Tonger - House of Music
Tonger - Haus der Musik GmbH is one of the oldest music stores in Germany and one of the larger retail sheet music dealers in Europe, based in Cologne . The company was founded in 1822.
history
On July 1, 1822, Augustin Josef Tonger founded a sheet music and bookstore in his antique shop in rented rooms opposite Cologne Cathedral . Due to the secularization during the French occupation , many monasteries had been dissolved and churches secularized, so that for the first time a significant range of goods came onto the market. His son Peter-Josef Tonger built a representative music and residential building and now ran the music store independently. By adding publishing activities(the oldest edition dates from 1835) and the instrument trade and construction Tonger acquired further importance. In 1909, the founder's grandson was able to acquire a neighboring educational establishment and expand the business and residential building into a larger building. Tonger brought u. a. The first German music magazine was published in 1886 and was purveyor to the court of Kaiser Wilhelm II for more than 20 years . Tonger was also one of the founders and patrons of the Cologne University of Music and the Rheinische Musikschule in Cologne. During the air raids in 1944, residential and commercial buildings as well as warehouses and production facilities were destroyed. In 1951, the Tonger house was divided into the music publishing house, which was run in Cologne-Rodenkirchen, and the music shop, which was housed in the rooms of the cathedral hotel.
Another Tonger service department was established in 1999. It is aimed specifically at around 1,000 German music schools, but also orchestras and music teachers throughout Germany. In 2002/2003 the company moved to a central store in Cologne.
In 2003, an additional shipping department arose from existing requirements. Tonger has now placed ranges of classical and jazz recordings in bookshops across Germany. In addition to brick-and-mortar stores, mail order, including over the Internet, was becoming increasingly important for Tonger.
In 2014 Tonger had to file for bankruptcy. After extensive renovation work, the newly founded Tonger - Haus der Musik GmbH started business operations at a new location at the Römerturm in Cologne on February 2, 2015 under the direction of the new managing director Thomas Giehl . The branch in Bonn was closed at the end of May 2017. In February 2019, the successor company Tonger - Haus der Musik GmbH also filed for bankruptcy. In March 2019, the national retail chain MGS-Loib took over the traditional company. The range has been revised so that entry-level instruments are now offered instead of high-quality goods for musicians.
activities
In addition to its normal trading activities, the music house publishes numerous classical recordings in its own CD / media series, as well as the "Kölsche Oldies" (CD / MP3) series and the "Kölsche Christmas" songbook series. The company is also involved in the State Music Council of North Rhine-Westphalia and is a sponsorship and board member of the Rheinische Musikschule Köln. In addition, Tonger, together with the Tonmeister association (Friends of Musikhaus Tonger), promotes music lessons for refugee classes in mainstream schools in the greater Cologne area. The patron of the project is the former Lord Mayor of the City of Cologne Jürgen Roters , accompanied by a board of trustees consisting of the artistic director of the Cologne Philharmonic and managing director of the KölnMusik GmbH, Louwrens Langevoort , and the rector of the Cologne University of Music and Dance Prof. Dr. Heinz Geuen .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ Tonger as patron of the Conservatorium der Musik in Coeln
- ↑ Traditional house in Cologne and Bonn: Musikhaus Tonger has overcome insolvency
- ^ Business closure in Bonn: Musikhaus Tonger closes , General-Anzeiger, March 29, 2017
- ^ Tonger in the State Music Council of North Rhine-Westphalia
- ^ Tonger as a member of the board of trustees of the Rheinische Musikschule
- ↑ Tonger promotes music lessons for refugees