Claiming Beethoven: Recent Episodes
Prof. Dr. Michael Custodis and his team at the University of Münster
We portrait a group of international musicologists and historians examining aspects of propaganda, collaboration, resistance, persecution and exile.
In the concluding episode of the first season of "Claiming Beethoven," our host, Michael Custodis, delves into the thought-provoking theme of "Consequences of Beethoven Ideologies for Our Own Times." Through engaging conversations with the esteemed scholars we have hosted this season, we explore the profound impact of Beethoven's ideologies and their relevance in our contemporary world. Examining various perspectives and insights, we unravel how Beethoven's music and legacy have shaped cultural, social, and political landscapes throughout history. Join us as we reflect on the enduring influence of Beethoven and uncover the ways in which his ideas continue to resonate and inspire us today.
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In this compelling episode of "Claiming Beethoven," we delve into the profound impact of the Second World War on Beethoven's enduring legacy. Join us as we embark on a thought-provoking exploration of this historical period and its profound implications for the composer's music.
During the war, Beethoven's compositions acquired new dimensions and meanings, resonating deeply with individuals in a time of great upheaval. We uncover how the war influenced the perception, interpretation, and reception of his works, revealing how they became a source of solace, inspiration, and unity for people amidst the chaos and uncertainty of the era.
Throughout this episode, we shed light on the challenges faced by musicians and artists, who navigated censorship, artistic suppression, and political pressures. Despite these obstacles, Beethoven's music persevered, transcending the boundaries of war and continuing to captivate audiences with its timeless beauty.
Drawing on historical context and insightful analysis, we uncover the resilience and enduring power of Beethoven's compositions during this tumultuous chapter. Join us as we unveil the untold stories and explore the remarkable ways Beethoven's music became a beacon of hope, resilience, and a testament to the human spirit amidst one of the darkest periods in history.
This episode of "Claiming Beethoven" invites you to reflect, appreciate, and be inspired by the profound impact of music in the face of adversity. Prepare to immerse yourself in a compelling exploration of Beethoven's history, artistry, and enduring legacy as we unravel the profound significance of his music during the Second World War.
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In the season finale's second episode titled "Why Beethoven? Cultural Heritage as a Field of Rivalry before 1940", we take a panoramic view of Beethoven's cultural significance by featuring the voices of our guests from previous episodes. These experts in musicology, history, and cultural studies provide diverse perspectives on the interpretations, readings, and exploitations of Beethoven's compositions. We delve into the ways in which Beethoven's music has shaped cultural and national identities, while examining the debates and controversies surrounding its political meanings. Join us as we unravel the complex tapestry of Beethoven's legacy and its profound impact across historical and social contexts.
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Welcome to a new episode of "Claiming Beethoven," where we bring our first season to a close with a series of insightful summaries. Throughout this remarkable journey, we had the pleasure of hosting 12 episodes with distinguished musicologists and historians representing diverse topics, countries, and approaches. Drawing upon this wealth of knowledge, we have curated four distinct episodes for our season finale.
In this episode, we revisit the fundamental premise of our research project, offering a renewed explanation of the general idea. Through the exploration of exceptional cases, we aim to illustrate the profound impact and far-reaching influence of our main tasks. By examining these extraordinary instances, we shed light on the significance and far-reaching implications of our endeavours.
Subsequently, we embark on a three-part exploration, with each episode representing a major chapter within our project. The first of these episodes delves into the realm of cultural heritage as a field of rivalry before 1940. Through meticulous analysis, we uncover the complexities and nuances of this fascinating domain.
Continuing our intellectual journey, the subsequent episode delves into the core essence of our project—the very nucleus that defines our research. Focusing on the period spanning 1940 to 1945, we examine the profound role of music amidst the tumultuous backdrop of multiple fronts. By unravelling its multifaceted dimensions, we gain profound insights into the power and resilience of music during challenging times.
As we approach the culmination of our inaugural season, our final episode takes us on a poignant exploration of learning from history. Guided by a rich tapestry of past experiences, we reflect on the invaluable lessons and wisdom that history imparts. By studying the past, we endeavour to forge a brighter future.
