In a conversation with the SZ in 2012, Ulf Klausenitzer broke the collar. Klausenitzer was a member of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra for 31 years, six years as its board member, he is somewhat familiar with the musical infrastructure in Bavaria, one could say, understating. His topic at the time: the “Frankenfalle”, as he put it.
Klausenitzer originally comes from Hesse, so for a long time he did not consider it possible how a “once proud tribe” would tolerate the traditional “distribution of roles” in Bavaria “over generations.” For him, the violinist and conductor Klausenitzer, Franconia has become a “synonym for provinciality”. There is a “Champions League mentality” in Munich, not least in its field of classical music. Orchestras in Nuremberg, on the other hand, fought against being understood only as a transit station – despite the city’s enormous musical history.
At that time, the discussion about a new concert hall had just broken out in Munich. And Klausenitzer snorted: He wished Munich everything possible, “also two new concert halls”. The historical music city of Nuremberg, on the other hand, doesn’t even have a single “halfway acceptable” one.
Nine years later it will be possible to establish that the man did not really achieve much with his speech against the asymmetry. But prophetic power can be said of him. Two new concert halls? The music world is currently celebrating the Isarphilharmonie, rapidly, practically, well. Great things are happening in the Werksviertel. The same applies to the Gasteig. Klausenitzer, the irony of an angry speech, is therefore likely to have underestimated rather than exaggerated the bottom line.
And Nuremberg? Keyword “Franconian trap”: When the Free State opened its wallet in the interests of justice, the city debated and planned – and in the end decided on a location for a new concert hall that was fairly low-risk in terms of urban politics, but tolerably unsuitable. Then came the pandemic. There was no passion for a hall at an arterial junction anyway. And so the plan was put on hold.
Result: Nuremberg will not have a single “halfway acceptable” hall for a very long time. The conductors of the two large Nuremberg orchestras – keyword “transit station” – are on their way. And Munich shines.