Old Gewandhaus around 1880 (woodcut by A. Neumann)
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.
Internet:
www.gewandhaus.de
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Station 20, Standort Altes Konservatorium / Site of Old Conservatoire |
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Standort Erstes Gewandhaus / Site of first Gewandhaus (Music Trail station 21) |
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Station 22, Paulinum - Aula und Universitätskirche St.Pauli / Paulinum - Auditorium and University Church St. Pauli |
