Siegfried Geissler

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Siegfried Geißler taken on April 10, 2002, picture by Moreen Geißler

Siegfried Rudolf Geißler (born March 26, 1929 in Dresden ; † July 10, 2014 in Suhl ) was a German composer , conductor , horn player and politician . From 1990 to 1994 he was a member of the New Forum of the Thuringian State Parliament and during this time acted as its senior president .

Life

Composer, conductor and horn player

Siegfried Geißler was born into a working-class family in Dresden, attended elementary school from 1935 to 1943 and then studied piano and horn at the Dresden University of Music until 1946 . At that time he was already making small appearances as horn player with the Dresden State Orchestra , the Semperoper and the Philharmonie . He then worked as solo horn player at the Stadttheater Cottbus and in the Speyer Symphony Orchestra . During this time his first engagements as a conductor fell. After his return to the GDR in 1951 , he became principal horn at the Sonneberg District Culture Orchestra . From 1953 he was conductor of the Erzgebirgsphilharmonie Aue , 1956 of the Thuringian District Culture Orchestra Mühlhausen and from 1958 to 1962 under Heinz Bongartz in the Dresden Philharmonic. With this he went on a concert tour to China as the first European orchestra after 1945 .

Until 1965 he was conductor and Kapellmeister of the State Symphony Orchestra Thuringia Gotha, then chief conductor of the State Symphony Orchestra Suhl, based in Hildburghausen and founded the Thuringia Philharmonic Suhl. Here he was involved in the affiliation of the Singakademie and the Suhl boys' choir . In addition to numerous guest tours in Europe and Asia, he formed the Philharmonie into an orchestra of international repute. In 1980 Geißler resigned from the position of chief conductor of the Suhl Philharmonic. As his Stasi files showed, the friendship with the painter Kurt W. Streubel was no longer tolerated by the SED's cultural policy .

From then on, Geissler worked as a freelance composer and conductor. He composed 52 compositions, including 8 symphonies, solo concerts, chamber music, choral works and electronic music. He composed his last creative period using the twelve-tone technique . He dedicated his 6th symphony to his friend Streubel.

Art collector and art sponsor

In 1962 Geißler met the painter and graphic artist Kurt W. Streubel (1921–2002), who had been put down by the Ministry for State Security (MfS) and the Association of Visual Artists of the GDR (VBK) . After Streubel's sketches, the first joint drafts for an “antioper” were created. Conceived as a “speaking piece with poetry set to music”, it contained “8 more or less political songs”. In 1969, Geissler composed the oratorio “Der Mensch”, based on texts by the Lithuanian poet Eduardas Mieželaitis, together with the composer and personal friend Hans-Jürgen Thiers (* 1929) . For this purpose, Streubel created a title page, the printing of which, however, was prohibited by state authorities.

In the mid-1960s, Geissler met the painter and graphic artist Karl Meusel (1912–1986). Geissler found inspiration for his compositions in Meusel's work.

politics

Political engagement until 1990

Already after his return from the Federal Republic to the GDR in 1951, Geissler interfered critically and militantly - much to the displeasure of the political leadership. In 1958, Geissler joined the SED. However, his attitude towards party ideology prompted the MfS to open a comprehensive surveillance and observation process (OV "Antipode") through Geissler. His Stasi files consist of 9 A4 files.

Geißler became a member of the Volkskammer committee for the dissolution of the MfS / AfNS as well as the district commissioner for the dissolution of the MfS / AfNS, chaired by Joachim Gauck . After leaving the SED on September 30, 1989, Geissler was co-founder of the Suhl Citizens 'Committee , founder of the Citizens' Committee of the State of Thuringia, co-founder of the New Forum in Suhl and Southern Thuringia, and appointed citizen of the city's round table.

Political engagement from 1990

Geissler ran in the state elections in Thuringia in 1990 on the joint state list of the New Forum, Greens and Democracy Now and won a mandate . As the oldest elected member of parliament, he chaired the constituent session of the 1st Thuringian Parliament on October 25, 1990 in the German National Theater in Weimar . He was also one of the fathers of the current Thuringian constitution .

Geissler belonged together with Matthias Büchner as one of two representatives of the New Forum initially to the joint faction New Forum / Greens / Democracy Now . After their expulsion from the parliamentary group, which then renamed itself Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen , Geissler and Büchner were non-attached MPs from December 22, 1992 until the end of the 1994 electoral term .

