Beethoven plus Festival 2025: Mozart - Requiem in Bad Aussee

Mozart - Requiem

In July 1791, Mozart received a commission from Count Franz von Walsegg for a grand Requiem. However, he was unable to complete it, as he was initially busy finishing "La Clemenza di Tito" and "The Magic Flute" and then became seriously ill. His student, Franz Xaver Süßmayr, was finishing the work when Mozart died of "hot Frieselfieber" on December 5, 1791. Although there have been many attempts to reconstruct the fragment, Süßmayr's version has generally prevailed.
The decisive advantage of this version is that he did not attempt to compete with the master, but was content to "work in such a way that connoisseurs can occasionally find some traces of his teachings." Thus, he not only revived the beginning of the work in the Communio, but also derived the Sanctus theme from the "Dies irae" and the "Osanna" from the "Quam olim Abrahae," thus strengthening the thematic unity of the work. The texts of the Latin Requiem Mass, in the sequence and in the offertory, depict death and the Last Judgment in striking, shocking, and frightening images. However, these texts are not fundamentally intended to frighten people, but rather to warn them to strive for a good life and to change where necessary. At the same time, however, they also express a plea for God's mercy and offer the faithful a glimpse of eternal joy and reward in heaven. As the last sentence of the communion song says in a conciliatory way: “May the eternal light shine upon them with your saints forever and ever.”

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​Beethoven plus Festival 2025

After a brilliant festival season 2024 in the year of the European Capital of Culture, we are now pleased to give you a preview of the Beethoven plus Festival 2025! This year, too, we remain true to our mission: to perform musical masterpieces in the heart of Austria – interpreted by renowned artists, up-and-coming talents, musicians from the region and our ever-growing festival choir.