Werner Sander

Werner Sander (1902-1972) holds an unusual stance in the history of Jewish music. Not only did he live through two dictatorships-Nazism and GDR communism-but these outer political influences shaped his life and career as a musician. Born in Breslau, he trained to become a teacher for piano and voice; he initially also worked as music critic and choral conductor. Upon the Nazi rise to power he turned to Jewish music, a shift that would shape his identity as a musician forever. With his move to East Germany after the end of World War II, Sander continued his path as a synagogue musician, while pursuing his keen interest in conducting oratorios. Sander is chiefly remembered for having founded the still existing Leipziger Synagogalchor in 1962, and having shaped it as a concert choir exclusively devoted to Jewish music in its diverse nature. Tina Frühauf explores how Sander fought for the survival of synagogue music under the difficult conditions in the GDR.