Siegfried Mauser (born 3 November 1954) is a German

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

, academic and music manager. In 2016, 2017, and 2018, German courts convicted him as a multiple sex offender.Ralf Wiegand/Susi Wimmer, ''Professor Unrat.'' In: ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'', no. 113 (18 May 2018), p. 9

Education

Siegfried Mauser was born in Straubing (Bavaria). He studied piano with Rosl Schmid and

Alfons Kontarsky Aloys (14 May 1931 – 22 August 2017) and Alfons (9 October 1932 – 5 May 2010) Kontarsky were German duo-pianist brothers who were associated with a number of important world premieres of contemporary works. They had an international reputatio ...

. Through the influence of the Kontarskys in particular, Mauser became a champion of modernist and of contemporary piano music. In Munich and Salzburg, his academic subjects were

musicology Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some mu ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and

art history Art history is the study of aesthetic objects and visual expression in historical and stylistic context. Traditionally, the discipline of art history emphasized painting, drawing, sculpture, architecture, ceramics and decorative arts; yet today ...

Career

From 1981 to 1983 Mauser was lecturer in musicology and piano in Munich, subsequently professor of piano at the

Hochschule für Musik Würzburg The Hochschule für Musik Würzburg (University of Music Würzburg) was founded in 1797 by Franz Joseph Fröhlich as Collegium musicum academicum (Academic college of music). From 1921 to 1973, it was named Bayerisches Staatskonservatorium der Mu ...

and of musicology in Salzburg (Austria). At Salzburg, he founded an Institute for Musical

Hermeneutics Hermeneutics () is the theory and methodology of interpretation, especially the interpretation of biblical texts, wisdom literature, and philosophical texts. Hermeneutics is more than interpretative principles or methods used when immediate c ...

. From 2003 to 2014, Mauser was President of the Hochschule für Musik München. He has been Director of the Music Section of the Bavarian Academy of Arts since 2002. Mauser is on the faculty of the State Academy for Design Karlsruhe (Germany). Philosopher

Peter Sloterdijk Peter Sloterdijk (; ; born 26 June 1947) is a German philosopher and cultural theorist. He is a professor of philosophy and media theory at the University of Art and Design Karlsruhe. He co-hosted the German television show ''Im Glashaus: Das P ...

in 2011 made a case that "Siegfried Mauser, not lexanderPereira, should have become new director of the alzburgFestival". In October 2015, the City of Salzburg appointed Mauser director of its festival Biennale. From October 2014 to June 2016, he served as Rector of the University Mozarteum Salzburg; Mauser had to withdraw from his position after charges against him had been substantiated in court. A generous severance pay, however, was granted to him by the Mozarteum.

Criminal trials

On 13 May 2016, the Munich District Court ("Amtsgericht München") sentenced Siegfried Mauser to one year and three months' jail on probation and a 25,000 Euro penalty for sexual harassment ("sexuelle Nötigung", § 177 German Criminal Law Code) of one of his colleagues, harpsichordist

Christine Schornsheim Christine Schornsheim, married name Christine Engelmayr (born in 1959), is a German harpsichordist and pianist. Life and career Schornsheim attended the from 1969 to 1976 and studied piano at the local Berlin University of the Arts until 1982. ...

, at the Hochschule für Musik München. Following the verdict, Mauser suffered a nervous breakdown and received psychiatric treatment at the Christian Doppler Clinic within the Salzburg University Hospital. Subsequently, he appealed to the Munich Regional Court I ("Landgericht München I"). Here Mauser pleaded that judicial authorities had singled him out for a libertine way of life rather than criminal offence and urged "not to make" him "a victim of ''zeitgeist''" ("kein Zeitgeist-Opfer"). The Regional Court, though, essentially confirmed the District Court's verdict on 26 April 2017; the prison sentence was reduced to nine months on probation. Already on 19 April 2017 further charges against Mauser had become public, one of (anal)

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...

and three of sexual harassment. Regarding these, Mauser was sentenced, on 16 May 2018, to two years and nine months in prison.

Public controversy

Mauser's case stirred public controversy in Germany. Taking issue with the District Court's verdict, poet and writer

Hans Magnus Enzensberger Hans Magnus Enzensberger (11 November 1929 – 24 November 2022) was a German author, poet, translator, and editor. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Andreas Thalmayr, Elisabeth Ambras, Linda Quilt and Giorgio Pellizzi. Enzensberger was regarde ...

claimed that a professor had taken revenge after Mauser had blocked (or at least not promoted) her career: "Ladies whose advances are rejected are like treacherous anti-tank mines. Their thirst for revenge should never be underestimated." In response, author argued that the jury had taken into account testimony by 16 witnesses; mere personal acquaintance, Bahners maintained, hardly placed Enzensberger and other friends of Mauser in a superior position to judge the events.

, in a spoken statement at the high-profile philosophy festival on 21 May 2016, described the District Court's decision as a stark symptom of contemporary neo-Puritan ("neopuritanische") prudery, a social and political trend eroding the achievements of sexual liberation in Germany since the 1960s. Reacting to Mauser's case, the Hochschule für Musik München committed itself to stricter measures (both precautionary and in terms of sanctions) against sexual harassment.

Selected honours

* 2009: Austrian Cross of Honours for Science and Art * 2010: Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany * 2012: King Maximilian Medal of the Federal State of Bavaria

References

External links

Personal page at the Musikhochschule München

Personal page at the University Mozarteum Salzburg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mauser, Siegfried German pianists Living people 1954 births Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People from Straubing University of Music and Performing Arts Munich faculty 21st-century pianists Hochschule für Musik Würzburg faculty German prisoners and detainees Contemporary classical music performers