades and divertimentos.
But very soon, Mozart came to feel trapped in this city which had no opera house and did not give public concerts. In addition, he found the restrictions imposed on him a burden. He resigned and went first to Mannheim then Paris in the hope of obtaining a sufficiently well-paid position and leave Salzburg for good.
After an unhappy love affair and the death of his mother in July 1778, he agreed to return to his father. He obtained the post of organist to the Archbishop Prince and a succession of commissions followed. But he was bored. Only the commissioning of Idomeneo for the Munich opera brought him satisfaction and success. It was in Vienna that he was again approached by Count Colloredo but quarrelled with him and thus became an independent musician, composing The Seraglio. In August 1782 he married, which gave him new energy. Mozart then enjoyed a lucky and very productive period. He became friends with Haydn to whom he dedicated the first of his string quartets. The number of concerts greatly increased, Mass in C Minor, Symphony No. 36 The Linz (1783), concertos for piano... Baron Van Swieten introduced Mozart to the music of Bach and Handel. In 1784, he became a freemason. The Marriage of Figaro was a huge success in May 1786.
But success was short-lived - in 1788, Don Giovanni flopped in Vienna (after having been a triumph in Prague). Emperor Joseph II judged the opera “too difficult” for the Viennese audience. Meanwhile, his father’s death, his wife’s illness and the death of his daughter affected Mozart dreadfully. It was in this very difficult period that he wrote the last three symphonies (Nos. 39 to 41) which are amongst his finest. In 1790, Così fan Tutte did not manage to win over the Viennese audience. Joseph II died. Mozart, worn out by this series of misfortunes, nonetheless continued to write. In 1791 he composed his last two operas, La Clemenza di Tito (1791) and The Magic Flute (1791). The composer died on 5 December 1791 in absolute poverty and without having been able to finish his Requiem.
Festivals and numerous venues in Salzburg pay tribute to the greatest classical composer who made the city the “Mozart Capital” (birthplace, main residence, monuments).

Music Festivals
A genuine “World Stage”, for each year music is performed in the city at 364 concerts and numerous festivals.

Salzburger Festspiele : late July to late August
Created in 1920 on the initiative of the poet Hugo von Hoffmannsthal and the composer Richard Strauss, this is the most prestigious festival in the world. It opened on 22 August 1920 with the famous play Jedermann in front of Salzburg cathedral. In 1922 it included performances of Mozart’s operas, then, as its reputation grew, the works of other composers.
In 1960, the Grosses Festspielhaus was officially opened. Thousands of music-lovers from all over the world flock to it. The greatest orchestral conductors (Karl Böhm, Lorin Maazel, Ferenc Fricsay, Herbert Von Karajan…) perform here. We owe the festival’s revival to Gérard Mortier (former artistic director). Since 2002 Peter Ruzicka has been responsible for artistic direction.
The festival offers operas, plays and concerts.

Salzburger Osterfestspiele : early April
Created by Herbert Von Karajan and organized around the Berliner Philharmoniker, the festival pays tribute to German music under the baton of some of the greatest orchestral conductors.

Mozart Serenades : May to December
These serenades have existed since 1986. About 60 concerts with soloists and international chamber music ensembles are performed in the Gothic hall of the former Burghers Hospital.
The high points of these serenades are the chamber music festival in August and the “Mozart - Bach Festival” in the Autumn.
During Advent concerts of popular and classical music are given.
www.mozartserenaden.at

Concerts in the Castle : January to December
Every year Mozart’s music is played in Hohensalzburg Castle and the ceremonial rooms of the Palace.
www.mozartfestival.at

Salzburger Schlosskonzerte : throughout the year several times a week
Since 1954, about 250 concerts of a high standard have been given at Salzburg Castle in the famous marble hall of Mirabell Palace. The programme is mainly devoted to classical and romantic music and to Mozart who once presented his works here.
Barenboïm, Oistrach, Menuhin, Galway, Herrmann Prey and many other world famous artists have performed in this setting.
www.salzburger-schlosskonzerte.at

Landestheater – www.landestheater.at - Programme see calendar.
Classical and modern plays, operas, operettas and musicals.

Puppet Theatre – www.marionetten.at
For 89 years this Baroque style theatre has been presenting classic Mozart pieces performed by puppets to recordings of world famous orchestras and singers.

Mozarteum - www.mozarteum.at - Programme see calendar.
Presents all the classic shows.

