A day in Leipzig

A brief report on my second Ring-week excursion, to Leipzig, by way of Röcken. The main motive for the trip was an exhibition entitled "Weltschöpfer: Richard Wagner, Max Klinger, Karl May," at the Museum der bildenden Künste. The concept of the show is a bit elusive, but it provides a fascinating panorama of mythic, fantastic, and nature-inspired works, ranging from Fantin-Latour's Rhinemaidens picture to new installations by the artist Rosalie. There's a sumptuous accompanying catalogue, whose Fantin-Latour cover image unfortunately duplicates the 2005 catalogue Richard Wagner: Visions d'Artistes. One highlight of the permanent collection is Klinger's astonishing Beethoven monument:

Needless to say, I stopped at the Thomaskirche to pay my respects to what are assumed to be the remains of Bach:

There's a good exhibition of Wagner instruments at the Grassi Museum: one can get a close look at Steingraeber's singular Grail-bells contraption, an upright piano with four keys. In back of the Grassi is the old Johannes cemetery, which has the graves of Wagner's mother, Johanna Wagner-Geyer, and of his sister Rosalie:

Wagner was, of course, born in Leipzig, and the city has set up a website with an extensive Wagner itinerary. Defying the spell of the old wizard, I spent my last hour in Leipzig not at one of the auxiliary Wagner sites but at the Mendelssohn House, an excellent museum that was opened in 1997, in Mendelssohn's old apartment. Particularly lovely is the re-creation of Mendelssohn's study: