Mountains

These are from the airplane, on the way from Vienna to Tirana. These first three may be part Montenegro.




Kruja, on the side of the mountain, just north of Tirana.
The last two are the plain and outskirts of Tirana, close to the airport.

Leipzig VIII - Nikolaikirche

The side of the church, with a poster advertising an upcoming performance of Bach's St. John's Passion next month (March). Bach lived and worked in Leipzig for 23 years, but was pretty much forgotten 75 years later. Mendelssohn came into possession of the score of St Matthew Passion and organized and conducted a performance in Berlin, which was instrumental in reviving interest and public awareness of Bach for a new generation. The statue of Bach in front of the Thomaskirche was financed by public donations, for which Mendelssohn gave charity recitals, proceeds going to the fund.The church and the square above, between the church and the Nikolai school, played an important role in the fall of East German communism. Monday prayers for peace had been held in the church for several years, centering around nuclear nonproliferation. In the late '80s they morphed into prayers for individual freedoms, and the numbers of participants increased dramatically. East German police would surround the church and sometimes arrest some people as they left. Nonviolence was emphasized, and seems to have been maintained. By October of 1989 peaceful demonstrations had spread to other cities; a huge demonstration in that month had the city on edge, wondering what the police response would be. Kurt Masur, at that time music director of the Gewandhaus, and other leaders of the city worked hard to ensure nonviolence on the part of the demonstrators. He and five other men formed a "committee of six" and started holding discussion forums at the Gewandhaus. The Berlin wall fell Nov. 9 -- Leipzig is generally given the credit for getting the ball rolling. (I apologize for the oversimplifications.)

Artists had a difficult role to play in communist countries. Kurt Masur played a leading role in not only the demonstrations that led to the downfall of East Germany, but also later on the side of reunification with West Germany. After Aleksander Solzhenitsyn won the Nobel Prize in 1970, he stayed at the home of Mstislav Rostropovich, until 1974, when they were both kicked out of the country. Rostropovich was born in Baku, which has absolutely nothing to do with this tale, but I thought I'd mention it since I've been there.

Below is an announcement for the Monday prayers, every Monday at 5:00. It is on display in the back of the church.

An odd amalgamation of architectural styles, mostly because of the renovated interior. After seeing the sturdy Romanesque exterior, I wasn't prepared for the modern interior (modern meaning 1790-ish, compared to the exterior). Both are nice.

Leipzig VII - Fasching (Mardi Gras)

On my way back to the hotel after leaving the Mendelssohn house, I came upon a Fasching parade getting ready to start. They threw candy which the big and little kids fought over -- no beads.
The guy drinking the beer is a security guard. He kept one in his pocket the whole time. He had a stash somewhere close.


My favorite old tractor. The older gentleman in the green coat turned out to be the driver, and here he's instructing the orange-headed guy how to start it, which turned out to be by a round crank-type wheel from the side. It sounded like an old John Deere 2 stroke engine -- you could hear it putting all over the parade route. The parade route, incidentally, was a bi-directional, so I saw everything twice, going and coming; I knew I was standing in the forming area, but I was a little surprised they went down the street several blocks and turned around and came back before turning down a street and progressing in one direction.


The Krewe de Vieux entry.

Leipzig VI - Around Town

Inside the hauptbonhof Leipzig. Why can't we have rail transportation in the US?The main floor which opens to the gates.
Taken from my hotel window. Main train station in Leipzig. Three floors of shops, food, etc., not to mention trains. I could leave my hotel, walk about 200 feet, and go down some stairs (the covered portion at the very lower left of this photo) and walk under the street car tracks, and enter the station and then ride the escalator up three levels to the tracks. Very nice, especially when it is cold and snowing.

Note the thermometer on the pharmacy -- 0. That's C, so 32F. It was the high of my trip, and I'm glad, because four or five degrees higher and the streets/sidewalks would have been a mess.This is a turn-of-the-century building close to the Augustplatz. It is being renovated. Work is just starting -- to the right there is metal framework for a sign with all the participants' names. Since unification, the German government has poured enormous amounts of money into the former East Germany to rescue buildings. At the time the Wall fell, I gather East Germany was in dire straits economically. A lot of the buildings were in a state of disrepair. Since unification, things are much better and still improving.
The back side of the new city hall (neues rathaus) with it's connecting passageway over the street. Through the passageway you can see the new casino under construction.

Tbe front side of the new city hall. A huge building.The library. I think this is part of the University of Leipzig.

Leipzig V - Gewandhaus/Opera

I was fortunate to be in Leipzig when both the opera and the Gewandhaus Orchestra were in town and had concerts. I attended two Gewandhaus Orchestra performances and one opera performance.

As I write this, the orchestra has departed and is on a US tour. If you get a chance to go, don't miss it. (Patricia, they're at Carnegie Hall the end of February.) The Gewandhaus is the oldest public orchestra in the world. Leipzig has a wonderfully long connection with the arts, and they really do appreciate the Gewandhaus Orchestra. Starting with Mendelssohn, they have had some of the most distinguished conductors in the world. I have heard of all of the following, except for the Nazi/Communist years, the four between Bruno Walter and Kurt Masur. Here is the list:

1835 - 1847 -- Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy

1848-1854 -- Julius Rietz (I haven't heard of him)

1860-1895 -- Carl Reinecke

1895-1922 -- Arthur Nikisch

1922-1928 -- Wilhelm Furtwangler

1929-1033-- Bruno Walter

1934-1945--Hermann Abendroth

1946-1949--Herbert Albert

1949-1962--Franz Konwitschny

1964-1968--Vaclav Neumann

1970-1996--Kurt Masur ----keep this name in mind in the Nikolai Church post.

1998-2005--Herbert Blomstedt

2005-present--Ricardo Chailly

This is an impressive list of conductors.

When Mendelssohn was negotiating for the job he made it clear he intended to be in charge of the orchestra and conduct with baton and "lead." Prior to his time, conductors shared leadership with the musicians, and after Mendelssohn was hired he conducted with his baton and directed the performance. He was the first "modern" conductor. In Monteverdi's time, "conductors" stood off stage and more or less "beat" time with a cane -- they were definitely a less public part of the production than today.

The program for the Gewandhaus performance on Friday night was:

Beethoven, Leonora Overture No 3

Mendelssohn, Violin Concerto (Nikolj Znaider)

Dvorak, Symphone No. 9 -- From the New World.

The program for Saturday night was the same, except substitute

Brahms Symphony No. 2 for the Dvorak.

Leipzigers really love their Gewandhaus -- both nights Znaider played as encore a Bach unaccompanied partita, which was very beautifully played, and chosen to not elicit another encore; and after the symphonies the orchestra encored with another Beethoven overture, Egmont, I think.

Sunday night at the opera was Prokofiev, Love For Three Oranges. All I can say is it got me inside the opera building to check it out. Prokofiev thought operas should not be a series of arias separated by mundane stalling -- he thought he could tell a story without arias. Indeed he could, but so could Wagner, and much as I do not admire Wagner, at least there are some moments in Wagner operas we like to listen to, albeit few and far between. For Drei Orangen, once you get past the march, "they ain't nothin" as we say in the south.

In the Gewandhaus, at the very front, is a hugh pipe organ. Inscribed over it are words of Seneca the Younger: res severa verum gaudium, which more or less mean "true joy is serious business." Pretty much sums up my trip to Leipzig.

Leipzig IV - Gewandhaus

This first photo is not the Gewandhaus, but the opera house on the right and the University of Leipzig on the left. The University is spread all over town. Founded in 1409 and in continuous operation since, it is one of the oldest universities in the world. The opera building I think is a 1960s construction.
This is the Gewandhaus, directly across Augustplatz from the opera house. This is the third Gewandhaus on this site. The second one was heavily damaged in WW II, and eventually torn down in the '60s. The current one opened in the early '80s.
This view of the Gewandhaus I took walking back from Mendelssohn's house.

A better picture of the opera house. In my humble opinion, there is absolutely nothing that distinguishes this building. It is indeed serviceable, and for a communist-era building, of which now I have seen a lot, it is not unduly ugly.

