The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig) is a

public university A public university or public college is a university or college that is in owned by the state or receives significant public funds through a national or subnational government, as opposed to a private university. Whether a national universi ...

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 ...

(

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

). Founded in 1843 by

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...

as the Conservatorium der Musik (Conservatory of Music), it is the oldest university school of music in Germany. The institution includes the traditional Church Music Institute founded in 1919 by

Karl Straube Montgomery Rufus Karl Siegfried Straube (6 January 1873 – 27 April 1950) was a German church musician, organist, and choral conductor, famous above all for championing the abundant organ music of Max Reger. Career Born in Berlin, Straube stu ...

(1873–1950). The music school was renamed ″Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy″ after its founder in 1972. In 1992, it incorporated the Theaterhochschule "Hans Otto" Leipzig. Since the beginning there was a tight relationship between apprenticeship and practical experience with the Gewandhaus and the Oper Leipzig, as well as theaters in

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt , ) is the third-largest city in the German state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden. It is the 28th largest city of Germany as well as the fourth largest city in the area of former East Germany ...

('' Theater Chemnitz''),

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label= Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

(''

Staatsschauspiel Dresden The Staatsschauspiel Dresden (State Playhouse Dresden) is a theatre in Dresden. It is maintained by the Free State of Saxony, hence its name. It consists of a main auditorium, the ' (play house), and a studio theatre, the '. It was created in 198 ...

''),

Halle Halle may refer to: Places Germany * Halle (Saale), also called Halle an der Saale, a city in Saxony-Anhalt ** Halle (region), a former administrative region in Saxony-Anhalt ** Bezirk Halle, a former administrative division of East Germany ** Hal ...

(''Neues Theater Halle''),

(''Schauspiel Leipzig'') and

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

(''Deutsches Nationaltheater in Weimar''). The university of music and theater is one of 365 places chosen in 2009 by the

Cabinet of Germany The Federal Cabinet or Federal Government (german: link=no, Bundeskabinett or ') is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and cabinet ministers. The fundamentals of the cabinet's or ...

and the ''Office of the Representative of German Industry and Trade'' for the campaign ''Germany – Land of Ideas''.

History

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, the composer and Music Director of the

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 ...

, founded a Conservatory in the city of Leipzig on 2 April 1843. It was financed by a senior civil servant of the

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony (german: Königreich Sachsen), lasting from 1806 to 1918, was an independent member of a number of historical confederacies in Napoleonic through post-Napoleonic Germany. The kingdom was formed from the Electorate of Sax ...

, the Oberhofgerichtsrat Heinrich Blümner (1765–1839), who provided King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony with 20,000

Thaler A thaler (; also taler, from german: Taler) is one of the large silver coins minted in the states and territories of the Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg monarchy during the Early Modern period. A ''thaler'' size silver coin has a diameter o ...

. The music school's home was in the first Gewandhaus (in the Gewandgäßchen/Universitätsstraße street at the city center, today the city's department store is based there). The musicians of the Orchestra were obligated to act as teaching staff, a tradition that was unbroken until

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

in 1990.

In 1876 the school got permission to change its name to ''Königliches Konservatorium der Musik zu Leipzig'', Royal Conservatory of Music of Leipzig. The new premises at Grassistraße 8 were inaugurated on 5 December 1887. They were built 1885–1887 by the architect Hugo Licht in the music quarter of Leipzig, south-west of the city center. The benefactor was the pathologist Justus Radius. Not until 1924 was the Royal Conservatory renamed into Landeskonservatorium der Musik zu Leipzig, six years after the fall of the Kingdom of Saxony. Treppenhaus HMT Leipzig

In the summer term of 1938, 343 male students were enrolled at the Landeskonservatorium. This made the Conservatory the fourth biggest music school in the

German Reich German ''Reich'' (lit. German Realm, German Empire, from german: Deutsches Reich, ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty ...

after the Universität der Künste

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

(633 students), the music school of

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

(406 students) and the school for music and theater of

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...

