‘The Gewandhaus tickets have been ordered’. Ernst Krenek in Leipzig

The city of Leipzig plays an important role in Ernst Krenek's biography. Reason enough to explore this connection to Leipzig in a symposium that took place in November 2021 at Gewandhaus Leipzig under the direction of Dr. Matthias Henke. Not only have some of Krenek's best-known works (‘Jonny spielt auf’, ‘Reisebuch’ and ‘Leben des Orest’) been premiered here, but numerous personal acquaintances also link Krenek to the city. These include the director (Walther Brügmann) and conductor (Gustav Brecher) of the premiere of ‘Jonny’, the Leipzig-born school friend and poet Gerd Hans Goering, the singer Elisa Stünzner and also Emmy Rubensohn, who was a very central supporter and patron of Krenek. Krenek also had biographical overlaps with Leipzig institutions such as the MDR and the Bibliographical Institute, although his contact with the publisher of the Meyers Lexikon was overshadowed by its rapprochement with the National Socialists.

The lectures of the symposium are now available in volume 9 of the Ernst Krenek Studies series, edited by Matthias Henke and provide an insight into so far barely researched aspects of Ernst Krenek's relationship with the tradition-steeped, 20th century music city of Leipzig, which from the perspective of Berlin was sometimes perceived as provincial.
 

"Die Gewandhauskarten sind bestellt". Ernst Krenek in Leipzig
Ernst-Krenek-Studies, Volume 9
Edited by Matthias Henke
Publisher: Edition Argus

Table of contents and synopsis (only available in German)