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Welcome to the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart
A small guide with information about the history of the university, its studies and special facilities, buildings, and activities and co-operations.
 Deutsche Version
 History
Studies
Special facilities
University building
Activities and co-operations
... above the university (air view)
The State Univeristy of Music and Performing Arts, entrance Urbanstraße
History
The University of Music around the year 1910
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The oldest music university of Baden-Württemberg was founded as the “Music School of Stuttgart” in the year 1857. Already by 1865 it was renamed “Conservatory of Music”. By then it had become both an institution for training professional musicians as well as a music school in the form of the so-called “Dilettantenklasse” (Amateurs’ Class). It was not until 1921 that the two branches were separated. Under its new name, “Music University of Württemberg”, it became evident that its concentration was in the professional disciplines. Despite the two name changes the University of Music Stuttgart was distinguished from the very beginning by the continuity of its pedagogical work.
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This is shown on the one hand by the consistantly high numbers of students enrolled and on the other by the exceptionally long terms of office of its directors. The first director, Professor Dr. Immanuel Faisst, served for 35 years from 1859 to 1894, and Professor Max Pauer, under whose directorship the renaming into a “University” took place, served from 1907 to 1924.
From 1924 to 1929 Professor Wilhelm Kempff was director. He further developed the tradition established by the pianist Max Pauer of excellent training in piano. In 1938 under the directorship of Professor Carl Wendling (1929-1940) the training of music teachers for schools and colleges was transferred to the university, thereby turning it into a „State University“.
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The Second World War brought heavy damage to the “State University of Music Stuttgart”. It not only lost its classroom building but it also had to be moved temporarily to Trossingen, where it remained until 1946 thanks to the support of the Hohner musical instrument company. After years of provisional accommodation the university finally moved into an adequate new building in 1955 which soon became too small again as the number of students grew to 900 within only a few years. As part of the city’s development of the so-called Culture Mile in the 1980s a new building for the university – together with a new State Art Gallery – was planned.
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The University of Music at the Urbansplatz
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Designed by the British architect James Stirling, an ensemble of postmodern architecture of international reknown was created with the final completion of the second wing of the music university in 2002.
The actual University of Music
Since the beginning of the 19th century the Stuttgart Conservatory has also been a training facility for actors. Consequently the university received its present name of “State University of Music and Performing Arts” in 1963. The “performing arts” in the name refer not only to the Schauspielschule (Drama School) but also include the Opernschule (Opera School), rich in tradition, the only graduate program in Sprecherziehung (Speech Training) in all of Germany with its „studio gesprochenes wort“ („Studio of Spoken Word“), as well as the Figurentheater (Puppet Theatre) created in 1983. With the Wilhelma Theater (built in 1837) at its disposal since 1987 the University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart is the only university in Germany that has its own “learning theater” which moreover attracts considerable attention through its 200 performances that take place there every year.
The Wilhelma Theater in Stuttgart-Bad Cannstatt
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Apart from the extended growth the university has made over the years in its new buildings and departments, recent decades were also marked by artistic and pedagogical developments among its personnel.
The traditionally very strong department of
Kirchenmusik (Church Music)
was further developed under the directorship of Professor Dr. Hermann Keller (1946-1952). Its
10 organs
make it the university best equipped with organs in the world today. This also accounts for its record of artistic achievement: Stuttgart’s organists enjoy an excellent reputation and numerous organ students have performed outstandingly in international competitions.
A further characteristic of the university is its strong department of Composition and Music Theory (Komposition / Musiktheorie). Many famous composers have come out of Stuttgart, of whom the most well-known in recent times is surely Professor Helmut Lachenmann. Since 1989 an outstanding Studio for Electronic Music offers the possibility to create experimental music and to teach its methods without using traditional musical instruments.
The university has also maintained its traditional strength in instrumental studies. Outstanding (pianists), internationally renowned strings and wind players, as well as an important percussion department further underline the high standards in Stuttgart. Also to be mentioned is the traditionally strong voice department. Many of the professors are able to draw upon years of experience on the most important stages of the world for their teaching.
