–The sign reads, "You! Go back!" and visit the Mendelssohn House.
Imagine our surprise while innocently strolling through Leipzig’s shopping district to be confronted with this sign (see photo on left). Now, I was planning to visit the Mendelssohn House, but had no idea that it was only a few blocks from our hotel.
After having conducted several Mendelssohn works with my orchestras the past year (2009 was the 200th anniversary of the composer’s birth), I was intensely interested to visit the home in which he lived for the last years of his life. It was a large, impressive building that is beautifully maintained.
My favorite parts of the house were Mendelssohn’s “home office” where he did most of his composing and the large recital hall in the center of the house. The charming Biedermeier furniture was an added attraction.
Mendelssohn's Piano
There were several interesting displays including Mendelssohn’s music manuscripts and letters, but I was surprised to also find his death mask, a lock of his hair, and one of the cute “sailor suits” he wore as a child prodigy. An entire room was devoted to the composer’s impressive paintings (he was a formidable artist) as well as items regarding his conducting career. There was even an incredibly detailed model of the original home of the Gewandhaus Orchestra complete with an opening in the roof to look inside.
If you’re ever in Leipzig, don’t miss the chance to visit this historic house with its fascinating museum.
Andrea Hagemann and Reinhard Ehritt model good audience behavior in Mendelssohn's home recital hall.
Elisa Koehler is Professor of Music and the Director of the Center for Dance, Music, and Theatre at Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland. Formerly the Music Director and Conductor of the Frederick Symphony Orchestra, she is a professional trumpeter who has performed on both modern and period instruments with the Bach Sinfonia, Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, Handel Choir of Baltimore, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Washington Cornett and Sackbut Ensemble, Baltimore’s Bach Concert Series, and as the leader Newberry's Victorian Cornet Band. Dr. Koehler is the author of Fanfares and Finesse: A Performer’s Guide to Trumpet History and Literature (Indiana University Press) and A Dictionary for the Modern Trumpet Player (Rowman & Littlefield), and recently edited new performing editions of the Haydn and Hummel trumpet concerti for Carl Fischer Music. She earned a doctorate in orchestral conducting from the Peabody Conservatory, a master’s degree in trumpet performance from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and bachelor’s degrees in both music education and performance from Peabody.
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