The present article that was originally conceived as an inaugural lecture on the occasion of opening the exhibition Klingende Denkmäler: Musikwissenschaftliche Gesamtausgaben in Deutschland in Nov 2006 at the Robert Schumann Hochschule Düsseldorf deals with the phenomenon and notion of ‘heritage’ (or ‘art heritage’) and its cultural-political contexts. It also stresses the fact that culture and politics have always been closely bound together. Only if one is aware of these close relations, does it seems possible to guarantee a contemporary cultural-political status for musical heritage as cultural heritage of the past as well as their appropriate reception and appreciation.