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Born in Munich in 1966, Friedrich Geiger studied music, historical and systematic musicology and Latin philology in Munich and Hamburg. In 1997 he received his doctorate on the dramatic and oratorical works of the Russian-German composer Vladimir Vogel. From 1997 to 2002 he headed the research and information center for outlawed music (“Forschungs- und Informationszentrum für verfemte Musik”), a joint institution of the Dresden Center for Contemporary Music and the TU Dresden. In 2003 he completed his Habilitation at the University of Hamburg with the study Musik in zwei Diktaturen. Verfolgung von Komponisten unter Hitler und Stalin. In the same year, he became a research associate at the FU Berlin in the DFG Collaborative Research Center 626 Ästhetische Erfahrung im Zeichen der Entgrenzung der Künste. Since 2000 he has taught as lecturer at various universities. From the summer semester of 2007 he was professor for historical musicology at the University of Hamburg. In the summer semester of 2020, he accepted a call from the Munich University of Music and Performing Arts to take up the chair in historical musicology. In the summer of 2020 he was elected a full member of the Academia Europaea.
Friedrich Geiger’s main fields of research cover the history of music from the 18th century to the present, as well as music and music aesthetics of Greco-Roman antiquity and their reception. Other topics concern comparative research on music in dictatorships and in exile, the historiography of popular music, the geography of music history and musical judgement.
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Born in Munich in 1966, Friedrich Geiger studied music, historical and systematic musicology and Latin philology in Munich and Hamburg. In 1997 he received his doctorate on the dramatic and oratorical works of the Russian-German composer Vladimir Vogel. From 1997 to 2002 he headed the research and information center for outlawed music (“Forschungs- und Informationszentrum für verfemte Musik”), a joint institution of the Dresden Center for Contemporary Music and the TU Dresden. In 2003 he completed his Habilitation at the University of Hamburg with the study Musik in zwei Diktaturen. Verfolgung von Komponisten unter Hitler und Stalin. In the same year, he became a research associate at the FU Berlin in the DFG Collaborative Research Center 626 Ästhetische Erfahrung im Zeichen der Entgrenzung der Künste. Since 2000 he has taught as lecturer at various universities. From the summer semester of 2007 he was professor for historical musicology at the University of Hamburg. In the summer semester of 2020, he accepted a call from the Munich University of Music and Performing Arts to take up the chair in historical musicology. In the summer of 2020 he was elected a full member of the Academia Europaea.
Friedrich Geiger’s main fields of research cover the history of music from the 18th century to the present, as well as music and music aesthetics of Greco-Roman antiquity and their reception. Other topics concern comparative research on music in dictatorships and in exile, the historiography of popular music, the geography of music history and musical judgement.
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Alexandros Charkiolakis studied music at the Hellenic Conservatoire and at the University of Sheffield, as well as Philosophy and Management at the University of Athens. He has worked as a musicologist and coordinator for educational projects at the Music Library of Greece “Lilian Voudouri” of the Friends of Music Society. In 2013, he became Head of the “Erol Üçer” Music Library and adjunct Lecturer in Historical Musicology at MIAM (Center for Advanced Studies in Music) of the Istanbul Technical University. In May 2017, he returned to Athens to take up the position of Director of the Friends of Music Society. He has edited and authored several books, and he has co-authored the book “Interspersed with musical entertainment”: Music in Greek salons of the 19th century with Avra Xepapadakou. He is the President of the Board of the Greek IAML Branch, and he serves as a member of the Boards of the ETOS-State Orchestra of Athens and at the Mikis Theodorakis Museum in Zatouna. Also, he is a member of the sectorial scientific council for Tourism, Culture and Creative Industries of the National Council for Research, Technology, and Innovation (ESETEK). His research interests vary between historical musicology, music information resources and retrieval, music, and digital culture.
