June, 2004 - Nr. 6
Bach Festival Celebrates
100th Anniversary
TWIG - The 100th anniversary of a festival celebrating the works and life of German composer Johan Sebastian Bach took place last week in Leipzig, the city where he made his home for much of his life.
This year’s festival is rendered especially important because it takes place during what is being called the Bach Year 2004. Leipzig also holds the title "German Music City 2004," calling attention to the city’s long musical tradition.
The festival began with a sold out performance in the city’s famed St. Thomas church, where the composer spent much of his life as cantor. Over 38,000 people gathered to hear Bach’s Easter Symphony, directed by present-day St. Thomas cantor Georg Christoph Biller.
Coinciding with the festival, a special exhibition at the Bach Museum focused on Bach’s relationship to German Romantic composers such as Clara Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, fitting with the theme of this year’s festival, "Bach and the Romantics." The first Bach society was called into life by these composers in 1850.
Many of the festival’s performances focused on the way that composers interpreted Bach’s pieces during the 18th century by using instruments of the period, thus allowing concert-goers to experience Bach’s works the way he intended them to be heard.
Bach’s works weren’t the only ones being celebrating at the festival. Because he spent so much of his life in Leipzig during an era when the city thrived with Baroque splendor, organizers of the week-long celebration also showcased art produced by Bach’s contemporaries.
Next year’s festival will take place from April 29 to May 8,
2005.
Republished with permission from "The Week in Germany"
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