The folk music scene would not be so rich if the Freising family music Meindl did not exist.
The head is Theo Meindl sen.
It's celebrating its 90th birthday.
The family
Theo Meindl grew up in the city with four siblings, to whom he remained loyal all his life.
The love for folk music was already implanted in him by his mother.
It was she who encouraged him to learn the zither - a passion that has been with him throughout his life.
At the tender age of 18, he met his current wife Anna (born 1933) while taking zither lessons.
In 1956 the wedding bells ring for the two of them, and the two have been married for 65 years - the foundation for the Meindl family music.
Because together they have four sons: Theodor junior, Klaus, Bernhard and Robert.
All of them started their folk music careers with the flute, the two older ones then learned clarinet, Bernhard accordion and Robert double bass.
As soon as the quartet of the Meindl offspring was big enough, family music was founded.
The group
For 52 years now, the Meindl family music has stood for real customs, for real folk music.
And that was and is still appreciated: for example, the family music played around 1980 with Prince Luitpold of Bavaria on the occasion of the market launch of the dark "King Ludwig Beer".
You applied to appear at folk music competitions - and it was successful.
The group won the “Zwieseler Fink” twice and was awarded “excellent” three times at the Innsbruck International Folk Music Competition.
Meindl still regards it as a special honor to have been invited to the Federal President's New Year's reception in 1981 - as one of 25 citizens nationwide.
And even if Theo Meindl received many awards for his services to folk music - from the district's cultural award to the Federal Cross of Merit: The profession Meindl learned after the war has nothing to do with music.
He did an apprenticeship as a technical draftsman at the Schlüter company in Freising and later trained as a production engineer.
He stayed with the company until his retirement.
The continuity
And all other areas of life at Theo Meindl are characterized by continuity: for example, he has been involved with the Alpine Club for 62 years - and is now an honorary member.
“I was a tour manager for 33 years and organized six hikes every year,” he recalls.
His enthusiasm for singing was also aroused at the club's “Freisinger Hütte”.
The result: Theo Meindl founded the Alpine Club Choir 35 years ago.
The jubilee once said about himself: "I like any music that you can sing along to."
The prices
Theo Meindl and his family music have received prizes and awards time and again: Anna and Theo Meindl have been winners of the Federal Cross of Merit, the silver citizen's medal of the city of Freising, since 1982, and in 1982 they received the cultural prize of the Freising district, which was awarded for the first time.
Theo Meindl's review of many decades of love and devotion to folk music: “We have matured over the many years of our musical life.
I have now recorded all appearances in 22 photo albums.
We still sing and play today and hope it may go on for a while. "
The recipe for success
Theo Meindl once described the secret of success as follows: "Luck and a lot of hard work were necessary for that."
“My drive never works like that,” says Theo Meindl, describing his state of health in his typical Bavarian way.
He regrets that he cannot and must not celebrate his 90th birthday because of the Corona situation.
But Theo Meindl wouldn't be Theo Meindl if he didn't look to the future with optimism and trust in God: In August he will celebrate the Iron Wedding with his Anna.
And by then, he hopes, it will be possible to meet again in a larger circle.
"Then we'll catch up on everything."
Theo Meindl is of course still musically active.
But also there: except for a few concerts at Christmas in churches, for which the teamwork has been freshened up and the playing has been practiced at a distance, performances by the Meindl family are currently not possible.
Meindl's biggest wish for her 90th birthday?
“That health doesn't get worse.” After all: Vaccinated against Covid-19, he is: “I'm immune.” Immune to Corona, but not immune to the love of folk music.
