Excerpt from a review of the online magazine EINFACHRAUS, published by Dieter Weirauch on November 3rd, 2023:
"Thuringia is a treasure trove, not only rich in palaces, fortresses and museums, but also in theaters and music halls. "The Meiningers are coming!" was the call that preceded the musicians and actors in the 19th century when the ensemble members once met with the Steam train traveled to Paris or St. Petersburg. Meiningen, this Thuringian city with today 20,000 inhabitants, is not only considered a mecca of music history among insiders. Even today! We find out why this is so in an 80-page booklet written by Berlin journalist Antje Rößler. The studied musicologist goes in search of traces of the “Miracle of Meiningen” in the book published by AKRES Publishing in Wuppertal. In 21 entertaining chapters, she illuminates musical facets of the city's history. The “Miracle of Meiningen” is not an invention Feuilletons. Music and theater are part of everyday life in Meiningen in southern Thuringia and are still the talk of the town today. That's their conclusion.
The author speaks in detail about the work of Duke George II of Saxony-Meiningen, who went down in history as the “Theater Duke”. He is considered a reformer and supporter of music and theater art, and worked as a theater manager, director and set designer. Antje Rößler recalls the Meiningen work of Johannes Brahms, Hans von Bülow and Max Reger. The Max Reger Archive is located in Meiningen, and the Max Reger Festival also takes place in the city. Under Hans von Bülow, the orchestra moved into the forefront of European orchestras from 1880 onwards. Incidentally, Hans von Bülow, first husband of Richard Wagner's wife Cosima, is related to Vicco von Bülow (Loriot); Loriot would have been 100 years old this year. At the beginning of the 1990s, Loriot staged the musical play “Martha” in Meiningen. Mikis Theodorakis, August Everding and most recently Markus Lüpertz also left their mark in Meiningen.
The Meiningen State Theater with its musical body, the “Meininger Hofkapelle” and the drama ensemble, which is still celebrated today, knew how to inspire audiences from near and far under various directors. Whether it's the MDR music summer or the concert in the large hall of the steam locomotive works. Like the theater and the museums of the Elisabethenburg, this is part of the DNA of the friendly city in southern Thuringia.
I don't want to give too much away, the booklet (88 pages) contains a lot of surprises."
Source: simplyraus.eu, November 3rd, 2023. Machine translated.
