Jazz and the Germans. Essays on the Influence of Hot American Idioms on 20th-Century German Music

Many commentators have observed that the influence of jazz and related popular musics on musical practice beyond American borders should be considered one of the most dynamic developments of the twentieth century. This collection of essays concentrates on American influences in Germany, where such unlikely foreign elements enjoyed a remarkable vogue for much of the past century, not only in the realm of popular culture but in the realm of the arts as well. Against the tumultuous social and political upheavals of modern Germany there evolved a fascinating musical sound track that introduced German musicians and their public to ragtime, spirituals, the blues, later dance music, and jazz with resulting opportunities for imitation and assimilation. In this volume American scholars writing from various academic perspectives are joined by German musician-scholars for an informative overview of this interesting subject.

CONTENIDO:

Michael J. Budds, The New World Enriches the Old

Alan Lareau, Jonny's Jazz: From Kabarett to Krenek

E. Douglas Bomberger, European Perceptions of Ragtime: Hindemith and Stravinsky

Dane Heuchemer, American Popular Music in Hindemith's Royal Palace and Krenek's Jonny spielt auf: The Influences and Usage

Kathryn Smith Bowers, East Meets West: Contributions of Mtys Seiber to Jazz in Germany

Joachim Lucchesi, Hanns Eisler: Jazz as a Weapon

David Snowball, Controlling Degenerate Music: Jazz in the Third Reich

Carlo Bohländer, The Evolution of Jazz Culture in Frankfurt: A Memoir

Heinz Werner Zimmerman,: The Influence of American Music on a German Composer