11 Concerts across Vienna
The Musethica Session at the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna took place from 8th to 15th of November 2025, and brought together a group of highly talented young musicians for an intensive week of chamber-music performance and social engagement.
The participating musicians were violinist Yiaye Chen (China), cellist Jonathan Gerstner (Switzerland) and the two pianists Dominik Ilisz (Romania) and Naotaka Sato (Japan). They were joined by co-founder and Artistic Director of Musethica Avri Levitan, who tutored the ensemble throughout the week.
Over the course of the session, the ensemble performed a total of eleven concerts in a range of social institutions across Vienna. These included the Pflege Rudolfsheim- Fünfhaus and Pflege Innerfavoriten, two elderly homes, Bildungscampus Christine Nöstlinger and Karl Schubert Schule, school classes for children with special needs, Cape 10, a house which supports children at risk of poverty and the Obdach Gänsbachergasse for people experiencing temporary homelessness. The musicians also visited the Klinik Ottakring (Kinder- und Jugendheilkunde) in the 16th district, offering concerts especially for children and young adults. Each performance was followed by moments of exchange with the audiences, creating a space of direct human connection that is central to Musethica.
The session concluded with a public final concert on November 15th, 2025, at the Wappensaal of the Wiener Rathaus, presented in cooperation with the City of Vienna. The programme featured works by Francis Poulenc, Igor Stravinsky–Agosti and Johannes Brahms, offering insight into the intense musical development achieved by the students during the week. Admission to the final concert was free, reflecting the programme’s commitment to accessibility and inclusion. This concert also set a record for a final Musethica concert at the mdw, drawing an audience of 180 visitors.
The November session demonstrated once again how artistic excellence and social engagement can be meaningfully integrated. By performing repeatedly in intimate social settings, the participating musicians deepened their interpretative awareness, broadened their communicative ability and experienced the direct human impact of their art. At the same time, the concerts brought high-quality live music to people who rarely can attend classical performances, reinforcing the central mission of Musethica and contributing to greater cultural participation across Vienna.