(404 students). The Austrian composer Johann Nepomuk David (1895–1977) was the school's director from 1939 until 1945. The school was again renamed 8 June 1941 to ''Staatliche Hochschule für Musik, Musikerziehung und darstellende Kunst'', Public College for music, musical education and performing arts. In 1944 the school remained closed due to the

Second World War 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 opposi ...

. Once again, the school was renamed 1 October 1946 to Mendelssohn Academy and 4 November 1972, on the occasion of its founders name, to ''Hochschule für Musik Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy'', Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy College of Music. The Saxon University Constitution Law (''Sächsische Hochschulstrukturgesetz'') of 10 April 1992 confirmed the College of Music to Leipzig and expanded it with the annexation of the Hans Otto College of Theatre (Germany's first College of Theatre) to form the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy : the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy College of Music and Theatre. The new Great Hall was inaugurated 2001 and 2004 awarded by the ''Bund Deutscher Architekten'', a German architects union. The college's second premises were opened 2002 and there's an orchestra academy in co-operation with the Gewandhausorchestra since 2004 in order to support top musicians.

Names

* 1843–1876: Conservatorium der Musik * 1876–1924: Königliches Konservatorium der Musik zu Leipzig * 1924–1941: Landeskonservatorium der Musik zu Leipzig * 1941–1944: Staatliche Hochschule für Musik, Musikerziehung und darstellende Kunst * 1946–1972: Staatliche Hochschule für Musik – Mendelssohn-Akademie * 1972–1992: Hochschule für Musik "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" * 1992–: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig

Notable people

Notable alumni

This is an assortment of notable alumni: (See also :University of Music and Theatre Leipzig alumni) * Emil Büchner (1826–1908), German conductor and bandmaster *

Friedrich Baumfelder Friedrich August Wilhelm Baumfelder (28 May 1836 – 8 September 1916 in Dresden) was a German composer of classical music, conductor, and pianist. He started in the Leipzig Conservatory, and went on to become a well-known composer of his ti ...

(1836–1916), German conductor, composer, and pianist * Jakob Grün (1837–1916), Austrian violinist *

Sir Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

(1842–1900), English composer * Mykola Lysenko (1842–1912), Ukrainian composer, pianist and music educator * Edvard Grieg (1843–1907), Norwegian composer *

Hugo Riemann Karl Wilhelm Julius Hugo Riemann (18 July 1849 – 10 July 1919) was a German musicologist and composer who was among the founders of modern musicology. The leading European music scholar of his time, he was active and influential as both a mus ...

(1849–1919), German music theorist, music historian, music educator and music lexicographer * Émile Sauret (1852–1920), French violin virtuoso and composer. *

Johannes Helstone Johannes Helstone, born ''Nicodemus Johannes Helstone'' (11 January 1853 – 24 April 1927), was a Surinamese composer, pianist and writer. He is best known for his 1906 opera ''Het Pand der Goden''. Biography Helstone was born on the Moravian ...

(1853–1927), Surinamese composer, pianist and writer. * George Whitefield Chadwick (1854–1931), American composer, of the '

Second New England School The Second New England School or New England Classicists (sometimes specifically the Boston Six) is a name given by music historians to a group of classical-music composers who lived during the late-19th and early-20th centuries in New England. More ...

' * Leoš Janáček (1854–1928), Czech composer * Paul Klengel (1854–1935), German violinist, pianist, composer * Fritz Steinbach (1855–1916), German conductor * Richard Sahla (1855–1931) Austrian violin virtuoso, conductor and composer *

Christian Sinding Christian August Sinding (11 January 18563 December 1941) was a Norwegian composer. He is best known for his lyrical work for piano '' Frühlingsrauschen'' (Rustle of Spring, 1896). He was often compared to Edvard Grieg and regarded as his succ ...

(1856–1941), Norwegian composer * Ethel Smyth (1858–1944), English composer * Bertha Tapper (1859–1915), Norwegian pianist and editor * Isaac Albéniz (1860–1909), Spanish composer and pianist * Joseph Hirschbach (1860–1897), Musical Director, Tivoli Opera House, San Francisco *

Frederick Delius Delius, photographed in 1907 Frederick Theodore Albert Delius ( 29 January 1862 – 10 June 1934), originally Fritz Delius, was an English composer. Born in Bradford in the north of England to a prosperous mercantile family, he resisted atte ...

