Become a private donor and join the Friends Association
Your contribution makes the difference!
Take advantage of the exclusive advance purchase right for concert tickets. You will receive advance information on the upcoming programs from the festival’s management, and will enjoy mutual feedback with other enthusiastic Mozartfest friends.
The next general meeting with presentation of the 2025 Mozartfest season will take place on Friday, 6th December 2024.
v.l.n.r.: Marlies Belz (Assistant), Lucia Rühling (Cash Auditor), Sabine Unckell (Board Member), Franz Erich Kollroß (Chairman), Thomas Fischer (Chief Financial Officer), Hubert Schlick (Cash Auditor), Dr. Esther Knemeyer (Board Member).
Photo: Markward Wittmann
Under the motto "Mozart macht Freu(n)de", the Friends Accosiation of the Mozartfest Würzburg has been gathering music lovers from near and far in its ranks since 1994 as a support association of the traditional classical music festival. The »Friends« of the Mozartfest appreciate the organization's informative and sociable proximity to the Mozartfest and the advantage of special advance ticket sales, which is a common feature of sponsoring associations. In this context, the festival management informs all members in good time about the next season's program and its highlights, which should not be missed.
Traditionally, this information is provided at a general meeting at the end of the year, which last year also included the regular election of the new Board of Directors for the next four years. As all previous Board members were willing to continue their work, the meeting was able to confirm the old Board for the new term of office in an open vote.
Franz Erich Kollroß continues to lead the association as chairman, which is not only associated with the Mozartfest through financial support. Thomas Fischer was reappointed as Chief Financial Officer. Dr. Esther Knemeyer and Sabine Unckell remain members of the board. All those elected thanked the well-attended general meeting for the trust they had placed in them and accepted the election, which was conducted with aplomb by Wolfgang Baumann and Stefan Rühling. The harmonious general meeting ended as usual in a convivial atmosphere with wine and words.
FRIENDS
all natural persons | Annual subscription 200 €
- Advance information on the program from the festival’s management
- Exclusive special advance sales
- Tickets for promenade seats at the »Nachtmusik« can be reserved in advance
- Invitation to the balance sheet press conference before »Jupiternacht«
- Opportunities to take part in special events
- Free admission to the MozartLab
YOUNG FRIENDS
Schoolchildren | vocational college students | apprentices | students | all max. until the age of 27; afterwards automatic transfer to the FRIENDS category | Annual subscription 45 €
- Advance information on the program from the festival’s management
- Exclusive special advance sales
- Free admission to the MozartLab
- 2 vouchers for promenade seats at the »Nachtmusik«
- General: 50 % discount + last-minute tickets for 12 €
TRIAL FRIENDS
New members – on request for trying out a membership in the year of joining and in the full following calendar year – afterwards automatic transfer to the FRIENDS category | Annual subscription 100 €
- Advance information on the program from the festival’s management
- Exclusive special advance sales
- Free admittance to the MozartLab
- Last-minute tickets for 12 €
SUPPORTERS
Natural persons who wish to give special support to the Mozartfest | Annual subscription 1500 € per year
- Advantages as for FRIENDS
- Invitation to the sponsors’ lounge and the corresponding concert for two persons
- Invitation to the program press conference in December
- Invitations to selected dress rehearsals and previews
In the Mozartfest 2023, there will again be exclusive additional dates for members of the Friends Association, such as a rehearsal visit, guided tour of the outside broadcast van, champagne reception at the Nachtmusik, intermission lounge at selected Kaisersaal concerts etc. The exact events and dates are yet to be communicated.
Mozart(fest) beflügelt
Under the motto "Mozart macht Freu(n)de", the Friends Association has been supporting the Mozartfest Würzburg both ideally and financially since 1994. The current funding project is for the purchase of a new concert grand piano for the future home of the Mozartfest in the Mozart-Areal in Hofstraße.
To this end, the managing director of the Mozartfest, Katharina Strein, and the chairman of the association, Franz Erich Kollroß, traveled to the piano manufacturer Steingraeber in Bayreuth. The selection of the most suitable instrument was confidently placed in the hands of pianist Ragna Schirmer, who accompanied the Mozartfest 2023 as Artiste étoile. The new Steingraeber semi-concert grand piano will be available for rehearsals and chamber concerts in the event hall of the Mozart-Areal from 2024, when the Freundeskreis celebrates its 30th anniversary.
