Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.
–William Arthur Ward
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on the home page of http://www.walled-in-berlin.com. Walled-In is a story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War.
The renowned Gewandhaus Orchestra performs in a grand structure overlooking the Augustusplatz in Leipzig, Germany. Its name translates into “garment hall” because the city’s first concert hall was located in a textile-trading house. Completed in 1981, today’s hall can accommodate close to 2000 visitors and is known for its excellent acoustics. I had the good fortune of attending a recent concert at the Gewandhaus. It was directed by guest conductor Omer Meir Wellber. The performance of musicians and conductor was truly beyond words. What a treat for ears and eyes!
The current Gewandhaus was an East German cultural project. It is built in the style of an amphitheater. Its organ is the biggest musical instrument ever built in East Germany. The Gewandhaus Orchestra performs in the Gewandhaus, in the Leipzig Opera and, together with the Thomanerchor, in the St. Thomas Church. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/st-thomas-boys-choir-800-years/
According to Claudius Boehm (translated by Tom Greenleaves) the earliest roots of the Gewandhaus Orchestra can be traced to 1479. https://www.gewandhausorchester.de/en/gewandhaus/history/ At that time, Leipzig’s City Council hired three artistic pipers (Kunstpfeifer) to provide musical accompaniment at church services, theater productions and concerts.
Leipzig’s earliest concerts took place in private homes. Then an inn hosted the events. As the concerts increased in popularity, a larger space became essential, and in 1781, the City of Leipzig constructed a concert hall. Because the textile merchants had no use for a substantial part of the upper floor in the Garment Hall between the Gewandgaesschen and the Kupfergasse, the space was converted into a concert hall. It accommodated up to 500 patrons. Mozart played in this hall. So did Carl Maria von Weber and Franz Liszt. Hector Berlioz, Johannes Brahms, and Richard Wagner conducted here. The popularity of Gewandhaus concerts increased beyond all expectation so that the auditorium was modified several times to increase audience capacity. Unfortunately, the acoustics suffered each time, and a new concert hall was discussed.
In 1884, the Second Gewandhaus opened its doors on the south side of the Augustusplatz. It was designed by Martin Gropius and consisted of a main concert hall and a chamber music hall. While the City of Leipzig owned the First Gewandhaus, the Gewandhaus Concert Board owned the Second Gewandhaus. Anton Bruckner performed here at the organ, Paul Hindemith on the viola, Igor Stravinsky at the piano. Johannes Brahms, Edvard Grieg, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Richard Strauss all conducted the Gewandhaus Orchestra at one time or another. The Second Gewandhaus was destroyed during bombings in 1944. For a while, the Gewandhaus orchestra performed in various halls throughout the city and moved into the zoo in 1947.
The conductor Kurt Masur initiated the campaign for the construction of the Third Gewandhaus on Augustusplatz. It opened in 1981, two hundred years after the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra had moved into the First Gewandhaus site.
The amphitheatrical Great Hall accommodates an audience of over 1,900; the Mendelssohn Hall approximately 500. The Great Hall is crowned by its imposing organ, with its four manuals, 92 stops and 6,638 pipes. Today’s Gewandhaus hosts approximately 800 events per year, which include its concert series, organ recitals, various chamber music series, conferences, symposia and lectures.
Inside the Gewandhaus, Photo © J. Elke Ertle. www.walled-in-berlin.com
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page or feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic or current events, people, places or food.
Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
The world-famous St. Thomas Boys Choir of Leipzig, Germany, is first mentioned in 1254. But most likely, the choir is as old church itself. The St. Thomas Church came into being in 1212 when Margrave Dietrich of Meissen founded an Augustinian Monastery on this spot. Toward the end of the 15th century, the church’s Romanesque nave was razed and replaced by the late-Gothic “Hall-Church” that we see today. In fact, the architecture of today’s church has not changed much since the end of the 15th century.
St. Thomas Church, Leipzig
Photo © J. Elke Ertle. www.walled-in-berlin.com
From 1723 to 1750, the renowned composer and musician of the Baroque period, Johann Sebastian Bach, led the St. Thomas Boys Choir. At that time, the chorus consisted of 54 boys. Today, about 100 boys and young men sing in the choir. Their primary focus is the preservation of Bach’s choral music. For that reason, weekly Friday and Saturday motets have become a permanent musical tradition at St. Thomas. Bach Passion Concerts and the Christmas Oratorio draw thousands of visitors each year. The present leader of the choir is, Daniel Hyde, the church’s 36th cantor. https://www.saintthomaschurch.org/music/choir
During a recent visit, I was able to enjoy a Friday motet with the St. Thomas Boys Choir. The church was packed, and we were not disappointed. Music and setting succeeded in linking us emotionally to a long-forgotten time period.
Statue of Johann Sebastian Bach in front of the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig
Photo © J. Elke Ertle
The organ from Bach’s days no longer exists. In 2000, for the 250th anniversary of Bach’s death, St. Thomas acquired a new organ. This new instrument, with its 61 registers and 4 manuals with pedal, looks and sounds similar to an organ of the 18th century.
The Lutheran St. Thomas Church has a long and eventful history. Not only has the St. Thomas Boys Choir sung here for the last 800 years. Many other important events took place in this church as well: In 1409, the University of Leipzig was founded in the monastery. In 1539, Martin Luther preached at St. Thomas, introducing the Reformation to Leipzig’s citizens. From 1723 until his death, Johann Sebastian Bach was Cantor of the Thomas school. In 1789 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart played the organ here. Mendelssohn performed at St. Thomas, and in 1813 Richard Wagner was baptized here. Since 1950 the St. Thomas Church is the location of Johann Sebastian Bach’s remains. Originally buried in an unmarked grave outside the Johanniskirche in Leipzig, Bach was moved to his final resting place at the foot of the church’s altar.
