25 - The Spring of Our Discontent

Summary

“In both cases appeal to me and to Günther Ramin,” Straube had instructed Raasted in 1922 about how to approach Leipzig publishers with proposals. “But Ramin is the one to name in the first place, since he is ‘enfant gâté’ in Leipzig!” It was a rare unguarded remark. Ramin was then approaching his twenty-fourth birthday, having served as organist of the Thomaskirche for about four years. For the most part, the pas de deux between cantor and organist proceeded on a foundation of mutual respect and, at times, authentic camaraderie. This was so even though, as Ramin surely was aware, he had not been Straube's first choice for the position. Once he was appointed, though, his life had taken off, propelled by the white-hot ambition and work ethic of a multifaceted musical talent. In 1919 he had taken leadership of the Arion Chorus. The following year he assumed the reins of Straube's organ class during the cantor's three-month leave, the foot in the door he needed to be appointed as faculty alongside his erstwhile mentor. At virtually the same time Ramin became director of the Lehrergesangverein and was elected Gewandhaus organist. And just when Straube registered his enfant gâté comment, Ramin had signed on with Jahnn for a recital series in Hamburg to benefit the Jakobikirche's Schnitger restoration.

He would continue to build on this trajectory. As with his formidable teacher, the city found itself at pains to retain him. In 1924 and 1927 Ramin had used offers from Berlin and Lübeck respectively to leverage more favorable terms in Leipzig. The Lübeck episode had resulted in the expansion of his activities into orchestral conducting, Ramin having been awarded joint charge with Scherchen of the Leipzig Symphony Orchestra's season. By 1931 he was in Berlin once a week to lead an organ masterclass on a guest professorship at the Hochschule, initiating a relationship with the capital that would progress in 1935 to his directorship of the Berlin Philharmonic Chorus. An honorary PhD from the University of Leipzig came in 1931, a Conservatory professorship in 1932. Successful recital tours to Leningrad (1932) and North America (1933, 1934) introduced Ramin to audiences Straube never reached.