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Contributions " How about a music tour through Saale-Unstrut?
Contributions " How about a music tour through Saale-Unstrut?

How about a music tour through Saale-Unstrut?

The Naumburg Cathedral Choir also includes a children's and youth choir (c) Saale-Unstrut-Tourismus e.V., Transmedial
A music tour through Saale-Unstrut also takes you to Naumburg Cathedral (c) Saale-Unstrut-Tourismus e.V., Transmedial

Take a musical journey through Saale-Unstrut!

Some of the most important German composers are linked by their biographies to the ancient cultural landscape of Saale-Unstrut. Following in their footsteps and listening to their music at the sites of their work is an uplifting experience. But important organs such as the Ladegast organ in Merseburg and the Hildebrandt organ in Naumburg also enrich the musical landscape here. In addition, there are unique festivals such as the KulturArena in Jena or the Sektival and montalbâne - Festival for Medieval Music in Freyburg.

From organ to organ

Ladegast organ Merseburg - the queen of instruments

An organ masterpiece is in the Merseburg Imperial Cathedral to admire. When Friedrich Ladegast completed what was then Germany's largest instrument with 81 stops and four keyboards and pedal works in 1855, Franz Liszt was asked to dedicate a work to the organ for its inauguration. The composer, who was enthusiastic about the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, was then inspired, among other things, to write his important organ composition Prelude and Fugue on "B-A-C-H".

Experience tips
Throughout the year, you can hear the Ladegast organ sound as part of the series "Organ Sound 12". All you need is a cathedral admission ticket and experience 30-40 minutes of organ music and spiritual words.

If you would like to learn more about the organ, we recommend booking the Guided tour "Ringing Cathedral Treasure . On the basis of a smaller "organ princess", you will gain interesting insights into an organ and may pull the stops yourself. Finally, your tour is crowned with an individual organ prelude. For children's groups, the KinderDomusMerseburch offers the child-friendly programme "Music please! Welcome to the Merseburg Court Church"..

View through the nave at the Merseburg Ladegast organ (c) Vereinigte Domstifter, Falko Matte
View through the nave at the Merseburg Ladegast organ (c) Vereinigte Domstifter, Falko Matte

Hildebrandt Organ Naumburg - In the footsteps of Johann Sebastian Bach

A music tour through Saale-Unstrut inevitably leads you to Naumburg. Visitors can also trace the work of Johann Sebastian Bach in Naumburg's historic old town. The famous Hildebrandt organ, a masterpiece by Zacharias Hildebrandt, in the City church St. Wenceslas was personally approved by Bach in 1746. In its variety of sound, it comes very close to Bach's idea of a "rather large and beautiful organ", as he himself used to say. Since Bach helped design the organ, it is considered the only authentically preserved large Bach organ.

Experience tips
The half-hour lunchtime concerts in the Stadtkirche are called "Orgel punkt Zwölf" (Organ at Twelve) and can be experienced on Wednesdays, Saturdays and public holidays from May to October. Individual guided tours and an organ recital can be booked at the tourist information office in Naumburg.

"This organ has personality, wants to be played by a personality, but it also wants to set the tone."
Tony Koopman
Dutch organist and Bach specialist
Music journey through Saale-Unstrut - the Hildebrandt organ in the town church of St. Wenzel Naumburg (c) Saale-Unstrut-Tourismus e.V., Transmedial
Music journey through Saale-Unstrut - the Hildebrandt organ in the town church of St. Wenzel Naumburg (c) Saale-Unstrut-Tourismus e.V., Transmedial

... and more organ music

Of course, there are many more organs in the state that enrich the musical landscape in Saale-Unstrut. Names like Eule, Rühlmann, Förner or Ladegast appear here. On your music tour through Saale-Unstrut, also visit the smaller churches in the state, many of which guard such a treasure trove of instruments.

Music journey through the Museums with music at the heart

Carl Loewe Museum Löbejün

Start your musical journey through Saale-Unstrut in the north of the region - in the small town of Löbejün. Are you already asking yourself: What should I do there? First, of course, visit the Music Museum. The building, which was extensively renovated in 2014, sees itself as a "house of music and art". In addition to the exhibition on the life and work of Carl Loewe (1796-1869), it also houses the world's most extensive collection of Loewe recordings. Connected with this is the tangible history of the development of sound reproduction technology. However, the museum is not only aimed at musicologists, but above all at a musically interested and curious public. Listening stations with selected pieces of music allow you to engage individually with compositions such as ballads or oratorios and instrumental works.

