The mentoring programme “arts of change” symbolically kicked off its seventh year with a performance workshop at Karlsplatz, held in collaboration with the Climate Biennale. "arts of change - change of arts" is an inter-universitary project that has been supported by all six Austrian state art universities since 2019. It is currently organised under the auspices of the Coordination Office for Sustainability at mdw

The doors of the underground open practically into the heart of the Gasometer's Tower C – albeit you'd need to walk through several floors of a shopping mall, and past the many fast food options to reach the conference venue “Musik im Dialog-Saal”. Built in the late nineteenth century as a gas storage facility, the building today houses a music school, music venues, and occasional academic discussions, such as Excellently Engaged that asked whether artistic excellence and societal engagement are separable at all.

PopVoxCon is an international conference about popular voice: how we teach it, research it, perform it, and understand it today. It’s for voice teachers, singers, artists, researchers, students, music educators, speech and voice professionals, and really anyone who’s curious about contemporary vocal practice.

Ferdinand Breitschopf, inspector for music at the Vienna Education Authority, and jury chair Karl-Gerhard Straßl provide a glimpse into the 2026 edition of the Wiener Landesjugendsingen [Vienna Provincial Youth Choir Competition]—which the mdw hosted for the first time from 21 to 23 April.

For decades, Jeff Beal has been shifting his focus back and forth between film studios and concert halls, and it was with music for productions like House of Cards that this American composer became known internationally. 13 April saw the five-time Emmy Award-winner give a master class for mdw students. In the following conversation, he speaks about artistic processes, inspiration, and how living with MS has changed his understanding of music.

2016 lernen sich drei junge Musiker kennen: der Saxophonist Severin Neubauer, der Geiger Maxim Tzekov und der Schlagwerker Severin Hechwartner. Die damals etwa 15jährigen Musiker proben gerade mit elf weiteren hochmusikalischen Jugendlichen des Young Masters Ensembles intensiv für die kommende USA-Tournee.It was in 2016 that the three young musicians Severin Neubauer (saxophone), Maxim Tzekov (violin), and Severin Hechwartner (percussion) became acquainted. Aged 15 at the time, the three were rehearsing intensively for an upcoming US tour together with eleven other highly musical members of the Young Masters Ensemble.

Peter Schmidl was born in Olomouc, Moravia in 1941 and grew up in a family whose musical roots extended back to the days of Gustav Mahler. His father and grandfather had been first clarinettists of the Vienna Philharmonic and the Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera.

On 23 June 2025, the Banquet Hall of the mdw played host to the third edition of “Kooperieren – Amateurmusiker_innen musizieren mit Studierenden” [Cooperating – Amateur Musicians Make Music with Students]. This evening event, held as part of the annual Fête de la Musique, once again placed amateur music-making and musical exchange between students, teachers, and lay musicians firmly in the spotlight.

Every three years, the Collection of Historical String Instruments of the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB), the Republic of Austria’s central bank, lends out four high-quality historical string instruments to students enrolled at Austrian universities of music—and since November 2022, two of these instruments have been played on by mdw students Teresa Wakolbinger and David Kessler.