Leipziger Notenspur

Museum of Musical Instruments

Leipzig's Museum für Musikinstrumente is housed in the Grassi museum complex and is the largest collection of musical instruments in Germany. The Museum offers visitors of all ages an insight not only into the diverse world of musical instruments but also into the handcraft and the artistic and experimental abilities of instrument makers since the 16th century. The Museum was opened on 30th May 1929. As an institute of Leipzig University, it serves the research and scholarship of this institution, as well as exhibiting its treasures to the general public. The Museum für Musikinstrumente possesses in excess of 5,000 pieces. The world's oldest surviving grand fortepiano dating from 1726 is on exhibition, as well as five further examples of the output of the inventor of the fortepiano, Bartolomeo Cristofori. Masterpieces from the workshops of Leipzig during Bach's day, evidence of early piano making in Leipzig, a cinema organ, music machines and curiosities of all kind are on display. The instruments are complemented by graphic displays, 3D musical examples, a hologram installation and a sound laboratory, bringing musical history alive multisensorially. Opening times: Tuesday-Sunday 10am-6pm; special arrangements on public holidays

Alter Johannisfriedhof

Old John Cemetery, photograph: Werner Schneider The venerable trees, ivy-clad walls, statues dating from the Renaissance to art nouveau, ornamental columns and gravestones of the Alter Johannisfriedhof invite the visitor to while away more than just a few minutes in this scenic gem. The romantically-inclined will surely be enchanted by the former cemetery whatever the season. Duke Georg decreed the graveyard be dedicated a communal cemetery in 1536; today it is the oldest in Leipzig. A particular highlight for music lovers is the burial plot of Richard Wagner's mother, Johanna (1778-1848), and sister, Rosalie (1803-37). Other graves of interest include those of Thomaskantor (Cantor of St. Thomas) Christian Weinlig (1780-1842) - pedagogue, composer and not least, teacher of Richard Wagner. Friedrich Rochlitz (1769-1842) figures prominently in the history of music literature, as critic and editor of the widely distributed music journal Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung. Tribute is paid to Carl Friedrich Zöllner (1800-60), composer of the immortal song Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust with his gravestone, transferred here from the New St. Johannis' Cemetery. Perusal of the graves of many, many more historical figures, including headmasters of the Thomasschule (St. Thomas School), philosophers, museum founders, poets and women's rights activists offers a fascinating insight into Leipzig's past. The Alter Johannisfriedhof originally extended over a considerably larger area than that remaining today, including the site of the present day Grassi museum complex: the part of the cemetery containing the grave of Johann Sebastian Bach. Robert Schumann led the voicing of complaints about the lack of identification of the great master's exact resting place. This was rectified at the end of the 19th century by virtue of the extension works to the Johanniskirche (St. Johannis’ Church); Bach's mortal remains were excavated, identified and reinterred in a memorial tomb. Whilst leaving the tomb itself intact, the damage sustained by the Johanniskirche during the Second World War was so severe that it was decided to transfer Bach's remains to the Thomaskirche (St. Thomas Church) in 1949, his final resting place. Site: behind the Grassimuseum, entrance via Täubchenweg or Prager Straße Opening times: daily from 10am; closes at 4pm to 8pm, depending on the season

Schumann-Haus

The "lodging first floor right-hand side" in this classical house became home to the composer Robert Schumann (1810-1856) and the pianist Clara Wieck (1819-1896) after their marriage in September 1840. A period of both great happiness and fruitful musical collaboration began, enduring until their departure to Dresden at the end of 1844. Robert composed his First Symphony (Spring), the first movement of his Piano Concerto in A minor, diverse chamber music and song cycles here; Clara laid the foundations for her formidable pianistic ability. The couple's first two children, Marie and Elise, were born here. Prominent guests to the Schumann's home include Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Franz Liszt, Hector Berlioz, Richard Wagner and Hans Christian Andersen. "Klärchen, I've told you what of you I fear; now you tell me what of me is not to your liking. I want to better myself; here my hand and a kiss on your heart." (Robert to Clara, 1840) The first floor now houses a recital hall and a memorial centre to the couple. Opening times: Wednesday-Friday 2pm-5pm, Saturday & Sunday 10am-5pm; special arrangements on public holidays Internet: Robert and Clara Schumann Verein Leipzig Wikipedia: Robert Schumann | Clara Schumann

