Music as a school for life - Landesgymnasium celebrates its anniversary

The Landesgymnasium für Musik bears the name of the composer Carl Maria von Weber and is a remnant from the GDR, where young talents were nurtured in special schools for music. Apart from Dresden, the only other schools of this kind are in Weimar and the Bach-Gymnasium in Berlin. The institution in Dresden accepts a maximum of 150 pupils. They have to pass an aptitude test. There are twice as many applicants for each place.

Number of places at the state grammar school is limited to 150

At the moment, 138 young people are studying here, 70 boys and 68 girls. Around a third of them come from Dresden and the surrounding area, the rest from Saxony, other federal states and abroad. It is also possible to apply for a place on the free course from far away. Word of the state grammar school's good reputation has spread. The institution has no worries about recruiting new students. However, the grammar school is not an island of bliss.

The principal Joachim Rohrer admits that other schools in the state do not have the same problems, such as a shortage of teachers and a lack of lessons. However, there are space bottlenecks, for example. The grammar school, which offers a nine-year Abitur, has only one class. Musical training - up to 15 hours per week - is provided by the Dresden Academy of Music. Many graduates of the Landesgymnasium later continue their education at a university.

In principle, students can transfer to the Landesgymnasium up to year 11. "We usually start with small classes in Year 5," reports Artistic Director Ekaterina Sapega-Klein. In fifth graders, the inner drive for music is not yet as pronounced as in 14-year-olds - "the awareness and feeling that music is my path". Older ones can also better imagine living far away from home at boarding school.

Sapega-Klein and Rohrer do not agree with the general complaint that the standard of pupils is falling. The musical level is rising, which can also be seen in competitions such as "Jugend musiziert", says the director. "On the other hand, we are noticing that general musical education is declining - everything that happens outside of the instrument, such as singing and music theory. There is probably much less singing in families today than in the past."

Breadth of musical education has declined

Rohrer misses the breadth of musical education today. "Early socialization with music often no longer exists." Young people used to get to know a lot of literature in choirs. Today, they often come to university without any knowledge of choral music by Brahms, Schütz or Bach. "Some have techno music in their headphones, then they play a Schubert sonata." Today's educational institutions need to be much more attuned to this.

In 2025, the state grammar school celebrated its 60th anniversary. The entire school year will be celebrated - including the 200th anniversary of the death of its namesake Carl Maria von Weber. Under the motto "60 years - 60 places", the young grammar school students have already been seen in many places across the country.

A festive concert will follow on Monday at "Weber meets Jazz" in Dresden's Kulturpalast. For all its youthful freshness, the grammar school still seems a long way from entering retirement age.

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