The new Bösendorfer concert grand piano of the Klagenfurt Concert Hall will be presented to the public on Thursday, November 27, 2025 at 6:30 p.m. in the Middle Hall by four pianists who were not chosen at random.

One grand piano for 4

Konzerthaus Klagenfurt

At the GMPU Jazz Faculty concert on November 25th, we are delighted to present our new professor of jazz double bass: Joshu Ginsburg. As the musical director for the evening, he will be performing works specially arranged for the GMPU Jazz Faculty Ensemble  – including both his own compositions and classics from the Great American Songbook .

GMPU Jazzline Faculty Ensemble

Kammerlichtspiele Klagenfurt

Dr. Luis Gimenez Amoros is a Spanish guitarist, composer, and researcher based in Lisbon. During his time as a lecturer in ethnomusicology in Algeria, Mali, Zimbabwe, South Africa, India, and Malaysia, and most recently as a Humboldt Foundation fellow at the University of Cologne, he has engaged intensively with transcultural, non-European musical practices, migrant music, and post-colonial studies. In his music, Amoros therefore combines traditional Spanish elements with other influences from Europe, Asia, and Africa, which he has gathered through his artistic and research experiences.

“Spanish/Sub-Saharan” with (Re)Shape with Dr. Luis Gimenez Amoros 

CMA Carinthische Musikakademie

The percussion class of GMPU will be going on its second percussion tour on November 7, 2025, and will be stopping at the Villach music school this year.

GMPU Percussion Tour 2 at the Villach Music School

Villach Music School

YOUNG JAZZ international in Ingolstadt

Gustav Mahler Privatuniversität für Musik

Within the framework of the ERASMUS+ project Music4Change this two-day event highlights through academic reflection and artistic research how sonic stereotypes of the Balkans can be questioned, recontextualized and cross-blended with a larger musical cosmopolitanism.

De-Balkanizing Balkan Music – Workshop@Villa for Forest

Villa For Forest - Villa am Ring 21

On July 6, 2025, at 7:00 p.m., you can experience for yourself in the New Hall how East African musical bows, virtuoso zither, Brazilian bossa nova tunes, Armenian jazz piano, and Indian tablas combine to create a completely new sound. Students and faculty from the institution, under the artistic direction of Karen Asatrian, have joined forces with freelance musicians from Carinthia to create an "impossible mixture" of jazz, folk music, and new arrangements, thus achieving a sonic integration.

Transcultural music ensemble

In this concert installation at the Domenig Steinhaus, students from the New Music department at the Institute for Musical Performance at the Gustav Mahler Private University will present themselves both in ensemble formations and as soloists. Alongside world premieres by GMPU composition students Anastasija Romanova, Bastian Brännland, and Stefan Rothschopf, composed specifically for the Domenig Steinhaus, the program also includes works by established and internationally renowned contemporary composers, including Arvo Pärt, Claude Vivier, James Tenney, Kaija Saariaho, and Toshio Hosokawa.

Stone House Concert Installation_3

Domenig Steinhaus

Orchestra: Carinthian Military Band, students of the GMPU and musicians of the Carinthian Wind Philharmonic

Final concert of the wind orchestra conductor

The JJOK (formerly the Carinthian State Youth Big Band) has existed in its current form since 2024 and has already performed at the Klagenfurt Concert Hall (including with Martin Grubinger) and at the Carinthian Music Academy. This year, the JJOK will perform with Monika Ballwein at the "Sounds of Carinthia" event and play three concerts with the Australian rapper Zero Emcee.

Youth Jazz Orchestra Carinthia (JJOK) & Mace Francis feat. Zero Emcee

The Jazz Nights offer a great opportunity to experience our young jazz talent live and to gain insights into a year of study full of musical development.

GMPU Jazz Nights

Listening is far more than passively absorbing information – it is an active act of empathy, solidarity, and participation. It opens up new perspectives, fosters change and resistance, and challenges us to engage with the world in radical ways. The transformative power of listening is the focus of this year's Mahler Forum, taking place on June 13 and 14.

Mahler Forum – The Sound of Listening

Kunstverein Kärnten Künstlerhaus Klagenfurt

Every first Thursday of May, June and July, Klagenfurt Airport and the Gustav Mahler Private University for Music host the event series “After-Work Session”.

Music on Air (port)

Bistro UDO & ROY

Saturday matinee of the GMPU piano classes

Heinrich von Herzogenberg – Life and work in the context of Romantic vocal music

Lecture Recital with Konrad A. Cygal (tenor) and Stefano Chiurchiu

Festive Music – Ensemble Closing Concert

PENELOPE 2025 invites all generations to immerse themselves in an ancient-baroque-modern world brimming with passion, puzzles, comical confusion, and fantastical magic. Drawing on the ancient Odyssey, the story of Penelope and Odysseus's long-distance relationship was brought to life for Carnival 1724 by the brilliant Viennese duo Pietro Pariati (libretto) and Francesco Bartolomeo Conti (music), who were active at the Viennese court. The performance explored timeless values ​​and featured captivating music. Students from the GMPU and the Conservatorio in Venice, under the direction of Klaus Kuchling, will revive this work – prepare to be enchanted, moved, thought-provoking, and laughing!

