Das Gewandhaus und der Mendebrunnen in Leipzig bei Nacht

Gewandhaus () is a

concert hall A concert hall is a cultural building with a stage (theatre), stage that serves as a performance venue and an auditorium filled with seats. This list does not include other venues such as sports stadia, dramatic theatres or convention ...

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

, 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 piano concerto composed by Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven composed the concerto in 1809 under salary in Vienna, and he dedicated ...

) premiered here in 1811.

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

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 period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

's Great Symphony (21 March 1839, posth.) *

Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

Spring Symphony ''Spring Symphony'' is a choral symphony by Benjamin Britten, his Opus 44. The work is scored for soprano, alto and tenor soloists, mixed choir, boys' choir and orchestra. Britten used texts of several poems related to spring, mostly from th ...

(31 March 1841) * Mendelssohn's Scottish Symphony (3 March 1842) * Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto (13 March 1845) *

Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

'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, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...

' '' 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 the municipal architects Rayher, Korber and Müller in the style of Baroque Revival architecture, was constructed from 1894 to 1901. Site history prior to Städtisches Kaufhaus This piece of la ...

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 Hungary, Hungarian conducting, conductor who performed internationally, holding posts in Boston, London, Leipzig and—most importantly—Berlin. He was considered an outstanding interpreter ...

Wilhelm Furtwängler Gustav Heinrich Ernst Martin Wilhelm Furtwängler ( , ; ; 25 January 188630 November 1954) was a German conductor and composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest Symphony, symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century. He was a majo ...

and

Bruno Walter Bruno Walter (born Bruno Schlesinger, September 15, 1876February 17, 1962) was a Germany, German-born Conducting, conductor, pianist, and composer. Born in Berlin, he escaped Nazi Germany in 1933, was naturalised as a French people, French cit ...

. It was severely damaged in the firebombing of Leipzig in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

during two separate raids on 4 December 1943 and 20 February 1944. Despite initial plans for rebuilding, the

East German East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

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 (), 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 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

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 squares in Europe. It is also part of the city's inner-city ring-road and a centra ...

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 192719 December 2015) was a German Conducting, 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 Gewand ...

on 8 November 1977. The architect was Rudolf Skoda, 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 Acoustics is a branch of physics that deals with the study of mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician ...

. During construction, the hall was even filled up several times with soldiers of the East German

Nationale Volksarmee The National People's Army (, ; NVA ) were the armed forces of the German Democratic Republic (DDR) from 1956 until 1990. The NVA was organized into four branches: the (Ground Forces), the (Navy), the (Air Force) and the (Border Troops). Th ...

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

, with some lines from the opera ''

Ali Baba "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" () is a folk tale in Arabic added to the ''One Thousand and One Nights'' in the 18th century by its French translator Antoine Galland, who heard it from Syrian storyteller Hanna Diyab. As one of the most popu ...

'' by

Luigi Cherubini Maria Luigi Carlo Zenobio Salvatore Cherubini ( ; ; 8 or 14 SeptemberWillis, in Sadie (Ed.), p. 833 1760 – 15 March 1842) was an Italian Classical and Romantic composer. His most significant compositions are operas and sacred music. Beethov ...

, presented to

Henriette Grabau-Bünau Eleonore ''Henriette'' Magdalena Grabau-Bünau, also Henriette Grabau or Henriette Bünau, (29 March 1805 – 28 November 1852) was a German operatic alto and mezzo-soprano. For twelve years she was the main singer at the Leipzig Gewandhaus and fr ...

, 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 R ...

.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,

lays the foundation stone of the current Gewandhaus, 8 November 1977. Behind him is East German Minister for Culture Hans-Joachim Hoffmann.

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

Official Website
(english)
History of the Gewandhaus
from 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 Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra