Frankfurt buys building for Ensemble Modern
mainThe premier contemporary music group have been promised by Frankfurt Bürgermeister Olaf Cunitz, a member of the Green party that they will soon own the building they presently rent.
The purchase cost is estimated at 6.6 million Euros.
Fast forward to London, where Arts Council England is seeking to push English National Opera out of its own home. Maybe we’re not in Europe, after all.
One day before the local elections – what a coincidence!
You are not thinking, that voicing of generous public support for a modern classical music specialist group is going to win any votes, are you? To the contrary!
Quite. The UK is not in Europe. It is the US’ easternmost state. Donald Trump in the White House, Boris Johnson in Downing Street 10. The perfect duo that reflects this scenario.
Since in Germany, the established new music circuit is entirely paid for by the governments, it is only logical that the ensemble’s premises are bought by their donor. Being a moral passport to an international new music scene, the production of dissonance expresses the harmony with the wider, enlightened world.
Hi, member of Ensemble Modern here. I wasn’t directly involved in this, but the decision is very practical on the city’s part. With the amount Frankfurt has spent on our rent in the past 25 years, they could have purchased the building outright several times over by now.
When the ensemble moved to Schwedlerstrasse in the 90’s, the neighborhood was a very rundown industrial sector with cheap property. Since the European Central Bank opened last year down the street, the area has rapidly developed and land values are going up.