Music in the Weimar Republic and Third Reich

Department of Music, School of Languages, Cultures, Art History and Music

College of Arts and Law

Details

Code 23585

Level of study Third/Final year

Credit value 20

Semester This module will not run in 2012/13. In other years it may run in Sem 1, Sem 2, both or neither.

Module description

This course will comprise a survey of music in one of the most traumatic and fascinating periods in German history. The works and status of several composers will be considered, and may include Weill, Eisler, Hindemith, Strauss, Berg, Pfitzner, Schoenberg, Krenek, and Orff. The Berlin cabaret and operetta scene, including the music of Friedrich Hollaender, Emmerich Kalman and Ralph Benatsky will also be considered, as will the general cultural and political milieu of the Weimar Republic. Consideration will also be given to the status of Jewish composers, both living and dead, the status of professional musicians and composers during the Third Reich, and the use made by the Nazis of the writings and compositions of Richard Wagner as an ideological platform.