In view of its physical and artistic possibilities the State University of Music and Performing Arts is a very important factor in the cultural life of the region. In the concert hall with its 500 seats, the chamber music hall (180 seats), the the orchestra rehearsal hall (100 seats) and the elegant foyers and galleries the university annually offers more than 250 public concerts and other events. In addition there are about 200 performances of the drama school, the opera school and the puppet theater in the Wilhelma Theater every year.
The concert hall
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The chamber music hall
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About 770 students from more than 40 countries study at the State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart today, and make use the outstanding artistic and spatial possibilities. With over 200 teaching rooms and 40 practice rooms, half of which are accessible around the clock, the university provides an excellent environment for a good education on high-quality instruments. And, if anything, the students enjoy the fascinating location of the university, as well as the embedding of the university's building in Stuttgart‘s "Cultural Mile" with the State Theater (Staatstheater), the State Gallery of Art (Staatsgalerie), the House of History, the State Library and the Office of Public Records.
The State University of Music and Performing Arts (right of center) after the first stage of construction was completed. Still missing are the chamber music hall, the drama school and the museum of history. At the bottom of the picture the State Theater (to the left) and the legislative assembly of Baden-Württemberg (to the right) are visible; on the upper left hand side the old State Art Gallery, next to it the new State Art Gallery, then the University of Music, to the right of it the House of Representatives and at the far right the State Library are visible; in the top lefthand corner one can see the old School of Music.
Studies
The course of studies Künstlerische Ausbildung (Artist’s Diploma: 10 semesters) is offered in numerous instrumental and vocal study fields: Strings and Plucked Instruments, Wind Instruments, Percussion, Voice, Piano, Organ and Historical Keyboard Instruments, Composition and Music Theory, Conducting, Opera Studies, and Jazz and Popular Music.
The diploma in Musikerziehung (Musical Education: 8 semesters) is available in the following fields: Strings and Plucked Instruments, Wind Instruments, Percussion, Voice, Piano, Organ and Historical Keyboard Instruments, Elementary Musical Pedagogy, and Music Theory and New Media.
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The program Schulmusik (Music for Secondary School Teachers: 9 semesters) trains prospective schoolteachers. Students are allowed to choose Jazz and Popular Music or Church Music as their minor instead of an academic field of study, as for example Music History.
The program Kirchenmusik (Church Music: 8 semesters) leads to the diploma “Kirchenmusik B”. Graduates may earn the diploma “Kirchenmusik A” through a postgraduate course.
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The performing arts are represented by the diploma programs in Schauspiel (Drama: 8 semesters) and Opernschule(Opera School), in which students who have completed basic voice training can study all dramatic disciplines over the course of six semesters.
Stuttgart is the only state university in Germany which offers the diploma programs Figurentheater (Puppet Theater: 8 semesters) and Sprecherziehung (Speech Training: 8 semesters).
Highly gifted graduates who have received the degree “Artist’s Diploma”(KA) can perfect their skills in the postgraduate program called Solistenklasse (Soloist’s Class: 4 semesters).
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"The little prince" from Antoine de Staint-Exupéry. Puppet theater and drama school
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The Zusatzstudium (Additional Studies, e.g. Lied, Early Music, Conducting, Music Theater, Methodology, Computer Music, Speech) can follow directly upon the main course of studies and leads to a diploma.
Gifted younger individuals may receive free lessons and prepare for their university studies by joining the Vorschule (Pre-University Program).
The Kontaktstudium (Contact Studies) will offer in future – for a tuition fee – a wide range of advanced training for professional artists and teachers.
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Students seeking a career as orchestra musicians gain important experience in the Symphony Orchestra of the university. Every year the orchestra – frequently led by guest conductors – performs a major opera and a symphony concert featuring student soloists. The Studio-Orchestra is part of the training for prospective music teachers, as the Big Band is for jazz students. The University Choir is open to all students.
The university offers a number of special postgraduate studies which provide postgraduates and professionals with additional knowledge and experience. Called Ergänzungsstudium(Complementary Studies), courses in Lied, String Quartet, and Music Management (in development) are offered.
