Carl Reinecke as key figure of musical life in late-19th-century Leipzig. Studies on his institutional networks and pedagogical impact

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Christoph Hust; Professor Dr. Stefan Keym
• Subject Area: Musicology
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 508998328

The project investigates the extent to which a versatile musician and composer like Carl Reinecke was able to exert influence on the increasingly broadening and differentiating Leipzig musical life of the late 19th century. It explores the consequences resulting from the tight network of the city’s musical institutions, paradigmatically embodied by Reinecke, regarding the development of musical culture both inside and outside the city. By examining this central actor’s fields of activity, a more concrete understanding of the complex structures and processes of Leipzig’s musical life will be gained, enabling a reassessment of both Reinecke’s role and the phase of Leipzig’s musical history that he helped to shape. In the second half of the 19th century, comprehensive professionalisation led to an increasing differentiation in the European music culture, in which the older, versatile type of musician embodied by Reinecke was gradually replaced by highly qualified specialists. Against this background, it will be discussed whether Reinecke’s long activity in key positions of Leipzig’s music scene actually inhibited its further development (as is often assumed) or whether Reinecke was able to hold his own for so long precisely because his type of musician was necessary (or perceived such) for the closely entangled structure that had developed in Leipzig earlier in the 19th century. In order to answer these questions, the project will focus on two areas of Reinecke’s activity: On the one hand, his multifaceted networking with Leipzig’s music publishers (especially Breitkopf & Härtel) and as Gewandhaus conductor will be elaborated; on the other hand, the contents (music theory, composition, aesthetics) and impact of his teaching at the Conservatory will be examined. These two fields illuminate Reinecke’s diverse activities from two complementary perspectives that are closely intertwined. Thus it can be assumed that there were substantial overlaps between the repertoire used in his teaching and that presented in his concerts. The same is likely to be true of the technical and aesthetic criteria that he communicated as a teacher and on which he based his expert’s reports on new compositions offered to music publishers. In addition, Reinecke was able to effectively promote his students as a conductor and expert. His own compositions also played a role in both fields, as performed and published works as well as didactic models. Looking from both perspectives combined, it is also important to clarify the extent to which Reinecke’s preferences and aesthetic principles were bound to Leipzig traditions that already existed before 1860, and whether he was able to enforce new approaches and thus shaped the city’s musical life.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants