In a departure from this year’s large-scale celebrations of Johann Strauss, SALIERI 2025 creator Jürgen Partaj is devoting his 2025 entirely to the (re)discovery of Antonio Salieri. In conversation with mdw Magazine, he revealed his personal SALIERI 2025 highlights, spoke of his research trip to Italy, and pointed out how Salieri even appeared on The Simpsons.
“To be honest: ten years ago, I might not have even taken notice of the fact that 2025 marks 200 years since Salieri’s death. But that changed entirely when I became director of the Wiener Hofmusikkapelle in 2019.” Starting from Antonio Salieri’s central role at the Vienna Court Chapel, which he led as Hofkapellmeister from 1788 to 1824, Jürgen Partaj set out to retrace his life and career: “The trail left behind by Salieri is incredibly rich and reveals what an important personality he was for European cultural life. His work as a pedagogue influenced an entire generation of composers—from Beethoven to Schubert and Liszt and many more! Investigating his oeuvre, the revival of his masses with the Wiener Hofmusikkapelle, and further research have since shown me that this composer and the quality of his music are quite widely underestimated.” A visit to Salieri’s native city of Legnago, conversations with the mayor and theatre director there, and a visit to the Salieri’s honorary grave at the Vienna Central Cemetery solidified Partaj’s resolve to do his part to help rediscover this figure. In exchange with numerous cultural institutions including the mdw, Partaj began pushing for intensified engagement with Salieri. Numerous intriguing events were subsequently developed, with a great many Viennese cultural institutions now set to honour Salieri with concerts during the present year.
Although there exist numerous overlaps in terms of Salieri’s and Partaj’s respective activities with what is now the Wiener Hofmusikkapelle, Partaj objects to being called Salieri’s successor. “I view that as an inappropriate comparison. What Salieri and I do have in common, though, is a need to move and help shape the world around us. To not merely administrate but also develop things as well as provide foundations on which others can base their artistic pursuits. So as an aspirational figure, Salieri definitely suits me quite well!” Partaj would like everyone to learn something new about Salieri in 2025.
“200 years after Antonio Salieri’s death, 2025 will provide many people with an opportunity to encounter him for the first time—and for others, those already in the know, it will open up a new perspective on Salieri’s world. Salieri came to Vienna as a migrant orphan. It was only thanks to the support of no less a figure than Florian Leopold Gassmann that he succeeded in becoming a fully integrated member of society while also remaining connected with his roots. To me, that’s a wonderful example of how well-supported integration can work and how diversity can enrich society. Salieri also ended up passing on the support and social engagement from which he’d benefitted—like through free lessons and his involvement in the Tonkünstler-Sozietät’s efforts to provide for deceased musicians’ widows and orphans. It’s for this reason that I admire Salieri not just as a composer and teacher but also as a facilitator and a socially engaged human being.” Asked as to his personal 2025 highlights, Partaj says: “For the Wiener Hofmusikkapelle as an ensemble—which consists of the Vienna Boys’ Choir, male members of the Chorus of the Vienna State Opera, and members of the Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera—clear highlights will be Salieri’s Mass in D Major on 27 April and especially the concerts under our honorary member Riccardo Muti with works by Salieri and Mozart in the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein on 17 and 18 May.” At the Hofburgkapelle itself, this year will witness a great many opportunities to encounter Antonio Salieri—at the Accordion Festival, at the concert of the Auner Quartet, at the ÜBERGÄNGE Festival during Easter Week, at the WIR SIND WIEN.FESTIVAL, as part of the “Mittagsimpulse” series with world premières of mini-dramas commissioned together with the Max Reinhardt Seminar, and of course at the performance of Salieri’s own Requiem on 7 May—the 200th anniversary of his death. “I’m looking to awaken curiosity about Salieri in as many segments of the population as possible. So when young musicians play Salieri for the first time, when the audience hears Riccardo Muti’s interpretation of the Hofkapellmeistermesse, and when we bring Salieri to Vienna’s various districts in ways thought entirely anew, much will have already been achieved. And some people might already be made curious by hearing how Salieri once made an appearance on The Simpsons; even an initial contact like that can provide a jumping-off point.” Finally, “Other ensembles, researchers, and institutions should most certainly feel welcome to join in and become part of SALIERI 2025, devoting themselves to Salieri from their own perspectives and with their own expressivity,” emphasises Partaj in eager anticipation of a diverse programme in this jubilee year.
All SALIERI 2025 events
salieri2025.at
