History of the Neue Bachgesellschaft

The Neue Bachgesellschaft e.V. was founded on 27 January 1900 in Leipzig. It is the successor to the Bach-Gesellschaft which was founded in 1850 in Leipzig by, i.a., Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Ignaz Moscheles, Louis Spohr, Otto Jahn, Carl von Winterfeld, Siegfried Wilhelm Dehn, Carl Ferdinand Becker and the Thomas Cantor Moritz Hauptmann with the object to publish all the compositions of Johann Sebastian Bach in a Complete Edition (Gesamtausgabe).
When this object was achieved in 1900 the Bach-Gesellschaft was dissolved according to its statutes. On the initiative of Hermann Kretzschmar and with the co-operation of Oskar von Hase, Martin Blumner, Siegfried Ochs, Joseph Joachim, Franz Wüllner and the Thomas Cantor Gustav Schreck, the Neue Bachgesellschaft was constituted simutaneously in order to make Bach’s compositions known in the whole world. This has been the purpose of all Bach Festivals and of the Bach-Jahrbuch which has appeared since 1904.
From 1940 onwards the Second World War increasingly had a negative effect on the activities of the Neue Bachgesellschaft. The destruction of office documents and of members’ contributions during the bombardment of Leipzig in December1943 brought the activities to a temporary halt.
With publications (since 1947) and the organization of Bach Festivals (since 1950) the Neue Bachgesellschaft resumed its post-war activities. It was able to survive the time of the German seperation until 1990 undivided, since 1962 with equal representation from both German states and from abroad in its governing bodies. With the German reunification a new period of its history started for the Neue Bachgesellschaft. For this reason also its statutes were revised. The realization of its aims as set out in its statutes continues to be its first and foremost objective, with continuous reflection on the practical implementation thereof.