Geißler and Büchner caused a scandal on October 25, 1993 at the Wartburg : The members of the Thuringian state parliament voted on Thuringia's new constitution in the final reading at the state parliament session . The necessary two-thirds majority was secured with the votes of the members of the CDU, FDP and SPD. The council of elders had stipulated that only the chairmen of the five parliamentary groups should be given speaking time. The two non-attached MPs did not agree with this. Matthias Buchner tried during the session, to make himself heard, however, was of Landtagspräsident Gottfried Müller after three regulations Call expelled from the hall. Siegfried Geißler also left the ceremony in protest.

Catalog of works and repertoire (excerpt)

  • 8 symphonies and one unfinished symphony
  • Symphonic fragment for large orchestra
  • Symphonic poem, for youth celebration
  • Double concerto for violoncello, mezzo-soprano (alto) and large orchestra in one movement
  • Paganini Variations (24. Caprice) for trumpet in C and orchestra
  • 2 violin concerts
  • Concerto for horn in F and orchestra
  • 6 Japanese songs for bass and orchestra
  • 7 love songs for soprano and large orchestra (based on texts by James Joyce )
  • Concerto for piano and orchestra (unfinished)

estate

  • In 1994 Geißler donated his entire personal registry to the Thuringian State Archives in Meiningen as a member of the state parliament. The documents were 8.6  linear meters . In 2009 the State Archives took over the second part of its political estate as a deposit , which includes ten files with personal documents from 1989 to 2005.

literature

Interview in:

  • Holger Zürch (ed.): With free people on free land . 15 years of the Thuringian Parliament in retrospect, former MPs from the founding years in the Free State of Thuringia. Self-publication by Engelsdorfer Verlag , Leipzig 2006, ISBN 978-3-939404-01-9 , p. 65-78 . - The interview with Siegfried Geißler can also be found online at Qucosa from page 30 in the free e-book version of this book.
  • Siegfried Geißler: “Anyone who is not committed has no right to complain.” Conversation (pp. 11–26) in: Holger Zürch: Thuringia's founding years. Talks with Thuringian MPs about their time in the state parliament between 1990 and 1999. Erfurt 2004, ISBN 3-931426-85-8 (= Volume 20 of the Thuringia yesterday & today series , published by the Thuringia Regional Center for Civic Education )

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Obituary world, civil rights activist and musician Siegfried Geißler dies. July 12, 2014, accessed October 15, 2018 .
  2. ↑ a b Obituary of the Society for Contemporary History Erfurt, The Suhl civil rights activist and conductor Siegfried Geißler is dead. July 12, 2014, accessed on October 15, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Alumni registry: Matriculation books April 1, 1943 - July 31, 1946. University of Music Carl-Maria von Weber Dresden, accessed on October 15, 2018 .
  4. ↑ a b c Interview by Dr. Juliane Rauprich in “People at the turning point in Thuringia” (pp. 64 - 69), ISSN: 0944-44-8705 Ed. Thuringian Institute for Teacher Training
  5. ↑ 1962 employment in Gotha. Retrieved November 6, 2018 .
  6. ^ Suhl boys' choir. Retrieved November 6, 2018 .
  7. ^ A b Siegfried Rudolf Geißler: Kurt W. Streubel - Retrospectives . Ed .: Comptoir art magazine. Städtische Galerie Sonneberg, Lindenau-Museum Altenburg 2002, ISBN 3-00-010182-9 , p. 35 - 51 .
  8. ^ Karl Meusel - Digital Museum
  9. ↑ File situation 11/14/1976, Section XX / 7, action plan OV "Antipode"; BStU Suhl
  10. ↑ Siegfried Geißler stood for an entire epoch. Südthüringen online, accessed on January 1, 2018 .
  11. ^ New forum, Siegfried Geißler at a discussion forum in the autumn of 1989 in Suhl. Retrieved October 13, 2018 .
  12. ^ Holger Zürch: Scandal on the Wartburg. Thuringian founding years. Talks with Thuringian members of parliament about their time in the state parliament between 1990 and 1999. Ed .: State Center for Political Education Thuringia. tape 20 of the Thuringia yesterday & today series, ISBN 3-931426-85-8 , p. 175-178 .
  13. ^ In: Archives in Thuringia, Bulletin 2009, p. 13


personal data
SURNAME Geissler, Siegfried
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Geißler, Siegfried Rudolf (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German politician (Neues Forum), MdL
DATE OF BIRTH March 26, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Dresden
DATE OF DEATH July 10, 2014
Place of death Suhl