(1862–1934), English composer *

Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

(1866–1924), Italian pianist and composer * Felix von Weingartner (1863–1942), Austrian conductor, composer, pianist and writer * Anna Diller Starbuck (1868-1929) composer and pianist * Alfred Hill (1869–1960), Australian composer, conductor and teacher *

Sigfrid Karg-Elert Sigfrid Karg-Elert (November 21, 1877April 9, 1933) was a German composer in the early twentieth century, best known for his compositions for pipe organ and reed organ. Biography Karg-Elert was born Siegfried Theodor Karg in Oberndorf am Neckar, ...

(1877–1933), German composer * Gertrude Förstel (1880–1950), studied piano, but was remembered as soprano * Carl Adolf Martienssen (1881–1955), German pianist and music educator *

Wilhelm Backhaus Wilhelm Backhaus ('Bachaus' on some record labels) (26 March 1884 – 5 July 1969) was a German pianist and pedagogue. He was particularly well known for his interpretations of Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin and Brahms. He was also much ...

(1884–1969), German pianist * Leo Funtek (1885–1965), violinist, conductor, arranger and music professor * Hermann Keller (1885–1967), German church musician und musicologist *

Rudolf Mauersberger Rudolf Mauersberger (29 January 1889 – 22 February 1971) was a German choral conductor and composer. His younger brother Erhard was also a conductor and composer. Career After positions in Aachen and Eisenach, he became director of the ren ...

(1889–1971), German choir director und composer, cantor of the Dresdner Kreuzchor *

Sir Adrian Boult Sir Adrian Cedric Boult, CH (; 8 April 1889 – 22 February 1983) was an English conductor. Brought up in a prosperous mercantile family, he followed musical studies in England and at Leipzig, Germany, with early conducting work in London ...

(1889–1983), English conductor * Erwin Schulhoff (1894–1942), Czech composer and pianist *

Johannes Weyrauch Johannes Weyrauch (20 February 1897 − 1 May 1977) was a German composer and Cantor (Christianity), cantor. Life Childhood Weyrauch was born on 20 February 1897 in Leipzig. His mother, Maria Große, who had received a thorough musical educatio ...

(1897–1977), German composer * Günther Ramin (1898–1956), German organist, choir director and composer * Wilhelm Weismann (1900–1980) German composer and musicologist * Franz Konwitschny (1901–1962), German conductor *

Erhard Mauersberger Erhard Mauersberger (29 December 1903 in Mauersberg, Saxony – 11 December 1982 in Leipzig) was a German choral conductor who conducted the Thomanerchor as the 14th Thomaskantor since Johann Sebastian Bach. He was also an academic teacher and ...

(1903–1982), German organist, music teacher, cantor of the Thomanerchor * Kurt Thomas (1904–1973), German composer and choir director * Hugo Distler (1907–1942), German composer and church musician * Wolfgang Fortner (1907–1987), German composer, composition teacher and conductor *

Helmut Walcha Arthur Emil Helmut Walcha (27 October 1907 – 11 August 1991) was a German organist, harpsichordist, music teacher and composer who specialized in the works of the Dutch and German baroque masters. Blind since his teenage years, he is known f ...

(1907–1991), German organist and harpsichordist * Miklós Rózsa (1907–1995), Hungarian American Hollywood film composer *

Anne Macnaghten Anne Macnaghten, CBE (9 August 1908 – 31 December 2000) was a British classical violinist and pedagogue. Anne was the youngest daughter of high court judge Sir Malcolm Macnaghten and grew up in Northern Ireland and Kensington, London. She ...

(1908–2000), British violinist and pedagogue * Herman Berlinski (1910–2001), German-born American composer, organist, pianist, musicologist and choir conductor * Sina Berlinski née Goldfein (1910–2011), German-born American pianist and piano teacher *

Robert Köbler Robert Hans Friedrich Köbler (21 February 1912 – 7 September 1970) was a German organist, pianist, composer and professor at the University of Leipzig. Köbler was born in Waldsassen. He studied church music in Leipzig from 1931 to 1934, orga ...

