200,400 euros

Conductor first thought the money call was a prank

Elisabeth Fuchs is committed to musical education for all social classes: Thanks to the donation, all first-graders in the province of Salzburg will once again receive a recorder and a specially created learning booklet as a gift this year(Bild: Erika Mayer)

200,400 euros from the fortune of millionaire heiress Marlene Engelhorn were distributed to the Salzburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor Elisabeth Fuchs couldn't believe her luck at first.

It started with a phone call that sounded strange at first: "We were called on behalf of the 'Good Council' and asked for our account details for the transfer. We were a little skeptical at first, but then we gave them our details after all," Philharmonie director Elisabeth Fuchs tells the Krone. Lucky in this case! Because 200,400 euros from the redistributed assets of millionaire heiress Marlene Engelhorn ended up in the Salzburg Philharmonic's account.

We are trusted to do good and we will continue to do so.

Elisabeth Fuchs

"Somehow we still can't quite believe it. This is the biggest private donation we have ever received. We are very grateful for it," says Fuchs.

And it comes at exactly the right time. Thanks to the unexpected windfall, the conductor and her orchestra can now implement four projects that were already on the brink of collapse. This year, for example, all first-graders in the province of Salzburg will once again receive free recorders. "We are trusted to do good and we will continue to do so."

Fuchs does not know who exactly within the "Good Council" put in a good word for the Salzburg orchestra during the money distribution campaign. "Thank God we have a large circle of friends and supporters. Because although I'm usually very active with sponsors and politicians, I have to say: this time I didn't do anything for it," jokes the conductor.