Penelope 25

Piano recital with Sylvia Taubmann

The concert series Vol. 2 for  solo and chamber music will bring  exciting musical encounters to the  Middle and Blue Halls of the Klagenfurt Concert Hall on five Wednesday evenings between  May 7 and June 4 , 2025. Concerts begin at  7 pm .

Alma Mahler Music Society – Concert Series Vol. 2

Experience an impressive variety of sounds and genres, presented by outstanding young musicians from the Excellence Cluster (ECM) of the GMPU and the music schools of the state of Carinthia, who will captivate the audience with passion and skill.

ECM concert “Prima la musica”

Carinthian Sax Night

The trombone class of the Gustav Mahler Private University, under the direction of Prof. Gerald Pöttinger MA, will perform works by

Trombones On Tour 2025

Pfarrkirche Stift Viktring

Performance practice of new music

Bastian BRÄNNLAND, Karlheinz ESSL, Martin GENAHL, Gerhard HAFNER, Dimitrios KATHAROPOULOS,David KOSVINER, Roberta LAZO VALENZUELA, Carolin Anna PICHLER and Wilfried SATKE played.

BRAND new – Max Brand Ensemble

On April 29, 2025, four first-class jazz pianists from the international jazz scene will perform at the Villa for Forest (Viktringer Ring 21, 9020) – each for 30 minutes solo and afterwards with the “GMPU house rhythm group” MARKTL Klemens , BA MA MA, Prof. and ZARFL Philipp , BMUS MA .

4th Annual GMPU JAZZ PIANO FESTIVAL

An evening with our GMPU Symphony Orchestra is always a unique and impressive experience. Following an intensive rehearsal period, the students of the Gustav Mahler Private University for Music (GMPU) will present two concerts under the direction of renowned conductor Tobias Wögerer and conducting students.

GMPU Symphony Orchestra in Klagenfurt

GMPU Symphony Orchestra in Bleiburg

Cultural Cathedral

The project focuses on the creation, development, and presentation of new compositions for accordion with other instruments. Participants will rehearse these newly composed pieces in joint sessions led by teachers and students. Direct communication with the composers is of paramount importance, providing an opportunity for the further development of the compositions themselves, as well as the musicians' sonic vision and their playing and vocal techniques. The results of this collaborative work will be presented in a concert and documented through an audio recording. Public awareness will be enhanced by a report from the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF).

New Music with Accordion – Final Concert

The project focuses on the creation, development, and presentation of new compositions for accordion with other instruments. Participants will rehearse these newly composed pieces together in joint sessions led by teachers and students. Direct communication with the composers is of paramount importance, providing an opportunity for the further development of the compositions themselves, as well as the musicians' sonic vision and their playing and vocal techniques. The results of this collaborative work will be presented in a concert and documented through an audio recording. Public awareness will be enhanced by a report broadcast by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF).

New Music with Accordion – Presentation Concert

New Music with Accordion – Opening Concert

An evening of chamber music featuring the great masterpieces of the Romantic era by J. Brahms, R. Schumann and S. Rachmaninoff.

For cello and piano… or for piano and cello?

Experience an impressive variety of sounds and genres, presented by outstanding young musicians from the GMPU's Cluster of Excellence (ECM), who will captivate the audience with passion and skill.

ECM concert of the GMPU

An absolute highlight in the summer semester of 2025 will be the visit of NY Drumming Star ARI HOENIG.

GMPU Jazz Orchestra feat. ARI HOENIG

ORF-Landesstudio Kärnten

Hoenig/zarfl/marktl-trio

With incredible passion for pop music, four ensembles (students & teachers) from the Gustav Mahler Private University for Music will present a varied program of well-known hits in their own arrangements this evening.

1. GMPU Pop Night

In addition, masterclasses for composition students will take place on March 24, 2025.

Portrait concert with electronic music featuring Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf

In addition to top-class concerts by internationally renowned artists such as Margarita Escarpa (ESP), Oman Kaminsky (Mexico) and Anabel Montesinos, masterclasses, workshops, further training and ensemble projects take place at the Gustav Mahler Private University for Music in cooperation with the music schools of the state of Carinthia.

GMPU Guitar Days25

Sun Til Threads will open the evening with an electronic set, followed by an open improvisation concert to which everyone is invited: to play together or simply to listen! Every instrument is welcome, whether it needs electricity or not.