(1912–1970), German university organist *

Martin Flämig Martin Flämig (19 August 1913, in Aue – 13 January 1998, in Dresden) was a German church musician, and the cantor of the Dresdner Kreuzchor from 1971 to 1991. Biography Martin Flämig studied since 1934 in Dresden with Alfred Stier and in L ...

(1913–1998), German choir director, Protestant state-church music director, cantor of the Dresdner Kreuzchor *

Heinz Wunderlich Heinz Wunderlich (25 April 1919 – 10 March 2012) was a German organist, academic, and composer. He was known for playing the organ works of Max Reger. He studied in Leipzig with Karl Straube, a friend of Reger. Wunderlich worked as both a churc ...

(1919–2012), German organist, academic and composer *

Amadeus Webersinke Amadeus Webersinke (1920-2005) was a German pianist and organist. Webersinke studied from at the Institut für Kirchenmusik in Leipzig with Karl Straube, Johann Nepomuk David, and Otto Weinreich. He was a lecturer at the Felix Mendelssohn Coll ...

(1920–2005), German pianist and organist * Karl Richter (1926–1981) German choir director, conductor, harpsichordist, organist *

Klaus Tennstedt Klaus Hermann Wilhelm Tennstedt (; June 6, 1926 – January 11, 1998) was a German conductor from Merseburg. Known for his interpretation of the Austro-German repertoire, especially his sympathetic approaches towards Gustav Mahler, Tennstedt ...

(1926–1998), German conductor * Ruth Zechlin (1926–2007), German composer, organist *

Götz Friedrich Götz Friedrich (4 August 1930 in Naumburg, Germany – 12 December 2000 in Berlin, Germany) was a German opera and theatre director. He was a student and assistant of Walter Felsenstein at the Komische Oper Berlin in (East) Berlin, where he ...

(1930–2000), German director * Gerhard Bosse (1922–2012), German violinist and 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 ...

(1927–2015), German conductor *

Karl-Heinz Kämmerling Karl-Heinz Kämmerling (6 May 1930 – 14 June 2012) was a notable German academic teacher of classical pianists, who trained pianists at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover for careers as performe ...

(1930–2012), German piano teacher * Hans-Joachim Schulze (born 1934), German Bach scholar * Siegfried Thiele (born 1934), German composer * Harry Kupfer (1935–2019), German impresario * Annerose Schmidt (1936–2022), German pianist * Peter Sodann (born 1936), German actor * Christoph Schroth (born 1937), German director * Peter Herrmann (1941–2015), German composer * Ludwig Güttler (born 1943), German trumpeter *

Rosemarie Lang Rosemarie Lang (21 May 1947 – 12 January 2017) was a German operatic mezzo-soprano. Life Born in Grünstädtel, Lang studied at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig with Elisabeth Breul, Eva Schubert-Hoffmann and Helga Forner. At the 1 ...

, German singer * Jürnjakob Timm (born 1949), German cellist * Freya Klier (born 1950) German author, director *

Ulrich Mühe Friedrich Hans Ulrich Mühe (; 20 June 1953 – 22 July 2007) was a German film, television and theatre actor. He played the role of Hauptmann (Captain) Gerd Wiesler in the Oscar-winning film '' Das Leben der Anderen'' (''The Lives of Others'', 20 ...

(1953–2007), German actor * Georg Christoph Biller (1955–2022),

Thomaskantor (Cantor at St. Thomas) is the common name for the musical director of the , now an internationally known boys' choir founded in Leipzig in 1212. The official historic title of the Thomaskantor in Latin, ', describes the two functions of cantor ...

* Ulrich Böhme (born 1956), German organist * Matthias Eisenberg (born 1956), German organist * Tom Pauls (born 1959), German actor and cabaret artist *

Steffen Schleiermacher Steffen Schleiermacher (born Halle, 3 May 1960) is a German composer, pianist, and conductor.Homepage
of Steffe ...

