Great composers can sometimes feel disconnected from us: separated by their rare ability. But they all had to eat, and their dining experiences and habits can take us into their world and even throw more light on their musical genius. As demonstrated by the Mozart at Table exhibition.
- Held at the Mozarthaus
- Explore various themes that bring the past and Mozart to life
- Full of lovely little anecdotes
- Just one room, so quick to get round
- All info in English, too
- Runs May 24, 2024 – Mar 16, 2025
- Book Mozarthaus tickets* online
- and look for concert add-ons
- See also:
Mozart at Table
(Exhibition view; press photo © Alexander Wulz)
If you passed a Munich inn called The Black Eagle one afternoon back in the late 1770s, you might have heard someone playing the fortepiano inside with unusual expertise.
Too bad you didn’t put your head round the door and ask for an autograph, as that someone was Mozart. He stayed there on his travels and once put on a little house concert with the innkeeper that lasted 4½ hours.
That kind of anecdote pops up in the Mozart at Table exhibition at the Mozarthaus. Although occupying just one room, it packs a lot of such details into a small space.
Discrete sections cover individual themes related to Mozart’s dining habits and locations, often linking these to his compositions and writing.
(Exhibition view; press photo © Alexander Wulz)
So we learn how restaurant premises doubled as concert halls. Or which Viennese inns Mozart definitely frequented. Or who organised the food for his wedding. Or where food and drink play a role in his operas.
As such, the exhibition offers insights into both times past and Mozart’s life: its banalities and those moments when his genius shines through.
We discover, for example, how he composed bits of Don Giovanni during a game of skittles with friends in Prague. Or got so lost in his music at one dinner invite that he simply never got around to eating.
And in among the pictures, letters and other documents (both original and in copy) that illustrate each section you find those lovely little snippets that bring the great composers of the past to life.
The final section, for example, has a page from Beethoven’s 1792 cash book with the entry, “drinking chocolate for me and Haydn.” A line that sends the imagination soaring.
Dates, tickets & tips
Enjoy a tasty dip into Mozart’s life from May 25th, 2025 to March 16th, 2025. An entrance ticket for or from the Mozarthaus includes the special exhibition.
(Booking service provided by Tiqets.com*, who I am an affiliate of)
Those restaurants we know Mozart definitely ate at no longer exist (it’s asking a lot to last that long). But you can explore other locations with a surviving Mozart connection.
A couple of composer-related exhibitions at nearby institutions might interest you, too:
- The State Hall of the National Library has a Bruckner exhibition running provisionally until January 26th, 2025
- The Theatermuseum plans a Strauss exhibition from December 2024 (look out for others, as 2025 is Strauss year in Vienna)
How to get there
Follow the travel tips in the main Mozarthaus article. The special exhibition occupies a room on the third floor.
Address: Domgasse 5, 1010 Vienna