W.A. Mozart 270th birthday anniversary

January 27 marks the 270th anniversary of W.A. Mozart’s birthday. At 8 p.m., Mozart was born as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus in the so-called Hagenauer House at Getreidegasse 9 in Salzburg. The next day, he was baptized in Salzburg Cathedral.

The European Mozart Ways are celebrating the “anniversary year” with their members along the travel routes of W.A. Mozart with events such as festivals, special exhibitions, special tours, concerts, and more.

© International Mozarteum Foundation / W. Lienbacher / Mozart’s birthplace

© G.Spitz European Mozart Ways / Baptismal font in Salzburg Cathedral

Extraordinary exhibition : Kosmos Zauberflöte

Mozart is omnipresent in Salzburg – in the streets, on the stages, and in the city’s unique atmosphere. The first highlight is the annual Mozart Week from January 22 to February 1, which, in addition to Mozart’s birthday, will be organized by the Mozarteum Foundation for the 70th time in 2026. “lux æterna” is the motto of this anniversary Mozart Week, we celebrate Mozart’s eternal light”, explains Rolando Villazón, artistic director of Mozart Week.
The year 1791 is the common thread running through the programming of concerts, stage productions, the Trazom format, and all other events of Mozart Week 2026. The centerpiece, a staged production of The Magic Flute, will be accompanied by an exhibition at the Mozart Residence entitled Kosmos Zauberflöte: Mozart’s Masterpiece for Humanity from January 16 to April 7.

Treasures from the museum’s own collection will be on display, including the clavichord on which Mozart composed the famous Singspiel, the rare libretto of the world premiere, the original theater program for the premiere on September 30, 1791, and the walking stick Mozart gave to his first Sarastro. The exhibition offers exciting insights from the beginnings of The Magic Flute to the performance of the opera during Mozart Week 2026.

© Stiftung Mozarteum

Munich

The National Theatre Munich opens the anniversary year in January with Mozart’s Don Giovanni, while the Theater am Gärtnerplatz celebrates with a performance of The Marriage of Figaro.

The Bavarian State Opera adds The Marriage of Figaro and The Abduction from the Seraglio to its repertoire in May and June. In March, the Theater am Gärtnerplatz presents a special Mozart focus with performances of Così fan tutte, The Magic Flute, Don Giovanni, and The Marriage of Figaro.

The Opera Incognita also brings Shaffer’s play to the stage as a music theatre spectacle: in the Silbersaal of the Deutsches Theater, actors, choir, and a small ensemble combine in a gripping, interdisciplinary production that impressively fuses theatre and music.

The Toujours Mozart Festival will take place on 31 January and 1 February 2026 at the Künstlerhaus Munich.

© Geoffroy Schied, Bayerische Staatsoper / Don Giovanni

© Markus Tordik, Gärtnerplatztheater / Die Hochzeit des Figaro

The Mozartists London

Under the dynamic leadership of their conductor and artistic director Ian Page, The Mozartists are among the leading interpreters of the music of Mozart and his contemporaries.

On 27 January, the orchestra opens its anniversary year with a birthday concert at 7.30pm in Cadogan Hall, London. The programme features works composed in 1776. Mozart’s incidental music to Thamos, King of Egypt is among his boldest and most astonishingly modern compositions. The programme culminates in a four-movement symphony from the so-called “Haffner” Serenade—an early masterpiece that is still unjustly neglected today. The concert is completed by Mozart’s only concert aria for alto and a festive, exuberant symphony by Joseph Haydn.

On 26 February 2026, Marianne Crebassa, one of today’s leading Mozart mezzo-sopranos, appears in her only London performance of the season at Wigmore Hall. She makes her debut with Ian Page and The Mozartists in a programme featuring selected Mozart arias alongside two of Haydn’s most profound and exciting early symphonies.

Another highlight follows on 30 June 2026 at Cadogan Hall, when the acclaimed Dutch pianist Ronald Brautigam makes his debut with The Mozartists. He performs two early piano concertos by Mozart, framed by the popular Serenata notturna for strings and timpani and the delightfully buoyant Divertimento in D major, K. 251, allegedly composed as a gift for his sister’s 25th birthday.

Foto: © Mozartists

Year-Round Special Guided Tours
at Mozarthaus Vienna

To mark the 270th anniversary of Mozart’s birth, Mozarthaus Vienna offers a series of special themed guided tours with monthly changing focuses. These exclusive evening tours take place after museum closing hours and explore Mozart’s life, works and times from different perspectives.
Start times: 5:30 pm (English) and 7:00 pm (German).

Dates & Topics 2026:

30 Jan – Desire & Love: Nocturnal Adventures in Mozart’s Vienna

27 Feb – My Sister Nannerl

6 Mar – Mozart and Women

27 Mar – Between Sound and Sickness: Medicine & Hygiene in Mozart’s Vienna

24 Apr – Le nozze di Figaro

10 May – Mamma Mia! Mothers and Everyday Heroines

29 May – Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven and Salieri: Musical Mastery and the Murder Myth

26 Jun – My Dear Little Wife: Mozart’s Wedding to Constanze

Photo: © Mozarthaus Vienna

Salzburg Celebrates All Year Round

Salzburg marks the 270th birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with a diverse year-long programme.

The DomQuartier Salzburg hosts the afternoon concert series “Date with Mozart” every Saturday and Sunday throughout the year in the magnificent State Rooms of the Residenz – Mozart’s former workplace – performed by the Residenzensemble Salzburg.

The Mozarteum Foundation presents year-round permanent exhibitions at Mozart’s Birthplace and Mozart’s Residence, complemented by an extensive annual music programme. A special guided city tour, “With Mozart through the City”, further enriches the offer.

In June, Camerata Salzburg celebrates a Mozart Festival on the occasion of Rudolf Buchbinder’s 80th birthday, featuring the piano concertos KV 271, KV 466 and KV 503, with Buchbinder directing the orchestra from the piano.

Mozart also takes centre stage at the Salzburg Festival, with staged performances of Così fan tutte, a semi-staged production of Lucio Silla, the traditional Mozart Matinees with the Mozarteum Orchestra, and a performance of the Mass in C minor by Camerata Salzburg.

Until 14 June, the Museum der Moderne presents the special exhibition “Under the Spell of The Magic Flute”, showcasing artistic interpretations of the famous opera by Oskar Kokoschka, Max Slevogt, Stephan von Huene and Wolfgang Hutter.

Tourismus Salzburg GmbH offers an individual Mozart walking tour through the Old Town, covering 14 Mozart-related sites in around 90 minutes.

From April, the Salzburg State Theatre presents The Little Magic Flute, a child-friendly adaptation, while the Salzburg Marionette Theatre performs The Magic Flute in both full and shortened versions.

© Sabine Rath I Mozart-Spezialführung

The International Mozart Competition at the University of Mozarteum has been one of the world’s most prestigious music competitions for more than five decades. In celebration of the 270th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s birth, the 2026 competition once again showcases international excellence at the highest artistic level.

The biennial competition will take place from 6 to 12 February 2026 for the violin category, and from 13 to 19 February 2026 for piano. Highly talented young musicians from over 22 countries will participate, performing in two challenging rounds before an internationally renowned jury.

In each category, three prize winners will be selected. The highlight of the competition is the final concert, in which the winners perform alongside the University of Mozarteum Academy Orchestra. The competition is not only a showcase of excellence but also an important platform for nurturing young talent in the spirit of Mozart and his musical legacy.

Photo: © Universität Mozarteum

International Mozart Competition 2026
– University of Mozarteum