Classical Music in Weimar Germany: Culture and Politics before the Third Reich

From Hitler's notorious fondness for Wagner's operas to classical music's role in fuelling German chauvinism in the era of the world wars, many observers have pointed to a distinct relationship between German culture and reactionary politics.

In Classical Music in Weimar Germany, Brendan Fay challenges this paradigm by reassessing the relationship between conservative musical culture and German politics. Drawing upon a range of archival sources, concert reviews and satirical cartoons, Fay maps the complex path of classical music culture from Weimar to Nazi Germany-a trajectory that was more crooked, uneven, or broken than straight. Through an examination of topics as varied as radio and race to nationalism, this book demonstrates the diversity of competing aesthetic, philosophical and political ideals held by German music critics that were a hallmark of Weimar Germany.

Rather than seeing the cultural conservatism of this period as a natural prelude for the violence and destruction later unleashed by Nazism, this fascinating book sheds new light on traditional culture and its relationship to the rise of Nazism in 20th-century Germany.

"1130502386"
Classical Music in Weimar Germany: Culture and Politics before the Third Reich

From Hitler's notorious fondness for Wagner's operas to classical music's role in fuelling German chauvinism in the era of the world wars, many observers have pointed to a distinct relationship between German culture and reactionary politics.

In Classical Music in Weimar Germany, Brendan Fay challenges this paradigm by reassessing the relationship between conservative musical culture and German politics. Drawing upon a range of archival sources, concert reviews and satirical cartoons, Fay maps the complex path of classical music culture from Weimar to Nazi Germany-a trajectory that was more crooked, uneven, or broken than straight. Through an examination of topics as varied as radio and race to nationalism, this book demonstrates the diversity of competing aesthetic, philosophical and political ideals held by German music critics that were a hallmark of Weimar Germany.

Rather than seeing the cultural conservatism of this period as a natural prelude for the violence and destruction later unleashed by Nazism, this fascinating book sheds new light on traditional culture and its relationship to the rise of Nazism in 20th-century Germany.

42.95 In Stock
Classical Music in Weimar Germany: Culture and Politics before the Third Reich

Classical Music in Weimar Germany: Culture and Politics before the Third Reich

by Brendan Fay
Classical Music in Weimar Germany: Culture and Politics before the Third Reich

Classical Music in Weimar Germany: Culture and Politics before the Third Reich

by Brendan Fay

Paperback

$42.95 
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Overview

From Hitler's notorious fondness for Wagner's operas to classical music's role in fuelling German chauvinism in the era of the world wars, many observers have pointed to a distinct relationship between German culture and reactionary politics.

In Classical Music in Weimar Germany, Brendan Fay challenges this paradigm by reassessing the relationship between conservative musical culture and German politics. Drawing upon a range of archival sources, concert reviews and satirical cartoons, Fay maps the complex path of classical music culture from Weimar to Nazi Germany-a trajectory that was more crooked, uneven, or broken than straight. Through an examination of topics as varied as radio and race to nationalism, this book demonstrates the diversity of competing aesthetic, philosophical and political ideals held by German music critics that were a hallmark of Weimar Germany.

Rather than seeing the cultural conservatism of this period as a natural prelude for the violence and destruction later unleashed by Nazism, this fascinating book sheds new light on traditional culture and its relationship to the rise of Nazism in 20th-century Germany.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781350226241
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date: 04/22/2021
Pages: 216
Product dimensions: 6.14(w) x 9.21(h) x 0.45(d)

About the Author

Brendan Fay is Assistant Professor in the School of Library & Information Management at Emporia State University, USA. He has been published in Current Musicology and Cultural History.

Table of Contents

List of Figures
Acknowledgements
Introduction: German Music and the Nazi Past
1. (Re)Composing the Nation: Music, War, and the German Inflation, 1918-1924
2. Radios and Records: Image and Reality in Weimar Technology
3. Internationalism, Nationalism and the Case of Hans Joachim Moser
4. Wagner under Weimar
5. Judging Performance, Performing Judgments: Race and Performance in Weimar Germany
Epilogue: Rethinking Tradition
Bibliography
Index
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