What kinds of works written for the piano are well suited to helping young players discover the world of contemporary music? What are the technical boundaries within which one can compose innovative piano pieces of pedagogical value that are realisable in lessons and still embody convincing compositions in their own right?

Since 2015, Marialena Fernandes and her students have taken regular trips to the Indian province of Goa. And last year, before the backdrop of Beethoven 2020, they were able to gather some very special musical impressions.

The Webern Kammerphilharmonie, whose players are drawn from the ranks of the mdw, was first brought together with a concrete objective in mind: to support young artists in launching their future careers as professional orchestral players. The ensemble, originally with the English words “Chamber Orchestra” in its name, was founded in 2015. Ever since, it’s been bringing together excellent mdw students and graduates.

In keeping with the motto “change as a driving force”, this successful and authentic singer, bandleader, and composer—a courageous, powerful woman whose art overcomes divisions in more ways than one—is fighting for better working conditions in her profession and for social justice.

The mdw-trained Tonmeister Winfried Lachenmayr is among those individuals responsible for the acoustics of the new Future Art Lab. In a conversation with mdw Magazine, he explains why working on this extraordinary building was so special to him and what makes it so unique in the context of European musical campuses.

The COVID-19 pandemic prevented the 11th Vienna Music Business Research Days from taking place this year at the mdw with its usual international audience in attendance. But despite the unfavourable situation, the entire conference went forward in the virtual realm.

It was early in life that this passionate musician felt drawn to her parents’ piano—and today, she’s a frequently requested soloist, an enthusiastic continuo player, and a professor of harpsichord at the Institute of Early Music and Historical Performance Practice at the Anton Bruckner Private University of Upper Austria.

Since its founding in 1963, the mdw’s Certificate Programme in Electroacoustic and Experimental Music (ELAK) has embodied an open, present-oriented, electronic sound-based platform for a wide range of practices in audible art ranging from musical composition to live electronics, sound design, inter-media installations, and performances.