| Mozarthaus Vienna: a new centre devoted to the life and works of Mozart including the historical apartment |
|
|
| |
| museum |
| The composer lived in Mozarthaus Vienna from 1784 to 1787 in grand style, with four large rooms, two small ones and a kitchen. The life and works of this musical genius are presented here on four exhibition levels. In addition to Mozart’s apartment, which has been adapted by Wien Museum, visitors can find out about the times in which Mozart lived and his most important works. The exhibition focuses on his years in Vienna, which marked a high point in his creativity. The tour starts on the 3rd floor of the building with details of Mozart’s time in Vienna: where he lived and performed, who his friends and supporters were, his relationship to the Freemasons, his passion for games and much more. The presentation on the 2nd floor deals with Mozart’s operatic works, and the apartment on the 1st floor, the real heart of the building, focuses on the two and a half years that Mozart lived there.
Apart from the exhibition area, there is also a café on the ground floor, a museum shop and an event area in the basement. Mozarthaus Vienna and the Wien Museum Mozart apartment are open every day from 10 am to 7 pm.
Prestel has published a museum guide in five languages (German, English, French, Italian and Japanese) costing EUR 12, available in the museum shop, at the Mozarthaus ticket desk and in well assorted bookshops.
Mozarthaus Vienna in cooperation with Haus der Musik also offers a combined ticket for both establishments for EUR 15.
The tour of Mozarthaus Vienna starts on the 3rd floor and ends in the historical apartment on the former bel étage 1st floor. The exhibition focuses on the more than ten years that Mozart spent in Vienna until his death, a time in which he composed a large number of works that have established his unique place in the history of music. The underlying motto behind the documentation is reflected in the famous quotation by Mozart in a letter to his father Leopold: “…I assure you that this is a magnificent place – and the best place in the world for my profession�. The presentation on each of the floors has a different thematic focus. Following the items on Mozart and his time at the start of the tour on the 3rd floor, the 2nd floor is devoted to Mozart’s most famous operas and his Requiem, and the visit ends with the historical apartment. The permanent exhibition on the top two floors is supplemented by three areas with a changing selection of original objects and autographs relating to Mozart’s life and works.
The exhibition on the 3rd floor presents life during Mozart’s Vienna years. Visitors are provided with details of the composer’s different lodgings. An audiovisual installation gives information about Mozart’s personal and social situation in 18th century Vienna, indicating the connections between the Baroque city and the composer himself. Another area deals with the most important people in Mozart’s life: the emperor, patrons, employees, friends, theatre officials and other contemporaries. Mozart’s relations with the Freemasons, his very liberal approach to eroticism and his not always social behaviour are also dealt with.
The presentation on the 2nd floor concentrates on Mozart’s operas, particularly the three great Da Ponte operas Le Nozze di Figaro, Cosi fan tutte and Don Giovanni. It includes a treatment of the musical background, his composer friends and rivals and also a presentation of his last great work, the Requiem. The Magic Flute area is dominated by a multimedia installation, which is intended to demonstrate that Mozart does not belong to a single country or city but to the whole world. The visit to the two upper storeys was conceived by Joachim Riedl; the audiovisual installations were developed and produced by checkpointmedia.
Armed with this knowledge, the visitor can now enter Mozart’s apartment. It was the largest and most expensive apartment that he ever lived in. He spent two and a half years there from 1784 to 1787 and his output during this time was enormous. None of the original furniture belonging to Mozart at this time has survived. Visitors are therefore invited to give free rein to their imagination. How did Mozart live and work in these rooms? What went on in the apartment? It was a very loud and lively place. There were house concerts and billiard evenings, crying babies and barking dogs. The aim of the new presentation is to invite visitors to seek evidence for themselves rather than to create an apartment full of replicas. The technical concept was elaborated by Werner Hanak (basic concept), Ulrike Spring and Wolfgang Kos, with design by Kriso Leinfellner (Lichtwitz – Büro für visuelle Kommunikation/
propeller z).
Admission prices
Regular EUR 9
Reduced EUR 7
Groups EUR 6
School classes (up to 15 years) EUR 3
Family ticket EUR 18
Audio guide included in the price
Project development
Wien Holding GmbH
Implementation
Mozarthaus Vienna Errichtungs- und Betriebs GmbH
Shareholders:
Wien Holding GmbH (51%)
Raiffeisen-Holding NÖ-Wien reg. Ges.m.b.H. (25%)
Wien Museum (24%) |
| |
|
|
|
|
