"Kurt Masur, who has died aged 88, was principal conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 2000 until 2007 and of the New York Philharmonic from 1991 to 2002; but his reputation as one of the outstanding conductors of the latter half of the 20th century was based on his 26 years, from 1970, as chief conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, founded in 1743 and steeped in tradition. Never a jet-setting maestro in those years, Masur became front-page news at the time of the collapse of the German Democratic Republic in 1989. He was not a Communist Party member but was a friend of the East German dictator Erich Honecker. He had used this friendship to persuade Honecker, who was not particularly musical, to build the New Gewandhaus hall, one of the finest in Europe, which was opened in 1981. On October 9 1989, two days after Gorbachev’s visit to East Germany for the 40th anniversary of the GDR when 70,000 Leipzigers took to the streets in protest, huge crowds massed in front of the Gewandhaus. Honecker warned them to disperse, reminding them of what had happened in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, a few months earlier. But Masur decided to let them into the hall. He read a speech which he and five others had drafted urging the protesters and police to show restraint. This was followed by the first open political debate East Germany had known. Nine days later Honecker was forced to resign and four months later free elections were held. Masur was regarded as a folk hero and was even offered the presidency of the reunified Germany, to which his reply was: “Am I so bad a conductor that I have to become a politician?” President Mitterrand of France said he would never forget “the vision and inner bravery of this democrat”. In 1995 Masur was given the Cross of the Order of Merit by the German Federal Republic and in 1997 he was made Commander of the Légion d’honneur. Masur himself was embarrassed to be reminded of the role he played. “I tried to prevent inflammation and it worked. But I wasn’t the only one. I knew that if I didn’t do something on that day I would regret it for the rest of my life. ” Kurt Masur was born in Brieg, Silesia (now Brzeg, Poland) on July 18 1927. His father wanted him to be an electrician – more lucrative than music – but Kurt was determined to be an organist. When he was 16 and at the State Music School, Breslau, studying piano and cello, he developed an ailment which would shorten the tendons in the fingers of his right hand and he was told he could never be a professional pianist. But at 22 he had an operation that enabled him to play for two more years. He then had another operation and was left with the little and third fingers curled, a reason he never used a baton when conducting. In 1944 he was drafted into the army to fight in Holland. After demobilisation, he entered Leipzig Conservatory in 1946 to study conducting for two years." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/12060533/Kurt-Masur-conductor-obituary.html
Dear Gordon, Very much enjoyed your article regarding Kurt Mazur. You are right in thinking that Erich Honecker particularly musical. The building of the New Gewandhaus in 1981, after the original building was destroyed during WW2, would have brought "Status and Foreign currency" to a bankrupt country, desperate, to be noticed. The yearly Leipzig Trade Fair, would also attract many Western businessmen.. The Stasi (G.D.R.secret Police) would find the Leipzig very lucrative during the Leipzig Fair, and concerts at the Gewandhaus, using the "Honey Trap" to swell the coffers of the G.D.R.. In 1988 Stasi Officials in Leipzig set out requirements for hiring "Ladies of the Night" They must be 22-28 years old, 5ft 3ins to 5ft. 7 ins. and without family ties. They were instructed to take their customers to a hotel, which was to become a brothel, and had the rooms bugged.. This was common practice in the G.D.R., Dresden, with its Semper Opera House, and many foreign visitors, had its Bellevue Hotel not only bugged, but fitted with spy cameras in the rooms. The bar underneath East Berlin's opera house was popular with Stasi operatives picking up gay clients. After the "Slap and Tickle" came the blackmail. Putin was stationed in Dresden with the K.G.B. but had close links to the Stasi. I spent much of the 1980's visiting the G.D.R, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, and much of the Soviet Union. It, in my view, will take another generation for the mentality to change. Lance Shippey
