Ever since antiquity, at various times and to varying degrees, suicidality has been present as a topic—as one can find documented in countless songs, opera arias, and even some instrumental music.

The ongoing cooperative activities involving the Fritz Kreisler Department of String Instruments, Harp and Guitar (FKI) and the Leonard Bernstein Department of Wind and Percussion Instruments (LBI) are now advancing to an entirely new level.

“Jump out of your concert seats, take off your jackets, and pick up your tickets at the box office!” I glance at the rickety kitchen chair beneath me, three pages of Zoom tiles before me, and strain to remember just where in the apartment I put the furniture with the red velvet cushions. In what kind of concert mentality have I landed, here? In one that’s been rethought.

In our series “What does art have to do with the Earth’s climate?” the “Green mdw” initiative invites concerned individuals to speak out on their personal approaches to this issue. Gerda Müller has led the mdw’s Department of Human Resources since 2000 and was appointed Vice Rector for Organisational Development, Gender, & Diversity in 2015.

It was at the Vienna Central Cemetery that Franz (Albert) Doppler, born in Lemberg (present-day Lviv, Ukraine) on 16 October 1821 as the son of a military musician, was laid to rest following a long and active career. Not long ago, on 16 October 2021, Doppler’s gravesite witnessed a small celebration with prominent participants to mark his 200th birthday.

Last year’s Beethoven Competition saw the 27-year-old German pianist Aris Alexander Blettenberg awarded the first prize. Blettenberg swayed the jury with his performance of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 1 in C Major op. 15, prevailing over Dasol Kim and Philipp Scheucher at the final round on 21 October 2021 in the Vienna Musikverein’s Golden Hall.

The course offerings in Rhythmics at the Department of Music and Movement Education/Rhythmics and Music Physiology (MRM) are open to interested parties of all ages. In these courses, a joyful way of relating to music and movement, creative impulses for everyday life, and having fun being creative as a group all enjoy equal importance.

To mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and Austria, the mdw joined forces with the Wiener Konzerthaus and the Lang Lang Foundation to offer a public master class with piano superstar Lang Lang.

For those who’ve thus far heard music by Orlando di Lasso performed mainly as a cappella “vocal music”, Bernhard Rainer’s book presents an opportunity to discover some new aspects—such as how Lasso effectively staged music via its arrangement, instrumentation, and richly varied performance.