Composers of the Nazi Era : Eight Portraits

how Does Creativity Thrive In The Face Of Fascism? How Can A Highly Artistic Individual Function Professionally In So Threatening A Climate? composers Of The Nazi Era Is The Final Book In A Critically Acclaimed Trilogy That Includes different Drummers (oup 1992) And the Twisted Muse (oup 1997), Which Won The Wallace K. Ferguson Prize Of The Canadian Historical Association. Here, Historian Michael H. Kater Provides A Detailed Study Of The Often Interrelated Careers Of Eight Prominent German Composers Who Lived And Worked Amid The Dictatorship Of The Third Reich, Or Were Driven Into Exile By It: Werner Egk, Paul Hindemith, Kurt Weill, Karl Amadeus Hartmann, Carl Orff, Hans Pfitzner, Arnold Schoenberg, And Richard Strauss. Kater Weighs Issues Of Accommodation And Resistance To Ask Whether These Artists Corrupted Themselves In The Service Of A Criminal Regime—and If So, Whether This May Be Discerned From Their Music. After Chapters Discussing The Circumstances Of Each Composer Individually, Kater Concludes With An Analysis Of The Composers' Different Responses To The Nazi Regime And An Overview Of The Sociopolitical Background Against Which They Functioned. The Final Chapter Also Extends The Discussion Beyond The End Of World War Ii To Examine How The Composers Reacted To The New And Fragile Democracy In Germany. How does creativity thrive in the face of fascism? How can a highly artistic individual function professionally in so threatening a climate? Composers of the Nazi Era is the final book in a critically acclaimed trilogy that includes Different Drummers (OUP 1992) and The Twisted Muse (OUP 1997), which won the Wallace K. Ferguson Prize of the Canadian Historical Association. Here, historian Michael H. Kater provides a detailed study of the often interrelated careers of eight prominent German composers who lived and worked amid the dictatorship of the Third Reich, or were driven into exile by it: Werner Egk, Paul Hindemith, Kurt Weill, Karl Amadeus Hartmann, Carl Orff, Hans Pfitzner, Arnold Schoenberg, and Richard Strauss. Kater weighs issues of accommodation and resistance to ask whether these artists corrupted themselves in the service of a criminal regime--and if so, whether this may be discerned from their music. After chapters discussing the circumstances of each composer individually, Kater concludes with an analysis of the composers' different responses to the Nazi regime and an overview of the sociopolitical background against which they functioned. The final chapter also extends the discussion beyond the end of World War II to examine how the composers reacted to the new and fragile democracy in Germany [Publisher description] How does creativity thrive in the face of fascism? How can a highly artistic individual function professionally in so threatening a climate? The final book in a critically acclaimed trilogy that includes Different Drummers (OUP 1992) and The Twisted Muse (OUP 1997), this is a detailed study of the often interrelated careers of eight outstanding German composers who lived and worked amid the dictatorship of the Third Reich: Werner Egk, Paul Hindemith, Kurt Weill, Karl Amadeus Hartmann, Carl Orff, Hans Pfitzner, Arnold Schoenberg, and Richard Strauss. Noted historian Michael H. Kater weighs issues of accommodation and resistance to ask whether these artists corrupted themselves in the service of a criminal regime -- and if so, whether this is evident in their music. He also considers the degrees to which the Nazis poetically, socially, economically, and aesthetically succeeded in their treatment of these individuals, whose lives and compositions represent diverse responses to totalitarianism. Contents......Page 10 Abbreviations......Page 12 1. WERNER EGK: The Enigmatic Opportunist......Page 18 2. PAUL HINDMITH: The Reluctant Emigré......Page 46 3. KURT WEILL: A Survivor on Two Continents......Page 72 4. KARL AMADEUS HARTMANN: The Composer as Dissident......Page 101 5. CARL ORFF: Man of Legend......Page 126 6. HANS PFITZNER: Magister Teutonicus Miser......Page 159 7. ARNOLD SCHOENBERG: Musician of Contrasts......Page 198 8. RICHARD STRAUSS: Jupiter Compromised......Page 226 CONCLUSION: Composers in the Postwar Era Until the 1960s......Page 279 Notes......Page 300 B......Page 394 D......Page 396 E......Page 397 G......Page 398 H......Page 399 J......Page 401 K......Page 402 M......Page 403 N......Page 404 O......Page 405 P......Page 406 R......Page 407 S......Page 408 T......Page 411 W......Page 412 Z......Page 414 "How does creativity thrive in the face of fascism? How can a highly artistic individual function professionally in so threatening a climate?" "Here, historian Michael H. Kater provides a detailed study of the often interrelated careers of eight prominent German composers who lived and worked amid the dictatorship of the Third Reich, or were driven into exile by it.". "Kater weighs issues of accommodation and resistance to ask whether these artists corrupted themselves in the service of a criminal regime - and if so, whether this may be discerned from their music."--BOOK JACKET. Werner Egk : the enigmatic opportunist Paul Hindemith : the reluctant emigré Kurt Weill : a survivor on two continents Karl Amadeus Hartmann : the composer as dissident Carl Orff : man of legend Hans Pfitzner : Magister Teutonicus Miser Arnold Schoenberg : musician of contrasts Richard Strauss : Jupiter compromised. Werner Joseph Mayer was born in 1901 in the Swabian village of Auchsesheim, not far from Augsburg, the son of a Catholic and very musical primary-school teacher of solid peasant stock.