Figure 1.--Family music making was a critical part of the German musical tradition. Notice the bust of Bethoven at a place of honor on top the piano. I'm not sure who the other composer is, it may be Wagner. This German family, we think, in the 1920s lived at the time that Germany was still the center of the music world. The most notable impact of the NAZIs in the field of music was that Germany after the War no longer domninated the world of music. This is not to say Germany was no longer important, it is to say that Germany no longer dominated the world of music at it did before the War.

Germany is perhaps more famed for music than any other country. Many of the most beloved classical composers were German. The list is huge including Beethoven, Bach, Brahms, Handel, Mendelson, Mozart, Strauss, and many other famed composers. Germany had some of the most important composers in the history of music. Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) mixed different styles of music from North Germany , Denmark, and Flanders on one part and Italian Music on the other part. Bach was an open-minded Lutheran and this aspect is mostly visible in his Cantatas and Passions. It was the same with Mozart and Haydn who mixed different styles to create new ones. For example, Mozart was the first to create operas in German instead of Italian while Haydn created the symphony in four movements and also gave a great impulse to strings quartet. No doubt that in the 18th century German music was a leader in Europe. This country where every family practiced any musical instrument gave birth to Beethoven who influenced music everywhere in the world. At the turn of the 19th Century, he composed a symphony called "Eroica" he dedicated first to Napoleon Bonaparte, who he saw as a leader able to break down Absolute Monarchy in Europe, as it was with the Royalty in France. But Napoleon crowned himself Emperor, a new Charlemagne. He also contribute to the weakening of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He married the archduchess (princess) Marie-Louise, the daughter of Emperor Franz-Joseph. Beethoven refused to dedicate his symphony to a new emperor who would not be different than the old regime monarchs. There is something in this Third Symphony as a collapse which expresses something like the death of Medieval values and the rise of new ones: Liberty, Fraternity, and Equality which came from the French Revolution. Beethoven gave to music this freedom which was unknown during the previous century. His 'Ode to the Joy' is a good example of this. Beethoven is a preview of all the music of the coming 19th century. Romanticism with Brahms, Chopin, Mendelsohn, Schumann are the end result of his musical experiments. Wagner operas, mainly the 'Ring of the Nibelungen' and 'Parsifal,' gave to music a new status in pushing melody to its finest refinements. Even if Brukner or Malher gave to the symphony something similar to Wagner's operas, there was a feeling that nothing more could be done to creativeness in music. Take note that in visual arts , the same thing happened with Impressionism. Gradually, painting ceased to be a copy of external reality. The next move came from France. Debussy and Ravel initiated a new kind of music based on foreign countries like Balinese music. Also, those composers returned to some classical composers like Couperin and Rameau. Many people thought that this music would be the right answer to the diktat of German Music. But there were two new impulses which would shatter the Western World and this, just a few years before World War I. Those movements will influence greatly and was fought with an equal fierceness during the Third Reich. Let take as granted that art is a mirror of the evolving society and that any dishonest lying society will always fight against truth.

The 17th Century

Modern Western Music began to develop in the 17th century. The first style to emerge from the Renaissance was Baroque music (1600-1750). Baroque music shared with Renaissance music the use of polyphony and counterpoint, but employed the techniques differently. Germany before the 18th century was not the center of Western music. Italy and France were more important. There was one important earky Baroque German composer, Heinrich Schütz (1585-1672). Like other German composers, he was a church organist. He was, however, a line German other qa multitude of Italian, French, and other composers. Something happened in Germany during the 16th and 17th centuries that led to an unprecedented explosion of music. We are not sure just what occurred, but several developments seem to have been important. We suspect it was the Reformation, but we are not entirely sure just how it affected music. One factor was it freed Germans musicians from the constraints of church music. A second factor was probably education. Germany was the first region on earth that began educating the entire population. This was necessary because at the heart of the Protestant Reformation was the personal study of the Bible rather than reliance on priest directed worship. But to study the Bible one needed to be able to read. Thus the Protestant states of northern Europe began educating their entire population. Individual Bible study, however, mean that there would be many branches to the Protestant tree. One of the most important was the Calvinists and their attitude toward the arts meant that Calvinist centers would not be centers of musical creativity. These were countries largely outside of Germany (Switzerland, France, Scotland, England (the Puritans), and America (New England). While the explosion of education in some Protestant areas was fueling creativity, in Catholic southern Europe the Counter Reformation was attacking and limiting creativity. The Inquisition's persecution of Galileo affected the development of science. And the Spanish Inquisition was largely unrestrained. This had a widespread impact on sciences and the arts. Another interesting dynamic in Germany was the division of the country into a large number of competing principalities competing with each other. Of course the Reformation effectively preventedthe Hapsburgs from turning the Holy Roman Empire into a united nation state. One part of that competition was scholarly and artistic prestige. This many supported artists, scholars, and musicians. This was unlike the situation elsewhere in Europe where royal families supported learning and the arts in capitals (France, London, Madrid, Moscow, and Paris), but not all over the country.