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Alexandros Charkiolakis studied music at the Hellenic Conservatoire and at the University of Sheffield, as well as Philosophy and Management at the University of Athens. He has worked as a musicologist and coordinator for educational projects at the Music Library of Greece “Lilian Voudouri” of the Friends of Music Society. In 2013, he became Head of the “Erol Üçer” Music Library and adjunct Lecturer in Historical Musicology at MIAM (Center for Advanced Studies in Music) of the Istanbul Technical University. In May 2017, he returned to Athens to take up the position of Director of the Friends of Music Society. He has edited and authored several books, and he has co-authored the book “Interspersed with musical entertainment”: Music in Greek salons of the 19th century with Avra Xepapadakou. He is the President of the Board of the Greek IAML Branch, and he serves as a member of the Boards of the ETOS-State Orchestra of Athens and at the Mikis Theodorakis Museum in Zatouna. Also, he is a member of the sectorial scientific council for Tourism, Culture and Creative Industries of the National Council for Research, Technology, and Innovation (ESETEK). His research interests vary between historical musicology, music information resources and retrieval, music, and digital culture.
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Beate Angelika Kraus studied musicology and romantic philology at the universities of Hamburg and Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV), and was a scholarship holder of the "Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes". In 1998, she received her doctorate with a dissertation on the reception of Beethoven's music in France titled "Beethoven-Rezeption in Frankreich: Von ihren Anfängen bis zum Untergang des Second Empire".
Since then, she has been a researcher at the Beethoven-Haus Bonn while also teaching. She was the editor of the Ninth Symphony opus 125 within the Beethoven-Gesamtausgabe (Munich 2020). She has also published several works on Elly Ney, such as "Exilmusik auf Frankreichs Bühnen? Musiktheater in Paris von 1933 bis 1944", as well as on Kurt Singer, Beethoven und Fidelio.
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Beate Angelika Kraus studied musicology and romantic philology at the universities of Hamburg and Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV), and was a scholarship holder of the "Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes". In 1998, she received her doctorate with a dissertation on the reception of Beethoven's music in France titled "Beethoven-Rezeption in Frankreich: Von ihren Anfängen bis zum Untergang des Second Empire".
Since then, she has been a researcher at the Beethoven-Haus Bonn while also teaching. She was the editor of the Ninth Symphony opus 125 within the Beethoven-Gesamtausgabe (Munich 2020). She has also published several works on Elly Ney, such as "Exilmusik auf Frankreichs Bühnen? Musiktheater in Paris von 1933 bis 1944", as well as on Kurt Singer, Beethoven und Fidelio.
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Christine Siegert earned her doctorate at the University of Music and Drama Hanover with a dissertation on Luigi Cherubini. Afterwards, she worked as a research associate on editorial projects and at the Joseph Haydn-Institut Köln. 2010-2015, she was junior professor at the University of the Arts Berlin, as of 2013 Principal Investigator of the project A Cosmopolitan Composer in Pre-Revolutionary Europe: Giuseppe Sarti (financed by the Einstein Foundation, in cooperation with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem). 2013-2017, she was spokeswoman of the commission on studies abroad of the Gesellschaft für Musikforschung. Since 2015, she is the head of the research department “Beethoven-Archiv” at the Beethoven-Haus Bonn. As PI or Co-I, she is leading the research projects Beethoven-Perspektiven (BKM), Beethoven in the House (DFG, in cooperation with colleagues in Oxford, Bern and Detmold/Paderborn), and Das Handwerk des Verlegers. Untersuchungen zu Entstehungsprozessen von Beethoven-Originalausgaben (Fritz Thyssen Stiftung). In August 2022, she was elected member of the Directorium of the International Musicological Society.
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Christine Siegert earned her doctorate at the University of Music and Drama Hanover with a dissertation on Luigi Cherubini. Afterwards, she worked as a research associate on editorial projects and at the Joseph Haydn-Institut Köln. 2010-2015, she was junior professor at the University of the Arts Berlin, as of 2013 Principal Investigator of the project A Cosmopolitan Composer in Pre-Revolutionary Europe: Giuseppe Sarti (financed by the Einstein Foundation, in cooperation with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem). 2013-2017, she was spokeswoman of the commission on studies abroad of the Gesellschaft für Musikforschung. Since 2015, she is the head of the research department “Beethoven-Archiv” at the Beethoven-Haus Bonn. As PI or Co-I, she is leading the research projects Beethoven-Perspektiven (BKM), Beethoven in the House (DFG, in cooperation with colleagues in Oxford, Bern and Detmold/Paderborn), and Das Handwerk des Verlegers. Untersuchungen zu Entstehungsprozessen von Beethoven-Originalausgaben (Fritz Thyssen Stiftung). In August 2022, she was elected member of the Directorium of the International Musicological Society.
