Mozart Festival in Würzburg

The Mozartfest Würzburg is the oldest Mozart festival in Germany and has been taking place in the Würzburg Residenz during the summer months since 1922 . With around 70 individual concerts, it is now one of the most renowned festivals for classical music in German-speaking countries alongside the Salzburg Festival . Every year up to 30,000 visitors come to the events that take place in the historic building of the residence, in the courtyard garden and in neighboring locations.

history

A first public classical concert is given in the Kaisersaal of the Residenz after it was opened for non-profit events in 1919. In 1921 Hermann Zilcher , director of the State Conservatory, organized the “Residenzfest” with works of classical orchestral and chamber music. Zilcher discovered that Mozart's works harmonize particularly well with the ambience and architecture of the residence. Therefore, in the following year he organized the first "Mozart Week in the Residence", which took place in June 1922. In addition to the imperial hall and garden hall of the residence, the newly built church and the city theater will be included and tested as additional venues .

From the experiences of this festival week , Zilcher developed the concept of the Mozart Festival , which should now take place annually. The night music in the courtyard garden became an integral part. The festival was largely supervised and designed by Zilcher for over two decades. In 1942 it could still take place in the traditional form. In 1943/44 it was taken over by the National Socialists to a greater extent in the sense of “ Kraft durch Freude ” events and extended to four weeks as the Würzburg Music Summer . In 1943, Zilcher was deprived of the overall management of the Mozart Festival. With the destruction of the residence in the bombing raid in 1945, the festival cycle was initially over. Zilcher died in 1948.

With the help of Mayor Franz Stadelmayer , the Mozart Festival was resurrected in 1951. The decisive factor was the support of the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation , which helped both financially with the construction of the concert halls in the residence and took over the artistic direction. From 1975 to 2006, the Mozart Festival for singing took place every two to three years at the same time as the Würzburg Mozart Festival , which was organized by the University of Music Würzburg .

literature

Oskar Kaul : Musica Herbipolensis. From Würzburg's musical past. Verlag Siegfried Greß, Marktbreit 1980. ISBN 3-920094-16-6

Web links

Official website

Individual evidence

^ Sybille Grübel: Timeline of the history of the city from 1814-2006. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. Volume 2, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 1225-1247; here: p. 1237.
↑ Peter Weidisch: Würzburg in the "Third Reich". In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 196-289 and 1271-1290; here: p. 260.

[1] Sybille Grübel: Timeline of the history of the city from 1814-2006. In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. Volume 2, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 1225-1247; here: p. 1237.

[2] Peter Weidisch: Würzburg in the "Third Reich". In: Ulrich Wagner (Hrsg.): History of the city of Würzburg. 4 volumes, Volume I-III / 2, Theiss, Stuttgart 2001-2007; III / 1–2: From the transition to Bavaria to the 21st century. 2007, ISBN 978-3-8062-1478-9 , pp. 196-289 and 1271-1290; here: p. 260.