Chopin, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Bach, (etc) slept here

The cities we visited were homes to many of the world's greatest composers at some point during their lifetimes.  With both Poland and Germany being under Nazi and Russian rule at various points during the 19th and 20th centuries. the revered musicians' works were sometimes forbidden to be performed or even listened to -- a way to eliminate the culture of the past.  True to the power of music, these composers' works could not be buried and live on today.

A walk in Leipzig following "The Liepzig Music Trail" will bring a music lover to the homes or important music venues of composers including Bach, Mendelssohn, Clara Weik Schumann and Robert Schumann, Wagner, Grieg, Schubert, Mahler, Max Reger, Georg Phillip Teleman among others.  Here are a few sites that we had time to visit.

Warsaw, following "The Chopin Way"

In Old Town Warsaw, benches mark spots important in Chopin's years in the City.  The benches tell short stories of the significance of that site to Chopin and also play excerpts of his most recognized pieces.

Chopin's Apartment in Warsaw during his early musical education

 Church of the Holy Cross, where Chopin's heart is buried

Mendelssohn in Leipzig

Mendelssohn held strong musical position in Leipzig in the 1830s and 1840s until his death from a stroke at the young age of 38.  This memorial statue of him (below) is across from Thomaskirche, a fitting location to honor the man who revived an interest in Bach's music throughout Europe.  Because the Mendelssohn family ancestry was Jewish, though Felix's family were baptized in the Christian Reformed Church, Mendelssohn's music lost favor in Germany due to anti-semitism.  However his place in music history is now fully revived, preserved and beloved.  In his years in Leipzig, he not only composed, but he was director of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra and director of the choir at Thosmaskirche.  He focused on developing and enhancing the musical life of the  city by working with the orchestra, the opera house, and the city's other choral and musical institutions.  He was the founder and first director of the Leipzig Conservatory, now called the the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University of Music and Theatre, where our accompanying string quartet players were educated.

The current statue is a replica of the original which was destroyed by the Nazis in 1936 because of Mendelssohn's Jewish ancestry.  The replica was built and erected on this site in 2008.

Mike's choice of music for our Leipzig concert included Mendelssohn's Jesu Meine Freude, a fitting way to honor the composer in the city where his music and spirit are still very much present.

Mendelssohn and his wife lived in this home, in which he died,  just outside the Market Square of Leipzig.  It is now a museum dedicated to Mendelssohn's music and music activities in Leipzig.

 

Mendelssohn's study

John Spencer, in Mendelssohn Haus, sings along with the tenor part of a Mendelssohn composition accompanied by other voices and instruments  -- though produced electronically.  How music production has changed in the 170 years since Mendelssohn's death!

 A recital hall used by Mendelssohn in his home and still used to this day for traditional Sunday afternoon recitals in the Mendelssohn Haus.

Robert Schumann's favorite Coffee House

Clara Weik Schumann and Robert Schumann also lived, composed and performed in Leipzig, which was the city of Clara's birth. The Schumann home is now mostly a museum and school in honor of Clara Schumann.  After Robert admitted himself into a "mental institution" for the rest of his life, Clara continued composing, performing across Europe as well as raising their 7 children alone.  An impressive accomplishment for a woman in those years.  Even with all of her well-earned fame and respect, she would not have been allowed in the coffee houses of Leipzig -- IF she had the time to go there!

 Robert frequented a local Leipzig coffee house, the Coffee Baum, where he met with other musicians and artists and where he founded the New Journal for Music. The Coffee Baum (Coffee Tree) dates back to 1711 and has operated continuously since that time.  The first floor has dedicated one section to Robert Schumann ("The Schumann Lounge") in which sketches, paintings and photographs on the walls honor the many artists and scholars who visited there including Edvard Grieg, and Richard Wagner -- and several members of our traveling group who lunched there!

Robert Schumann's favorite coffee house, the Coffee Baum

Wilt Cooper from Voices West stops for lunch at the Coffee Baum

" The Schumann Lounge"

Robert Schumann's portrait hangs over his spot at the Coffee Baum

The framed print (above) looks impressive, hanging in the Schumann Lounge of the Coffee Baum.  This writer doesn't know German or what it says.  But it's pretty.

One of our group walked for a very long time trying in vain to find the Schumann house.  Better bring a better map next time!

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