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Born in 1958 in Riga, Lolita Fūrmane studied musicology at the Latvian State Conservatory in Riga (1977-1982) and the University in Uppsala (scholarship of the Swedish Institute, 1993/1994). Promotion in 1995 with doctoral thesis concerning the historical and theoretical aspects of musical education in Latvia in 19th century. Since 2005 Professor of Music History at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, 2001-2007 Head of the Department of Historical Musicology. DAAD and Māra Dole (USA) scholarships for source studies in Florence, Leipzig and Saint Petersburg.
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Born in 1958 in Riga, Lolita Fūrmane studied musicology at the Latvian State Conservatory in Riga (1977-1982) and the University in Uppsala (scholarship of the Swedish Institute, 1993/1994). Promotion in 1995 with doctoral thesis concerning the historical and theoretical aspects of musical education in Latvia in 19th century. Since 2005 Professor of Music History at the Jāzeps Vītols Latvian Academy of Music, 2001-2007 Head of the Department of Historical Musicology. DAAD and Māra Dole (USA) scholarships for source studies in Florence, Leipzig and Saint Petersburg.
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Magdalena Dziadek is professor at the institute of musicology of the jagiellonian university in Krakow and the head of its chair of music research from the 19th to the 21st centuries. She graduated from the k. Szymanowski academy of music in katowice. In 1992 she defended her doctoral dissertation on warsaw music criticism in the 19th century at the institute of art of the polish academy of sciences in warsaw. In 2004, she published her postdoctoral dissertation about polish music criticism in the young polish period (1890-1914). Currently, she is occupied with the history of polish, central European and Russian musical cultures in the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century, focusing attention on issues related to the socio-political basis of cultural changes and on cultural transfers.
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Magdalena Dziadek is professor at the institute of musicology of the jagiellonian university in Krakow and the head of its chair of music research from the 19th to the 21st centuries. She graduated from the k. Szymanowski academy of music in katowice. In 1992 she defended her doctoral dissertation on warsaw music criticism in the 19th century at the institute of art of the polish academy of sciences in warsaw. In 2004, she published her postdoctoral dissertation about polish music criticism in the young polish period (1890-1914). Currently, she is occupied with the history of polish, central European and Russian musical cultures in the nineteenth and first half of the twentieth century, focusing attention on issues related to the socio-political basis of cultural changes and on cultural transfers.
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Henrik Rosengren, Ph.D, is an associate professor in history at the Department of History at Lund University, Sweden and previously editor of the historical journal Scandia. His research topics includes anti-Semitism, biography writing, music history, music and politics and exile research. Selected writings: ,Judarnas Wagner’. Moses Pergament och den kulturella identifikationens dilemma omkring 1920–1950 (’The Jew´s Wagner’. Moses Pergament and the Dilemma of Cultural Identification, Sekel: 2007); Fünf Musiker im Schwedischen Exil. Nazismus – Kalter Krieg – Demokratie, Neumünster: 2016), “’My Wagner is not your Wagner’. The Swedish Reception of the Richard Wagner Legacy During the First Half of the Twentieth Century” in Wagner and the North (edit. by Martin Knust and Anna Kauppala, Helsinki 2021) and The Cold War Through the Lens of Music Making in the GDR (ed. together with Petra Garberding, forthcoming, Stockholm 2022).
