![Neues Gewandhaus Leipzig 2011 Alupus](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Neues_Gewandhaus_Leipzig_2011_Alupus.jpg)
Gewandhaus is a
concert hall in
Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
, the home of the
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...
. Today's hall is the third to bear this name; like the second, it is noted for its fine acoustics.
History
The first Gewandhaus (''Altes Gewandhaus'')
The first concert hall was constructed in 1781 by architect
Johann Carl Friedrich Dauthe inside the ''Gewandhaus'', a building used by cloth (garment) merchants. Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 (The
Emperor Concerto
The Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73, known as the Emperor Concerto in English-speaking countries, is a concerto composed by Ludwig van Beethoven for piano and orchestra. Beethoven composed the concerto in 1809 under salary in Vienna ...
) premiered here in 1811.
Felix Mendelssohn is particularly associated with the first Gewandhaus, of which he was director from 1835.
Other well-known works which premiered at the Altes Gewandhaus include:
*
Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...
's
Great Symphony
The Symphony No. 9 in C major, 944, known as the ''Great'' (first published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1849 as "Symphonie / C Dur / für großes Orchester", listed as Symphony No. 8 in the ''New Schubert Edition''), is the final symphony com ...
(21 March 1839, posth.)
*
Schumann
Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
's
Spring Symphony
The Spring Symphony is a choral symphony by Benjamin Britten, his Opus 44. It is dedicated to Serge Koussevitzky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra. It was premiered in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, on Thursday 14 July 1949 (not 9 July which is ...
(31 March 1841)
* Mendelssohn's
Scottish Symphony (3 March 1842)
*
Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto
Felix Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto in E minor, Op. 64, is his last concerto. Well received at its premiere, it has remained among the most prominent and highly-regarded violin concertos. It holds a central place in the violin repertoire and ...
(13 March 1845)
*
Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
's overture to ''
The Mastersingers of Nuremberg'' (2 June 1862; the full opera was not performed until 1868)
*
Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...
' ''
A German Requiem'' (first full performance, 18 February 1869)
*
Brahms Violin Concerto (1 January 1879)
The Altes Gewandhaus was used for concerts until 1884, sporadically between then until 1886. Despite several expansions, it eventually became too small to accommodate the burgeoning number of concertgoers from Germany's newly emergent middle class. Thus between 1893 and 1896 it was repurposed, partially demolished, and refitted to form an annexe of the
Städtisches Kaufhaus
The Städtisches Kaufhaus in Leipzig, designed by Rayher, Korber and Müller, was constructed from 1894 to 1901.
Site history prior to Städtisches Kaufhaus
This piece of land and architectural monument reflects 500 years of Leipzig's inner ci ...
.
The second Gewandhaus
The second Gewandhaus was designed by
Martin Gropius
Martin Carl Philipp Gropius (11 August 1824, Berlin – 13 December 1880) was a German architect.Wirth, Irmgard (1966).Gropius, Martin Carl Philipp. In: ''Neue Deutsche Biographie''. Band 7. Berlin: Duncker & Humblot. . p. 132-133 retriev ...
. It opened on 11 December 1884, and had a main concert hall and a chamber music hall. During this era the Gewandhaus was directed by some of the most renowned conductors of the day, such as
Arthur Nikisch
Arthur Nikisch (12 October 185523 January 1922) was a Hungarian conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter of the music of B ...
,
Wilhelm Furtwängler
Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , , ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a major ...
and
Bruno Walter
Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a German-born conductor, pianist and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French citizen in 1938, and settled in the U ...
.
It was severely damaged in the
firebombing of Leipzig in
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
during two separate raids on 4 December 1943 and 20 February 1944. Despite initial plans for rebuilding, the
East German
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
government deemed the ruins too structurally unsound, and they were demolished on 29 March 1968. The site was used as a carpark for several decades, until the Humanities faculty of
Leipzig University
Leipzig University (german: Universität Leipzig), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December ...
was opened on the grounds in 2002.
