Antonio Salieri (1750-1825), one of the most influential musical personalities in Viennese musical life in the 18th and 19th centuries, is still underestimated today - few people know him. Antonio Salieri was a highly esteemed composer during his lifetime, and from 1788 as court conductor in Vienna he was even one of the most influential musicians of his time. His fans and admirers included Beethoven and Liszt, as well as Goethe, E.T.A. Hoffmann and Victor Hugo.
To mark the 200th anniversary of Antonio Salieri's death, SALIERI 2025 is opening up new perspectives on his works throughout the year. Around the anniversary of Salieri's death on May 7, the SALIERI Festival will take place from April 27 to May 21. In Vienna's Hofburgkapelle, where he worked as court conductor for 36 years, audiences can look forward to traditional masses and concerts of the highest quality as well as lectures, commissioned works and short dramatizations.
Antonio Salieri, lithograph, Rehberg © Austrian National Library
Based on Antonio Salieri's key role in the Vienna Court Music Orchestra, Jürgen Partaj, Director of SALIERI 2025 and Director of the Vienna Court Music Orchestra, embarked on a search for traces years ago: "The search for traces has developed into a treasure hunt. I am delighted that I have been able to persuade numerous institutions and artists to turn their attention to Salieri in 2025 and thus unearth these musical treasures together," says Partaj. The festival will open on April 27 with Salieri's Missa in D major, the so-called "Hofkapellmeistermesse", in Vienna's Hofburgkapelle. There will also be the Missa solemnis by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Salieri's colleague, on May 4 and the Mass in G major by Franz Schubert, Salieri's pupil, on May 11. All masses will be performed by the Vienna Hofmusikkapelle, consisting of the Vienna Boys' Choir, members of the Vienna State Opera Chorus and Orchestra and the Hofburgkapelle Choral Schola.
Artistic Director Jürgen Partaj © Carina Karlovits, HBF
Insight into the life and work of Antonio Salieri will be provided on April 30, when the new reader by Markus Böggemann (Böhlau Verlag) entitled "Antonio Salieri. Rediscovery of a Misunderstood", with musical accompaniment by Wolfgang Kogert on the organ.
A highlight of the festival will be the celebration of the 200th anniversary of Salieri's death on May 7 at 11 am. Salieri's rarely performed Requiem in C minor, which he wrote for his own funeral service and which is regarded as one of the main works of his church music output, will be performed in the Hofburg Chapel on this day. The music will be performed by members of the mdw under the direction of Manuel Schuen. The midday impulse on May 21 invites you to the world premiere of a short drama jointly commissioned by the Vienna Hofmusikkapelle and the Max Reinhardt Seminar.
April 27 to May 21, 2025
www.hofmusikkapelle.gv.at
www.salieri2025.at
Hofburg Chapel © Andy Wenzel, BKA
