Farewell to music legend: Fiedler says goodbye after 53 years!

Farewell to music legend: Fiedler says goodbye after 53 years!

On Saturday, July 5, 2025, the musical era by Hans-Joachim Fiedler was duly celebrated in the sold-out yellow hall of the orangery of Neustrelitz. The 91-year-old choir director gave up the management of the women's choir "Friendship" after 53 years. At a concert that was under the motto "waves, wind and sea", the ensemble celebrated a musical tour through the south of Germany, Italy and Ireland. The audience was enthusiastic and thanked the actors with a standing applause. [Nordkurier] (https://www.nordkurier.de/regional/neustrelitz/nach- Mehrs-als-Einem-halt-chorter-chorleiter-Sagt-Adieu-3734747) reports that the evening offered both emotional and musical highlights.

Fiedler is a real institution in the region. He was not only a choir director, but also a long -time music school director and head of the Youth Symphony Orchestra. His wife Erika, who accompanied the singing ensemble on the guitar, also ended her active membership in the choir. Together with the singers, he made countless concert tours to Austria, France, Slovenia, Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Denmark and has won numerous prizes, including twice the gold medal at the workers' festival in 1980 and 1982 and the Hoffmann-von-Fallersleben medal in 1997. Strelitzius emphasizes that many of the singers have been active in 1948 in 1948.

an unforgettable evening

The program of the evening was a successful mix of concert and popular songs. A highlight was a 5-voice canon with the title "Live well", which captivated with the spatial list of the choir. Solistic singing performances and an instrumental trio consisting of violin, oboe and piano, rounded off the musical experience. Pianist Rico Gatzke supported the singers with sensitive and sensitive accompaniment. The evening was not only a tribute to Fiedler, but also to the tradition of choral music, which was now officially included in the nationwide list of intangible cultural heritage. VDKC reports that the diversity and the community character of the choral music.

The amateur landscape in Germany comprises around 60,000 ensembles and over two million singers. The decision to include the "choral music in German amateur" in the directory was made from a total of 83 proposals submitted. In addition to choral music, other cultural traditions were also recognized. This is a positive signal with regard to the cultural landscape and is also intended to stimulate politics to work more for the cultural scene.

Hans-Joachim Fiedler shaped the work of the women's choir “Friendship” with his passion and dedication and leaves an impressive legacy in the Neustrelitz choir scene. With his departure, there is a chapter in regional music history, which will certainly be remembered for a long time.