Bibliotheca Mozartiana

Dr. Armin Brinzing

Schwarzstr. 26, 5020 Salzburg

Tel:+43 (0) 662 889 40-13/-14 bibliothek@mozarteum.at

Mon - Fri 9 am - 1 pm and 2 pm - 5 pm

Closed on public holidays and between Dec 24 - Jan 6

Original manuscripts, early printed editions, modern editions of scores and writings on Mozart in every known language: the Bibliotheca Mozartiana is the world’s largest library specializing in the life and works of Wolfgang Amadé Mozart.

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The library houses around 35,000 books and articles and more than 6,000 scores. Established in 1841, the collection has continued to grow around this historical nucleus and now includes a broad range of titles on the history of European music and culture from the eighteenth to the twenty-first centuries.

OPAC

The online catalogue (OPAC) lists all of the printed books, articles and scores in the library’s holdings as well as a complete Mozart bibliography. Works that have already been digitalized may be accessed directly via a link.

The online catalogue lists the following holdings:

– modern and historical books and journals
– the Mozart Bibliography (books and articles on Mozart)
– the collection of historical librettos from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries relating to works by Mozart and other composers
– historical and modern editions of works by Mozart (practically complete); at present only a fraction of works by other composers is included here.

Works that are not listed in the online catalogue may be found via the library’s internal catalogues. The library staff will be happy to help you here.
Scores by composers that were acquired before around 1998 are listed in the Répertoire International des Sources Musicales (Library siglum: ‘A-Sm’)

Autographs & Manuscripts

Since the middle of the nineteenth century the Mozarteum Foundation’s most valuable holdings have been letters and documents as well as autograph scores relating to the Mozart family. The library holds more than half of all known documents associated with the family, including around 200 of Mozart’s original letters (he himself is the main contributor to 150 of these and one of multiple contributors in the case of the other fifty), around 300 letters written by his father Leopold and more than 100 autograph music manuscripts, most of them sketches and drafts of Mozart’s works in addition to autographs in the hand of Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart. The collection also includes scores, letters and other documents relating to numerous other figures from the eighteenth to the twentieth centuries. We are working hard to catalogue these holdings as part of various ongoing projects.
The basement of the building in which the Mozart family lived houses the vault containing these autograph treasures as well as an exhibition space that may be visited as part of special guided tours.

Bibliotheca Mozartiana digital

The Bibliotheca Mozartiana’s holdings are being systematically digitalized. Our aim is to grant free access to the priceless originals in the form of manuscripts, scores, books and so on in as simple a way as possible. To this end the portal “Bibliotheca Mozartiana digital” has been established. This helps users to locate the digitalized treasures and then to view them and, if necessary, to download them as pdf files.

Mozart Bibliography

The online Mozart Bibliography lists writings on Mozart from all over the world and is based on data from the Mozarteum Foundation’s Bibliotheca Mozartiana catalogue. It includes monographs, newspaper articles, reviews, electronic publications and concert notes that contain factual information relating to Wolfgang Amadé Mozart, his family and his circle.

Current projects

Digitalizing of Historical Holdings

Digitizing and Cataloguing the Historical Holdings of the Salzburg Cathedral Music Society and Mozarteum from 1841 to 1881

As part of a joint venture involving the Archives of the Archdiocese of Salzburg and the Mozarteum Foundation, the historical holdings of the Cathedral Music Society and Mozarteum that was founded in 1841 are being systematically digitalized and made available to the general public. The Society was split into two in 1880, leading to the creation of the Cathedral Music Society (now the Salzburg Cathedral Music) and the International Mozarteum Foundation. The holdings of the 1841 Society were already substantial by this date and were divided up according to the needs of the two new organizations. With the exception of a handful of losses that have been sustained over the years, these holdings are now part of the Mozarteum Foundation’s Bibliotheca Mozartiana and of the Archives of the Archdiocese of Salzburg.

The most significant part of these holdings is made up of the world’s largest collection of letters written by Mozart and his family as well as numerous music manuscripts in Mozart’s hand. These documents form a self-contained part of the Bibliotheca Mozartiana, whereas the remaining parts are divided between the two institutions. As part of this project all of the scores that are held by both institutions will be catalogued and be brought together again at least virtually.

Central to this project are the music manuscripts catalogued in the database of the RISM (Répertoire International des Sources Musicales). All of those manuscripts that are historically significant will also be digitalized and made freely available on the internet. We are beginning this project with the “Mozart Bequest”, in other words, manuscripts formerly owned by Mozart’s two sons, Carl Thomas (1784–1858) and Franz Xaver Wolfgang (1791–1844). Like the collection as a whole, this part of it features not only works by Mozart himself but a wide selection of music from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Further information:

eva.neumayr@mozarteum.at

Special Exhibitions

https://mozarteum.at/special-exhibitions/