“What we see of the conductor at the rostrum is really just the tip of the iceberg. A deeper look reveals a veritable pyramid of competences made up of skills ranging from music to management,” says Alois Glaßner, head of the mdw’s Department of Conducting. mdw Magazine spoke with Glaßner about the University’s comprehensive training of conductors, the conducting programme as such, and the profession’s ongoing transformation as well as the department’s own plans.

To mark 50 years of diplomatic relations between the People’s Republic of China and Austria, the mdw joined forces with the Wiener Konzerthaus and the Lang Lang Foundation to offer a public master class with piano superstar Lang Lang.

Film editors do their work in the background, and exactly what goes on in the editing suite is familiar to very few. It’s there, however, that a film’s content and message are refined and honed, and it’s editing and sound that render the images truly effective. Film Academy editing students Julia Willi and Philipp Mayer tell us about their studies, editing’s importance in film production, and the soft skills brought to bear by editors in their work.

When studying abroad, students typically meet lots of new people from all over the world, explore their host institutions, get to know the cultural life of a new city, go on outings, go to parties … in short: they gather new and memorable impressions and experiences. Despite the pandemic, last year at the mdw featured lots of student mobility.

Dietmar Flosdorf, Axel Petri-Preis, and Rineke Smilde teach at the Department of Music Education Research, Music Didactics and Elementary Music Education (IMP). mdw Magazine spoke with them about the community work they pursue.

4th-year Max Reinhardt Seminar students Johanna Mahaffy and Anton Widauer are fast approaching graduation. But the ongoing pandemic means huge challenges in terms of training and job-hunting.

Friderikke-Maria Hörbe has been a professor of ensemble work and role development at the Max Reinhardt Seminar since March 2020. She recently spoke with mdw Magazine about her teaching work and about how she came to acting.

Jane Austen and karaoke – an unusual combination? Indeed. And an extremely compelling one, at that. With Pride and Prejudice* (*sort of) [German title: Stolz und Vorurteil* (*oder so) ], British author Isobel McArthur recently created a refreshing adaptation of Jane Austen’s world-famous novel for the stage in which five women give their all.

“Mood” is the topic of this year’s Wien Modern festival, set to take place from 29 October to 29 November. And as in past years, several Wien Modern events are to be held in cooperation with the mdw.