Salzburg

Ed Chamberlin finds the city even more magical in winter. Photography by Alexander Short

CITY LIVES

Dr Gabriele Ramsauer, director of the International Mozarteum Foundation’s Mozart Museums and Archives

“I WAS BORN IN SALZBURG, I STUDIED history of art here and I still work here today, at the International Mozarteum Foundation – nearly 20 years after I began in 1990. The Foundation runs the Mozart Museums, collects the writings of the composer and his family, organises concerts and conducts research into Mozart’s life. I work with Mozart’s archives and specifically for the last decade as director of the museums, which include the house he was born in as well as his residence when alive.

“I was always aware of Mozart growing up in Salzburg – he is everywhere, on every corner, from plaques and monuments to concerts and operas. But I only really began to study him at the Foundation, and I have a feeling it’s a study that will never end. Whenever I listen to his music it’s so unreal, and when I compare it with other composers I always say to myself: ‘Oh, Mozart is better for me.’

“But many people who visit the museums know little about him, and our intention is to teach them – not through classes, but through storytelling. The main source for this are the letters of the Mozart family. They are very impressive, colourful and revealing, and provided the material for all our texts at the museums. We also want people to get an impression of the ambience of his birthplace.

“Salzburg is a small town, but for me it’s big enough. I don’t want to live in a big city with millions of people – here you always bump into people you know. I love the location, too: it’s not far to mountains or lakes, and Italy is just four hours away. It’s a leisurely city and I also like the atmosphere and the architecture.

“Salzburg looks to the future as well as the past, though. There’s the Museum der Moderne (www.museumdermoderne.at), and lots of contemporary music around town. The Foundation also puts on many modern and experimental music concerts in our concert hall.

“We want to preserve the heritage of Mozart, but we are also very open to all aspects of the future. So we set up our museums in a modern design, while preserving the old. Mozart’s Geburtshaus (“birthplace”) is very old, and we want to show people the historic rooms and architecture – but the presentation should be modern, and that’s very important to us.”

MOZARTS GEBURTSHAUS, 9 GETREIDEGASSE, TEL: +43 (0)662 844313, WWW.MOZARTEUM.AT

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