The "Lebendige Stadt"
Foundation is making 10,100 euros available for the
construction of the "Note Wall". The Note Wall is
part of the Leipzig Music Trail which will soon
connect the most important places of residence and
work of Leipzig's famous composers. The Note Wall is
being built directly next to Music Trail station no.
8 – the "Graphic Quarter – Music Publishing Houses".
With the friendly cooperation of the Pentahotel in
Leipzig, the 2x3 meter Note Wall is being built in
the hotel grounds.
With its interplay of visual and acoustic elements,
the Note Wall designed by Moosbauer&Huennerkopf
invites onlookers to discover music in a playful
way. Information and sound samples depicting the
development of music note writing are supplemented
by a musical quiz. In this way, visitors to the Note
Wall can find answers to both serious and whimsical
questions – such as "How warm should a piano ideally
be?" The upper section of the Note Wall piques the
curiosity of adults, while children and grown-ups of
a more playful nature will be more interested in the
quiz in the bottom section, where they can call on
the assistance of "Toni", the musical tone mascot.
With its depiction of the development of musical
note writing, the Note Wall forges a link with the
music publishing houses in the Graphic Quarter that
were destroyed during the Second World War and that
symbolized the status of Leipzig as a worldwide
center of music publishing in the 19th century.
Integral loudspeakers turn the note examples into
musical sounds. There is even "music braille" on the
Note Wall, and this serves to create an awareness
for the importance of music in the lives of those
with sight impairments.
Dr. Tatjana Böhme-Mehner, a music expert who played
a major part in compiling the note examples, says: "The
Note Wall offers everyone an opportunity to become
acquainted with the world of music, regardless of
social background and musical preference. The texts,
examples, quizzes and discovery tasks are designed
to appeal to people with widely differing levels of
musical knowledge. It would be nice if this means
the Note Wall has a kind of integrative effect.
What's certainly the case is that no one will have
to overcome the kind of fear or inhibitions they
might have if they wanted to go to a concert or a
museum."
The surface facing the restaurant of the Pentahotel
is also in "Music Trail design" and draws in the
hotel patrons with interesting questions on the
musical tour of discovery. Hotel Director Veit König
is delighted that the Music Trail makes a stop at
his establishment: "The Music Trail is a further
tourist attraction that highlights the cultural
heritage of our city in a lively and entertaining
way." Which means that the people of Leipzig will
not be the only ones to benefit: the tourism
industry will also profit from the Music Trail
project.
The Note Wall is an excellent example of how the
Music Trail project aims to allow different
generations to experience music and its history. The
interplay of the city routing system and the musical
experience trail brings music right to the heart of
the city's public spaces – in a way that ensures
that both music aficionados and experts as well as
those people with little prior knowledge of music
can become trail-seekers and discoverers of
Leipzig's musical heritage.
Thanks to its cross-generational design, the Note
Wall is also in keeping with the motto of the inner
city playscape concept entitled "Play along the
Way". The Music Trail initiative and the "Play along
the Way" concept come together to create a
integrated overall attraction in the area inside the
ringroad and around the city center. The Note Wall
also communicates the idea of a public playscape
beyond this quarter all the way into the inner
eastern part of the city, and this is something that
the urban planners truly appreciate in view of the
developmental deficits in this part of Leipzig.
The Note Wall is also in line with the goals of the
"Lebendige Stadt" Foundation“, whose aim is to
combine the revitalization of cultural values with
the development of vibrant urban centers by
upgrading public spaces and making the cities more "livable"
by promoting cultural diversity. The special way in
which the Music Trail project allows other
developmental aspects of the city to benefit from
this cultural "flagship" also serves as a model for
other towns and cities.
Like many other parts of the project, the Music
Trail is being developed by unpaid volunteers. The
aim of the "Small Leipzig Music Trail" project group,
who are doing the lion's share of the work on the
project, is to develop music trail features that
will also attract the interest of children.
Music Trail initiator Werner Schneider is
particularly delighted that the involvement of the
"Lebendige Stadt" Foundation is promoting the
cross-generational and "interdisciplinary" character
of the Music Trail project. He not only hopes but
also believes that "external specialists are
sometimes faster than one's own city. The generous
financial support from the "Lebendige Stadt"
Foundation will act as an incentive for Leipzig to
underpin its own commitment".
Leipziger Notenspur-Initiative
Ltr. Leipziger Notenspur-Initiative
Prof. Dr. Werner Schneider
e-mail:
schneider@notenspur-leipzig.de
Tel.: 0341 / 97-33522 (Mo, Gastwissenschaftler
Universität Leipzig)
Tel.: 0351 / 463-33353 (Di-Fr, Hochschullehrer TU
Dresden)
Geschäftsstelle
c/o Universität Leipzig, Inst. f. Stadtentwicklung
u. Bauwirtschaft
Grimmaische Str. 12, 04109 Leipzig
e_mail:
luckmann@notenspur-leipzig.de
Tel.: 0341 / 9733741
www.notenspur-leipzig.de
Design-Büro Moosbauer&Huennerkopf
Kommunikationsdesign
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