Audio documents of the University of Music FRANZ LISZT Weimar

At a meeting of the board and curators of the German Liszt Society during the 2016 Weimar Liszt Days, Christoph Meixner, director of the University Archives | Thuringian State Music Archives at the University of Music FRANZ LISZT in Weimar, pointed out that the archives contain numerous audio recordings, including recordings by renowned performers of works by Franz Liszt (1811–1886) and Johann Cilenšek (1913–1998), as well as interviews and speeches on two significant occasions, namely the naming of the university in 1956 and the anniversary celebrations in 1972 marking the 100th anniversary of the Grand Ducal Orchestra School, from which the university later emerged.

In 2022, the university will celebrate this anniversary for the 150th time and is taking this opportunity to make the aforementioned audio documents available to the public, insofar as they bring the eventful recent history of the university to life acoustically.

The review of numerous audio recordings by pianist Christian Wilm Müller, musicologist Albrecht von Massow and research assistants Henrike Spittel and Maxim Mentzel yielded material for four areas:

Thanks are also due to the former Vice President for Artistic Practice at the university, Elmar Fulda, who, like his successor Anne-Kathrin Lindig, provided the funds for the research assistants, as well as to the individuals and institutions that granted the rights necessary for the preparation and publication of the audio documents.

Thanks also go to students Tobias Meichsner, Lorenz Kestler and Viktor Heinrich, who wrote introductory texts for several audio documents in the first phase of preparation. Following on from this, other students from various musicology courses in the summer semester of 2021 each wrote an introductory text for an audio document and also searched for suitable image material. Henrike Spittel and Johanna von Bleichert, who succeeded Maxim Mentzel, finally took care of the digital preparation of all audio documents for the university's website. Further support was provided by Christoph Meixner and, when needed, by Amelie Bräumer, Ina Schwanse and Joachim Müller.

Now you can hear, read, or see music, pictures, speeches, biographical comments, and more, which show how the University of Music FRANZ LISZT, together with its choir and orchestra, has maintained an unbroken and evolving tradition of high artistic quality through the work of renowned composers and performers.

In addition to the University Archive, the extensive research by Wolfram Huschke was indispensable for the historical preparation of the audio documents. With his book ‘Zukunft Musik – Eine Geschichte der Hochschule für Musik FRANZ LISZT’ (Future Music – A History of the University of Music FRANZ LISZT), published in 2006, he made it possible to offer an appropriately structured overall context from 1872 to 2003 for any further processing of specific phases of the university's history. (Future of Music – A History of the University of Music FRANZ LISZT), made it possible to provide a suitably structured overall context from 1872 to 2003 for any further processing of specific phases in the university's history. Wherever you open his book, you will find detailed, factually documented discussions of the university's structures under changing historical conditions.

Prof. Dr. Albrecht von Massow