The first Gewandhaus (Altes Gewandhaus) The first concert hall was constructed in 1781 by architect
Johann Carl Friedrich Dauthe inside the
Gewandhaus, a building used by cloth (garment) merchants. Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 (The
Emperor Concerto) premiered there in 1811.
Felix Mendelssohn is particularly associated with the first Gewandhaus, of which he became director in 1835. Other well-known works that premiered at the Altes Gewandhaus include: •
Schubert's
Great Symphony (21 March 1839) •
Schumann's
Spring Symphony (31 March 1841) • Mendelssohn's
Scottish Symphony (3 March 1842) •
Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto (13 March 1845) •
Wagner's overture to
Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (2 June 1862; the full opera was not performed until 1868) •
Brahms's
A German Requiem (first full performance, 18 February 1869) •
Brahms's Violin Concerto (1 January 1879) The Altes Gewandhaus was used for concerts until 1886. Despite several expansions, it eventually became too small to accommodate the burgeoning number of concertgoers from Germany's newly emergent middle class. Between 1893 and 1896 it was repurposed, partially demolished, and refitted to form an annexe of the
Städtisches Kaufhaus.
The second Gewandhaus The second Gewandhaus was designed by
Martin Gropius. It was in the new neighbourhood
Musikviertel and opened on 11 December 1884. It had a main concert hall and a chamber music hall. During this era the Gewandhaus was directed by some of the most renowned conductors of the day, such as
Arthur Nikisch,
Wilhelm Furtwängler and
Bruno Walter. It was severely damaged in the
firebombing of Leipzig in
World War II during raids on 4 December 1943 and 20 February 1944. Despite initial plans for rebuilding, the
East German government deemed the ruins too structurally unsound, and they were demolished on 29 March 1968. The site was used as a car park for decades until the Humanities faculty of
Leipzig University opened on the grounds in 2002.
The third Gewandhaus The third, current Gewandhaus, on
Augustusplatz and the eastern part of the
inner city ring road, opened on 8 October 1981, 200 years after the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra moved into the original hall. Conductor
Kurt Masur laid the foundation stone on 8 November 1977. The architect was
Rudolf Skoda, who like Dauthe was a native of Leipzig. The design carefully took into consideration its precedents' reputation for excellent
acoustics. During construction, the hall was filled several times with soldiers of the East German
Nationale Volksarmee to test its sound quality at full capacity. During the
Autumn of Nations in 1989, the Gewandhaus became a platform for political dissent against the Communist authorities, as Masur opened up the hall for public discussion on the future and reform of the GDR (the so-called "Gewandhaus Talks"). Today's Gewandhaus has a seating capacity of 1,900 and features a Schuke concert organ with 6,845 pipes. ==Gallery==