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.
Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
There are two ways of spreading light: To be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.
–Edith Wharton
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic or current events, people, places or food.
Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall, and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 -1832) was a prolific German writer whose extensive work included epic and lyric poetry, memoirs, treatises on botany, anatomy and color, an autobiography, prose and verse dramas, four novels, 10,000 letters and nearly 3,000 drawings. His poems were set to music throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries by a number of composers. His best-known work is Faust, a two-part drama, which he wrote over a period of 57 years. It is a hybrid between a play and an extended poem. Performances of the two-part tragedy are still performed today at the Goetheanum in Switzerland.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832)
By the age of eight, Goethe already spoke some Greek, Latin, French, English, Hebrew and Italian. His passion at that time was drawing, and he soon became interested in literature. By age sixteen he was sent to the University of Leipzig to study law. http://www.imagi-ation.com/moonstruck/clsc20.html Because he hated having to memorize judicial rules by heart, he often attended poetry lectures instead. While in Leipzig, he became a regular patron at Auerbachs Cellar (Auerbachs Keller in German). http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/auerbachs-cellar-5th-in-world-fame/ The folk legend of Faust’s wine barrel ride at Auerbach’s made such an impression on him that he turned it into a closet drama.
Closet dramas ares not intended to be performed onstage. They are plays that are read out loud by a reader. Closet dramas written in verse became very popular in Western Europe after 1800. Nonetheless, Faust Part One and Faust Part Two are often performed onstage.
Faust, the main character, is an aging scholar. Frustrated with the limits to his knowledge, power, and enjoyment of life, he agrees to a pact with Mephisto, the devil. Faust agrees to exchange his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures during his lifetime. On earth Faust will be master. In hell, Faust will be the devils’ servant for the rest of eternity.
Mephisto leads Faust through a number of adventures that culminate in a lustful relationship with an innocent young girl. It ends in tragedy for Faust. The girl is saved but Faust is left to grieve in shame. Faust Part One was published in 1808 and created a sensation.
Part two begins with the spirits of the earth forgiving Faust. Mephisto tries to seize Faust’s soul when he dies, but angels intervene due to God’s grace. Faust Part Two was only finished shortly before his death and was published posthumously.
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.
Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
An educated man sees parallels while a simpleton sees something altogether new.
–Sigmund Graff
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on the home page of http://www.walled-in-berlin.com. Walled-In is a story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War.
In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock.
–Thomas Jefferson
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on the home page of http://www.walled-in-berlin.com. Walled-In is a story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War.
Auerbachs Cellar (Auerbachs Keller in German) is located in the heart of Leipzig, Germany, a city that celebrated its 1000th anniversary in 2015 http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/1000-years-city-of-leipzig/. As the locals like to explain, “Wer nach Leipzig zur Messe gereist ohne auf Auerbachs Hof zu gehen, der schweige still, denn das beweist: Er hat Leipzig nicht gesehen.” (If you have travelled to a Leipzig trade show without visiting Auerbachs, keep it quiet because it proves that you haven’t seen Leipzig.)
Auerbachs Cellar has been in continuous operation since 1525. It is located in the basement of the Maedler Passage, a shopping arcade in Leipzig’s historic district. Its original owner, Dr. Heinrich Stromer, sat on the Leipzig city council, was a professor of medicine at the University of Leipzig and personal physician to members of the nobility. In appreciation for Stromer’s services, the Prince-Elector of Saxony granted him the privilege of establishing a wine bar. The bar was first mentioned in 1438. Because Stromer was born in the city of Auerbach, Leipzig’s citizens liked to call him Dr. Auerbach. The name stuck. But the wine bar did not last long. In 1528, Dr. Stromer had the original structure razed and replaced with a larger one that included a large vaulted cellar (Grosser Keller), a Cask Cellar (Fasskeller), Old Leipzig (Alt-Leipzig), the Luther Room (Lutherzimmer) and the Goethe Room (Goethezimmer). The Mephisto Bar was constructed on the floor above. All of the rooms are still standing today. However, in the early 20th century – when the Maedler Passage was built – much of Auerbachs was reconstructed and expanded.
Grosser Keller, Auerbachs Cellar, Leipzig
Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2014
While Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a German writer, studied in Leipzig in the 1700s, he liked to frequent Auerbachs Cellar. It was here that he got the inspiration for “Faust,” his two-part play in which Faust sells his soul to the devil, Mephisto. Faust and Mephisto carouse here with students before riding off on a barrel. The scene is depicted on a carved tree trunk in the Goethe Room. Two large bronze sculptures at the cellar’s entrance depict Dr. Faust, Mephisto and the students.
Sculpture of Faust and Mephisto at the entrance of Auerbachs Cellar, Leipzig, Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2014
After dining in Auerbachs large vaulted cellar recently, we admired the painted ceiling and enjoyed the traditional German food. That day’s special – Sauerbraten with red cabbage and dumplings – tasted as good as it looked. Upon leaving, we made sure we gave Dr. Faust’s shoe a rub. It is supposed to bring good luck. There must be some truth to the legend because we noticed that Dr. Faust’s shoe gleamed golden, the dark bronze patina having been rubbed away by scores of good-luck-seekers before us.
Dr. Faust’s shoe, polished by scores of Auerbachs visitors, Leipzig, Photo © J. Elke Ertle. 2014
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.
Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.
Challenges are what makes life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.
–Joshua J. Marine
For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on the home page of http://www.walled-in-berlin.com. Walled-In is a story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War.
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