Objective of the Leipziger Notenbogen
The Leipzig Notenbogen, approximately 7 km long in total, is a musical city walk west of the city center that complements the Notenspur. It focuses on the period spanning the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Notenbogen brings to life the era when Arthur Nikisch was Kapellmeister of the Gewandhaus, Gustav Mahler was Kapellmeister of the Opera, and Max Reger was Director of Music at the University. As you walk through the Waldstraßenviertel – a virtually self-contained Wilhelminian-style district of European significance that once had a large Jewish population – Johannapark, and the Musikviertel, you can still sense the atmosphere of the city when the Second Gewandhaus, as an international music center, attracted composers such as Peter Tchaikovsky, Edvard Grieg, and Richard Strauss to Leipzig.
The route also highlights the contribution of Jewish life to the city’s musical tradition, leads to the two time-honored training centers for young musicians, and passes by repositories of valuable musical documents from the Middle Ages to the modern era.
Unlike the “Notenspur” (Music Trail), the “Notenbogen” (Music Arc) does not include music museums, and only a few interiors can be visited:
A project of Notenspur Leipzig e.V.; implementation is based on the City Council resolution of 2008.
- the places where Richard Wagner, Albert Lortzing, Gustav Mahler, Arthur Nikisch, and Erwin Schulhoff lived
- the sites of two synagogues and the location of Leipzig’s only remaining active synagogue
- Music schools with an international reputation (Thomasschule/Bildungscampus, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University of Music and Theater)
- Repositories of musical treasures (Bibliotheca Albertina, Peters Music Library at the City Library)
- Venues for musical performances (Operetta Theater, Altes Theater)
A project of Notenspur Leipzig e.V.; implementation is based on the City Council resolution of 2008.