Orchestras

«Camerata Academica Salzburg» - www.camerata.at
Founded by Bernhard Paumgartner in 1951, then led by Sándor Végh (1978-1997) and Roger Norrington since 1997, the “Camerata Academica Salzburg” is one of the best chamber ensembles in Europe.
Very attached to the classical Viennese repertoire, it brings together musicians of more than 24 different nationalities and performs regularly at the Mozarteum, the Wiener Konzerthaus, Carnegie Hall, at the Kölner Philharmonie, and in Madrid, Istanbul, Pittsburgh and Paris too. It presents more than 80 concerts a season and often calls on guest conductors, including Franz Welser-Möst, Trevor Pinnock and Neville Marriner, and on some great artists, among them Murray Perahia, Mitsuko Uchida, Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis.

Mozarteum Orchestra - www.mozarteum.at
The orchestra became a professional ensemble and an independent body in 1939. Since 1958 it has been financially supported by the city and province of Salzburg. Since 1945, it has been led by some great orchestral conductors including Karl Böhm, Hans Knappertsbusch, Clemens Krauss, Josef Krips and Paul Hindemith.
Today the orchestra gives concerts almost everywhere in the world and takes part in the major festivals.

Mozarteum : from September to June and late January during “Mozart Week”
Concerts organized by the Mozarteum international foundation, an association founded in 1880 by the citizens of the town. The aim of this organization is to promote knowledge of Mozart’s life and work.
Created in 1956 on the occasion of the bicentenary of the composer’s death, the Mozartwoche is the only major Salzburg festival devoted almost entirely to his work. This festival is organized each year around prestigious performers such as Gardiner conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker, Gidon Kremer, Trevor Pinnock, Nikolaus Harnoncourt…

The present town, whose name refers to the nearby salt mines, developed around a monastery built in the late 7th century by Saint Rupert, Bishop of Worms. Elevated to an Archbishopric in 798, Salzburg then lived under the rule of Archbishop Princes, who transformed the town into an artistic and cultural centre as well as a religious one. The building of Hohensalzburg Castle (1077) symbolized Episcopal power and new solid stone fortifications were constructed.

Wealthy from its production of salt, from the 14th century onwards, Salzburg constructed a number of monuments. Archbishop Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau transformed the city, creating spacious perspectives and constructing palaces (16th century). The Baroque style was adopted.

The 17th and 18th centuries saw the founding of the University of Salzburg (1622), the flourishing of the Enlightenment and the birth of Mozart (1756) whose worldwide renown reflected on the town.

The archbishopric was secularized in 1802 and Salzburg was given first to Austria (1805), then to Bavaria (1809) before becoming Austrian again in 1816 after the Napoleonic Wars.

In 1867 the Austro-Hungarian monarchy (which collapsed after the First World War) was established in Austria.

In 1938, the Austrian Republic (founded in 1918) fell victim to the political aggression of Hitler. After the war, the country declared itself an independent state, but continued to be occupied for ten years by the United States, France, Great Britain and the Soviet Union. Salzburg then became a major city for international tourism.

In 1955, Austria regained its sovereignty and joined the United Nations of which it has been one of the official seats since 1979. The country joined the European Union on 1 January 1995 and Salzburg’s Historic Centre was voted a Unesco World Cultural and Natural Heritage site in 1996.

Architecture

Some Highlights

In the surrounding area

The wealth of historic buildings in Salzburg is due to the fact that the bishop princes, who held secular and religious power over the country, devoted their entire fortune to embellishing it. Famous artists and builders of different periods left their mark on the image of the town with some genuine masterpieces of ceremonial architecture.

Roman Era
What to see: Franciscan church founded in the 8th century, numerous fountains …

Gothic and Flamboyant Gothic Style
What to see: the church in Sebastianstrasse, Nonnberg convent, windows of Saint Blaise and the narrow streets around the Judengasse.
During the reign of Maximilian I the best German artists, like Dürer and Altdorfer, developed the flamboyant Gothic style, heralding the spirit of the Renaissance.

Baroque Style
The Hapsburgs gave some great artists the opportunity to create an original Baroque architectural style. The Baroque style appeared for the first time in Salzburg in the 16th century, with examples by two leading architects, Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach and Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt.
What to see: the University Cathedral Church (built by Fischer von Erlach), Mirabell Palace, Puppet Theatre…

Rococo Style
All subtlety and detail (trompe l'œil paintings, imitation marble and wood carvings imitating bronze, etc), it brought added sophistication to the Baroque style.
What to see: cast iron shop signs in the old town

MIRABELL PALACE
Constructed in 1606 in the centre of the town by the Archbishop of Salzburg, Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau, for his mistress, it was refurbished in 1721 by Johann Lukas von Hildebrandt. Since its destruction by fire in 1818, only the marble hall and staircase remain untouched. Today the renovated mansion houses Salzburg Town Hall.

HOHENSALZBURG CASTLE
Constructed in 1077 by Archbishop Gebhard and enlarged by Archbishop Leonhard von Keutschach (1495-1519), it is the largest completely preserved mediaeval fortress in Central Europe. After serving as the residence of the Archbishops of Salzburg, it was then used as a barracks, then as a prison. Since 1892, access to it has been via a funicular railway departing from Festungsgasse.
What to see: princely rooms dating from the Middle Ages, castle museum, panoramic viewpoint over the town.

CATHEDRALE
Constructed under Virgil (774 AD) then burnt down in 1598, in 1614 Markus Sittikus took up the plans undertaken by Santino Solari and continued the unfinished work. It was consecrated in 1628 by the Archbishop Prince Paris Lochon.
What to see: marble façade and floor, statues of St Virgil and St Rupert (patron saints of the province), altar paintings and frescoes on the cupola.

ABBEY, CEMETERY AND SAINT PETER’S CATACOMB
The abbey and Benedictine monastery were founded in 700 AD by St Rupert.
What to see: Original Romanesque chancel later altered to the Baroque style, tombs of notabilities, catacombs, altar paintings, …

St. SEBASTIAN CHURCH AND CEMETERY
A Gothic building erected from 1505 to 1512. What to see in the cemetery: mausoleum of Wolf Dietrich, the Mozart family tomb and the tomb of the doctor Theophrastus Paracelsus (1493-1541)

DREIFALTIGKEITSKIRCHE - Makartplatz
This church was the first architectural design of the master of the Baroque style, Fischer von Erlach.

COLLEGIATE CHURCH: KOLLEGIENKIRCHE
Built in 1707 by Fischer von Erlach, this is the largest Baroque church in Salzburg.

GETREIDEGASSE
In the heart of the shopping district, its shop signs hint at the town’s prosperous commercial past.
What to see: many colourful cast iron shop signs, partly gilded, dating from the 16th to 19th centuries, historic frontages, arcaded courtyards …

PARKS AND GARDENS

HELLBRUNN CASTLE GROUNDS
Constructed between 1613 and 1619 by the architect Santino Solari, the castle was built in the style of the great Roman villas of the Renaissance.
What to see: Hydraulically powered miniature moving scenes, man-made grottoes, Mechanical Miniature Puppet Theatre depicting a bustling market place and 18th century trades.

MIRABELL GARDENS (laid out in the 18th century)
What to see: Flowerbeds bordered by statues, the house that Archbishop Wolf Dietrich had built for his mistress.

AROUND AND ABOUT

BADGASTEIN
Austria’s most famous spa town. Things to do: Kaiser-Wilhelm walk
What to see: spectacular Tauern railway tunnel, great houses visited by the Empress Sissi…

KRIMML
What to see: the most beautiful and highest waterfall in Central Europe (a drop of 380 m over three levels)

HALLEIN
Things to do: visit the salt mine, worked until 1989

GROSSGLOCKNER ROAD (from Salzburg to Kärnten)
This road through an area of outstanding natural beauty open to traffic from May to November offers panoramic views of magnificent mountain landscapes. Constructed between 1930 and 1935 the road follows the path of a trade route that linked Germany to Italy in the Middle Ages.
What to see: Hohe Tauern national park, Pasterze glacier…

DORFGASTEIN
A delightful village at the heart of the Autumn harvest festivities with a market held to celebrate the transhumance festival (when livestock are moved from the mountains to the valleys for the winter).

Food & Drink

Festivals, Traditional customs

The Austrian cuisine is rich in cream and bacon, it’s a perfect mix of central Europe cuisines.

Starters

Griessnockerl, Frittaten or Leberknöde Suppe :
a soup containing semolina dumplings, small strips of savoury pancake or Knödel of liver. The one and only true Austrian starter

Main Dishes

Blutwurstauflauf mit Zwiebelsauce : Black pudding soufflé with an onion sauce
Alt-Salzburger Hochzeitssuppe

Desserts

Kaiserschmarren : a kind of sweet omelette cut into strips, accompanied by a compote or fruit in syrup
Marillen/Zwetschken Knödel : an apricot (or plum) wrapped in pastry and rolled in breadcrumbs.
Germknödel : yeasted pastry with plum jam, sprinkled with ground poppy seeds.
Salzburger Nockerln: a very creamy soufflé whose shape is reminiscent of the surrounding mountains !