(born 1960), German composer and pianist * Michael Schönheit (born 1961), German organist and conductor * Irina Pauls (born 1961), German choreographer * Tobias Künzel (born 1964), German pop singer * Simone Kermes (born 1965), operatic soprano * Frank-Michael Erben (born 1965), German violinist * Ralf Stabel (born 1965), German theatre scholar / dance scholar * Sebastian Krumbiegel (born 1966), German pop singer * Matthias Goerne (born 1967), German singer * David Timm (born 1969), German pianist, organist, choral conductor and jazz musician * Nadja Uhl (born 1972), German actress * Louise Collier Willcox (1865–1929), American author, editor, anthologist, translator, suffragist

Notable faculty

* Adolph Brodsky (1851–1929), Russian violinist, later Principal of the

Royal Manchester College of Music The Royal Manchester College of Music (RMCM) was a tertiary level conservatoire in Manchester, north-west England. It was founded in 1893 by the German-born conductor Sir Charles Hallé in 1893. In 1972, the Royal Manchester College of Music ...

* Ferdinand David (1810–1873), German violin virtuoso and composer * Johann Nepomuk David (1895–1977), Austrian composer *

Karl Davydov Karl Yulievich Davydov (russian: Карл Юльевич Давидов; ) was a Russian cellist of great renown during his time, and described by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as the "czar of cellists". He was also a composer, mainly for the cello. Hi ...

(1838–1889), Russian cellist *

Niels Gade Niels Wilhelm Gade (22 February 1817 – 21 December 1890) was a Danish composer, conductor, violinist, organist and teacher. Together with Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann, he was the leading Danish musician of his day. Biography Gade was bor ...

(1817–1890), Danish composer *

Friedrich Grützmacher Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Grützmacher (1 March 1832 – 23 February 1903) was a noted German cellist and composer in the second half of the 19th century. He composed mostly for cello (including several concertos and many technical studies), but a ...

(1832–1903), German cellist * Moritz Hauptmann (1792–1868), German composer and writer;

* Diethard Hellmann (1928–1999), German organist and choral conductor * Peter Herrmann (1941–2015), German composer *

Salomon Jadassohn Salomon Jadassohn (13 August 1831 – 1 February 1902) was a German pianist, composer and a renowned teacher of piano and composition at the Leipzig Conservatory. Life Jadassohn was born to a Jewish family living in Breslau, the capital of the ...

(1831–1902), German composer *

(1877–1933), German composer * Julius Klengel (1859–1933), German cellist * Paul Klengel (1854–1935), German violinist, pianist, composer *

Kolja Lessing Kolja Lessing (born 15 October 1961) is a German violinist, pianist, composer and academic teacher. His focus as a soloist and chamber musician has been the neglected repertoire by composers who were ostracised under the Nazi regime. His recordin ...

(born 1961), German violinist, pianist, composer and academic teacher *

Fabien Lévy Fabien Lévy (born 11 December 1968) is a French composer. Biography Lévy was born in Paris, France. After having been a jazz pianist, he studied composition with Gérard Grisey, orchestration with Marc–André Dalbavie and ethnomusicology wi ...

(1968– ), Composer *

(1927–2015), German conductor *

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...

(1809–1847), German composer, pianist and Music Director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra; Founder * Ignaz Moscheles (1794–1870), Bohemian composer and piano virtuoso * Oscar Paul (1836–1898), German musicologist and writer * Günther Ramin (1898–1956), German composer, organist, cembalist, conductor, Thomaskantor *

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, as a musical director at the Leipzig University Church, as a professor a ...

(1873–1917), German composer, conductor, pianist and organist *

Carl Reinecke Carl Heinrich Carsten Reinecke (23 June 182410 March 1910) was a German composer, conductor, and pianist in the mid- Romantic era. Biography Reinecke was born in what is today the Hamburg district of Altona; technically he was born a Dane, a ...

