Hesse’s musical landscape
Louis Spohr and Engelbert Humperdinck are prominent figures in Hesse’s musical history. The latter was a music teacher at the Hoch’s Conservatoire from 1890 to 1897 and the opera correspondent of the Frankfurter Zeitung. From 1822 until his death in 1859 Spohr lived in Kassel. During his conductorship, the royal orchestra, then the oldest German orchestra, became renowned all over Europe. Kassel’s musical director Spohr went down in history with 300 compositions of his own. Of no lesser importance was Paul Hindemith, who had a major influence on modern music. He was born 1985 in Hanau and lived in Hesse until 1927.
Many other celebrities stayed in Hesse, above alle particularily Clara Schumann, who teached at the Hoch’sche conservatoire for 18 years. Also Richard Wagner spent time at Wiesbaden, foremost fleeing his creditors, but also working on his opera “Die Meistersinger”. It was no mere accident that Johannes Brahms named his third symphony “The Wiesbaden”. Also baroque composer Georg Philip Telemann worked in Frankfurt for at least four years.
Interesting facts
Hesse as well as other German states can look upon a rich musical history. In the field of contemporary music the state of Hesse ranges at an exceptional position, with the Ensemble Modern in Frankfurt or offering the International Summer Courses for New Music in Darmstadt. Frankfurt also claims to be the German jazz capital and rightly so: the Hessische Rundfunk organises the oldest German jazz festival and the city was the home of the late Albert Mangelsdorff, who is Germany’s most famous jazz representative and after whom the German jazz award was named. Furthermore the internationally acknowledged and cross-linked Jazzinstitut and the Institut für Neue Musik are based in Darmstadt.
German Techno ermerged in Frankfurt and was spread around the world by DJs like Sven Väth, just to mention one prominent figure of the scene, that attracted thousands of young people.
The International Music Fair, held in Frankfurt in the spring of each year, has a similar attraction, setting off a run of musicians, producers, music publishers, instrument makers, technical companies and music fans. Due to its ambitious programme the fair turns more and more into a cultural highlight, committing itself decisively to the promotion of music.
Music Education
The Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, the four academies for professional music education, the Hoch’sche Conservatoire, institutions like the Landesmusikakademie in Schlitz and a huge number of youth music academies as well as numerous initiatives of the independent music scene offer a wide range of choices for children, young people and adults. Hesse shows also a great variety of amateur musician, who are organised in about 500 music associations as well as in 3.500 choirs, showing a high level both.
Festivals
Music wise Hesse combines tradition and modernism, folksong and Jazz, childrens’ choirs and conservatoires. Besides the big, well knows festivals like the Rheingau-Musikfestival, Kasseler Musiktage, Weilburger Schlosskonzerte and the International Summer Courses for New Music, there are also many small, but outstanding events. In 2007 “Creole Hessen” arranged the first statewide competition among the evolving world music scene. “Creole Hessen” is nationwide well cross linked and offers promotion at the grass-roots level, focussing in a small festival, which will tour in Hesse in the future.
The Archiv Frau und Musik in Frankfurt, Deutsche Musikgeschichtliche Archiv in Kasse, the internationally renowned baroque orchestra La Stagione in Frankfurt, HR-Big Band, the highly awarded Frankfurt Opera, Kronberg Academy or legends like Fritz Rau also illustrate the diversity of the music life in Hesse. The following articles in the Kulturportal Hessen will be first stops on the exploration of Hesse’s musical landscape.
Pictures: eyelab@Photocase , krockenmitte@Photocase
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