Through cooperation between the University of Music and Stuttgart University students who study Computer Science at Stuttgart University may choose Music Theory as their minor. Conversely students majoring in Music Theory at the University of Music may elect Computer Science as their minor.
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Doctoral degrees (academic title: Dr. Phil.) are available in Musicology and Music Pedagogy. In cooperation with Stuttgart University interdisciplinary doctoral and postdoctoral studies (Habilitation) may be pursued simultaneously at both universities or as a supplemental course of study.
Research projects and conferences in Musicology, Music Pedagogy and Music Theory attract nationwide interest.
Guest lectures and courses by distinguished artists and scholars continually supplement and enhance the curriculum of the university.
Special facilities
The Wilhelma Theater is a professionally managed theater used by all of the performing arts departments: drama, opera, puppet theatre, and speech training.
The studio for the spoken word regularly works on interdisciplinary projects in addition to the courses of study of the Speech Training Department.
The Studio for Electronic Music is equipped with state-of-the-art technology and works with up-to-date training methods for composers and prospective music teachers. Particularly innovative is the fact that students in the diploma program Music Education may specialize in Music Theory and New Media, making use of several European Studios for Electronic Music. The studios are used for teaching composing and processing of electronic music, for developing studio and production techniques, and for developing internet and multimedia technologies.
The Studio for Early Music is a platform for historical performance and interdisciplinary commitment to early music in various forms in the classroom as well as on the concert stage.
The recording studio affords students and teachers the possibility of making professional CDs for a variety of purposes including teaching, competitions, job applications, and the like.
With more than 100,000 volumes the library ranks among the largest of its kind in Germany.
Prompted by the Baden-Württemberg “Days of Higher Education” in 1989, which were dedicated to “Victims of Violence”, the University of Music established archives of manuscripts and scores of European composers who gave their lives in the world wars.
Every two years, the University hosts the International Violoncello-Competition for New Music.
The Gesellschaft der Freunde der Staatlichen Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst e.V. (Society of Friends and Alumni Association of the University) supports students in a variety of ways. The Freundeskreis Wilhelma Theater e.V. (Friends of the Wilhelma Theater) are committed to similar purposes.
The university and its students also receive financial support through foundations of local financial institutions, building societies, insurance companies, and donations from private businesses.
University building
The new university building, designed by the British architects and city planners James Stirling and Michael Wilford and completed in 1996, is centrally located on Stuttgart’s “Culture Mile” in the direct vicinity of the new State Art Gallery and the State Library, three minutes’ walk from the State Theater (opera and drama), and five minutes’ walk from the main train station.
Focal point is the central tower accommodating both the library and the concert hall, which with its 500 seats is the hub of university life. It features a large Rieger Organ (with 5761 pipes and 81 stops). Blending French and German sound ideals, it is an especially versatile concert instrument.
The university’s second wing, finished in 2002, contains the Chamber Music Hall (180 seats), the drama school’s classrooms and a rehearsal stage, as well as rooms for instruction in body movement.
The former summer theater of the Court of Württemberg, designed by Ludwig von Zanth and built in 1839, is a veritable neo-classical gem. Now called Wilhelma Theater (350 seats), it is mainly used by the performing arts departments: Drama, Opera, Puppet Theater, and Speech-Training.
Activities and Partnerships
With an annual average of 450 concerts and other performances – about 250 in the concert halls and 200 in the Wilhelma Theater – the university enhances the cultural life of Stuttgart and its surrounding region considerably. It hosts opera and drama performances, symphony, choir and chamber music concerts, solo-recitals, and several concert series (organ recitals, Sunday matinees, etc.). Equally popular are the numerous student recitals of the instrumental, voice and composition classes as well as the faculty concerts.
The university cooperates with a number of cultural institutions of the State of Baden-Württemberg, such as the radio station SWR, the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Stuttgart Music School. Partners in teaching are the Stuttgart University, the Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart, and the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg in Ludwigsburg. The university cooperates with partner universities in Russia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Spain, Japan, South Africa, and China and works together with exchange programs such as Erasmus/Sokrates and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
... above the university
State University of Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart. Aerial photograph from the Book „Flug über die Region
Stuttgart“, Silberburg-Verlag, www.silberburg.de.
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