Leipzig III - Mendelssohn

Goldschmidtstrausse 12, Leipzig. Now are painted the words "Mendelssohn Haus," which is a recent addition. Mendelssohn came to Leipzig as conductor of the Gewandhaus Orchestra in 1835 and lived here until his death in 1847. He lived in this house the last two years of his life. He died of what appears to be a stroke, at the age of 38. He also lived on the first floor, or second in U.S. terminology. This house is roughly two blocks from Augustplatz, site of the Gewandhaus.

Staircase up to the apartment.
I did not realize Mendelssohn did a lot of painting. Several of his watercolors are here. I liked this one in particular, from Bavaria. The barn at the lower right has rocks lining the roof, a feature I remember from Army days driving around Bavaria.

In his study, busts of Bach and Goethe. Goethe heard both Mozart and Mendelssohn play as children (Mozart was born in 1756 and Mendelssohn in 1809.) Mozart died at 35 and Mendelssohn at 38, the lesson being, if you're into conspiracy theories: Don't let Goethe hear you play as a child. For the record, Goethe thought the child Mendelssohn superior to the child Mozart -- I remember some statement about hearing Mendelssohn made Mozart sound like the prattle of -- I forget. As an adult Mendelssohn had several visits with Goethe, seemed to like him (not knowing of the curse) and set several of his poems to music.

This apartment is laid out very much like the Schumanns', which is logical since they were built only about ten years apart.

The composer's study. His writing desk and piano (I'll call it a piano. I defer to knowledgeable people.)

Piano in the main salon.

The main salon. Regular gatherings were held here, as in the Schumann salon. Poetry, discussions, and music. Liszt and Berlioz and Wagner played here, although Mendelssohn didn't think much of their music. Had Wagner known of the Goethe curse, he could have written a whole cycle of wandering, aimless operas, probably averaging about 4 and a half hours each, about the whole sordid affair.

The central hall. I liked the flooring -- what looked to be oak planks roughly 30" wide and 7 or 8' long. Don't find trees like that anymore.

Leipzig II - Schumann

Robert and Clara Schumann lived in this house from their marriage in September 1840 until the end of 1844, a little over four years. In this room, minus no doubt the aluminum hotel chairs, they entertained and made music with and/or for other musicians such as Liszt, Berlioz, Mendelssohn. Richard Wagner was born in Leipzig, but I'm not going to research to see if he ever visited there.

I was intrigued by the stove on the left wall. As far as I could tell it did not have a chimney connected to it. Even if only hot coals were put in the fire box, it would generate smoke; some of it must have leaked out. Research for another day.

The entrance vestibule on the right, mid-way down the hall. The apartment is on the first floor, or as we would say in the States, the second floor.

The stairs from the entry hall up to the apartments. Very nicely done from a craftsman's standpoint. The wood on the treads has worn away and walking up gives one an odd feeling. When you put your foot down it is about 3/4 of an inch below where you expect it to land.

The entry foyer; the doors at the end open to the street, and are the reverse side of the next photo.

Inselstrasse 18, Leipzig.

Leipzig I - Thomaskirche

My weekend in Leipzig starts with Bach. Leipzig was already a cultural and trade center of Saxony when Bach arrived, but he certainly put it on the map, so to speak. Handel was born the same year as Bach (1685) in Halle, which is about 25 miles from Leipzig. I flew into the Leipzig-Halle airport, about midway between the two cities. Anyway, Bach came to Leipzig in 1723 and remained there until his death in 1750. His job as cantor required him to supervise music not only at Thomaskirche, but at Nikolaikirche and two other churches, plus other musical events in the city. These photos are of the Thomaskirche. The Bach museum was unfortunately closed for renovation while I was there -- it reopens next month.

The Thomaskirche is a Lutheran church, even though it was built as a Catholic church long before the Reformation. All the statuary and such was removed at that time. There are two organs in the church, neither from Bach's time. What they call the Bach organ is a new organ built in the manner of an organ of Bach's era.

I went to a performance in the Thomaskirche at 3 p.m. on Saturday of several motets, none of them by Bach. There was Josquin des Prez, Buxtehude, Thomas Tallis, Orlando di Lasso, and someone I'd not heard of before, Sethus Calvisius. The closing organ piece was by Schumann. The only drawback was having to sit through a 17-minute sermon, in German, of course. I'm sure I would have liked it less in English.