Overview
- The four-week Mozartfest has begun in Würzburg under the provocative motto "Beschworene Schönheit: Idol Mozart," using Mozart to explore beauty and its risks.
- The opening concert in the Kaisersaal featured the Salzburger Mozarteumorchester led by Antonello Manacorda with Tianwa Yang as soloist in Prokofiev and a performance of Mozart’s 40th Symphony.
- Violinist Tianwa Yang serves as the festival's 'Artiste étoile' and will appear across the program in concertos, chamber music and a Beethoven sonata cycle.
- Programming pairs major orchestras and star guests with experimental formats such as house concerts, free short performances across the Altstadt and a 'Mozart-Labor' of talks and installations.
- Organizers report 93–95 percent seat use, a roughly €3.2 million annual budget and just about 8.5 full-time equivalent staff, and they have asked Würzburg’s new mayor for increased support to avoid operational strain.