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At the annual general meeting of the Pfaffenwinkel Music School, Erwin Krauthauf (2nd from left) was farewelled by Marcus Graf (left), his successor Martin Schleier and Mayor Falk Sluyterman (right).
© Wölfle
20 years ago, Erwin Krauthauf founded the sponsoring association of the Pfaffenwinkel Music School and has led it since then.
Now he has resigned from office.
Schongau - There are four great loves and passions in Erwin Krauthauf's life: his family, his former job, traveling and music.
He was born in Graz in 1937 as the eldest of four children.
After his Matura, the Austrian equivalent of the Abitur, he studied paper, pulp and process engineering there, graduated with a degree in engineering and then immediately received his doctorate in his field.
His career took the newly appointed doctor, among other things, to America for two years, to various production facilities in Austria, before he ended up in Schongau in 1985: at the Haindl paper factory.
Always with him: his wife Heide-Maria, whom he met and loved in his hometown of Gratkorn and married in 1969.
And their three children Thomas, Gerhild and Johanna.
Erwin Krauthauf founded the sponsoring association of the Pfaffenwinkel Music School 20 years ago
In addition to his work as a plant manager, Krauthauf was chairman of the international research community “INGEDE” – a job that he still talks about today with shining eyes.
And for which he was awarded the Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2004.
But where does his fourth love, music, come into play?
He gave up his own musical career as a pianist after a short time teaching in Graz.
“I just can’t do that,” he admits and laughs.
Nevertheless, Erwin Krauthauf is an honorary member of Austrian brass and factory bands.
His wife Heide-Maria recently found the four framed certificates in the attic.
Like that?
The reason is extremely simple and at the same time connects with his later work in Schongau.
“As a factory manager in various companies, I was in the position of supporting the local bands.
If there is someone sitting there who cares about music, the bands are doing well.
If not, they just vegetate,” he sums up.
And wherever Erwin Krauthauf was, the chapels flourished.
Erwin Krauthauf almost single-handedly founded the “Music School Pfaffenwinkel eV”
He was also able to bring this experience to Schongau.
But not during his professional career, but immediately after his retirement in 2002. “Back then, people whispered to me that the music school would no longer be a municipal institution in the foreseeable future,” remembers Krauthauf.
He also had contact with the music school because all of his children had music lessons there.
Thomas' trumpet teacher was Marcus Graf, today's music school director.
His reputation as a fighter for music preceded Krauthauf, and so Graf and the then mayor of Schongau, Friedrich Zeller, asked him for help with the upcoming restructuring.
No sooner said than done: Erwin Krauthauf almost single-handedly founded the “Music School Pfaffenwinkel eV” with share capital that the city council at the time had made available to him.
But now the real work began.
The initially enthusiastic comrades-in-arms gradually left the ship, “like on the trip to Jerusalem,” Krauthauf remembers.
What remained was the board of directors.
He wrote the club's statutes himself. He also founded the music school's support association, which he also chaired.
The community of Peiting was brought back into the music school boat
And then it was time for him to clean the doors.
Krauthauf worked tirelessly on behalf of the music school for 20 years, emphasized the importance of the institution and repeatedly managed to “beg” so much money that at the end of the year the numbers were black and not red.
Since then, the music school has grown and thrived year after year.
Krauthauf's last big highlight: He brought the community of Peiting back into the music school boat.
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Its mayor Peter Ostenrieder described the event at this year's annual general meeting, the last under Krauthauf's leadership (we reported), as follows: “He took us into open arms from the start.
The first meetings were more associated with frictional heat.” Krauthauf's way of negotiating can hardly be described more aptly: argumentatively always one step ahead, but not in a didactic manner, but always combined with amiable Austrian “swear” and a dash of humor.
And when the going gets tough, sometimes relentless.
Success proves him right.
And for these services, Mayor Falk Sluyterman revealed at the meeting, Erwin Krauthauf will receive the City of Schongau's Golden Ring of Honor.
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But what does the former board do now when he no longer has a say in and is responsible for day-to-day business decisions on organizational, financial and personnel issues together with the music school director and his team?
Marcus Graf had a joker up his sleeve at the meeting: He appointed Krauthauf “Ambassador of the Pfaffenwinkel Music School”.
For lifetime.
“I just like being out and about”
However, this position will be less time-consuming and will give the busy 86-year-old more space for his other passions.
The theater and concert visits can then increase, as can the walks, hikes and trips with his wife.
And he no longer has to look at his appointment calendar when he plans his annual visit to his Graz Matura colleagues.
Retirement?
That didn't really work 20 years ago.
But now with more focus on the family.
Erwin Krauthauf doesn't want to drive less than 20,000 kilometers a year.
“I just like being out and about,” he says with his signature mischievous smile.
By Christine Wölfle
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