Hindemith Kabinett im Kuhhirtenturm (Hindemith Institut Frankfurt)

Today it houses the Hindemith Cabinet with five modern presentation rooms, bright and simple in their design. Paul Hindemith (1895-1963), one of the most important composers of the 20th century, lived from 1923 until 1927 in Frankfurt‘s Kuhhirtenturm. The informative Cabinet exhibition sketches a detailed picture of his life and work with numerous documents, original sound documents as well as detailed explanations. The attic room, in which the composer himself lived and which is today used as perhaps the smallest chamber-music room of the world, offers a panoramic view over the roofs of Alt- Sachsenhausen. On the fourth floor of the Kuhhirtenturm is the music room, in which concerts and other events are held. Hindemith came to Frankfurt at the age of ten, and it was in this city that he began his impressive career as composer, instrumentalist, music pedagogue, music theoretician and conductor. Probably more than anyone else, he shaped Frankfurt‘s reputation as one of Europe‘s most advanced musical cities during the 1920s.

Exhibition "Musical life in Frankfurt 1918-1933"

During the 1920s, Frankfurt was alongside Berlin probably one of the most important musical centres in Germany. At this time, the opera house with its outstanding soloists and conductors not only presented stage works from the regular repertoire, but also proved itself as a significant location for world premieres of new compositions. The music society Frankfurter Museums-Gesellschaft engaged renowned conductors including Willem Mengelberg, Wilhelm Furtwängler and Otto Klemperer. The development of contemporary music was fostered through unorthodox formats and forms of presentation. Professional training for musicians was also breaking new ground. All these innovative developments however came to an abrupt end with the beginning of the National Socialist dictatorship in 1933.