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Macphee Review Critical Voices: The University of Guelph Book Review Project Vol 7, no. 1 (2021) Rubble Music: Occupying the Ruins of Postwar Berlin, 1945–1950, by Abby Anderton. Indiana: Indiana University Press, July 2019. [v, 194, ISBN 9780253042422, 70$.] Music examples, illustrations, bibliography, index. Dawson MacPhee Undergraduate Student (Second Year) Bachelor of Computer Science (Minor: Music) University of Guelph, Canada Ever since the fall of the Third Reich in 1945, discussion surrounding the reality of Germans’ quality of life during and after Hitler’s reign has been avoided and labeled taboo by many scholars. Traversing the waters of the blame, guilt, anger, and suffering experienced by this country’s people is a difficult topic to explore. Abby Anderton’s Rubble Music: Occupying the Ruins of Postwar Berlin, 1945–1950 shows post war German society from a perspective rarely considered: a musical one. In 194 pages and 5 chapters, Anderton explores the creation of music following urban disasters in a way that showcases captivating narratives about allied-occupied Germany. She argues that there are “audible tensions and resonances between German and Jewish suffering.”1 The book contains in-depth historical information about the rebuilding of a culture that had long depended on music for public entertainment and expression. The historical analysis allows Anderton to take a close look at the idea of rubble as both a physical and 1 Abby Anderton, Rubble Music: Occupying the Ruins of Postwar Berlin, 1945-1950 (Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2019), 13. ________________________________________________________________________________ Critical Voices: The University of Guelph Book Review Project is part of the curriculum at the School of Fine Art and Music, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. 8 Critical Voices: The University of Guelph Book Review Project Vol 7, no. 1 (2021) psychological influence on music played and produced during the time period in question. Anderton investigates the orchestras, operas, and radio stations of Berlin, as well as the tricky denazification processes of all involved in these operations. The fall of Hitler’s government led to the division of Germany into different political sectors; the differences between these sectors influenced culture in such varied ways that Anderton is required to cover a large amount of territory. The war reduced both German buildings and its culture to rubble—forcing the entire country to live with defeat and remain forbidden (rightly or wrongly) from expressing their hardships. That said, Rubble Music chooses not to place judgement on the ethics of the situation, instead it analyzes the musical climate of this defeated country and in doing so answers questions about musical trends that emerged out of destruction. Chapter one of Rubble Music, entitled “Berlin Soundscapes of Defeat and Occupation,” focuses on the occupiers of Germany after the war. Anderton opens the book by establishing a historical baseline that includes information on the division of Berlin, the implementation of new music policies, and the denazification processes of each occupier. The book begins with a brief section about the transition of power from the Third Reich to allied occupation—focusing on how the music scene in Berlin never ceased operation and continued to perform concerts even during the city’s surrender. The follow section of the chapter splits off into subsections providing detailed accounts of the daily operations of each occupier and their sector of Berlin. Anderton portrays the Russian sector as the more brutal and careless of all the occupiers, a view shared by many observer recollections and diaries written during this time period.2 After gaining control over parts of Germany, the Soviets raped tens of thousands of women across the country while also rounding up many of the able- bodied men and conscripting them into work camps in Russia. The Soviet denazification process was very lenient and “did not bar musicians who had been former [Nazi] party members… believing these artists should be integrated into the city’s socialist fabric.”3 On the other hand, Anderton portrays the American sector as the strictest. American policies focused on “promot[ing] democracy in postwar Germany through strict regulation of all forms of mass media.”4 These goals led to many composers and musicians being banned from performing in the American sector and forced to find work in a different one. The British sector experienced many difficulties establishing 2 A Woman in Berlin: Eight Weeks in the Conquered City (London: Picador, 2017). 3 Abby Anderton, Rubble Music: Occupying the Ruins of Postwar Berlin, 1945-1950 (Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2019), 33. 