The Museum of Musical Instruments

The Museum of Musical Instruments
of Leipzig University
The foundations of the Leipzig collection were laid during the 19th century and are closely connected
with Paul de Wit, a Dutchman who lived in Leipzig at the time. In 1886, de Wit opened a museum at
Thomaskirchhof 16, the location of today's Bosehaus and Bach-Museum. Musical instruments were
displayed and occasionally even used for performance. However, de Wit sold the entire collection to
paper manufacturer Wilhelm Heyer (1849-1913) in 1905 due to unsuccessful sales negotiations with
the city of Leipzig. In 1913, the Musikhistorisches Museum Wilhelm Heyer (The Wilhelm Heyer
Museum of Music History) opened its doors to the public. The exhibition included the extraordinarily
precious musical instrument collection of Baron Alessandro Kraus from Florence as well as various
instruments made by the piano manufacturer Ibach of Barmen. The museum remained open for
several years after the unexpected death of Wilhelm Heyer, until his successors decided to sell the
property. Henri Hinrichsen, proprietor of the renowned music publisher C.F. Peters, made a generous
donation of 200,000 Mark, and the State of Saxony provided an additional 600,000 Mark, which
allowed for the Heyer musical instrument collection to be purchased for the University of Leipzig in
1926. The city of Leipzig designated the North wing of the newly built Grassi museum as the new
residence of Heyer's instrument collection. The Museum of Musical Instruments of the University of
Leipzig celebrated its grand opening on May 30, 1929.
World War II caused catastrophic damage to the collection. The building was completely destroyed
by fire as a result of the air raid during the night of December 3rd/ 4th, 1943. The pianos of the
Ibach collection as well as the archives and the library could not be salvaged. The inventory that had
been evacuated from the museum was only partially retrieved; theft and improper storage caused
great losses. During the beginning of the 1950s, the museum was rebuilt and gradually opened to the
public again. Since then, systematic purchases and individual bestowments helped to expand the
collection greatly.
Today the museum owns nearly 5000 European and non-European musical instruments, an
iconographic collection, as well as a collection of historic sound storage mediums, including
approximately 3500 piano rolls for player pianos and numerous graphemes.
The chronologically organized permanent exhibition „In Search of the Perfect Sound“ offers visitors of
all ages insights into the music history of the city of Leipzig and into the multi-facetted world of
musical instruments. The most important eras of music history and instrument making are presented
in 13 extensive chapters. In addition to experiencing a visual journey through time, a newly
developed 3-D sound system allows visitors to listen to music from previous centuries.

The exhibition contains the following sections:
• Renaissance: Frembde canzones und gute teutsche Liedlein ("Foreign Canzonas and Good German
Songs")
• Heinrich Schütz: Longing for Harmonic Order
• Bartolomeo Cristofori: Instrument Making at the Medici Court
• Johann Sebastian Bach: Director chori musici
• Zimeliensaal (Treasure Room) – Display of Especially Precious Musical Instruments
• Musical Art around 1800 – Master Performers and Enthusiasts
• Stein & Streicher – Four Generations of Effort and Assiduity
• Romantic Period – "…Feelings Lost in Love…"
• Saxony, a Major Music Supplier
• "The voice sounds and fades away…" – Automated Instruments
• Changing Times
• New Renaissance – A New Interest in Old Music.
The Klanglabor (sound laboratory) offers visitors a hands-on experience by allowing them to try out
various musical instruments.
Opening Hours
Tuesday-Sunday and on movable feasts: 10 a.m. - 6 p.m., Closed on December 24 and December 31
Admission
€5,00 (€3,00 concessions)
Reduction is offered for students, unemployed, disabled persons, apprentices.
Combined ticket (for the 3 museums inside the GRASSI) - Main exhibition: €12,00 (€9,00 concessions)
Audio guide €1,00
Guided tours
lump sum €50,00 (25 persons max., 8 persons min.) plus reduced price for each participant
Guided tours are offered in English as well as various other languages. For further information, please
call +49 (0) 341/9730750.
Museen im Grassi | Museum für Musikinstrumente der Universität Leipzig
04103 Leipzig | Johannisplatz 5-11 | www.grassimuseum.de
musik.museum@uni-leipzig.de