Improvisation Night with suntil threads

Kärnten Museum

Thomas Salzmann (Klagenfurt Music School, class: Krassimir Tassev) present selected songs by Hugo Wolf.

Lieder recital

Let yourself be enchanted by a magical concert and enjoy the diversity and beauty of the works of Johann Strauss entitled "Echo to the Johann Strauss Year 2025".

TeaTime at the Klagenfurt Concert Hall

Anyone who wants to can bring their instrument!

Vino & Folk – Musicians' get-together of the GMPU

Café Bistro Intermezzo

Workshop concert as part of the course “Interpretation in the dialogue between practice and science”

Workshop concert of the interpretation seminar

The GMPU Symphony Orchestra is a project within the framework of musical training for orchestral musicians, comprised of talented students from the Gustav Mahler Private University for Music. Under the professional direction of the experienced Austrian conductor Tobias Wögerer (winner of the 10th MDR Conducting Competition in Leipzig), the young artists experience not only technical precision, but also the emotional depth and expressiveness that makes every performance a special experience.

GMPU Symphony Orchestra

GMPU Trumpet Party @ Villa for Forest

Internationally renowned jazz bassist, composer, and bandleader Omer Avital has been described by critics as "extraordinary" (New York Times), "brilliantly inventive" (Jazziz), and "one of the most exciting musicians of the last 20 years" (Downbeat). He studied at the prestigious New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York and has collaborated with renowned artists such as Avishai Cohen, Aaron Goldberg, and Yonathan Avishai throughout his career. A virtuoso bassist and visionary composer, he transcends the boundaries of jazz with his genre-crossing ensembles, captivating audiences with both swing and spiritual depth. Avital's diverse compositions range from sophisticated jazz dialogues (Omer Avital Quintet) and funky Middle Eastern grooves (Yemen Blues) to orchestral works that blend European classical music, jazz, and traditional Sephardic music (Song Of A Land). Born in Israel and based in Brooklyn, Avital is a master of musical multilingualism: equally skilled in creating elegant bass lines as in composing unforgettable melodies.

Artist in Residence – Workshop & Concert with Omer Avital

Works by Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg and Anton Webern, as well as Bastian Brännland and Luisa Valeria Carpignano

Opening of the Arnold Schoenberg anniversary exhibition

On November 28th, the ORF Theater Klagenfurt will be transformed into a stage for passionate jazz and swinging rhythms. Under the direction of Reinhold Pleschberger-Schmölzer, the GMPU Jazz Orchestra will present a program showcasing the diversity of jazz in all its facets. The orchestra will be joined on stage by our jazz professors Rob Bargad, Philipp Zarfl, Klemens Marktl, Michael Erian, Daniel Nösig, Marko Crncec, Andreas Mittermayer, Emiliano Sampaio, Caroline DeRooij, and Max Grosch. They will perform with the orchestra, contributing original compositions specially arranged for this occasion by students from the Jazz Composition class.

GMPU Jazz Orchestra feat. Institute Teachers

ECM concert of the GMPU 2024

the M-classes of BRG Viktring and the Excellence Cluster Music of GMPU

ECM concert

BRG Viktring Fresco Hall

Francesco Pellegrino sax and electronics Luisa Valeria Carpignano piano within the Artistic Research Department.

Electroacoustic Improvisation

The teaching staff of the Institute for Jazz present a special program once per semester as part of the performances – a fixed date that will delight jazz fans and music lovers alike.

GMPU Jazz Faculty Line

What originally began as a chamber music study project at the Bruckner University in Linz has since established itself as a refreshingly professional trio on the path between tradition and modernity: Diatonic Expeditions! Styrian accordion meets dulcimer, harp, vocals and bass clarinet – original compositions meet music by Astor Piazzolla, George Gershwin, Elvis Presley and Nina Simone.

Diatonic Expeditions – Concert

As part of Austrian Composers Week 2024, Carinthia is participating with a portrait concert of the composition department at the Gustav Mahler Private University. Exactly 40 years ago, in October 1984, the first modern composition class was established at what was then the Carinthian State Conservatory in Klagenfurt, under the direction of Dieter Kaufmann. A diverse international composition scene has since developed at the Gustav Mahler Private University, which will be showcased in this portrait concert. The program will feature a cross-section of music, ranging from instrumental to electronic: works by Luisa Valeria Carpignano, Hannah Eisendle, Jakob Gruchmann, Christopher Kueß, Thomas Modrej, Michael Pelzel, Daniele Pozzi, Hanns Holger Rutz, and Hakan Ulus, performed by Anna Morgoulets, Kaori Nishii, and Florian Palier.

Gustav Mahler Privatuniversität für Musik

Nov 27, 2025

One grand piano for 4

Nov 25, 2025

GMPU Jazzline Faculty Ensemble

Gustav Mahler Privatuniversität für Musik