If one turns off of Michaelerplatz onto Kohlmarkt and looks up at the building facade on the right, one will notice a memorial plaque: “In this building | lived and died | Pietro Metastasio.” As imperial court poet, Metastasio authored librettos that provided the textual basis for hundreds of operas—and Antonio Salieri, our jubilarian of 2025, was among those who made use of his texts. Metastasio was hence not just an authority where literature was concerned but also a key intellectual node in mid-18th-century Vienna.

In artistic endeavours, much like it is with other pursuits, urgent issues pertaining to climate change are more and more often coming to play a central role. Artists’ approaches to this theme are myriad.

Tanja Elisa Glinsner is not only a successful composer but also a conductor and mezzo-soprano. She frequently performs or conducts her own works on renowned stages in Austria and abroad. Among her compositions, many—though not all—are based on themes relating to the natural world.

Many of us, if asked to say whether ecology and musical work have anything to do with each other, would probably answer in the affirmative without much hesitation. And in conversations with colleagues, one notices just how urgently current the associated debate is.

What role can the arts and culture play in shaping a sustainable future? This question was discussed by Birgit Huebener (Sustainability Coordination Office and green mdw), Tanja Obex (faculty member, Department of Music Education Research and Practice), and Annie Ternström (voice student).

A discussion with Dagmar Abfalter, Karl-Gerhard Straßl, Walter Werzowa and Christoph Stuhlpfarrer of the approach to artificial intelligence tools at the mdw.

In mid-April of 2023, fans of Canadian superstar rapper Drake broke out in jubilation over a new release by their idol as the song “Heart on My Sleeve” appeared on Spotify and then on YouTube, after which it went viral on TikTok. It soon became clear, however, that what seemed to be a duet between Drake and his Canadian compatriot The Weeknd was actually an AI-generated deepfake.

Music scholars who engage in performance analysis are interested in examining performance characteristics such as style and expressiveness. They will typically collect multiple recorded performances of the same piece and compare their nuances.

The new artistic research project “Spirits in Complexity” is a cooperative effort together with the Johannes Kepler University (JKU) in Linz, the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, the University of the Arts in Reykjavik, and several artistic and scientific experts.