Founding history
In fact, the Johannes Brahms Konservatorium in Hamburg was founded twice: in 1908 by Walter Armbrust under the name 'Brahms Konservatorium' and in 1980 under its current name.
Raphael Seligmann-Ferara took over the management of the Brahms Konservatorium in 1920. For years, the Jewish director resisted reprisals and the increasing personal threat posed by Nazi rule.
In 1939, he was finally forced to flee to the USA. The conservatory, which was so dear to his heart, was hit by a bomb during the Second World War and completely destroyed.
In 1977, the musician couple Juan Carlos and Johanna Reitze de la Maza founded their music school in Hamburg, which laid the foundations for today's Johannes Brahms Konservatorium. At the time, they knew nothing of the tragic history of the Brahms Konservatorium.
Bach, Beethoven, Brahms
Santiago de Chile, end of the 1950s. The Chilean Juan Carlos Reitze de la Maza was already a highly talented guitarist as a teenager - and was enthusiastic about classical music, especially the Chilean group Illapu, Johann Sebastian Bach and Johannes Brahms. He regularly listens to the radio program "Bach, Beethoven, Brahms".
His tours took Juan Carlos Reitze de la Maza to Chillán, the birthplace of Claudio Arrau, Paris, Panama, Colombia and San José in Costa Rica, where he succeeded María Luisa Anido as a teacher.
In 1969, Juan Carlos Reitze de la Maza came to Germany to visit his brother living in Hamburg and to perfect his musical education.
Brahms' birthplace
In Hamburg, the birthplace of Johannes Brahms, Juan Carlos Reitze de la Maza searched in vain for a Brahms Institute in 1969. At the Blankeneser Konservatorium - today's Hamburger Konservatorium - under the direction of Professor Peter Hartmann, he continued his education and also worked as a teacher. There he also met his future wife Johanna Carlberg, a young singer and violinist born in Hamburg. They both receive a scholarship from the Oscar and Vera Ritter Foundation.
"Then let's found it!"
The number of pupils of the two musicians grew rapidly, and in 1977 Juan Carlos and Johanna Reitze de la Maza opened their own music school, teaching guitar, singing, violin and piano. Their admiration for Johannes Brahms and their love of his music secretly developed into their dream of founding a Johannes Brahms Konservatorium.
In 1980, they jointly opened the Johannes Brahms Konservatorium in Hamburg and turned it into an educational institution that grew from a small cell into a state-recognized and internationally acclaimed institute offering a wide range of subjects.
44 years later
In 2024, Vincent Reitze de la Maza takes over his parents' life's work. Vincent leads the Johannes Brahms Konservatorium in the spirit of its decades-long tradition: familiar and personal, cosmopolitan and focused on the highest quality that meets international standards.