The 18th Century

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) had a profound impact on Western music. As with most important composders, music was a family tradition. His father was a court trumpeter for the Duke of Eisenach and director of the musicians in the town of Eisenach, Thuringia. The Bach family had a long tradition of music, with members serving as church organists, town instrumentalists, and Cantors. Bach took the Baroque to its highest levels. Bach's genius was in mixing different styles of music from North Germany , Denmark, and Flanders on one part and Italian Music on the other part. Bach was an open-minded Lutheran and this aspect is mostly visible in his Cantatas and Passions. It was the same with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–91) and Franz Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) who mixed different styles to create new ones. For example, Mozart was the first to create operas in German instead of Italian while Haydn created the symphony in four movements and also gave a great impulse to strings quartet. No doubt that in the 18th century German music was a leader in Europe. This country where every family practiced any musical instrument gave birth to Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) who influenced music everywhere in the world. He was the second child of musician and tenor singer Johann van Beethoven. Ludwig was an early child musical prodigy and by the late 18th century had begun to compose important works.

The 19th Century

Beethoven whose life and work spanned the 18th and 19th centuries gave us a preview of all the coming music. At the turn of the 19th Century, Beethoven composed the 'Eroica' sumphony which he dedicated first to Napoleon Bonaparte, who he saw as a leader able to break down absolute monarchy in Europe, as the Revolution did in France. Napoleon proceeded, however, to crown himself Emperor, a new Charlemagne. [Michel: I think this bit probably goes better with out political connotation page, but lets see how the page develops.] He also contribute to the weakening of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. He married the archduchess (princess) Marie-Louise, the daughter of Emperor Franz-Joseph. Beethoven refused to dedicate his symphony to a new emperor who would not be different than the old regime monarchs. There is something in this Third Symphony as a collapse which expresses something like the death of Medieval values and the rise of new ones: Liberty, Fraternity, and Equality which came from the French Revolution. Beethoven gave to music this freedom which was unknown during the previous century. His 'Ode to the Joy' is perhaps the supreme example of this. Romanticism with Johannes Brahms (1833-97), Frédéric François Chopin (1810-49), Felix Mendelssohn (1809-47), and Robert Alexander Schumann (1810–56) are the end result of his musical experiments. Wilhelm Richard Wagner (1813-83) operas, mainly the 'Ring of the Nibelungen' and 'Parsifal,' gave to music a new status in pushing melody to its finest refinements. Even if Brukner or Malher gave to the symphony something similar to Wagner's operas, there was a feeling that nothing more could be done to creativeness in music. Take note that in visual arts , the same thing happened with Impressionism. Gradually, painting ceased to be a copy of external reality. The next move came from France. Claude-Achille Debussy (1862– 1918) and Joseph-Maurice Ravel (1875–1937) initiated a new kind of music based on foreign countries like Balinese music. Also, those composers returned to some classical composers like Couperin and Rameau. Many people thought that this music would be the right answer to the diktat of German Music.

The 20th Century

Germany at the dawn of the 20th century was the most powerful country in Europe. Today we too often think of that in military terms. This was in fact the case, but Germany was dominate in many other areas. It had the latgest, nost dynamic economy and was the most heavily industrialized. It had the finest educational system in the world with wonderful public schools and admired universities. The scientific establishment routinely demonstrated its prowess in the annual Nobel Prize awards. In no area was Germany more dominate than in music. And German played a key role in the movements that began tgo chsnge music in the early-20th century. Even after the tragedy of World War I, Germany remained the dominate country in Europe. The Allies did not occupy Germany, except the Rhineland for a brief period and the Saarland. The country's industry annd scientific estanlishment remained in tact. And German music remained the envy of Europe. Yet in the space of 12 years, the NAZIs remade Germany in ways that are still not fully understood. Germany continued to make music during and after the NAZI era. But the best known conposers were those educated before the NAZI era. (The impact of the Communists in East Germany during 1945-89 also has to be considered. Few German composers trained during or after the the NAZI era have risen to international prominance. Germsany today remains a European powerhouse, but no longer dominates Europe. German industry is still renowned for workmanship, but was largely uninvolved in the techlogical changes (tansistors, computer, internet, etc.) that have made our modern world. German universities are solid institutions, but much less known than British and American universities. And Germany is no longer the center of Western music. Fe young people growing up in the late-20th century think of Germany when they assess trends in modern music.

21st Century

A reader writes, "It is possibly true that the German dominance in music came to an end during and after the Third Reich. But like in all arts, styles change. A modern piece of music very often is ugly, as is a painting by Francis Bacon. Of course, there were "modern" composers in Germany who were not as old as Richard Strauss or Franz Lehar. Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928-2007) and Hans Werner Henze (1926- ) come to mind. The time to be moved by a beautiful melody seems to be gone, unless one wants to listen to music written in the past."

Created: 11:20 AM 8/17/2010
Spell checked: 12:50 AM 8/18/2010
Last updated: 2:06 AM 8/19/2010