Experience tip
Why not undertake a musical city walk through Löbejün! You will see large-format pictures on selected house facades. The QR codes attached to them connect the pictures with the work of Carl Loewe, ballads and other works are thus brought even closer to you.

Loebejuen CarlLoeweMuseum Gramophone c Picture Archive ICLG eV
Gramophone in the exhibition of the Carl Loewe Museum Löbejün (c) Bildarchiv ICLG E.V.
Permanent exhibition in the Carl Loewe Museum Löbejün (c) Bildarchiv ICLG e.V.
Permanent exhibition in the Carl Loewe Museum Löbejün (c) Bildarchiv ICLG e.V.

Heinrich Schütz House Weißenfels

By the end of the 16th century Weißenfels a farming town with 2000 inhabitants on an important trade route. The Schütz family and their six children lived in one of the five inns where travellers stopped, including the young Heinrich, who later went down in history as the "father of German music". Schütz received his first musical training from the town's cantor. At the tender age of 13, his outstanding talent was discovered and encouraged by the travelling Landgrave Moritz of Hesse. After training, study and stations in Dresden, Venice and Copenhagen, the composer returned to the place of his childhood in 1657.

The Heinrich Schütz House in Weißenfels commemorates the town's famous son. It is the only surviving home of the composer. On three floors, visitors learn how Schütz lived and worked. In fictional radio plays they listen to his memories, and in the restored composer's parlour they can view two original fragments of the composer's music found in the house. To immerse themselves even more deeply in the world of Heinrich Schütz, there are now also several digital tours available: In addition to the Heinrich Schütz House app, there is also an Actionbound tour. 

Extra tip
Schütz is not the only famous composer who left his mark in Weißenfels. George Frideric Handel's talent was showcased in the castle church of Castle Neu-Augustusburg and Johann Sebastian Bach composed his Toccata in F major for the local organ when he was court Kapellmeister at Weißenfels. The castle church with the Förner organ can be visited during the opening hours of the Weißenfels Museum in the castle. Every last Saturday of the month, visitors can take part in a guided tour of the church and the princely crypt.

View of the permanent exhibition (c) Stadt Weißenfels, E.S.-Photographie
The sounding console in the Heinrich Schütz House Weißenfels (c) Falk Mitulla
Digital tour of the Heinrich Schütz House Weißenfels (c) Anne Kasten
Enjoying music at the Heinrich Schütz House in Weißenfels (c) Saale-Unstrut-Tourismus e.V., Transmedial
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Heinrich Schütz House Bad Köstritz

Heinrich Schütz was born in the small town of Bad Köstritz in the Elster Valley on 8 October 1585. Today, the town is better known nationwide for its dark beer. Although Heinrich Schütz only spent the first five years of his life in Bad Köstritz, the town keeps his legacy alive to this day. The permanent exhibition in the Heinrich Schütz House tells of the composer's life and work and introduces visitors to the curious instruments of the time such as the hurdy-gurdy, Gemshorn or sausage bassoon.
Of course, a musician's house is also a musical place. The Heinrich Schütz House is a venue for various concerts. We recommend that you browse through the calendar of events at the Heinrich Schütz House.

The Heinrich-Schütz-Haus Bad Köstritz houses a lot of fascinating instruments (c) Heinrich-Schütz-Haus Bad Köstritz
The Heinrich-Schütz-Haus Bad Köstritz houses a lot of fascinating instruments (c) Heinrich-Schütz-Haus Bad Köstritz

Concerts about concerts

montalbâne - Festival for Medieval Music

The ensemble montâlbane offers medieval music at historical locations. They revive ancient sounds. The renowned and only festival for medieval music celebrated its 30th birthday in June 2020. It takes place every year in June.

