28 - Tempelreinigung

Summary

Or not. On September 24, over two weeks after Straube's petition but before his intentions went public, Hauptmann informed the Schulamt that the cantor was “prepared to withdraw his request to retire. Hence, pending approval by the Ministry of Education, he will remain in office and above all will carry through the Bachfest planned for 1938… . Concerning the length of further employment beyond the lawful age limit, Herr Stadtrat Bennewitz and I are agreed.” It was a stunning reversal. Upon receipt of Straube's letter, Hauptmann's Cultural Affairs office immediately signaled its intent to persuade him to stay, as it issued an extended memorandum that analyzed the city's financial obligations to the cantor. The department prefaced its recommendations with the phrase “in the event that Professor Straube cannot be prevailed upon to remain in office.” Evidently Hauptmann had achieved just that in a personal exchange: a handwritten note at the bottom of the memo indicated that a positive response had been delivered “verbally,” and that “a written explanation is not to be expected.” In the meantime, Dresden had not yet pronounced on finances and an exception to the prescribed retirement age, despite Leipzig's repeated pleas since April. The nature of the understanding between Hauptmann and Bennewitz about the timeframe is unclear, as is whether Straube was privy to it. What is reasonably clear, though, is that Hauptmann, and therefore wider National Socialist interests, had acted upon the cantor's ambivalence in the retirement question—had he ever really intended to go?—largely so that the NBG's Bachfest could go forward as planned the following April. He was staying in place for now.

But the 1938 Bachfest was only in conceptual stages that September. It was the imminent tour that now occupied the cantor. Reflecting Berlin's geopolitical designs, the Thomaner would appear in south Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and the Silesian provinces, including debut stops in the “Führer’s” home territory of Linz, Vienna, Pressburg, Katowice, and Breslau. Ramin contributed solo organ and harpsichord recitals along the way. Almost immediately, Straube's fragile physical condition manifested itself. At a concert in Vienna's gilded Musikverein, he collapsed just before going on stage, leaving the choir to negotiate the program without him.