(1824–1910), Danish composer, conductor, and pianist *

Julius Rietz August Wilhelm Julius Rietz (28 December 1812 – 12 September 1877) was a German composer, conductor, cellist, and teacher. His students included Woldemar Bargiel, Salomon Jadassohn, Arthur O'Leary, and (by far the most celebrated) Sir Arthur ...

(1812–1877), German cellist, composer and conductor * Ernst Friedrich Richter, German music theorist; Thomaskantor *

Wilhelm Rust Wilhelm Rust (August 15, 1822 – May 2, 1892) was a German musicologist and composer. He is most noted today for his substantial contributions to the Bach Gesellschaft edition of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Born in Dessau, Rust studi ...

, German musicologist and composer; Thomaskantor * Richard Sahla (1855–1931) Austrian violin virtuoso, conductor and composer * Friedrich Schneider (1786–1853), German composer and conductor *

Gustav Schreck Gustav Ernst Schreck (born 8 September 1849 in Zeulenroda; died 22 January 1918 in Leipzig) was a German music teacher, composer and choirmaster of St. Thomas School, Thomasschule zu Leipzig, in Leipzig from 1893 to 1918. Life Schreck was born ...

, German music educator and composer; Thomaskantor * Clara Schumann (1819–1896), German pianist, teacher, and composer Nancy B. Reich, Clara Schumann: The Artist and The Woman, Revised edition, Cornell University Press, 1985, p. 123, 148. *

Robert 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 ...

(1810–1856), German composer, aesthete and influential music critic * Hans Sitt (1850–1922), German violinist and composer *

, German Organist and choral conductor; Thomaskantor * Wolfgang Unger (1948–2004), choral conductor, director of

Leipziger Universitätsmusik Leipziger Universitätsmusik refers to music education and performance at the University of Leipzig. Music at the university dates back to its founding of the university in the 15th century. At present, Leipziger Universitätsmusik is the name of ...

Institute of Church Music

The Institute of Church Music ''(Kirchenmusikalische Institut)'' was refounded 1992. The institute has a prominent role in Germany because of

(1873–1916), Kurt Thomas (1904–1973) and Günther Ramin (1898–1956). It offers programs in church music, chorus conduction and

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

. It offers research masters in those subjects as well. The Institute of Church Music was founded by

(1873–1950) in 1921 and 1926 it became part of the Saxon Evangelical-Lutheran Church.

Administration

Nicola Perscheid Portrait of Arthur Nikisch

Rectors of the university: * 1843–1847:

(1809–1847) * 1849–1881: Heinrich Conrad Schleinitz (1805–1881) * 1881–1897: Otto Günther (1822–1897) * 1897–1902:

(1824–1910) * 1902–1907:

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 ...

(1855–1922) * 1907–1924: Stephan Krehl (1864–1924) * 1924–1932: Max Pauer (1866–1945) * 1932–1942: Walther Davisson (1885–1973) * 1942–1945: Johann Nepomuk David (1895–1977) * 1945–1948: Heinrich Schachtebeck (1886–1965) * 1948–1973: Rudolf Fischer (1913–2003) * 1973–1984: Gustav Schmahl (1929–2003) * 1984–1987: Peter Herrmann (1941–2015) * 1987–1990:

Werner Felix Werner Felix (30 July 1927 – 24 September 1998) was a German music historian and Bach scholar. He was rector of the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar and the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig as well as president of the of the D ...

(1927–1998) * 1990–1997: Siegfried Thiele (born 1934) * 1997–2003:

Christoph Krummacher Christoph is a male given name and surname. It is a German variant of Christopher. Notable people with the given name Christoph * Christoph Bach (1613–1661), German musician * Christoph Büchel (born 1966), Swiss artist * Christoph Dientzenhof ...

(born 1949) * 2003–2006: Konrad Körner (born 1941) * 2006–2015: Robert Ehrlich (born 1965) * 2015–2020: Martin Kürschner (born 1954) * 2020– : Gerald Fauth (born 1959)

Departments

Bologna process

Since 1999 the school is adapting to the Bologna process. As of 2008 the adjustment to the

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to si ...

and

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

system is being organized. The education program with major in school music is since the winter term of 2006/07 already adapted to the Bologna process and as such leads to a bachelor's degree. The programs of the Institute of Church Music were changed to the beginning of the winter term 2008/09 and until the winter term of 2010/2011 all programs have to be adapted to the Bologna process.

