200th birthday of Joachim Raff

May 27, 2022 marks the 200th anniversary of Joachim Raff's birth. He was one of the most frequently performed composers of the 19th century, was made an honorary member of the New York Philharmonic in 1872 alongside Franz Liszt and Richard Wagner and was mentioned in the same breath as Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy at the time.

The Joachim Raff Society (JRG) was founded at the end of October 1972 and the Joachim Raff Monument was inaugurated on the square of the same name in the lakeside grounds of Lachen. Since then, the JRG has developed remarkably. The society, which had 60 members at the time, has now grown to almost 250 participants. Its membership is international and extends as far as Japan. The aims of the association at that time are still valid today, and the sponsorship work is clearly bearing fruit. Not only has the wish for a public archive in Lachen, which was cherished from the outset, been fulfilled in 2018, but the society's other goals have also been realized in a significant way.

Around fifteen concerts are planned in Lachen and the surrounding area alone in 2022. The presence of the world-famous Gewandhaus choirs from Leipzig is outstanding. On May 26, the day before Raff's birthday, Lachen will be able to boast a concert that is unique in Switzerland. Raff's oratorio will be performed in Lachen's parish church End of the world - judgment - new world. The Gewandhaus is one of the most renowned concert halls in the world. Famous names such as Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, who is regarded as the first important patron of Joachim Raff, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Kurt Masur, Herbert Blomstedt and Ricardo Chailly were all conductors of this orchestra, which was founded in 1743. The Gewandhaus Choir can also look back on a tradition of over 150 years. Their current director, Gregor Meyer, who has led them since 2007/08, will also conduct in Lachen. A CD recording is planned to capture this event.

Further concerts are planned with the Basler Madrigalisten, pianist Galina Vracheva, London-based Raff's best-known interpreter Tra Nguyen, musicologist and pianist Andrea Wiesli with her Trio Fontane, the local Symphony Orchestra of the Canton of Schwyz (SOKS), students from the Zurich University of the Arts and a young opera ensemble performing the opera The jealous ones as a Swiss premiere.

The JRG is involved in many other concerts in Germany, for example at Murten Classics, and abroad, e.g. in Munich, Weimar, Cologne, Salzburg, Dresden and Leipzig. There will be a world premiere in Weimar with the staged performance of Raff's Samsona musical tragedy in five acts. This operatic experience will take place on September 11 at the Deutsches Nationaltheater there.

The Lachner Verein also plans to participate in around ten recordings for electronic media. The Basel Madrigalists are recording sacred and secular a cappella works by Raff and the Central Switzerland Culture Prize winner Graziella Contratto is planning to record the never-before-performed music drama Samson in concert form. The aforementioned oratorio End of the world - judgment - new world will be available on CD. Various Swiss and foreign ensembles are releasing Raff works, some of which have never been recorded before. The famous Leipzig Quartet and the Swiss EnsembLesAlpes, which recently performed in Lachen, are devoting themselves to recordings of Raff's chamber music.

The largest musicological journal published in Germany, the Sound art, is celebrating with its own special issue on the composer from Lachen. Renowned national and international scholars will publish various essays and provide further insights into Raff's oeuvre. In addition, a new Schwyz magazine deals with the Swiss journeys that Raff undertook after his emigration to Germany. The integrated correspondence with his relatives should be particularly exciting. In many letters, he reports on his travel experiences of the emerging tourism in Switzerland in the 1850s. Much of what he experienced flowed into his piano compositions.

As the Joachim Raff Society will also be celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2022, it is publishing an anniversary publication on its work since 1972. Since then, the society has organized around 200 concerts and other events in Lachen and the surrounding area. Also in the Announcements of the Historical Society of the Canton of Schwyz an essay by Rapperswil historian Basil Vollenweider will deal with Raff's early years in Lachen and the surrounding area. It will be interesting to see what new insights are brought to light about Raff's work in his home community.

Furthermore, a scientific symposium is planned in Lachen in September, new editions of sheet music will be published and Yvonne Götte is curating an exhibition on the subject of "On the road with Joachim Raff in the Alpine region".