Inside as well as outside, the MUMUTH makes an engagingly friendly impression. ‘E-Musik’ (serious music), a rigid term given to this art form, fills the air on Lichtenfelsgasse. Classical training is the foundation for this music-- the University of Music and Performing Arts is housed here. Dutch architect Ben van Berkel has engraved his love for sounds into the MUMUTH. With playful lightness, the free-formed figure of the “Twist“ whirls from the foyer into the upper floors of the concert hall. Several layers topped by stainless steel grids cover the unusual facade. During the ‘Steirischer Herbst’, a festival for new art, the György-Ligeti-Hall in the MUMUTH served as the location for various plays, immersing the audience in a natural fog.

This soundscape, though, is not reserved for international artists only: Students from the University of Music and Performing Arts rehearse here throughout the year. Their concerts and opera productions are partly performed in front of an audience. The yearly “Redoute” is a special highlight. Young soloists take positions throughout the house. With fanfare and waltz, midnight specials and bar music, young musicians introduce themselves – until the night bids farewell and the morning can be seen through the big glass windows. This spectacle reverberates: In addition to students for chamber music, jazz students can be heard regularly. The talented Angela Tröndle studied jazz composition in Graz. Her “Little Band From Gingerland“ is treading new musical ground in an incredibly smart way.