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| Mendelssohn Gesellschaft | |
|---|---|
| Name | Mendelssohn Gesellschaft |
| Formation | 19th century |
| Type | Musical society |
| Headquarters | Leipzig |
| Location | Germany |
| Language | German |
| Leader title | President |
Mendelssohn Gesellschaft is a historic Leipzig-based society dedicated to the promotion, study, and performance of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy’s works and related German Romantic repertoire. The society connects scholars, performers, institutions, and patrons to foster editions, concerts, research, and pedagogy around Mendelssohn and his contemporaries. It collaborates with archives, conservatories, orchestras, choirs, festivals, and publishers across Europe and beyond.
Founded in the 19th century amid the cultural milieu of Leipzig and Berlin, the society emerged parallel to institutions such as the Gewandhaus Orchestra, St. Thomas Church, Leipzig, Leipzig Conservatory, and the Neue Bachgesellschaft. Early patrons included figures associated with the Prussian Academy of Arts and the Royal Opera House, Berlin. The organization’s development tracked wider nineteenth-century networks linking Hamburg, Dresden, Weimar, Vienna, Paris, London, and Rome through salons, publishing houses like Breitkopf & Härtel and E. F. Kalmus, and critical journals modeled after Neue Zeitschrift für Musik and Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung. During the twentieth century, the society negotiated periods of crisis involving institutions such as the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Berlin Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and responses to political regimes including the Weimar Republic and postwar reconstruction influenced by Deutsche Akademie der Künste and the Soviet occupation zone. Post-1945 reconstruction linked the society with archival projects at the Bach-Archiv Leipzig, rediscovery initiatives comparable to those of the Beethoven-Haus and the Mozarteum. Contemporary collaborations extend to the European Union, UNESCO, International Musicological Society, Royal Musical Association, American Musicological Society, Smithsonian Institution, and major university music departments such as University of Leipzig, University of Cambridge, Harvard University, Yale University, and Columbia University.
The society’s mission aligns with ensembles, publishers, and academic bodies like the Gesellschaft für Musikforschung, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, British Academy, Académie des Beaux-Arts, and American Academy of Arts and Sciences to produce critical editions, scholarly congresses, and public programming. Activities include editorial projects akin to the Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke tradition, conferences in the vein of International Mendelssohn Conference models, and partnerships with festivals such as the Leipzig Bach Festival, Salzburg Festival, BBC Proms, Lucerne Festival, and Bayreuth Festival. The society liaises with orchestras, choirs, opera houses, libraries, and museums including the British Library, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Library of Congress, Deutsches Nationalmuseum, and the Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig.
Structured with boards, committees, editorial councils, and advisory panels, the society draws members from conservatories, universities, orchestras, choirs, and publishing houses; notable institutional partners include the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig, Royal College of Music, Juilliard School, Conservatoire de Paris, Sibelius Academy, Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Curtis Institute of Music, and the Moscow Conservatory. Membership profiles feature musicologists, conductors, soloists, composers, librarians, and philanthropists linked to organizations such as the Kunstmuseum, Philharmonia Orchestra, Metropolitan Opera, Neue Philharmonie, Berlin State Opera, and regional ensembles like the Stadttheater Leipzig. Governance reflects precedents from entities like the Royal Society of Musicians and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation.
The society sponsors concerts, premieres, and recording projects with ensembles tied to labels and institutions such as Deutsche Grammophon, EMI Classics, Harmonia Mundi, Teldec, Warner Classics, Naxos, DG Archiv, BR Klassik, Archiv Produktion, and studios associated with WDR, BBC Radio 3, NDR, SWR, and ORF. Performances occur in venues like the Gewandhaus Leipzig, Konzerthaus Berlin, Royal Albert Hall, Carnegie Hall, Teatro alla Scala, Opéra Garnier, Konzerthaus Vienna, and historic churches including St. Anne’s Church, Augsburg and St. Nicholas Church, Leipzig. The society’s discography features collaborations with soloists and conductors associated with Claudio Abbado, Gustavo Dudamel, Riccardo Muti, Daniel Barenboim, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, John Eliot Gardiner, Simon Rattle, Andris Nelsons, Zubin Mehta, and chamber groups in the tradition of Amadeus Quartet and Juilliard String Quartet.
Educational initiatives mirror programs from conservatories and foundations like the Sächsische Landesbibliothek, Herbert von Karajan Stiftung, Rothschild Foundation, Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, DAAD, Fulbright Program, and partnerships with summer academies such as Tanglewood, Aspen Music Festival, Schloss Solitude, and Aix-en-Provence Festival. Outreach targets schools, youth orchestras, and community choirs comparable to the National Youth Orchestra of Germany, European Union Youth Orchestra, Youth Music Trust, and El Sistema-style projects, collaborating with broadcasters, publishers, and educational publishers linked to Schott Music, Henle Verlag, and Baerenreiter.
Leadership and notable members have included scholars, conductors, and patrons associated with institutions like the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Bach Society, Prussian State Library, Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg, Royal Academy of Music, Vienna Philharmonic, Sächsische Staatskapelle, Hochschule für Musik und Theater Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Leipzig, Beethoven-Haus Bonn, and figures connected to Robert Schumann, Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn, Hermann Mendelssohn, Ignaz Moscheles, Giovanni Battista Viotti, Felix Weingartner, Otto Klemperer, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Bruno Walter, Arthur Nikisch, Julius Rietz, Carl Reinecke, and modern directors influenced by Wolfgang Sawallisch, Helmuth Rilling, Kurt Masur, Michael Gielen, and Hans von Bülow.
The society issues prizes, scholarships, and fellowships and has been acknowledged by cultural bodies like UNESCO, European Cultural Foundation, Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung, Sächsische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Leipzig, Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, German Music Council, Royal Philharmonic Society, Austrian Decoration for Science and Art, Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, and national ministries of culture in Germany, Austria, and the United Kingdom. Its editorial and performance achievements have been cited in award contexts alongside Gramophone Awards, Echo Klassik, Grammy Awards, MIDEM Classical Awards, and international musicological prizes administered by the International Musicological Society.
Category:Music societies