Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Felix.

comprising: 1) an 8-page draft document (beginning "Um meiner Pflicht als Musikdirector zu genügen [cancelled]...Indem ich Ihre Aufmerksamkeit auf die Verhältnisse des hiesigen Orchesters lenken..."), concerning the working conditions of the Leipzig orchestral musicians, in which Mendelssohn observes that the salaries and duties of the members of the theatre, concert and church orchestras has not altered since 1817, 1822 and 1803 respectively, requests an increase in the music budgets, comments on the disorder and lack of proper relationship between the various Leipzig music institutions, discusses at length the provision of church music and the role of the Stadtmusikus, refers specifically to the contracts of the clarinettist Heinze and the bassoonist Weissenborn, and mentions the comments of a visiting English musician on hearing the Gewandhaus orchestra; 2) a 4-page draft document (beginning "das Kirchenorchester in Leipzig, welchem durch die gütige Verwendung des Rathes eine Zulage von 500 rt. jährlich zu Theil werden soll, besteht aus dreierlei verschiednen Classen von Musikern..."), concerning the Leipzig church orchestra, in which Mendelssohn lists the names of the musicians with details of their salaries, together with a shorter, 3-page, draft of the same, without list; and 3) an 2-page draft document (beginning "dem Vernehmen nach besteht unter den Mitgliedern des Instituts der Wunsch, dass keines derselben von der Theilnahme an der durch die 500 rt. bewilligten Zulage ausgeschlossen werde..."), concerning musicians' salaries; the various drafts unaddressed, but doubtless intended for either the Leipzig City Council (Rat der Stadt Leipzig) or the directors of the Leipzig Gewandhaus (Konzertdirektion des Gewandhauses zu Leipzig), 17 pages in all, plus one blank, folio (35 x 21.7cm), with extensive cancellations, revisions and alterations, no place or date [Leipzig, after 19 June 1838], a few very small tears repaired 

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing where appropriate.
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"...Die Verhältnisse unsers Orchesters bestehen grösstentheils noch so, wie sie vor einigen 20 Jahren bestanden haben; die Gehalte u. Verpflichtungen beim Theater schreiben sich von 1817, die beim Concert von 1822, die bei der Kirche von 1803 her...Nun hat sich seit den letzten 20 Jahren soviel in der Welt, u. in der Musikwelt insbesondre verändert, dass damals eingegangne Verpflichtungen jetzt schwer ja zum Theil unmöglich geworden sind..."

A remarkable collection of unpublished documents showing Mendelssohn as an indefatigable champion of his Leipzig musicians. The ultimate background to these documents was a petition of 19 June 1838 by the Gewandhaus orchestra in which a request was made to the Gewandhaus Konzertdirektion to take up their case regarding improvements in pay and conditions with the Leipzig city council. Eventually, on 3 November 1839, the council decided on an increase of the salary of the orchestra by 500 thalers, although this decision was not implemented until the following year. Mendelssohn's no doubt highly influential interventions in this matter - as documented in these autograph papers - are referred to in a letter of his to Ignaz Moscheles, dated 30 November 1839: "My present hobby is the improvement of our poor orchestra. After no end of letter-writing, soliciting, and importuning, I have succeded in getting their salaries raised by five hundred thalers; and before I leave them I mean to get them double that amount": see Felix Moscheles, Letters of Felix Mendelssohn to Ignaz and Charlotte Moscheles (London, 1888), p.197ff. We gratefully acknowledge the kind assistance provided to us by Dr. Ralf Wehner in our cataloguing of this lot.