The third Gewandhaus
The third and current Gewandhaus on
Augustusplatz
The Augustusplatz is a square located at the east end of the city centre of Leipzig, borough Leipzig-Mitte. It is the city's largest square and one of the largest (and, prior to almost all its buildings being destroyed in bombing in the Second Wor ...
and the eastern part of the
inner city ring road opened on 8 October 1981, two hundred years after the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra moved into the original hall. The foundation stone was laid by conductor
Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur (18 July 1927 – 19 December 2015) was a German conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus O ...
on 8 November 1977. The architect was
Rudolf Skoda
Felix Rudolf Skoda (26 September 1931 – 2 April 2015) was a German architect and academic teacher. He was chief architect for the Gewandhaus, Neue Gewandhaus in Leipzig.
Life
Born in Leipzig, Skoda was the son of the painter and graphic arti ...
, who like his predecessor Dauthe was also a native of Leipzig. The design of the hall carefully took into consideration its precedents' reputation for excellent
acoustics. During construction, the hall was even filled up several times with soldiers of the East German
Nationale Volksarmee
The National People's Army (german: Nationale Volksarmee, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (GDR) from 1956 to 1990.
The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) an ...
to test its sound quality at full capacity.
During the
Autumn of Nations in 1989, the Gewandhaus became a platform for political dissent against the Communist authorities, as Masur opened up the hall for public discussion on the future and reform of the GDR (the so-called "Gewandhaus Talks").
Today's Gewandhaus has a seating capacity of 1900, and features a Schuke concert organ with 6,845 pipes.
Gallery
File:Leipzig Gewandhaus 1781.jpg, First Gewandhaus (1781). Watercolour by Felix Mendelssohn, with some lines from the opera ''Ali Baba
"Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" ( ar, علي بابا والأربعون لصا) is a folk tale from the '' One Thousand and One Nights''. It was added to the collection in the 18th century by its French translator Antoine Galland, who heard ...
'' by Luigi Cherubini, presented to Henriette Grabau-Bünau, principal singer of the Gewandhaus, to mark Mendelssohn's inaugural concert there on 4 October 1835.
File:Neues Gewandhaus 1884.jpg, Bond for the funding of the second Gewandhaus in Leipzig, issued 1 July 1884 by Giesecke+Devrient Giesecke may refer to:
People:
* Heinz-Eberhard Giesecke (1913–1991), German historian
*Karl Ludwig Giesecke FRSE (1761–1833), German actor, librettist, polar explorer and mineralogist
* Markus Giesecke (born 1979), German futsal player from Re ...
.[Manfred Dennecke: Deutsche Wirtschafts- und Finanzgeschichte, pp 148; ]
File:Leipzig Konzerthaus ca 1910.jpg, Second Gewandhaus (c. 1910), built to replace the first, which was renovated and repurposed. Severely damaged in two separate air raids on 4 December 1943 and 20 February 1944 during the bombing of Leipzig in World War II
During World War II, Leipzig was repeatedly attacked by British as well as American air raids. The most severe attack was launched by the Royal Air Force in the early hours of 4 December 1943 and claimed more than 1,800 lives. Large parts of t ...
. Ruins demolished in 1968.
File:Bundesarchiv Bild 183-S1108-028, Leipzig, Gewandhaus, Grundsteinlegung.jpg, Kurt Masur
Kurt Masur (18 July 1927 – 19 December 2015) was a German conductor. Called "one of the last old-style maestros", he directed many of the principal orchestras of his era. He had a long career as the Kapellmeister of the Leipzig Gewandhaus O ...
lays the foundation stone of the current Gewandhaus, 8 November 1977. Behind him is East German Minister for Culture Hans-Joachim Hoffmann.
See also
*
List of concert halls
References
Sources
*
Leo Beranek
Leo Leroy Beranek (September 15, 1914 – October 10, 2016) was an American acoustics expert, former MIT professor, and a founder and former president of Bolt, Beranek and Newman (now BBN Technologies). He authored ''Acoustics'', considered a cl ...
, ''Concert Halls and Opera Houses: Musics, Acoustics, and Architecture'', Springer, 2004, page 280. .
External links
History of the Gewandhausfrom the official site
{{Authority control
Concert halls in Germany
Buildings and structures in Leipzig
Buildings and structures completed in 1981
Tourist attractions in Leipzig
1981 establishments in East Germany
Music venues completed in 1781
Music venues completed in 1884
Music venues completed in 1981