Hans Pischner (20 February 1914 – 15 October 2016) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

ist, musicologist, opera director, and politician active in the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

. He encouraged the creation of musical and artistic cultural institutions in East Germany, and used his position in the SED to prevent any further brain drain of artists and musicians after the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

was constructed by encouraging and supporting the arts. He served as Chairman of the Kulturbund from 1977 until

German reunification German reunification () was the process of re-establishing Germany as a single sovereign state, which began on 9 November 1989 and culminated on 3 October 1990 with the dissolution of the East Germany, German Democratic Republic and the int ...

in 1990.

Awards and honours

Patriotic Order of Merit The Patriotic Order of Merit (German: ''Vaterländischer Verdienstorden'', or VVO) was a national award granted annually in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). It was founded in 1954 and was awarded to individuals and institutions for outstanding ...

in Gold (1973) * National Prize of the German Democratic Republic (1976) * Star of People's Friendship in Gold (1979) * Order of Karl Marx (1989) *

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

(1999)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pischner, Hans German harpsichordists Socialist Unity Party of Germany members 1914 births 2016 deaths German men centenarians Musicians from Wrocław Recipients of the Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 20th-century German classical musicians