The musical Fundamentals of the Insolvency of the German
Music Council
Here some comments regarding this letter – taken from
an interview with Peter Huebner with Classical Horizons on the subject:
MUSICAL TALENT
IN GERMANY
A PROBLEM
WITH TRADITION
CLASSICAL HORIZONS: Is it possible
that Herr Augstein with his SPIEGEL sensed a new impetus for his denigration campaign
from your letter – which leaves no doubt about your opinion of the state
music academies’ ability to judge the phenomenon of “musical talent”.
PETER HUEBNER: Yes, I think so! But that applies
also especially to the president of the GERMAN MUSIC COUNCIL.
CLASSICAL HORIZONS: Prof. Dr. Mueller-Heuser, who
at that time was the principal of the STATE ACADEMY OF MUSIC COLOGNE and had also
received your letter, and was surely irritated or at least annoyed about your
opinion regarding his professional incompetence.
And we may assume the same about his colleagues at the other state academies of
music – or am I mistaken? Following this ‘open’ letter –
he could now probably expect wide support against you from his colleagues at all
the other academies of music in Germany.
PETER HUEBNER: What devastated me was: not one of
them thought about those who were actually most affected by the letter: about
those music enthusiasts who, due to false assessment by the university, fail their
entrance and final exams in spite of possible great talent for music, and then,
with no hope at all and abandoned by the music experts, are left lonely and deserted
– without any kind of future prospects in the field of their beloved music!
I was shocked by their ice-cold dealings with the phenomenon of a person with
genuine musical talent, who is not even responsible for being bestowed with such
a gift! The person with a genuine talent for music is confronted with the phenomenon
of a run-of-the-mill college examination with the impotence of an innocent child
– all he or she could say about this whole music policy is merely: “Here
I am, I can’t help myself, so help me God!”
CLASSICAL HORIZONS: And do you look upon the absolute
lack of understanding of Germany’s music colleges’ principals for
the efforts expressed in your letter to help just those people with a talent for
music as a betrayal of talent or as a deception of the talented?!
PETER HUEBNER: The principal of a training establishment
for music should above all be focused on two things: the truth of music and the
well-being of such a person who can express this truth.
It is therefore imperative that the principal of a training establishment for
music knows the truth about music – its real meaning and its true deeper
sense and:
The principal of a training establishment for music must recognise the person
who can express the truth about music here and now by means of music.
He should support such a person – because he or she provides the reason for
the principal’s position: he is literally waiting for this person!
And – unfortunately history has shown: in our documented history of music,
hardly any principal at a state college for music can claim to have been aware
of meeting such a person gifted by nature with such a talent for music at his
school!
End
of quotation
As a result of this letter sent to the principals of the German academies for
music, the principal of the university for music in Cologne, Prof. Dr. Mueller-Heuser
found himself discovered in that utmost degrading position, that he – just
like his colleagues – was not at all concerned about helping young people
with their musical career, but was rather in pursuit of totally different selfish
goals beyond those of music for his own political musical career – just like
his colleagues.
