Musical Instruments

Since its founding in 1834, Salzburg Museum has been collecting musical instruments and sheet music, with the aim of preserving the heritage of Salzburg’s rich and diverse history of music for future generations. The first instrument listed in the inventory was a basset recorder by Hans Rauch von Schratt from 1535.

The local connection to the city and province of Salzburg remains a guiding principle of the collection strategy to this day.

The objects in the Musical Instruments Collection are important testimonies to the local history of music and culture. The collection encompasses all types of instruments from the sixteenth century to the present day: starting with a Renaissance lute by Michael Gartner from 1524, which was later rebuilt, to a 4 x 4 metre sound installation by Werner Raditschnig, which was played at the opening of the Rockhouse in Salzburg in 1993. Instruments from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries represent a key focus of the collection.

Moreover, Salzburg Museum has been administrator since 1995 of the Cubasch Collection (wind instruments of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries) of the International Mozarteum Foundation and since 2001 the Karl Wlaschek Collection (keyboard instruments). Recently, in addition to musical instruments, sound recording media such as records, music cassettes, and CDs have been added to the collection.

In line with the museum’s core activities – collecting, preserving, researching, educating, and exhibiting – the Musical Instruments Collection is to be expanded through donations and targeted acquisitions.
At the same time, it should be carefully conserved, studied, and interpreted according to the latest knowledge. It is intended to promote international and national scholarly dialogue, and the objects should be presented to the public in exhibitions and educational formats in a contemporary manner.