Ever since he was very little, Paul Müller has been fascinated by singing and by theatre. And to this day, the Austrian-Swiss unites these two passions—winning over audiences when he takes the stage as a singer and actor and demonstrating his pedagogical prowess as a school textbook author and secondary school teacher as well as in his position as a senior artist for voice-related subjects at the Max Reinhardt Seminar and lecturer at the Antonio Salieri Department.

Das Haus der Träumer; Indische Flamme; Kronprinz Rudolf. Das Leben eines merkwürdigen Mannes. These are but a few of the works from the prolific pen of Viennese writer Erwin Weill, an oeuvre whose creation was abruptly cut short by the National Socialist regime and whose creator lost his life at the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1945.

This volume, edited by mdw scholars Rainer Prokop and Rosa Reitsamer, presents an excellent collection of articles that critically examine how neoliberalism has shaped recent changes in music education policies and programmes.

Eine Vielzahl von Künstler_innen, Musiker_innen und Komponist_innen haben den Plattenspieler in den letzten Jahrzehnten intensiv genutzt, bearbeitet und erweitert. Durch virtuos angewandte Techniken, wie u. a. Scratching und Beat-Matching, wurde der Plattenspieler zum Instrument und der bzw. die DJ zum/zur Musiker_in.

Cellist Anmari van der Westhuizen gave a presentation entitled Cross-Cultural Sounds: South African Contemporary Solo Cello Works on 15 November 2024 at the invitation of the Alma Rosé Department.

2024’s mdw great talent award powered by Christian Zeller showcased yet another wide-ranging field of contestants, excellent overall artistic quality, and an accomplished winner. The American singer Zacharías Galaviz-Guerra won over the jury (chair: Angelika Möser) in the thrilling final round on 18 November, winning the EUR 10,000 first prize as well as a professional sound recording.

On 8 November 2024, the European Research Council Project “GOING VIRAL: Music and Emotions during Pandemics (1679–1919)” opened its doors to the public with a symposium entitled “Music – Emotions – Pandemics: Interdisciplinary Perspectives”.

Learning more about the academic foundations of music both historically and in the present while simultaneously digging deeper into the artistic and practical side of musical culture? Obtaining insights into professional practice as well as experience in research-based learning? The 2025/26 winter semester will see the mdw launch a new academic and artistic master’s degree programme.

The 2024/25 winter semester saw baritone Thomas Hampson give a master class on Mahler interpretation at the mdw in collaboration with the Center for Research on Gustav Mahler and Viennese Modernism. Hampson, doubtless one of the foremost singers of our time, met Daniel Ender for a chat in the cafeteria on Lothringerstraße.

Why is it occasionally worthwhile to put aside your learning materials, leave the lecture hall, and experience history right where it was made? At first glance, university-level music students—frequently under enormous pressure to work and practice—would seem to have near-zero latitude for field trips. But it’s precisely these that can make a crucial difference: they make it possible to experience history.