Music Museums in Germany

Carl Maria von Weber Museum Dresden

Dresdner Straße 44
01326 Dresden

Phone/Fax +49.351.2618234

Web: www.museen-dresden.de
E-Mail: dorothea.renz@museen-dresden.de

Opening hours

Wednesday to Sunday:
from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

Guided tours by advance reservation

"Oh Hosterwitz, oh peace!" A visit to the Carl Maria von Weber Museum in Dresden-Hosterwitz lends itself to an extensive musical walk. The composer and his wife discovered this typical Saxon winegrower's inn on a walk in the spring of 1818.

Here the court music director spent the warmer season of the years 1818/19 as well as 1822 to 1824 with his family. He called these times the happiest of his life.
Large parts of the “Freischuetz,” the “Euryanthe,” the first oulines of “Oberon,” as well as the “Invitation to the Dance” originated in this idyllic location. These he is said to have performed for the first time publicly on the piano in the nearby and romantically situated Kepp mill, a favorite destination of Weber's.

Quotation from a letter of Weber's dated July 8, 1818: “I live in the country in glorious nature and a peaceful calm, which permits me to live once entirely for myself and my inner drives …”

In this house, C. M. v. Weber received Louis Spohr, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Heinrich Marschner, Ludwig Tieck, Jean Paul, and Wilhelmine Schroeder-Devrient, among others.

Letters, musical manuscripts and documents as facsimiles, a larger portrait collection of Weber's family as well as furniture from the time period can be seen. Concerts, or musical-literary events occur on a regular basis, also outdoors under appropriate weather conditions.

Germany possesses musical traditions and legacies of extraordinary value: Handel, Schuetz and Bach, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, and Wagner - to mention only a few names - are composers who are known and treasured throughout the world. Their work has played a significant role in shaping a unique musical landscape.

Numerous orchestras, choruses, ensembles, renowned music festivals and series, music houses with museums, public archives and libraries, but also private collections preserve their musical heritage.

It is necessary to revitalize this inestimable fund again and again and to develop it for the present. At the same time, an important role befits the houses combined in the consortium of music museums of Germany. In them we encounter the work of the musicians and composers who have extraordinarily enriched the cultural nation of Germany. However, beyond the individual portrait, beyond the procurement of individual oeuvres, the music museums also contribute overall to the maintenance of musical tradition. The present brochure underscores this aspect of the synoptic presentation and invites the reader on a journey into the musical history of Germany. I hope this tour guide will be actively used and receive a large response.

Bernd Neumann, Member of the Lower House of the German Parliament
Minister of State with the Federal Chancellor
Commissioner of the Federal Government for Culture and Media

Quoted from: Foreword to the brochure "Music Museums in Germany", 2007.