Grafisches Viertel

During the course of the 19th century Leipzig advanced to one of the leading European musical metropoli. Of great significance in this development was the presence in the city of several of the preeminent specialist publishers of the day. The oldest of these institutions, in fact the longest established music publisher in the world, is Breitkopf, founded in 1719 by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf. Gottfried Christoph Härtel took over the publishing house in 1795 (named since then Breitkopf & Härtel), establishing a close working relationship with, among others, Ludwig van Beethoven. Breitkopf & Härtel became the trusted publisher of many of the luminaries of the romantic epoch: e.g. Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner. The publishing house C.F. Peters is similarly rooted in Leipzig. Founded in 1800 by Franz Anton Hoffmeister and Ambrosius Kühnel as Bureau de Musique, it published highly significant editions of works of J.S. Bach during the first half of the 19th century. Edvard Grieg, who studied at the Leipziger Konservatorium (Leipzig Conservatoire) from 1858 to 1862, was later promoted vigourously by C.F. Peters. The third institution surviving to this day is the Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag, dating from 1807, named after its founder. Hofmeister learnt his trade at Breitkopf & Härtel before gathering experience working for Kühnel and Hoffmeister's Bureau de Musique. Having established his own company, he published early works of both Robert Schumann and Clara Wieck, as well as the output of lesser known composers such as Ignaz Moscheles and Heinrich Marschner. In addition to these three leading lights of the branch, numerous other institutions which played an active role in the evolution of music publishing were based in Leipzig well into the 20th century. The Grafisches Viertel (Graphic Quarter) was all but destroyed by the bombing of Leipzig in the Second World War. The advent of the socialist era in East Germany in 1949 subsequently led to the migration of numerous publishers to the west. Present day Leipzig is home to wings of both Breitkopf & Härtel and C.F. Peters; the Hofmeister Verlag has returned to the place of its foundation in its entirety. Internet: Breitkopf & Härtel Musikverlag | Friedrich Hofmeister Musikverlag | C.F. Peters Musikverlag

Wagner Denkmal

Richard Wagner, the most celebrated of all Leipzig-born composers, first saw the light of the world on 22nd May 1813 in the inn Zum roten und weißen Löwen (The Red and White Lion) on the Brühl road. He was subsequently baptised on 16th August 1813 in the Thomaskirche (St. Thomas Church). In 1886, Wagner's birth house was forced to make way for development on the site. Other houses in which the Wagner family lived were either also pulled down in 1886 or destroyed in the bombing of 1943-44. One surviving building of interest is the Königshaus (King's House) on the southern side of the Market Square, the residence of Richard's uncle, the philologist and scholar Adolf Wagner. For the young Richard, Adolf, an acquaintance of Goethe, Schiller, E.T.A. Hoffmann, Ludwig Tieck and other lyricists, was to prove a vital source of literary stimuli. Also surviving is the Alte Niklaischule (Old St. Nicholas School), at which Wagner was enrolled from 1828 until 1830. Wagner's next school, the Alte Thomasschule (Old St. Thomas School), unfortunately had to be pulled down in 1902 due to its dilapidated state. Wagner received instruction in composition from the Thomaskantor (Cantor of St. Thomas) Theodor Weinlig in the school's cantor apartment from 1831 to 1832. Many experiences and encounters critical for the young Wagner's development were to take place at the Altes Gewandhaus in Universitätsstraße; here he conducted the first performance of the overture to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg on 1st November 1862. This site was also redeveloped at the end of the 19th century. The opera performances attended by Richard Wagner during his adolescence at the Old Theatre (located on the present day Richard-Wagner-Platz until its destruction by bombing on 4th December 1943) were a similarly decisive influence. After departing Leipzig in 1834, Wagner was a welcome guest in the home of Robert and Clara Schumann during visits to his hometown. The Schumanns' successor in the apartment in the present day Inselstraße was Wagner's half-sister, Cäcilie, the wife of Eduard Avenarius; the Schumann-Haus (Schumann House) thus remained Wagner's port of call even after the famous couple's departure.

Oper Leipzig

Opera, photograph: A. Schmidt The Oper Leipzig can look back on a tradition extending over almost 320 years. The city's first opera house, opened in the Brühl road in 1693, followed the houses in Venice and Hamburg as only the third civic music theatre in Europe. The first collaboration between the Opera and musicians of the Großes Concert (later named Gewandhausorchester) took place in 1766. The same year saw the inauguration of the Komödienhaus, later to be known as Altes Theater (Old Theatre). For a good century, this theatre made an enormous contribution to the development of the German operatic tradition (see Notenbogen- Station 2). Leipzig's opera and theatre companies received a new home with the opening of the Neues Theater (New Theatre) on Augustusplatz in 1868. From this point onwards, alongside the standard repertoire of Mozart, Weber and Gluck, the Oper Leipzig placed great emphasis on the performance of the operatic œuvre of the city's celebrated son, Richard Wagner. The first performance of Wagner's Ring trilogy outside Bayreuth took place in Leipzig in 1878. The roster of world class conductors who accepted appointments at the Opera House up to 1890 includes Artur Seidl, Arthur Nikisch and Gustav Mahler. The 1920s were characterised by the Opera's particular commitment to the production of the contemporary repertoire. Of the many operatic world premieres to take place in Leipzig, Kurt Weill and Berthold Brecht's The Rise and Fall of Mahagonny, first performed in 1930, is of particular note. Following the destruction of the Neues Theater in 1943, Leipzig was to wait until 1956 for work to begin on the construction of a new house. Erected on the same site, the new building pays architectural homage to the Neues Theater with its elements of late classical form. The Opera House's completion was celebrated in 1960 with a production of Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg directed by Joachim Herz. The following decades saw the retention of the Oper Leipzig’s traditional emphasis on Wagner's operatic output, as well as the reinstatement of neglected works of earlier times to the repertoire. Udo Zimmermann took over the direction of the Oper Leipzig in 1990, steering it to new heights. In 1991, Zimmermann brought Uwe Scholz to the opera as Ballet Director and Chief Choreographer, an appointment that was to lead to the Leipzig Ballet's establishment as one of the leading companies in Germany. Henri Maier succeeded Zimmermann in 2001, opening the Oper Leipzig to areas of the operatic repertoire hitherto unknown in the city, e.g. The Damnation of Faust and The Trojans by Berlioz. Maier left the Oper Leipzig in 2007; one year later, Peter Konwitschny was appointed Chief Stage Director. Konwitschny advocates a particularly animated approach to music theatre production, a repertoire encompassing all operatic epochs from the Baroque to the contemporary and the promotion of young directors. The Opera House's foyers and auditorium were renovated in accordance with the specifications for listed building in 2007. The theatre now has a capacity of 1267. The Oper Leipzig, comprising the ensemble of soloists, the chorus and the Leipzig Ballet, also includes the Musikalische Komödie (Musical Comedy), performing operetta and musicals in its own theatre in Lindenau, in the west of the city. The Leipzig Opera stages approximately 300 performances per season.

Alte Nicoaischule

Richard Wagner was enrolled at the Nikolaischule from 1828 until 1830 - one of the few surviving, authentic Wagner locations in Leipzig. Wagner was certainly no model pupil, as he relates in his autobiography: "The decline of my studies and my consummate deviation from the path of a well-regulated education began on the first day of my schooling; the arrogance of the school pedantry may well be at fault." At that time, the Thomassschule (St. Thomas School) presented no real alternative to Wagner: "...the Nikolaischule enjoyed at that time a significantly better reputation than its sister; I simply had to get accepted there." In accordance with his "fantastical tendencies", however, he did not devote himself to his studies, preferring to concentrate on the continued progress of his lyric drama Leubald and Adelaide. Later confessing the priorities of his youth, Wagner wrote: "The neglect of my schoolwork reached such a degree that it inevitably led to our parting company." Presumably more content in their studies at the Nikolaischule were Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, Christian Thomasius and Johann Gottfried Seume. The Nikolaischule also employed cantors who, officially, were of equal rank to the Thomaskantoren (Cantors of St. Thomas). Due to the strong scientific bias of the Nikolaischule's curriculum, however, they could not realistically compete with their colleagues at St. Thomas's, remaining largely without influence in the musical life of the city. The building of the Nikolaischule housed the school from its founding in 1512, serving this purpose until 1872. After long years of gradual deterioration, the derelict building was eventually restored from 1991 to 1994.

Nikolaikirche

The late Gothic Nikolaikirche, the interior of which was classicised in 1790, is one of the two surviving churches in Leipzig, for the sacred music of which Johann Sebastian Bach was responsible. Bach began his employment in the city in the Nikolaikirche with the direction of a cantata in the service on 30th May 1723. The Nikolaikirche's music had long since been closely connected to that of the Thomaskirche (St. Thomas Church). Although the Nikolaikirche was Leipzig's principal parish church, it only employed an organist, not a cantor. Bach's position of Thomaskantor (Cantor of St. Thomas) and Director musices of the city required him to organise the musical contribution to the worship in all four of Leipzig's main churches: Nikolaikirche, Thomaskirche, Neue Kirche St Matthäi (New Church of St. Matthäi) and Peterskirche (St. Peter's). In fact, the Nikolaikirche was the scene of more cantata performances under Bach's direction than any of the other churches. In addition, the Nikolaikirche witnessed the first performance of two of Bach's greatest masterpieces: the St. John Passion in 1724 and the Christmas Oratorio over the festive period in 1734/35. Of the organists employed by the Nikolaikirche before Bach's time, two are of particular note: Johann Rosenmüller (1619-1684) and Adam Krieger (1634-1666). The current organ is based on the instrument built by Friedrich Ladegast in 1862, which played a significant role in the inclination towards a rather romantic interpretation of Bach's organ works in the latter half of the 19th century. The Ladegast organ was expanded by the Frankfurt-on-the-Oder firm, Wilhelm Sauer, in 1902-03. The new instrument built by Hermann Eule in Bautzen in 2002-03 is based on the original, integrating much of the existing historical substance. As a result of the "Prayers for Peace", held to this day every Monday at 5pm, the Nikolaikirche became the origin of the Peaceful Revolution in 1989 and, subsequently, an emblem of German reunification.

Altes Rathaus

Leipzig's Altes Rathaus contains numerous valuable relics of the city's musical history. Johann Sebastian Bach, probably the most prominent person ever to have set foot in the Altes Rathaus, signed his civic contract as Thomaskantor (Cantor of St. Thomas's Church) and Director musices in the council chamber in May 1723. The room adjoining the chamber is dedicated to Bach's memory. The only authentic portrait of our city's most celebrated musician (by Elias Gottlob Haussmann, 1746) is on exhibition, as is an original manuscript in Bach's hand. The next room is devoted to the Leipzig music tradition: church music before Bach's time, civic music, particularly Johann Gottfried Reiche, and the early history of the Gewandhaus. Among the rarities on display is the Foundation Charter of the Gewandhaus concerts from 1781, a model of the first Gewandhaus in 1:25 scale and the conductor's stand from the old concert hall. In addition to the Gewandhauskapellmeister from Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy to Carl Reinecke, this stand witnessed the conducting of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1789), Muzio Clementi (1812), Carl Maria von Weber (1813), Johann Strauß (1834), Robert Schumann (1853), Franz Liszt (1857), Johannes Brahms (1860) and Richard Wagner (1862). The portrait of Leipzig's most renowned civic musician, Johann Gottfried Reiche, is also the work of Haussmann, painted around 1726. A replica of the trumpet held by Reiche in the painting is on exhibition, along with other historical brass instruments. On the north side of the banqueting hall is the Pfeiferstuhl, the balcony that is as old as the Altes Rathaus itself (1556). The so-called Stadtpfeifer (Town Pipers) would play from this balcony, now open to the public, on festive occasions. Leipzig, the City of Music, from Mendelssohn to the present day is celebrated as part of the permanent exhibition devoted to the city's history, Moderne Zeiten (Modern times). Opening times: Tuesday-Sunday, 10am-6pm; special arrangements on public holidays

Museum der Bildenden Künste

Although Ludwig van Beethoven only visited Leipzig once in his life (as a young, ambitious pianist and composer) he had a close relationship with the city. A significant amount of his work was published in Leipzig, at first by Bureau de Musique (later C.F. Peters), then by the world's longest-running music publishing house, Breitkopf & Härtel (see Notenspur-Station 8). Härtel approached Beethoven in 1801, offering to publish the first edition of any of the promising composer's new works. Occasional collaboration between the two commenced in 1802, resulting in Breitkopf & Härtel serving as Beethoven's principal publisher from 1808 until 1812. The publisher's first editions of Beethoven's output during this decade include the Fifth and Sixth (Pastoral) Symphonies, the opera Leonore (later renamed Fidelio), the Fifth Piano Concerto (Emperor) and the Incidental Music to Goethe's Egmont. Three of Beethoven's works received their first performance in Leipzig: a soprano aria in the Altes Theater (see Notenbogen Station 2) in November 1796, the Triple Concerto in February 1808 and the Fifth Piano Concerto in November 1811, both in the first Gewandhaus (see Notenspur Station 21.) Since Breitkopf & Härtel's headquarters were destroyed in the Second World War, the Notenspur honours Beethoven with an artistic location: the Museum der bildenden Künste (Museum of Fine Arts). This is not of such spurious relevance as one might think, since the gallery possesses one of the most celebrated musically pertaining works of art in the world: Klinger's Beethoven. Max Klinger worked on his 3.1m (10.2 foot) high masterpiece from 1885 until 1902. One of the art world's prime examples of symbolism, the sculpture unites elements of both the Antique and Christianity. Beethoven is portrayed as Music Titan, to whom even the eagle looks up in awe. He gazes into the distance (the future?), impenetrable and unflinching, trusting only his own inspiration. The Museum boasts an extensive array of art works of musical relevance - small wonder in Leipzig. Max Klinger's cycle Brahms-Phantasie as well as his sketches for a planned memorial to Wagner (see Notenrad Station 6) are in the Museum's possession, as is the painting Die Toteninsel (Isle of the Dead) by Arnold Böcklin (1827-1901), the source of inspiration for tone poems by both Max Reger and Sergej Rachmaninov. As is frequently the case in the centre of Leipzig, the site of the Museum has a strong musical connection: until its destruction in the Second World War, the Zimmermannsche Kaffeehaus stood just a few metres away. This café played host to the regular concerts of the Collegium musicum which, following its establishment by Georg Philipp Telemann in 1703, was directed by Johann Sebastian Bach from 1729 until at least 1741.

Hotel de Saxe

Porch of Hôtel de Saxe; Autograph of W.A. Mozart's Requiem The baroque porch of Klostergasse 9 stands today as a reminder of the Hôtel de Saxe, which hosted many a famous visitor to the city. It is not known whether Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart himself patronised the Hotel during his sojourn in Leipzig in 1789; his widow, Constanze, however, was certainly a guest as she travelled to the city in 1796 with the score of her late husband's Requiem, enabling its Leipzig premiere to take place in April of that year. Frédéric Chopin stayed in the Hotel on 27th September 1835. In addition to its principal function, the Hôtel de Saxe was also a popular location for all manner of functions and events. The banqueting hall served as a concert hall during the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. As well as providing appropriate facilities for Leipzig's concert promoters and music societies, the Hotel attracted many touring virtuosi. The Collegium musicum directed by the Unversitätsmusikdirektor (University Music Director), Johann Gottlieb Görner (the rival ensemble to Bach's own Collegium musicum), was resident in the Hotel's concert hall. Johann Adam Hiller staged his summer concert series here in 1787 and, in 1791, the Prussian Court Composer, Carl Stamitz, chose the Hotel to accommodate his Musikalische Akademie. The Hôtel de Saxe's concert season in 1809/10 included quite a novelty for Leipzig's music-lovers: the first ever public string quartet concerts to be held in the city. The resident ensemble was the Gewandhaus-Quartett, founded the year before in 1808 - the oldest quartet in the world today. The Hotel was to close down a century later in 1909. Having suffered bomb damage in the Second World War, the building was eventually pulled down in 1968. The current building on the site dates from 1977, into which the incomplete replica of the original baroque porch was later set. A memorial plaque pays tribute to the historical significance of the former hotel.

Thomaskirche

The Thomaskirche (St. Thomas Church) is the true gateway to Leipzig, the City of Music. In the year 1212, the establishment of the Augustinian Canons in Leipzig was simultaneously the birth of the Thomanerchor (St. Thomas Boys Choir). During the early centuries of the Choir's history, music in the Thomaskirche was restricted to the musical accompaniment of the liturgy in the Mass. The advent of the Reformation in Saxony in 1539, however, was to usher in a new era of sacred music. Music now came to be valued as an integral element of the annunciation in worship, requiring a considerably greater contribution from the Thomanerchor and demanding the composition of a substantial amount of new sacred music from the respective cantor. This was the dawn of the golden epoch of the Thomaskirche, its school and its choir. Having assumed responsibility for the Thomasschule and Thomanerchor in 1543, the City Council succeeded in appointing a long succession of prominent composers to the office of Thomaskantor (Cantor of St. Thomas), such as Sethus Calvisius, Johann Hermann Schein, Johann Kuhnau, Johann Sebastian Bach, Friedrich Doles, Johann Adam Hiller, Moritz Hauptmann, Theodor Weinlig and Gustav Schreck. Of particular note amongst the cantors in the 20th century are Karl Straube, Günther Ramin and Kurt Thomas. The Thomaskirche forms the focal point of the annual Bachfest (Bach Festival) in Leipzig which attracts musicians and music-lovers from around the globe. In addition to the works of Bach, the Church also plays host to the performance of music of all eras, week after week, in the context for which it was created: to the glory of God.

Paulinum

The Erstes Gewandhaus was erected during the last quarter of the 15th century. The double-winged building stood in Gewandgäßchen and Universitätsstraße. The Gewandhaus (garment house) functioned both as guildhall of the textile merchants and as arsenal: the ground floor of the Universitätsstraße wing housed the city armoury. In 1711, the City Library took occupation of the floors above the armoury, before more appropriate accommodation was made available in the Gewandgäßchen wing fifty years later. The space vacated by the library was then, on the initiative of the City Council, converted into Leipzig's first genuine concert hall. The hall opened in November 1781, providing a new home to the subscription orchestral concerts that had been held in Leipzig since 1743. The concert series was soon named Gewandhauskonzerte; the resident orchestra acquired, similarly, the name Gewandhausorchester. Constructed entirely of wood and occupying the second and top floors of the armoury wing, the concert hall was, akin to a violin lying in its case, an enormous resonance chamber - virtually an instrument in itself. The 500 concertgoers the hall could seat were to witness Mozart's only concert in Leipzig (1789), Clara Wieck's public debut (1828) and the first performance of many works which have since established their place in the standard classical repertoire the world over: Beethoven's Triple Concerto and Fifth Piano Concerto (Emperor), Schubert's C major Symphony (The Great), Mendelssohn's Third Symphony (Scottish) and Violin Concerto, Schumann's First Symphony (Spring), Wagner's Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg and Brahms' Violin Concerto. The Erstes Gewandhaus succeeded in attracting many composers to Leipzig to conduct their own works, alongside the regular concerts under the direction of the Gewandhauskapellmeister (Music Directors) from Johann Adam Hiller to Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy to Carl Reinecke. Despite several measures to increase the hall's capacity over the years, the public demand could eventually no longer be satisfied. Around 1865, deliberations concerning the construction of a new concert hall began in earnest. The Gewandhaus management hoped to find a suitable site direct in the city centre, whereas the City Council favoured locating the hall towards the outskirts of Leipzig, in the hope of stimulating the inception of a whole new neighbourhood. And so, indeed, it turned out: after two-and-a-half years' building, the inauguration of the Neues Gewandhaus (New Gewandhaus) in December 1884 sparked the evolution of the Musikviertel (Music Quarter). The Neues Gewandhaus (known today as the Second Gewandhaus) fell victim to the bombing of Leipzig in the Second World War. The Gewandhaus concerts subsequently took place in the Congress Hall by the zoo until the Gewandhausorchester took up residence in the new Neues Gewandhaus (“third” Gewandhaus) on Augustusplatz in 1981 (see Notenspur Station 1). The first Gewandhaus was pulled down in 1894 and replaced by a new building for Leipzig's trade fairs, the Städtisches Kaufhaus. Due to the new commercial concept of the "enforced circuit", ensuring visitors were only able to leave the building having walked through the entire exposition, the Städtisches Kaufhaus came to serve as a powerful catalyst for the success of Leipzig's fairs. This site can unquestionably stake its claim to a conspicuous place in both musical and commercial history.