Mozart communities - all over the world

Roughly 100 Mozart associations worldwide have as their common goal the cultivation and dissemination of Mozart's musical heritage through a variety of activities. Artistic and scholarly collaborations relating to the life and works of Mozart whether in a concert setting or fostering one of the numerous Mozart sites are primary focus of these organizations.

The activities of these groups network with the Stiftung Mozarteum Salzburg and culminate in the annual meeting of Mozart Associations in Salzburg.

Greek Mozart Community

Greek Mozart Community (GMS)

The Greek Mozart Society (GMS) was founded by Loris Margaritis around 1920 in Thessaloniki.

Loris Margaritis admired and immortalised by Thomas Mann in his novel "Das Wunderkind", was a distinguished Greek composer, performer and music-educator and carried on the tradition of Liszt. He was a student of Bernhard Stavenhangen and for many years prominent member of the Mozarteum Institution.

Main focuses of the societies' activities are the continuation of Mozart's spirituality and the Weimar Classic ideals as well as the dissemination of musical works and ideas of Viennese Classic. In addition the society keeps attention on the interdependency between the neo hellenic and romantic philhellenic horizons and offers new productive ways of approaching musical traditions in the technological age. Another common ground is the bridge over of time and space through innovative ways of music interpretation and initiatives and the support of new ideas by rediscovering traditions and bringing them forward.

Personalities of international reputation from the academic, political and art spheres were connected with the Greek Mozart Society before and after Second World War. During the last decade (2001-2010) various new activities have been initiated and organized as congresses, advanced education programs, concerts, multimedia presentations and exhibitions in many Greek peripheral regions and at the Greek Mozart centre as well as a fruitful permanent collaboration with the Free University of Athens.

In 2003 high-ranking Professors of Musicology participated in a very important conference commemorating of Loris Margaritis, the founder of GMS.

In 2006, the year of 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the GMS among other activities jointly cooperated with the Evangelical Church of Athens, the Orchestra and Choir of Athens University and the Choir of the Ministry of Culture performing an anniversary concert with Mozart’s sacred music. In the same year a Mozart Congress was organized in collaboration with Athens and Thessaloniki Universities for the first time in Greece focusing on the Theme Mozart in Acropolis and investigating many aspects of Mozart's diachrony and reception, also in Greece.

An additional highlight with a great acceptance was the realisation of advanced multimedia and media productions based on Mozart's life and his works in cooperation with the Greek Parliament's Television.

Isavron 10
114 71 Athen
Griechenland

Tel: 00302103390971
Fax: 00302103634509
e-mail: isophon@otenet.gr