Maria Leo (1873-1942)

This book is dedicated to a woman who, as a music educator, women's rights activist and seminar director, fought for the professional emancipation of private music teachers. Not only did she know how to hold her own with her small seminary within the vast Berlin landscape of conservatories, music institutes, etc., but she also became the initiator of a teacher training based on innovative reform pedagogical maxims. In this endeavor she was supported throughout her life by the Allgemeiner Deutscher Lehrerinnen-Verein. In the historical memory of music education, Maria Leo was overshadowed by Leo Kestenberg for decades. In this book, her achievements in the field of musical education and training - first for women, and in the Weimar Republic for both sexes - are presented in detail for the first time and placed in the context of the respective professional political and socio-political developments and debates of the time. Maria Leo was concerned with teaching that made it possible to experience music on the basis of a comprehensive musical education. At the same time, she strove for social security for private music teachers. The presentation of her vita as well as the discussion of her struggles, ideas and experiences is still relevant today - and again today. '[...] a profound work of the first rank [.] Anyone concerned with the history of training for music pedagogical professions in the decades before and from Kestenberg's work will find in Christine Rhode-Jüchtern's book by far the most knowledgeable, circumspect, and differentiated account to date.' Ulrich Mahlert, üben&musizieren 2/2022