The Wiener Flötenuhr or Viennese Musical Clock is a prize given by the

Mozart Society of Vienna Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age resulted in more than 80 ...

(German: Mozartgemeinde Wien) for notable recordings of works by

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

History

The Musical Clock was designed by the sculptor Fritz Tiefenthaler for the first award ceremony in 1969. It is a

relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

gilt iron plate with a historical

music box A music box (American English) or musical box (British English) is an automatic musical instrument in a box that produces Musical note, musical notes by using a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder (geometry), cylinder or disc to pluck ...

. The left side reads "Schallplattenpreis Flötenuhr", or "Record prize Musical clock", and the right reads "Mozartgemeinde Wien", or "Mozart Society of Vienna". It was originally presented annually, but for several years has only been presented every second year. The suggestion for the design was made by the then honorary chairman of the Mozart Society, inspired by Mozart's late compositions for music boxes and mechanical organs (for example, K. 594 and 608). Until 1982, the record company was awarded a replica of the Viennese Musical Clock, while the artist was given a certificate on which was shown the

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

musical clock A musical clock is a clock that marks the hours of the day with a musical tune. They can be considered elaborate versions of striking or chiming clocks. Elaborate large-scale musical clocks with automatons are often installed in public plac ...

, which was the model for the Viennese version. Since the late 1980s, the tradition of awarding a

replica A replica is an exact (usually 1:1 in scale) copy or remake of an object, made out of the same raw materials, whether a molecule, a work of art, or a commercial product. The term is also used for copies that closely resemble the original, without ...

of the clock has been dispensed with for financial reasons. From the 1990s, the artists have been rewarded directly. As part of a long-standing tradition, each prize is presented in a 'winner's concert'. Today, the original Viennese musical clock, along with the

archives An archive is an accumulation of historical records or materials, in any medium, or the physical facility in which they are located. Archives contain primary source documents that have accumulated over the course of an individual or organ ...

of the Mozart Society, reside in the Vienna City and State archives.

Recipients of the Wiener Flötenuhr

1970s and 1980s

Source: *

Vienna Philharmonic Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; ) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. Its members are selected from the orchestra of ...

Camerata Salzburg The Camerata Salzburg is an Austrian chamber orchestra based in Salzburg, Austria. The Camerata's principal concert venue is the Mozarteum University. History Bernhard Paumgartner founded the ensemble in 1952 as the ''Camerata Academica des Moz ...

* Dresdner Staatskapelle *

Academy of St Martin in the Fields The Academy of St Martin in the Fields (ASMF) is an English orchestra, based in London. John Churchill, then Master of Music at the London church of St Martin-in-the-Fields, and Neville Marriner founded the orchestra as "The Academy of St. M ...

London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is a British orchestra based in London. One of five permanent symphony orchestras in London, the LPO was founded by the conductors Thomas Beecham, Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a riv ...

Nikolaus Harnoncourt Johann Nikolaus Harnoncourt (6 December 1929 – 5 March 2016) was an Austrian conductor, known for his historically informed performances. He specialized in music of the Baroque period, but later extended his repertoire to include Classical ...

Czech Philharmonic The Czech Philharmonic () is a symphony orchestra based in Prague. Its principal performing venue is the Rudolfinum concert hall. History The name "Czech Philharmonic Orchestra" appeared for the first time in 1894, as the title of the orche ...

Pavel Štěpán Pavel Štěpán (28 May 1925 – 30 September 1998) was a Czechs, Czech pianist whose domain was the interpretation of piano works by Josef Suk (composer), Josef Suk, Vitezslav Novak and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's piano concertos. He has always been ...

Karl Böhm Karl August Leopold Böhm (28 August 1894 – 14 August 1981) was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss. Life and career Education Karl Böhm was born in Graz, St ...

* Jana Jonášová *

Neville Marriner Sir Neville Marriner, (15 April 1924 – 2 October 2016) was an English conductor and violinist. Described as "one of the world's greatest conductors", Gramophone lists Marriner as one of the 50 greatest conductors and another compilation ra ...

Bernhard Klee Bernhard Klee (born 19 April 1936) is a German conductor, originally from Schleiz, in Thuringia. He studied piano with Else Schmitz-Gohr. Trained as a member of the Thomanerchor, he has since conducted many of Europe's most prestigious orchestras ...

Edda Moser Edda Moser (born 27 October 1938) is a German operatic soprano. She was particularly well known for her interpretations of music by Mozart. Her 1973 recital LP ' received the Grand Prix du Disque. Life and career Moser was born in Berlin, the ...

