This past October, on the occasion of her 95th birthday, members of the public had the privilege of experiencing this exceptional personality in conversation at the mdw as part of an “Evening for and with Gertraud Cerha” at which a presentation of archival material also offered exclusive glimpses into her life and work.

The fact that Schönberg enjoyed near-“guru”-like veneration not only due to his exceptional artistic and pedagogical abilities but at least as much by virtue of his personal charisma is attested to not least by the multitude of prominent Schönberg pupils.

From March to December 2024, the academic and artistic events of the Anton Bruckner Department will invite all those who possess the according interest and openness to spend ten months exploring and engaging with, approaching and critically encountering this great anachronist while most certainly also experiencing his warmth, his conviviality, and the joy of wayfaring.

The music mediation award LEARN TO HEAR was recently conferred for the first time in anticipation of Arnold Schönberg’s 150th birthday in September 2024. Initiated by the Arnold Schönberg Center and conceived in cooperation with the mdw’s Department of Music Education Research and Practice, this award—which will be conferred annually for a period of five years—commemorates Arnold Schönberg as a pedagogue.

The interplay between his output and teaching of music and the constant exchange with his institutionally and privately taught pupils characterised Bruckner’s artistic biography and had a lasting influence upon his oeuvre.

Barbara Albert, Jessica Hausner and Karina Ressler are the protagonists oft the first three volumes of the book series Aus der Werkstatt [From the Workshop], based on an ongoing oral history project of the Media and Film Studies chair at Film Academy Vienna. In wide-ranging workshop conversations, the filmmakers discuss their artistic work and provide insights into their cinematic thinking and the methods by which they proceed.

“Amenca ketane” is a maxim of the Roma movement in Austria and means “collectively, together”. The MMRC Lecture on 16 November 2023 at the mdw’s Joseph Haydn-Saal took these Romanes words as a motto under which to address the history of this people’s traumas and their use of music to overcome them: amenca ketane. Histories of Trauma, Music and Romani Empowerment.

Inspired by Arnold Schönberg’s 150th birthday, which is currently being celebrated worldwide, the new exhibition at the mdw’s Exilarte Center sheds light on the social and cultural milieu inhabited by the Second Viennese School’s founder. Particular attention is paid to both Alexander Zemlinsky and Schönberg’s pupil and eventual assistant Richard Hoffmann.