Beethoven in the Bunker - Musicians Under the Nazi Regime

Informationen zum Autor Fred Brouwers is a Flemish radio and television presenter and connoisseur of classical music. For many years he has hosted the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, Belgium, for up-and-coming classical musicians. Beethoven in the Bunker is his first book to appear in English.   Eileen J. Stevens earned her MA in linguistics with a specialization in translation from the University of Amsterdam. Her translation credits include Anna Enquist’s The Homecoming and a co-translation (with Anna Asbury) of Connie Palmen’s Your Story, My Story, which was nominated for the Dublin Literary Award. She has also translated numerous essays on classical music and the arts. A graduate of the Hartt School of Music, Stevens played the violin in a Dutch orchestra for twenty-five years before turning her attention to literary translation. Klappentext This compelling survey examines the remarkable relationship between the Nazis and classical music through the stories of musicians, composers, and conductors across the political spectrum. May 1945. A Soviet military patrol searches Hitler’s secret bunker in Berlin. They find bodies, documents, jewelry, paintings—and also an extensive collection of 78 rpm records. It comes as no surprise that this collection includes work by Beethoven, Wagner, and Bruckner. The same goes for a procession of other giants promoted by the Nazi regime: “It seems as if the Nazis put a steel helmet on Mozart, girded Schubert with a saber, and wrapped barbed wire around Johann Strauss’s neck,” composer Robert Stolz once said. But how is it possible that Hitler’s favorites also included “forbidden” Jewish and Russian composers and performers?     While Hitler sat secretly enjoying previously recorded music in his bunker, musicians made of flesh and blood were denied a means of making a living. They died in concentration camps or in other war-related circumstances. They survived but ended up in psychiatric care; they managed to flee just in time; they sided with the regime—out of conviction or coercion—or they joined the resistance. From fiery conductor Arturo Toscanini, who defied Mussolini and Hitler, to opportunistic composer Richard Strauss and antisemitic pianist Elly Ney, who collaborated with the Third Reich to varying extents and for different reasons, Fred Brouwers profiles the complex figures of this extraordinarily fascinating chapter in music history. Leseprobe Introduction Music in the Bunker   In the late 1960s, including that magical year of 1968, I was a student of Germanic languages at the university in Leuven, the city where I was born. Student protests were raining down in Paris; in Leuven, there was a slight drizzle. As students, we rebelled against the blind authority imposed on us by our institution of higher learning, our parents, and the political establishment. Power for power’s sake was thrown overboard and multiple political leanings were welcomed. This extended to the realm of my greatest passion, music. Various musical streams were mixed together. While marching in the streets, we sang “We Shall Overcome.” Deep Purple played their Concerto for Group and Orchestra with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Malcolm Arnold. I still get goosebumps thinking about Jon Lord’s entrance on the organ! Classical composers like Cornelius Cardew and Frederic Rzewski wrote politically charged works. We embraced protest songs by Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, and Bob Dylan. Their European counterparts inspired us too, including Wolf Biermann in East Germany; Ewan McColl and Leon Rosselson in the United Kingdom; Boris Vian, Jean Ferrat, Georges Brassens in France; and our own Belgian Jacques Brel, who took aim at the bourgeoisie. We were familiar with bootleg tapes by the dissident Vladimir Vysotsky, which circulated clandestinely in the Soviet Uni...

Dettagli sul prodotto

• Autori: Fred Brouwers, Eileen J. Stevens
• Con la collaborazione di: Eileen J. Stevens (Traduzione)
• Editore: Other press
• Lingue: Inglese
• Formato: Copertina rigida
• Pubblicazione: 11.04.2023
• EAN: 9781635423297
• ISBN: 978-1-63542-329-7
• Pagine: 272
• Dimensioni: 140 mm x 210 mm x 17 mm
• Categoria: Scienze umane, arte, musica > Musica