Germany tells a composer to leave

Germany tells a composer to leave

main

norman lebrecht

September 01, 2017

A Leizpig-based teacher and composer has been told he must leave the country by the end of the year.

Zhebo, 33, was drawn to Leipzig from Mongolia by his lifelong love of Bach and has lived there for six years. He has studied with Wolfgang Rihm and taught more than 100 Leipzigers.

But the authorities have refused to renew his residency permit and the rules say he must leave.

Full story here.

 

 

Comments

  • Father Ted says:

    That sounds like a horror story alright, just like one of Dave Allen’s!

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqho4h8OcPI

  • Ungeheuer says:

    And then they allow millions of non-contributing refugees to remain indefinitely. Go figure. On a recent visit to Berlin I could not believe the many lingering in city parks. Many of them dealing and or using drugs, I am told. A third world smack in the German metropolis.

  • Scotty says:

    In Germany it is difficult for foreigners to convert student visas, as is the case here, into working visas unless they can find employment with a firm. Zhebo has been self-employed since graduating four years ago. Graduates of conservatories usually can stay if they find a position with an orchestra or a full-time job at a music school or really any kind of company. But in most cases the Ausländerbüro turns a suspicious eye on freelancers.

  • DIMITRI VASSILAKIS says:

    Dear readers ,
    When a person is admitted in a foreign country this does not mean that he will be allowed to stay indefinitely ! The country has the right to decide if this person can stay longer or quit the territory . I , personally , lived in foreign countries and never considered that I had the right to stay there as long as I wished just because I had been admitted for a certain period of time ! Otherwise , we should tear down all borders and move around freely like animals do

    • It is not about whether this man can stay or not. It’s about who are allowed in and stay vs. who aren’t.
      Such unfair rule and ridiculous immigration system will have severe consequence for the future of this country. What we have seen so far is just a beginning, maybe not even the complete overture of a full-night opera.

  • Anon says:

    The Leipzig foreigner office is now notorious for this nonsense — slow, incompetent, and throwing people out of the country for no real reason. They have been in the newspaper before because they were giving the Olena Tokar problems, who is Leipzig Opera’s star soprano.

    I know Zhebo (many musicians in Leipzig know him) and he is a kind and gentle person. Hopefully this gets turned around. It would be a major loss, and for absolutely no reason.

  • J says:

    Perhaps if he converted to Islam, claimed benefits and sexually assaulted women, he would be granted full citizenship. Yet again another appalling example of the double standards the western immigration system inflicts on decent hardworking migrants whilst enabling scum to slip through the net.

    • Vienna calling says:

      What a load of racist nonsense. Mixing apples with oranges. There is a difference between refugees, immigrants and criminal, and pretending they’re all the same is counterproductive.

      • Furzwängler says:

        Whilst J perhaps overstated his or her point (in these oh-so PC times), I do believe that there is more than a grain of truth in what he (or she) said. Several grains, most likely.

  • Alberto says:

    It’s amazing to see how easily people can spread hatred (in this case to refugees and muslims) because of an article that has nothing to do with it. If I was Zhebo, I would prefer this whole thing to be deleted.

    • Pianofortissimo says:

      Alberto, the question is sensitive but not irrelevant. Mr Zhebo is probably a victim of the technicalities involved in making laws and policies to manage real refugees, economic migrants, and holly warriors. Non-European immigrants can end up in the shot line.

  • William Osborne says:

    In Germany, music instruction is not given in the regular schools, but in separate after school programs simply called “Music schools” (Musikschule.) With Zhebo’s pedagogical record, he should be given a job in a Musikschule. With a regular contract position, he could be given a residence permit. This would be a win/win for everyone. Someone please act quickly.

  • Fan says:

    A factual error in Mr. Lebrecht’s report: according to the German paper, Zhebo is apparently from Hohhot in Inner Mongolia, which is a provincial-level autonomous region in Northern China, unsurprisingly adjacent to Mongolia.

  • MOST READ TODAY: