by Helmut Loos and Christoph Siems
Professor Dr. Patrick Dinslage was there from the very beginning, when the registered association Edvard-Grieg-Gedenk- und Begegnungsstätte Leipzig was founded on 24 October 1998. This established an important link to the Edvard Grieg Research Centre, founded in 1995 at the University of Münster and, under Patrick Dinslage as its new director, relocated to the Berlin University of the Arts in 2005. Its reopening under the new institutional roof was celebrated on 27 January 2006 with a ceremonial event. As vice-president of the Berlin University of the Arts and dean of the Faculty of Music, Patrick Dinslage had made this possible.
For many years his research focused on the music of Northern Europe, and specifically on the music of Edvard Grieg. In 1998, at the invitation of the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters, he spent six months on a research stay in Oslo. During this time he worked in an international research group on the topic "Edvard Grieg in National and International Culture". In 2000 a further stay followed as a guest researcher at the Department of Musicology of the University of Oslo. From 2004 he was vice-president and from 2007 to 2012 president of the International Edvard Grieg Society. The Edvard Grieg Research Centre maintained close contact ever since with the Centre for Grieg Research at the University of Bergen, the Department of Musicology of the University of Oslo and Norway's music academy in Oslo. The two professors Arvid Vollsnes and Harald Herresthal were the contacts on the Norwegian side. There were also cooperations with the Department of Northern European Studies at the Humboldt University of Berlin, especially with the Norway-funded Henrik Steffens Professorship, with the Department of Musicology of the University of Copenhagen (Prof. Dr. Heinrich W. Schwab), with the Department of Musicology of the University of Lund/Sweden and with the Sibelius Academy/Helsinki (Prof. Dr. Fabian Dahlström and Prof. Dr. Ilkka Oramo).
Patrick Dinslage rendered particular service to the Grieg-Begegnungsstätte in Leipzig. When the new rooms at Talstrasse 10 were being furnished in 2006, he, together with Heide Görtz, arranged a historic Duysen grand piano from Edvard Grieg's time. The series "Eine konzertante Lektion" (A Concert Lesson), which the two designed together over several years as a concert with a talk, is famous. Patrick Dinslage also placed his excellent contact with the Norwegian Embassy in Berlin at the service of our association and engaged the conductor Jon Bara Johansen and his Residenz Orchester Berlin for the concert on 29 June 2013 at the Peterskirche Leipzig, featuring the symphonies of Johan Svendsen (No. 1) and Edvard Grieg. He also invited the Oslo Brigademusik to Leipzig, where in 2019 it shaped the summer festival at the meeting place. As a special highlight, Patrick Dinslage arranged the purchase of the Grieg portrait by Eilif Pettersen, so that, alongside the furnishing of the music salon, we can now proudly present a first genuine museum piece in our house.
But the greatest deed has yet to be mentioned: in 2015, Patrick Dinslage offered to transfer the Edvard Grieg Research Centre to Leipzig. It not only has a rich history, it also possesses an extensive specialist library on Edvard Grieg that forms an ideal basis for any further scholarly engagement with our composer. In February 2016 the Edvard Grieg Research Centre moved from the Berlin University of the Arts to the University of Leipzig. With its affiliation to the Institute of Musicology of the University of Leipzig, our meeting place is thus one of the world's rare research institutes devoted specifically to the life and work of Edvard Grieg. Hopeful beginnings of a staffing structure have already been made; with seminars on Edvard Grieg at the University of Leipzig, Patrick Dinslage was able to inspire students with enthusiasm for our composer. Since, in accordance with our statutes, Patrick Dinslage had already been a member of the board of the Grieg-Begegnungsstätte since 2005 – the director of the research centre is ex officio a board member – he also officially stood for election at the 2017 members' meeting and has since been part of the firm core of the association's leadership. In these years he once again strengthened the scholarly focus of our association: in 2016 and 2020 the German Edvard Grieg Congresses Nos. 7 & 8 took place in Leipzig, on the themes "Edvard Grieg, his Milieu, his Successors" and "Edvard Grieg and his Scandinavian Colleagues in their Relationships to Leipzig". Reports of the two congresses appeared in 2018 and 2021. In 2018 Patrick Dinslage's new standard work was also published by Laaber-Verlag: Edvard Grieg und seine Zeit, the rich harvest of a lifelong engagement with Edvard Grieg.
The great services that Patrick Dinslage has rendered to the Grieg-Begegnungsstätte in Leipzig are thus only sketched out in bare words. His lively commitment, especially on the board of the association, has always advanced the entire work. Now, at his own request, he is leaving the board, which we all greatly regret. We are comforted by Patrick Dinslage's assurance that he will remain connected to the work and available for further activities. For his extraordinarily successful support of the Grieg-Begegnungsstätte over so many years, the very greatest thanks are owed to him, and we hope for further cooperation in the times to come. Surely one cannot do without such a man!
Patrick Dinslage's departure from Leipzig is also accompanied by a change at the helm of the Edvard Grieg Research Centre. After 16 successful years, two German Edvard Grieg Congresses and the so significant relocation of the academic institution to Grieg's "German home", the former president of the International Edvard Grieg Society is also stepping down as director of the Edvard Grieg Research Centre. Only last year, Patrick Dinslage, together with our association president Helmut Loos and the acting head of the Institute of Musicology at the University of Leipzig, Stefan Keym, organised the 8th edition of the German Edvard Grieg Congress. Now Helmut Loos takes up the reins of the research centre as of 1 October.
As great as the gap is that Patrick Dinslage's departure leaves, we are nonetheless grateful that it does not entail any existential consequences for the institution. Stefan Keym has assured us of his continued hospitality. Accordingly, the research centre remains in the rooms of the institute at Neumarkt 9–19. In terms of staffing, too, there are no major changes. Museum staff member Christoph Siems continues to look after the library focused on Northern European music history and receives researchers, students and interested visitors. With his doctorate, begun in spring 2021, on the composers Fartein Valen (Norway) and Rued Langgaard (Denmark), he also fills this position excellently in scholarly terms.
In the future, we want to continue the work begun by Patrick Dinslage. On the one hand, scholarship should remain an important part of our association's work. It is our link to the University of Leipzig. The Edvard Grieg Research Centre is also an essential building block for the international networking of the Grieg-Begegnungsstätte. It maintains close relations with all renowned universities in Scandinavia as well as with musical heritage sites such as the Grieg Museum in Troldhaugen. Furthermore, our concert activities should continue to benefit from current research. With engaging programme booklets, lecture-concert formats and demanding lecture topics, it makes a significant contribution to our daily educational work.
The Edvard Grieg Research Centre opens its doors to interested visitors at any time. Simply drop by during our opening hours, every Monday 3:00–5:00 pm, or arrange an appointment with our staff. Just write an email to: info@edvard-grieg.de.