Peter Schreier Peter Schreier (29 July 1935 – 25 December 2019) was a German tenor in opera, concert and lied, and a conductor. He was regarded as one of the leading lyric tenors of the 20th century. Schreier was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor conduct ...

Maurizio Pollini Maurizio Pollini (5 January 1942 – 23 March 2024) was an Italian pianist and conductor. He was known for performances of Beethoven, Chopin, Debussy, and the Second Viennese School, among others. He championed works by contemporary composers ...

Jörg Demus Jörg Wolfgang Demus (2 December 1928 – 16 April 2019) was an Austrian classical pianist who appeared internationally and made many recordings. He was also a composer and a lecturer at music academies. In composition and playing, he focused on ...

Amadeus Quartet The Amadeus Quartet was a string quartet founded in 1947 and disbanded in 1987, having retained its founding members throughout its history. Noted for its smooth, sophisticated style, its seamless ensemble playing, and its sensitive interpretat ...

* Polish Chamber Orchestra * Alban Berg Quartett * Küchl Quartett

1989–present, new format

Source: *

András Schiff Sir András Schiff (; born 21 December 1953) is a Hungarian-born British classical pianist and conductor. He has received numerous awards and honours, including the Grammy Award, Gramophone Award, Mozart Medal, and Royal Academy of Music Bac ...

, 1989 * Roland Batik and the Artis-Quartett, 1991 *

Thomas Zehetmair Thomas Zehetmair (born 23 November 1961) is an Austrian violinist and conductor. Biography Zehetmair was born in Salzburg, and studied at the Salzburg Mozarteum, where both of his parents taught. His festival debut was at age 16. He was in ...

, 1992 * Ensemble Wien, 1993 * Wolfgang Schulz and

Hansjörg Schellenberger Hansjörg Schellenberger is a German oboist and conductor born in 1948. He won the first prize at the German Jugend musiziert Competition with seventeen, which led to a scholarship enabling him to further his education at Interlochen (Michig ...

, 1995 *

Alban Berg Quartet The Alban Berg Quartett (ABQ) was a string quartet founded in Vienna, named after the composer Alban Berg. Active from 1970 to 2008, the group included first violinist Günter Pichler and cellist Valentin Erben, while the second violinist was ...

, 1996 *

Ruth Ziesak Ruth Ziesak (born 9 February 1963) is a German soprano in opera and concert. Career Ruth Ziesak studied voice at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts with Elsa Cavelti and Christoph Prégardien. She has been a member of the Mu ...

, 1997 *

Bo Skovhus Bo Skovhus (born 22 May 1962 in Ikast, Denmark) is a Danish opera singer (baritone). Skovhus studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, at the Royal Academy for Opera of Copenhagen and in New York with Oren Brown. While studying vo ...

, 1998 * Margarethe Babinsky, 1999 * Anton Scharinger, 2001 * Edith Lienbacher, 2003 * Barbara Moser / Joanna Madroszkiewicz, 2005 * Haydn Trio Eisenstadt, 2007 *

Bertrand de Billy Bertrand de Billy (born Paris, 11 January 1965) is a French and Swiss conductor. He attended a Jesuit school, but only started serious musical studies when he was around 14–15; he studied piano and violin. CD Opéra https://debilly.com/cd-op ...

, 2009 *

Michael Schade Michael Schade (born 23 January 1965) is a Canadian operatic tenor, who was born in Geneva and raised in Germany and Canada. He and his wife Dee McKee, and their youngest child live in Vienna, Austria; the rest of the family lives in Canada. ...

, 2011 *

Wiener Sängerknaben The Vienna Boys' Choir () is a choir of boy sopranos and altos based in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the best known boys' choirs in the world. The boys are selected mainly from Austria, but also from many other countries. The choir is a private ...

, 2013 *

Luca Pisaroni Luca Pisaroni (born 1975) is an Italian operatic bass-baritone, known for his roles in Mozart's operas, but who has steadily expanded his repertoire into the Baroque as well as moving beyond into Rossini. Early life Although born in Ciudad Bolív ...

, 2015 *

Kristian Bezuidenhout Kristian Bezuidenhout is an Australian pianist, who specializes in performances on early keyboard instruments. He was born in South Africa in 1979 and grew up in King William's Town in Eastern South Africa. In 1988 his family decided to leave S ...

, 2019

References

External links

Mozartgemeinde Wien website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiener Flotenuhr Austrian music awards Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Awards established in 1969 1969 establishments in Austria Clocks Music in Vienna