Salzburg youth orchestra to play Mozart at Vatican

Salzburg youth orchestra Ensemble Bella Musica will perform in the Vatican Gardens on September 2, ORF reported. The concert will be recorded for Vatican Radio and will feature two violins once owned by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as well as a piece from the 1965 film The Sound of Music.

The performance by the chamber ensemble from the University Mozarteum’s pre-college programme will also include a possible brief meeting with Pope Leo XIV on the sidelines of his general audience. Artistic director Stefan David Hummel said the musicians were already looking forward to the encounter.

Hummel described the concert as a sign of peace in troubled times, saying music could connect people across borders, languages and beliefs.

Ten-year-old violinist Shuxuan Jin, who comes from China, will play Mozart’s childhood violin. The concert will also feature the Costa violin, made in 1764 by Italian violin maker Pietro Antonio Dalla Costa in Treviso and once played by Mozart.

According to the Catholic Press Agency, The Sound of Music is Pope Leo XIV’s favourite film. The young musicians will perform a piece from the film for Vatican Radio.