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Steffi Gretschel
(Head of International PR Tourism)
E-Mail: [email protected]
Download Texts: www.ltm-leipzig.de/press
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PRESS RELEASE
(presse11/02-e)
Bach ranks no. 1 in the New York
Times‘ list of the world’s greatest
composers
Leipzig-born Richard Wagner is also among the Top Ten
Under the headline “The Greatest“ the New York Times (NYT) recently ranked
Johann Sebastian Bach number 1 of the 10 greatest composers of all time. Bach is
followed by Ludwig van Beethoven (2), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (3), Franz
Schubert (4), Claude Debussy (5), Igor Strawinsky (6), Johannes Brahms (7),
Giuseppe Verdi (8), Richard Wagner (9) and Béla Bartók (10).
NYT chief classical music critic, Anthony Tommasini, picked Bach because of his
“matchless combination of masterly musical engineering … and profound
expressivity”. According to Tommasini, Bach, who lived in Leipzig from 1723 until his
death in 1750 as choirmaster of St. Thomas Boys Choir (Thomaskantor), reacted to
new trends by „digging deeper into his way of doing things“, as the incomplete “Art
of Fugue” proves. It is also remarkable that with Leipzig-born Richard Wagner, a
second composer with ties to Leipzig made it into the ranking.
The article, which appeared on 21 January 2011, had been preceded by a two-week
selection project in which Tommasini looked into the question of what makes the
master composers of music history so astonishing. Tommasini has a Doctor of
Musical Arts degree and plays the piano himself. The NYT readership contributed
more than 1,500 critical and informed comments to the discussion.
Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH, Augustusplatz 9, 04109 Leipzig
Volker Bremer, Managing Director of the Leipzig Tourism and Marketing Board
(LTM), is happy about the result: „It is no news that unique composers and artists
lived and worked in Leipzig. Being represented among the world’s ten greatest
composers with two Leipzig-based composers highlights our reputation as city of
music once more. Visitors can still follow in the traces of famous musicians and visit
authentic sites such as St. Thomas Church.”
Especially the annual Leipzig Bachfest and the upcoming anniversaries 800 Years
Thomana in 2012 and Richard Wagner’s 200th birthday in 2013 show that the
heritage of the two great composers is actively taken care of and still alive in
Leipzig. www.bach-leipzig.de, www.thomana2012.de
Information on the Leipzig Music Trail:
www.notenspur-leipzig.de
Information on Leipzig, travel arrangements, hotel booking:
Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH
Tourist-Information, Katharinenstraße 8, 04109 Leipzig
Tel.: +49 (0)341 7104-260, E-Mail: [email protected], www.ltm-leipzig.de
Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH, Augustusplatz 9, 04109 Leipzig