Rudolf Mauersberger

Erhard Mauersberger

The conductor on a stamp from the GDR
Born (1889-01-29)29 January 1889
Mauersberg, Saxony
Died 22 February 1971(1971-02-22) (aged 82)
Dresden
Occupation
Organization Dresdner Kreuzchor

Rudolf Mauersberger (born 29 January 1889 in Mauersberg, Saxony, died 22 February 1971 in Dresden) was a German choral conductor and composer. His younger brother Erhard was also a conductor and composer.

Career

Mauersberger conducting the Dresdner Kreuzchor, Wartburg 1954
The ruins of the Kreuzkirche in 1945

After positions in Aachen and Eisenach, he became director of the renowned Dresdner Kreuzchor in 1930, a position he held until his death. In May 1933, Mauersberger became a member of the Nazi Party;[1] there are strong indications though that he tried to minimize the influence of the NS-Ideology and in particular of the Hitler-Jugend onto the choir. He refused to stage NS-songs with the choir,[2] and continued to perform the works of banned composers such as Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy and Günter Raphael, at least as late as 1938.

Probably his most famous work is the motet Wie liegt die Stadt so wüst (How desolate lies the city), written after the destruction of Dresden in February 1945. The text is taken from the Lamentations of Jeremiah, verses 1,1.4.9.13; 2,15; 5,17.20-21. The work is often seen as a bemoaning of the destroyed city, but given the biblical context, it can also apply to the whole of Germany and her people, the destruction of the country being punishment for its iniquities. Mauersberger's Dresden Requiem also reflects the destruction. He wrote a Passion music after St Luke, Passionsmusik nach dem Lukasevangelium, and the Dresdner Te Deum.

Selected works

Choral cycles for soloists and mixed choir a capella
Religious works
Secular works
Instrumental music

Recordings

with the Dresdner Kreuzchor:

with the Kreuzchor and the Thomanerchor, conducted together with Erhard Mauersberger:

References

  1. ↑ Fred K. Prieberg: Handbuch Deutsche Musiker 1933–1945, CD-Rom-Lexikon, Kiel 2004, S. 4.492.
  2. ↑ Dieter Härtwig/Matthias Herrmann (Hrsg.): "Der Dresdner Kreuzchor"; Ev. Verlagsanstalt, Leipzig 2006, ISBN 978-3-374-02402-5

Further reading

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