Classical Music, Propaganda, and the American Cultural Agenda in West Berlin (1945–1949)
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Music among the Ruins: Classical Music, Propaganda, and the American Cultural Agenda in West Berlin (1945–1949) by Abby E. Anderton A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Music: Musicology) in the University of Michigan 2012 Doctoral Committee: Professor Jane Fair Fulcher, Chair Professor Steven M. Whiting Associate Professor Charles H. Garrett Associate Professor Silke-Maria Weineck To my family ii Acknowledgements While writing this dissertation, I have been so fortunate to have the encouragement of many teachers, friends, and relatives, whose support has been instrumental in this process. My first thanks must go to my wonderful advisor, Dr. Jane Fulcher, and to my committee members, Dr. Charles Garrett, Dean Steven Whiting, and Dr. Silke-Maria Weineck, for their engaging and helpful feedback. Your comments and suggestions were the lifeblood of this dissertation, and I am so grateful for your help. To the life-long friends I made while at Michigan, thank you for making my time in Ann Arbor so enriching, both academically and personally. A thank you to Dennis and to my family, whose constant encouragement has been invaluable. Lastly, I would like to thank my mom and dad, who always encouraged my love of music, even if it meant sitting through eleven community theater productions of The Wizard of Oz. I am more grateful for your help than I could ever express, so I will simply say, “thank you.” iii Table of Contents Dedication ........................................................................................................................ ii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................ iii List of Figures ................................................................................................................. vi List of Tables ................................................................................................................ viii List of Musical Examples .............................................................................................. ix List of Appendices ........................................................................................................... x Abstract ........................................................................................................................... xi Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter I The American Military and Classical Music Culture in Berlin (1945–47) ........................................................... 16 Chapter II The Germans as a Kulturvolk?: The Visiting Artists Program and German Musical Reorientation (1947-49) ................ 56 Chapter III From Horst Wessel Lied to Stars and Stripes Forever: The Berlin Philharmonic and the American Military Government ................................ 98 Chapter IV The Ruin as an Artistic Catalyst in the Compositions of Boris Blacher, Karl Amadeus Hartmann, and Richard Strauss .................................... 150 Chapter V Radio in the American Sector and Re-educational Musical Programming ......................................................................... 212 iv Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 239 Appendices ................................................................................................................... 246 Bibliography ................................................................................................................ 256 v List of Figures Figure 1.1 Die Bekanntmachung (Announcement) .................................................................... 26 1.2 Berlin, 1 September 1945 ......................................................................................... 32 1.3 Beethoven’s Fidelio, Deutsche Oper, September 1945 ............................................ 38 2.1 “Five O’Clock Gentlemen” ....................................................................................... 65 2.2 Travers’s Concert Program Cover, Munich .............................................................. 81 2.3 John Bitter, Ralph Kirkpatrick, and H.H. Stuckenschmidt ....................................... 83 2.4 The Kulturbund’s Tenth Evening of Contemporary Music ...................................... 92 3.1 Die alte Philharmonie, 1944 ..................................................................................... 98 3.2 Berlin Philharmonic Program, 1943 ....................................................................... 105 3.3 First Postwar Program, Berlin Philharmonic, 1943 ................................................ 111 3.4 Sergiu Celibidache and the Berlin Philharmonic, 4 December 1945 ..................... 121 3.5 John Bitter’s First Philharmonic Concert, 10 December 1945 ............................... 126 3.6 John Bitter Conducts the Berlin Philharmonic, 1949 ............................................. 129 3.7 Klemperer Rehearses with the Berlin Philharmonic ............................................... 147 3.8 Klemperer’s Return Program, 3 May 1948............................................................. 148 vi 4.1 Karl Hofer, Ruinennacht (1947) ............................................................................. 156 4.2: Celibidache and the Berlin Philharmonic (1950) .................................................. 159 4.3 Die letzten Tage von Berlin..................................................................................... 164 4.4 Dachau Prisoners during their Evacuation March, April 1945 ............................... 178 4.5 Strauss entertains American Soldiers...................................................................... 203 vii List of Tables Table 1.1 Berlin’s Theaters and Concert Venues (1945-55) .................................................... 33 2.1 Menuhin’s Concert Schedule .................................................................................... 63 3.1 Berlin Philharmonic Postwar Concerts ................................................................... 139 4.1 Blacher, Ornamente Nr. 1 ....................................................................................... 169 4.2 Blacher, Ornamente Nr. 6 ....................................................................................... 173 viii List of Musical Examples Musical Example 4.1 Blacher, Ornamente op. 37, Nr. 1, mm. 1-10 ......................................................... 167 4.2 Blacher, Ornamente op. 37, Nr. 6, mm. 1–30 ......................................................... 172 4.3 Hartmann, Sonate 27. April 1945, I. Bewegt, mm. 1-15 ......................................... 182 4.4 Hartmann, Sonate 27. April 1945, II. Scherzo, mm. 97-112 ................................... 184 4.5 Chopin, Sonata no. 2 op. 35, mm. 1-10 .................................................................. 186 4.6 Hartmann, Sonate 27. April 1945, III. Marcia funebre, mm. 1-6 ........................... 186 4.7 Hartmann, Sonate 27. April 1945, IV, Allegro furioso, mm. 77-81 ....................... 188 ix List of Appendices Appendix A National Archive and Records Administration (NARA II) Musica Viva Program .................................................................................................... 246 Appendix B John Bitter, Private Collection, University of Miami John Bitter Program ...................................................................................................... 247 Appendix C Berlin Philharmonic Archive, Program and Photographs ............................................................................................. 250 x Abstract With Germany’s unconditional surrender on May 8, 1945, the Office of Military Government, United States (OMGUS) prepared to implement the most ambitious cultural re-education program it had ever undertaken. An examination of classical music culture in West Berlin reveals how the American Military Government used classical music as a tool for re-education and re-orientation. Between the years 1945 and 1949, the American agenda evolved from combating Nazism to containing Communism, as alterations in music control policies reflected the incipient Cold War. An analysis of concert repertoires, interviews, musical scores, photographs, program notes, radio broadcasts, and governmental correspondence, exposes how American authorities altered the performance context of German classical music The early postwar experience of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, under American cultural officer John Bitter’s guidance, exemplifies the irony of encouraging greater artistic freedom through increased censorship and control, providing an illuminating case study with regard to American cultural re-education efforts. As the primary ensemble residing in the American sector, the Philharmonic would be complicit in its own symbolic domination, to borrow Pierre Bourdieu’s term, by acquiescing to certain American Military Government requirements in order to resume concertizing, such as performing for American troops and agreeing to certain alterations in personnel. xi By the end of 1947, as tensions increased between American and Soviet forces, Berlin’s cultural life became a new battleground as each occupier vied for the support of German artists and audiences. The evolving role of American occupying forces within Berlin’s