We would be delighted if you would also support this sponsorship project with a donation.
The donation account of the Freundeskreis Mozartfest Würzburg is: IBAN DE46 7905 0000 0000 0443 21
If you provide us with your name and address, you will also receive a donation receipt.
100 for 100: a celebration from the heart of society.
In the anniversary year 2021, the Mozartfest invited all of Würzburg and the surrounding area to become part of the big anniversary celebration with their own ideas, initiatives and projects with its "100 for 100" participation project. In six categories - charity, design/publication, enjoyment, young talent, event, technology/innovation - you could upload your project and take part in a competition. The prize money for the winners in each category - €1,000 each - was donated by the Friends Association.
The courageous commitment of all those involved was recognized: »100 for 100« was awarded the OPUS KLASSIK 2021. The award ceremony took place at a gala in the Konzerthaus Berlin.
Mozart's »Würzburgbrief« to his wife Constanze as facsimile edition
On September 28, 1790, in a letter to his wife Constanze, Mozart describes a six-day trip to the coronation celebrations of Leopold II in Frankenfurt am Main. He also mentions the tasty cup of coffee in Würzburg, which is often referred to today when talking about the »Mozartfest« and its connection to Mozart: »In Würzburg we also strengthened our stomachs with coffee, a beautiful, magnificent city«.
In 1921, »Mozart« was celebrated for the first time in the state rooms of the »Mozart« residence, which was a royal Bavarian residence until 1918. The anniversary gives reason to exhibit Mozart's letter on the occasion of the anniversary in Würzburg and also to facsimile it. The valuable original of the letter is in the Hebrew National Library in Jerusalem and can now be viewed exclusively as a full-size facsimile.
Professor Ulrich Konrad, holder of the Chair of Musicology I at the University of Würzburg, has for the first time completely reconstructed Mozart's journey to the mega-event of an emperor's coronation on the basis of this letter, thus documenting the practical life of the time from a socio-historical perspective. Remarkable for the history of the city is the fact that Würzburg already had nine coffee houses at that time. Mozart's »Würzburgbrief« is thus available in a language understandable to today's readers and also in an English translation.
The Friends Association publishes a special edition limited to 200 numbered copies, which can be obtained from the Friends for a minimum donation of 50 Euros. The limited edition will be offered exclusively to the members of the Friends Association until 13.12.2020 and will be sent to the donors after receipt of the donation amount. The donation account at the Sparkasse Mainfranken Würzburg is: IBAN DE46 7905 0000 0000 0443 21
50 Roman numbered and hand-bound luxury copies in a red casket, signed by the Lord Mayor of Würzburg, Christian Schuchardt, the Director of the Mozartfest, Evelyn Meining, and the author of the commentary, Professor Dr. Ulrich Konrad, can be purchased at a later date. Part of this VIP edition is intended for the patron of the 2021 anniversary celebration and other guests of honor such as the President of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Interview with Prof. Dr. Ulrich Konrad
He really finds Würzburg »official«, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote in a letter. Ulrich Konrad from the University of Würzburg learned a great deal about Mozart's travel comfort and the exact circumstances from the letter. The article can be heard in full length on BR Klassik.
Restoration of the Steinway piano
Thanks to a 12,000 € donation, the Mozartfest's Steinway piano was refurbished in 2018 (25,000 € value).
We would like to thank:
Dr. Wolfgang Appel | Dr. Torsten Betzel | Waltraud Birl | Armin Blattner | Bürgerstiftung Würzburg und Umgebung | Wilhelm Fuchs | Ellen Götschel | Jutta M. Haas | Prof. Dr. Otmar Issing | Franz Erich Kollroß | Stefan und Amélie Kratz | Helge-Katrin Macgregor | Kurtz Holding GmbH & Co. Beteiligungs KG | Stefan und Lucia Rühling | Dr. Werner Schiek | Sparkasse Mainfranken Würzburg | Dr. Reinhart Stumpf | Prof. Dr. Klaus und Regine Toyka | Karl Wagner | Dr. Claus und Petra Zimmermann and five more donors who chose to remain anonymous.