The montâlbane festival of the same name looks back to the musical history of the Middle Ages. High above the small winegrowing town of Freyburg, on the mighty NeuchâtelAt the beginning of the 13th century, Landgrave Hermann I of Thuringia maintained one of the most splendid courts of the Muses of his time. The most famous ependichter and minnesingers stayed here and founded a myth in whose tradition the montalbâne music festival sees itself. Here you will experience internationally celebrated musicians and never-before-seen instruments.

montalbane Freyburg
montalbâne Festival in the Church of St. Mary in Freyburg (c) Photo: Stefan Schweiger

Sektival in the atrium of Rotkäppchen Sektkellerei

With the Sektival in the historic atrium of the Rotkäppchen Champagne Winery is associated with the aim of creating special moments. The event series offers music, cabaret, shows and comedy. Renowned guests and show acts always visit and the tickets for the dates are quickly sold out.

But the location is particularly impressive. The atrium is the architectural jewel and has an impressive size. It's hard to imagine that 100 years ago horse-drawn carriages set off from here to deliver the champagne. Today, the Lichthof is an attractive venue with space for a large stage and up to 700 guests.

Sektival in the atrium of Rotkäppchen Sektkellerei in Freyburg (c) Nicky Hellfritzsch/Rotkäppchen Sektkellerei
Sektival in the atrium of Rotkäppchen Sektkellerei in Freyburg (c) Nicky Hellfritzsch/Rotkäppchen Sektkellerei

CultureArena Jena

Well known far beyond the region's borders is the open-air festival Kulturarena Jena. Every year, it creates a positive state of emergency in the city during the summer months and is something like the fifth season for many a Jena resident. In a nutshell: It is simply a great music festival. For six weeks in July and August, the theatre square in Jena is transformed into THE shining cultural centre of Germany. The heart of every music lover beats faster!

There is something for many tastes. The KonzertArena offers experiences from all modern areas of the music industry. The FilmArena makes the hearts of film lovers fly as grandiose films are shown as open-air cinema on the theatre forecourt. Theatre lovers get their money's worth with the TheatreArena, while the ArenaOverture is dedicated to fans of classical music. And to ensure that the KulturArena still has enough fans in 20 years or more, the KinderArena gets the youngest ones excited about the open-air offerings at an early age. Perhaps this is the incentive for you to go on a musical journey through Saale-Unstrut!

Enthusiastic people at the KulturArena on the theatre forecourt Jena (c) JenaKultur, C. Worsch
Enthusiastic people at the KulturArena on the theatre forecourt Jena (c) JenaKultur, C. Worsch

Heinrich Schütz Music Festival

The Heinrich Schütz Music Festival sees itself as a forum for the music of the 17th century. It wants to bring the historical music of this epoch as vividly as possible closer to the people of today. Why? Because Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) shaped his time and the generations of musicians that followed him like no other. The fact that the Heinrich Schütz Music Festival has been taking place for more than twenty years at the original sites of his work throughout central Germany and has proven itself time and again proves that this is a popular idea. During the ten-day festival, internationally renowned artists and up-and-coming young musicians come together every year at the Schütz sites. 

If you attend the concerts of the music festival, that alone is a little musical journey through Saale-Unstrut, because in addition to Weißenfels and Bad Köstritz, concerts also take place, for example, in Zeitz, where Heinrich Schütz helped to establish the court music.

Schuetz Music Festival Bad Koestritz Church St Leonhard Photo Mathias Marx 02
Heinrich Schütz Music Festival in Bad Köstritz (c) Matthias Marx

Merseburg Organ Days

Every year in September, Merseburg attracts numerous enthusiastic concert lovers. For a fortnight, one musical accent follows the next. You can experience musical church services and large evening concerts, attend family and lunchtime concerts or musically "unlock" the cathedral already in the early morning. The cathedral is filled with the sound of the Ladegast organ and the instruments of renowned ensembles and chapels as well as the voices of expressive singers.

Trumpet Angel at the Ladegast Organ Merseburg (c) Daniel Remler
Trumpet Angel at the Ladegast Organ Merseburg (c) Daniel Remler

International Organ Summer and Hildebrandt Days in Naumburg

During the summer months, renowned organists from Germany and all over Europe are guests at the Hildebrandt organ in the International Organ Summer series. They play works by Bach, Mozart and Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, among others, as well as modern arrangements and improvisations.
At the Hildebrandt Days, a music festival held every two years, baroque music ensembles, vocal groups and organists make guest appearances in Naumburg. The programme includes baroque festive music, chamber music, vocal music and organ improvisations.

