The Lutenist Walter Gerwig

With this biography of Walter Gerwig (1899-1966), the Deutsche Lautengesell-schaft (DLG) commemorates a musician who, more than any other, furthered the cause of the lute in Germany during the 20th century.
Through his work as an artist, pedagogue and publisher, Walter Gerwig awakened interest in the lute across several generations of musicians and was largely responsible for this instrument, once so widespread, regaining its place in today's musical life.
Gerwig's work spanned an era which, with two wars and the National Socialist regime, was one of the most difficult in modern German history. Following the First World War, in a time marked by a spirit of optimism despite the economic hardships, there were new orientations that also left their mark on music, for example in the rediscovery of historical lute instruments and their literature,
the verorm movement in music education, me use of new medla and the emer-
gence of the early music movement.
This study is largely based on the development of archival material entrusted to the DLG in 2019 by Gerwig's close family. It provides extensive documentation of the lutenist's life and artistic activities. Going beyond a purely biographical view, this presentation also goes into detail about the contemporary historical context as well as the music-historical discourse in the course of the rediscovery of the lute in the 20th century.