Drinks

Wines
White : Grüner Veltliner (dry):, Müller Thurgau et Welschriesling (medium-dry), Muskat Ottonel (fruity).
Red wine : Blauer Portugieser (sweet), Blaufränkisch
Schilcher (fruity)

Desserts' wine :
Spätlese (sweet), Eiswein (smooth and sweet)
Glühwein (warm spiced wine (cloves, cinnamon, orange peel)
Schnaps

Beers

Gösser, Schwechater, Zipfer, Puntigamer

5 / 6 January: Sternsinger (festival of the Three Wise Men).

End January: Mozartwoche

February: Carnivals (parades, festivals and fancy dress balls)

March / April: Ostern (Easter), one of the biggest religious festivals (coloured eggs, decoration of tombs, prayers in the fields). The Salzburger Osterfestspiele takes place during the same period.

1 May: Maibaum (may tree): erection of a greasy maypole and festival

July / August: Salzburger Festspiele

15 August: Assumption (processions)

24 August: Saint Bartholomew’s Day. Cross border annual pilgrimage. Starting from Salzburg, the pilgrims cross the Steinernes Meer mountain to reach the banks of Lake Köninssee, in Bavaria.

26 October: National Day

Jazz Autumn - October - November
Concerts, films, exhibitions
www.viennaentertainment.com

December: Events during Advent. Markets take over the town and the houses are decorated with wreaths and candles.

5 / 6 December: Saint Nicholas’ procession

31 December to February: Ball dance season.

Things to Do

Hotels

Restaurants

MOZART’S BIRTHPLACE (MozartsGegursthaus)
www.mozarteum.at/seiten/museset.htm
The house where Mozart was born in 1756 is a real place of pilgrimage. Now converted to a museum, it houses family portraits, the violin and harpsichord Mozart played as a child, letters from his father, a few scores and an exhibition of stage sets of his operas. One room is also used for concerts.

CATHEDRAL MUSEUM
www.kirchen.net/dommuseum
Founded in 1974 What to see: Cathedral treasure-house, 19th century objects, collection of 17th and 18th century Rarities.

FORTRESS MUSEUM (Carolino Augusteum)
www.smca.at/haupthaus.html
Founded in 1834, the building was destroyed during the Second World War and rebuilt in 1967.
What to see: collection of prehistoric and Roman objects, Gothic and Baroque works, collection of musical instruments, weapons and instruments of torture

PUPPET MUSEUM (Festung Hohensalzburg)
What to see: objects from many countries, famous puppets from the puppet theatre

BAROQUE MUSEUM (Barockmuseum)
www.barockmuseum.at
Founded by Kurt Rossacher, this museum presents a comprehensive range of European Baroque art from the 17th and 18th centuries.

MUSEUM OF MODERN ART (Rupertinum)
www.rupertinum.at
A student hostel until 1974, the Rupertinum became the museum of modern art in 1983.

HOTEL BRISTOL (5*)
Tel.: +43 662 87 35 57 - Fax.: +43 662 87 35 57
www.bristol-salzburg.at
Close to the Mirabell gardens, this hotel offers a wonderful view of the Fortress. Gourmet Restaurant.

SHERATON SALZBURG (5*)
Tel : +43 662 88 99 90 - Fax: +43 662 88 17 76
www.sheraton.at
Located behind the Mozarteum the Mirabell gardens are the park of this hotel.

SCHLOSS MONCHSTEIN (5*)
Tel : +43 662 84 85 55 - Fax: +43 662 84 85 59
www.monchstein.at
A Hotel- castle from the 16th Century located in the city’s heart on the top of Monchstein. Belongs to « Relais et Châteaux ».

GOLDENER HIRSCH (5*)
Tel : +43 662 80 84 - Fax: +43 662 84 33 49
www.goldenerhirsch.com
One of the best hotel of the city, located in the old Salzburg.

BEI BRUNO
Makartpl. - Tel : +43 662 87 84 17
Gourmet Restaurant specialised in fish. Try the Steinpilze (mushrooms) and the potatoes cocotte.

K + KAM WAAGPLATZ
Waagpl. 2 - Tel :+43 662 84 21 56
Warm and traditional atmosphere. Typical Austrian cuisine.

RUE PETER DE STIFTSKELLER
Peter Bezirk 4 – Tel : +43 662 84 84 81
Typical Austrian decoration. Try the Klostertopf (soup), fishs, Salzburger Nockerl (meatballs).

ALT SALZBURG
B urgerpitalgasse 2 – Tel : +43 662 84 14 76
Typical Austrian cuisine.

GOLDENER HIRSCH
Getreidegasse 37 - Tel : +43 662 80 84
Chic and luxury restaurant.