Hildebrandt organ at the Hildebrandt Days in Naumburg (c) Torsten Biel
Hildebrandt organ at the Hildebrandt Days in Naumburg (c) Torsten Biel

Jena Philharmonic Orchestra

The Jena Philharmonic Orchestra in the Volkshaus Jena is not only the city's largest cultural institution, but also the largest concert orchestra in Thuringia. The Philharmonie has a long tradition: it was founded in 1934 as the Jena Municipal Symphony Orchestra and quickly enriched the cultural life of the region. With German reunification, the Philharmonic Orchestra really took off and achieved not only a national but also an international breakthrough. In the meantime, the Philharmonic Orchestra has given guest performances all over Germany and in many other European countries.

The Philharmonic also likes to experiment with thematically designed concert series and the inclusion of different musical genres. One of many innovative ideas was the "Sound for Jena" theme days. The Philharmonic wanted to think outside the box of classical music and created space for encounters, bringing together different players from culture, art, education and science. A field of experimentation was created that was not meant to stop after one event, but to develop further - as a process of exchange between the Jena Philharmonic Orchestra, the city of Jena and the audience.

Jena Philharmonic is an experience (c) JenaKultur, C. Worsch
Jena Philharmonic is an experience (c) JenaKultur, C. Worsch

Music for children

"Music for Children" is an annual music series for children in the cathedral city of Naumburg. It is aimed at children between the ages of 3 and 10 - and of course they are welcome to be accompanied by parents, grandparents, neighbours etc. From jazz to rock and pop, the children will also be inspired by classical and organ music. It's all about participation and experience. The concerts will be played at classical concert venues in Naumburg: from the summer stage at the Marientor via the turbine house to the City church St. Wenceslas with the great Bach organ.

Music for children in Naumburg (c) Andrea Matte
Music for children in Naumburg (c) Andrea Matte

Other concert series

You can also find out about the various concert series that take place on a regular basis. It will certainly be difficult to choose the next concert to attend. We suggest a small selection here.

The Naumburg Cathedral Choir also includes a children's and youth choir (c) Saale-Unstrut-Tourismus e.V., Transmedial
A music tour through Saale-Unstrut also takes you to Naumburg Cathedral (c) Saale-Unstrut-Tourismus e.V., Transmedial

Road of Music provides orientation on a music journey through Saale-Unstrut

The Street of Music Association ...

... makes an important contribution to the discovery and worldwide dissemination of the musical cultural heritage in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. He researched 2400 forgotten composers at more than 500 locations as well as numerous instrument makers. If you love music, the Road of Music is a good orientation for you.

In Saale-Unstrut the Road of Music includes

  • Pforta State School near Naumburg
    There is a long tradition of music-making and singing in today's Landesgymnasium. 9 historical composers can be traced, including Sethus Calvisius, Friedrich Nietzsche, Wilhelm Maler.
  • Carl Müllerhartung House Bad Sulza
    Carl Müllerhartung was born here on 19 May 1834. He was, among other things, an opera conductor in Dresden, cantor and choir director in Eisenach, church music director in Weimar and director of the Singakademie and Hofkapellmeister.
  • Leopold Bing House Bad Sulza
    The teacher, cantor and composer Leopold Bing worked at the former school since 1870. He was born on 6 May 1833 in Milbitz near Teichel. He died in Bad Sulza on 5 July 1904.
  • St. Peter and Paul Cathedral Zeitz
    Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672) inspired the construction of the 11th century gallery in the cathedral. The organ from the Hermann Eule company from Bautzen, renovated in 2012, is located there.
  • Patronage Church of St. George Ostrava
    Three bells ( 1482, 1515 and 1675), the Rühlmann organ (1930) and the organist Johann Justus Kahle (1668-1740) are connected with the church.
  • Reinhard Keiser Memorial Teuchern
    The house where Reinhard Keiser (1674-1739) was born was located on the site of today's Markt 9 house in Teuchern. The Reinhard Keiser memorial is located at Straße des Friedens 30 in the Teuchern local history museum.
  • and the Heinrich Schütz Houses Bad Köstritz and Weißenfels and the Carl Loewe House Löbejün (see above)
Logo of the Road of Music (c) Straße der Musik e.V.

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