After five years of "Mozart Pure," the 2024 Mozartweek heralds a new era. Mozart's works remain the radiant focus of the festival and continue to be the soul and inspiration of this most important Mozart festival, but in the coming years we will be joined by various other great composers who, through their work, will approach the life and works of the incomparable genius that Mozart undeniably was from a number of other fascinating perspectives.
In 2024, Antonio Salieri takes the stage at Mozartweek for the first time. As the festival's intendant, Rolando Villazón, says: "None of Mozart's contemporaries are mentioned in the same breath as often as Salieri, and that is why he is our first choice when it comes to expanding our 'Mozart Pure' cycle. The ambivalent relationship between the two men has given rise to countless myths and anecdotes that we will explore and tell in multiple ways, not only during concerts but also as a gripping drama through the medium of operas, plays, films and other exciting formats." As Villazón explains: "Salieri was a great composer who unfortunately had the misfortune of being a contemporary of no fewer than three musical geniuses: Beethoven, Haydn and Mozart. He was Beethoven's teacher. He conducted a final tribute to Haydn shortly before his death. And as for Mozart, he became the center of a legend about envy, enmity and murder that remains etched in many people's memory to this day. A number of interesting works have been created based on this legend, and three of them will be on view during Mozartweek 2024."
Peter Shaffer's play Amadeus can be seen at the Landestheater, there is a new production of Nikolaj Rimski-Korsakov's Mozart und Salieri at the Salzburger Marionettentheater, and Miloš Forman's Oscar-winning film Amadeus will also be screened as part of our focus on Salieri. This focus also includes a semi-staged production of La clemenza di Tito, orchestra concerts, chamber music concerts, films, guided tours, lectures and much more, all designed to illuminate Mozart's oeuvre in all its facets. In addition to works by Salieri, audiences will also have the opportunity to hear music by Joseph Haydn and by four of Salieri's students, Hummel, Schubert, Beethoven and Franz Xaver Mozart.
Since 1956, Mozartweek has invited the most eminent Mozart artists to Salzburg, and 2024 is no exception. Among the leading artists we expect are Anne-Sophie Mutter, Igor Levit, Joana Mallwitz, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Sol Gabetta, Jordi Savall, Sir András Schiff, Lahav Shani, Emmanuel Pahud, Isabelle Faust, Antoine Tamestit, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Avi Avital and ensembles and orchestras of the caliber of the Danish Chamber Orchestra under Ádám Fischer, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe under Kirill Gerstein, the Basel Chamber Orchestra under Giovanni Antonini with Sabine Meyer as soloist, the Baborák Ensemble, the Hagen Quartet and of course the Wiener Philharmoniker.