Orchestra

The school has its own

symphony orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

under the conduction of

Ulrich Windfuhr Ulrich Windfuhr (born 1960) is a German conductor. Life Born in Heidelberg, Windfuhr grew up as the son of the Heine researcher and editor , first in his hometown and later in Düsseldorf. From 1978 Windfuhr studied orchestral conducting in ...

until 2013 and Matthias Foremny since 2014.

Departments

* Faculty I **

Wind instrument A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitc ...

s and

percussion instrument A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

s **

Conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance, such as an orchestral or choral concert. It has been defined as "the art of directing the simultaneous performance of several players or singers by the use of gesture." The primary dutie ...

and correpetition **

Singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music ( arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or ...

and musical theatre (e.g.

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

) **

String instrument String instruments, stringed instruments, or chordophones are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer plays or sounds the strings in some manner. Musicians play some string instruments by plucking the s ...

s and

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orc ...

* Faculty II **

Early music Early music generally comprises Medieval music (500–1400) and Renaissance music (1400–1600), but can also include Baroque music (1600–1750). Originating in Europe, early music is a broad musical era for the beginning of Western classi ...

Piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Musical composition Musical composition can refer to an original piece or work of music, either vocal or instrumental, the structure of a musical piece or to the process of creating or writing a new piece of music. People who create new compositions are called ...

and music texture **

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 m ...

music education Music education is a field of practice in which educators are trained for careers as elementary or secondary music teachers, school or music conservatory ensemble directors. Music education is also a research area in which scholars do origin ...

and

languages Language is a structured system of communication. The structure of a language is its grammar and the free components are its vocabulary. Languages are the primary means by which humans communicate, and may be conveyed through a variety of met ...

** School music education ** Church Music Institute * Faculty III **

Dramaturgy Dramaturgy is the study of dramatic composition and the representation of the main elements of drama on the stage. The term first appears in the eponymous work ''Hamburg Dramaturgy'' (1767–69) by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing. Lessing composed th ...

Jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former descri ...

and musical theater ("musical") **

Acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad r ...

Students

A total of 813 students were enrolled at the college in 2007 (375 males and 438 females). There were 260 (32%) international students enrolled at the time. They come above all from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. Thirteen of them are scholarship holders of the

German Academic Exchange Service The German Academic Exchange Service, or DAAD (german: Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst), was founded in 1925 and is the largest German support organisation in the field of international academic co-operation. Organisation ''DAAD'' is a ...

, this makes the school the best one on the scholarship holders list out of every German Music Colleges.

Contests

The Felix Mendelssohn College of Music and Theatre organizes many music contests. The Lions-Club Leipzig hosts the ''Albert-Lortzing-Förderpreis'' Singing Contest with a €2,500 prize. Furthermore, the college organizes a contest for ensembles and the recognized ''Young Concert Artists European Auditions'' together with the

Young Concert Artists Young Concert Artists is a New York City-based non-profit organization dedicated to discovering and promoting the careers of talented young classical musicians from all over the world. The competition, founded in 1961, allows artists from all over ...

(YCA),

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. The school leads among all German colleges of music with a total of 470 public events yearly.HMT Leipzig
Presse/Öffentliches
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Notes

References

Sources

* *

External links

Home page

Leipzig-Encyclopedia
(in German) {{DEFAULTSORT:University Of Music And Theatre Leipzig Buildings and structures in Leipzig Music schools in Germany Drama schools in Germany Public universities and colleges in Germany Educational institutions established in 1843 Education in Leipzig Felix Mendelssohn 1843 establishments in Germany 1843 establishments in Saxony

History

Names

Notable people

Notable alumni

Notable faculty

Institute of Church Music

Administration

Departments

Bologna process

Orchestra

Departments

Students

Contests

See also

Further reading

In German

In English

Notes

References

Sources

External links