Austria’s Mozart Week 2022 Cancelled Due to COVID-19 Surges

Established in 1965, The Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation’s (FMS) Mozart Week is a concert series that begins on Mozart’s birthday each year, January 27. 

Planned from January 27 to February 6 this year, the festival was to include up to 60 events. 

The internationally acclaimed event was expected to hold concerts at 10 locations with various artists, orchestras, ensembles, plus live concertgoers from around the world. However, according to a statement by the festival, such “is not feasible given the current framework conditions and the lack of planning security.”

“The pandemic situation in Salzburg has deteriorated dramatically and, after consultation with the responsible authorities, there is no improvement in sight,” the festival has stated on their website.

“We have done our utmost, but in view of this assessment, it would be grossly negligent and unacceptable for all concerned to hold the 2022 Mozart Week,” added artistic director Rolando Villazón. 

“The health and safety of our performers, our employees, and our audiences has to take priority,” he continued. “It breaks my heart…to announce that we are forced to cancel [the event] due to pandemic reasons.”

According to the festival’s social media posts, the recent projection made by the Salzburg state government — revealing that the peak number of COVID-19 cases was to occur exactly during the festival period — was the main reason behind the festival’s cancellation. 

Furthermore, it was deemed “impossible” to postpone Mozart Week 2022 to a later date, due to the substantial amount of time it takes to organize the event and the “unavailability of key artists.”

Despite this setback, Villazón assures audiences that the program for Mozart Week 2023 will be announced this spring, while this fall will see the reopening of the FMS’s main concert hall.

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