4 Ibid., 36. ________________________________________________________________________________ Critical Voices: The University of Guelph Book Review Project is part of the curriculum at the School of Fine Art and Music, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. 9 Critical Voices: The University of Guelph Book Review Project Vol 7, no. 1 (2021) policies, with the governing officials stating that Germans were “unequalled in music.”5 Finally, the French sector focused on infusing French musical traditions into Germany’s music culture.6 The final section of this lengthy chapter examines attempts made to standardize the denazification process across all sectors. The quadripartite denazification of music lends itself to the comparison of each sector, highlighting the widening divisions between them. Anderton’s work clearly shows that allies outright refused to agree on anything when it came to culture. Chapter two of Rubble Music, entitled “Occupied Music,” focuses on the rubble music performed by Berlin’s orchestral companies. This intriguing chapter features historical recollections and narratives about the lives of orchestral musicians in Berlin during allied occupation. This is the chapter where the book begins to dive into a detailed look at “rubble music.” In the very first sentence of the chapter, Anderton introduces Leo Borchard, a German conductor who grew up in Russia. “Borchard was uniquely qualified to play a leading role in the city’s reconstruction” and serves as an important figure in this section.7 After befriending a high-ranking Russian Commander, Borchard is appointed as the general music director of the Berlin Philharmonic. Only 5 days after Germany’s surrender, Borchard rounded up all the musicians he could find— only 40 of the ensemble’s original 110 remained—and immediately began rehearsals. With their original theatre bombed to rubble, they performed their first postwar concert in a movie theatre. This concert purposefully included works banned by the Nazi Regime, such as pieces by Felix Mendelsohn and other Jewish composers.8 Unfortunately for the Russians, when the other allies arrived and began drawing out sectors, the United States seized operating control of the orchestra. Anderton points out that Borchard, however, continued as the ensemble’s musical director until August 1945. Around the middle of the chapter, Anderton informs us that Borchard was killed in an accidental shooting, which left the orchestra in the temporary hands of conductor Rudolph Dunbar. This situation became problematic because of Dunbar’s dark complexion, and eventually a Romanian composer by the name of Sergiu Celibidache was appointed. After about a year had passed, the original conductor of the ensemble, Wilhelm Furtwangler, requested to return to his post. He was promptly denied by the 5 William Henry Beveridge, An Urgent Message from Germany (London: The Pilot Press, 1946), 21. 6 Roger Gilmore, France’s Postwar Policies and Activities in Germany, 1945-1956 (PhD diss., University of Geneva, 1971). 7 Abby Anderton, Rubble Music: Occupying the Ruins of Postwar Berlin, 1945-1950 (Indiana: Indiana University Press, 2019), 64. 8 Berlin Philharmonic Programs, May 26, 1945, and March 11, 1935, Berlin Philharmonic Archive. ________________________________________________________________________________ Critical Voices: The University of Guelph Book Review Project is part of the curriculum at the School of Fine Art and Music, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. 10 Critical Voices: The University of Guelph Book Review Project Vol 7, no. 1 (2021) American denazification process. For years, Furtwangler petitioned the courts for his job, eventually gaining permission to conduct some concerts, but he was only allowed to regain his position two years before his death. Anderton wraps up this informative chapter by discussing the events which led to the severing of Eastern and Western Germany as well as how the musicians became torn apart between the separate districts. Chapter three of Rubble Music, entitled “Rubble Opera After 1945,” focuses on rubble music performed by Berlin’s different opera companies. Anderton formats this chapter in a manner similar to the last one, only changing the genre discussed. When it comes to the opera houses of Berlin, there were two main companies: the Russian sector’s Staatsoper and the British sector’s Stadtische Oper. The chapter opens with a discussion on the chaotic state of the opera houses following the Berlin bombings. With many cast, crew, and executive members killed, imprisoned, or labeled as Nazi Sympathizers, there would be a long road to reconstruction and reopening. Furthermore, the physical nature of Opera Houses, more so than orchestral venues, has a significant impact on a performance—performing an opera typically
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