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Two years ago to the day, I went on a weekend road-trip with my good friend from our IU-Bloomington days, Berlin-based composer Petros Ovsepyan, to several Alwin-Schroeder-associated spots in the Harz and Thuringia regions of Germany. Our first stop was originally the astonishingly well-preserved Medieval town of Quedlinburg, the birthplace of Schroeder’s mother and older brothers, but the road signs to Haldensleben persuaded us to exit earlier, toward Alwin’s own birth-town.
A major landmark in Haldensleben is the statue of Roland atop a horse, in front of the town hall in the central market square. During their time there (1854-1863), the Schroeder family never lived more than three blocks away from this square, and the ready-to-ride Roland—a depiction unique to Haldensleben, among the many German towns where stone Rolands stand guard—correlates well with the traditionally itinerate town musician. Schroeder’s father Carl, a capable performer on both string and wind instruments with a preference for viola and clarinet, seems to have been adept at walking the fine line between serving his local patrons and asserting his freedom to either stay in Haldensleben or to pack everything up and move on.
Read on….
| Copyright © 2021 by Geoffrey Dean |