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Henrik Rosengren, Ph.D, is an associate professor in history at the Department of History at Lund University, Sweden and previously editor of the historical journal Scandia. His research topics includes anti-Semitism, biography writing, music history, music and politics and exile research. Selected writings: ,Judarnas Wagner’. Moses Pergament och den kulturella identifikationens dilemma omkring 1920–1950 (’The Jew´s Wagner’. Moses Pergament and the Dilemma of Cultural Identification, Sekel: 2007); Fünf Musiker im Schwedischen Exil. Nazismus – Kalter Krieg – Demokratie, Neumünster: 2016), “’My Wagner is not your Wagner’. The Swedish Reception of the Richard Wagner Legacy During the First Half of the Twentieth Century” in Wagner and the North (edit. by Martin Knust and Anna Kauppala, Helsinki 2021) and The Cold War Through the Lens of Music Making in the GDR (ed. together with Petra Garberding, forthcoming, Stockholm 2022).
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Hubert Szczesniak – Cracovian musicologist. In 2020, he was awarded honourable mention in the Hieronim Feicht Competition organised by the Polish Composers' Union for his MA dissertation entitled "Musical Activity of Polish Official Institutions in Nazi-occupied Krakow (1939-1945)". Currently, he is a PhD student at City, University of London and researches musical life in General Government under the supervision of Professor Ian Pace.
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Arnulf Christian Mattes is Associated Professor (historical musicology) at the University Bergen and since 2015 leader of the Grieg Research Centre. Mattes received his PhD at the University of Oslo with a dissertation on Schoenberg’s chamber music written in American exile. Since then, he has received research grants from the Norwegian Research Council (NFR) for projects on musicians in emigration and musical modernism in Norway. Mattes’ published on Nordic music in journals such as Archiv für Musikwissenschaft and History of Humanities. Recently, he co-edited together with Michael Custodis the anthology ‘The Nordic Ingredient’ (Waxmann, 2019), and contributed with a chapter on Grieg’s centennial in 1943 to ‘The Routledge Handbook to Music under German Occupation’, ed. by David Fanning and Erik Levi (2019). Serving for many years as editor of the Norwegian Journal of Musicology, he has been appointed for the term 2022–27 as member of the new editorial team of Acta Muscicologica, the journal of the International Musicological Society.
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Tatjana Čunko graduated in Musicology and Music Journalism from the Zagreb Academy of Music in 1986, where she obtained her master’s degree (MSc) in 2004 with the thesis Instrumental Music in Croatia in the 17th Century and earned her doctoral degree in 2011 with the thesis Croatian Music and Croatian Radio (published by Croatian Radio – Third Programme in 2012). She has been an editor in the Croatian Radio Music Department of the Croatian Radiotelevision (HRT) since 1986 (from 2001 to 2004 an Editor in the Classical Music Department). Aside from her editorial and authorship work on the radio, she has published scholarly articles in numerous international journals and anthologies. She is one of the editors of the monograph Varaždin Chamber Orchestra 1994-2004 (2004), and of the Music and Historical Experience. Essays in Honour of Dr Sanja Majer- Bobetko (2022), the final editor of the monograph Varaždin Chamber Orchestra 1994-2014: Two Decades of Enthusiasm (2014) and she contributed to the monograph Eight Decades. 1930-2010. Croatian Radiotelevision Symphony Orchestra (2010). Since 2019 she has been a lecturer at the Zagreb Academy of Music, and since the summer of 2020 serves as researcher in the Division for the History of Croatian Music of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
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Esteban Buch (Buenos Aires, 1963) is a professor of music history at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris. A specialist in the relationships between music and politics in the twentieth century, he is the author of Beethoven’s Ninth. A Political History (The University of Chicago Press, 2003) and other essays on the composer, as well as of Trauermarsch. L’Orchestre de Paris dans l’Argentine de la dictature (Seuil, 2016) and Le cas Schönberg. Naissance de l’avant-garde musicale (Gallimard, 2006). He has also coedited the volumes Composing for the State: Music in Twentieth Century Dictatorships (Routledge, 2016) and Finding Democracy in Music (Routledge, 2021), and other collective works.
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Michael Fjeldsøe's research has focused on art music and applied music in the 19th and 20th centuries, esp. in Central and Eastern Europe and Denmark. Research questions are concerned with relations of music and politics, music and society, music and nationalism; in short, how music impacts society. A significant interest since my PhD (1999) on the reception of modernist art music in Denmark, 1920-1940, has been Danish musical culture in the 19th and 20th centuries. A much broader perspective on musical culture, including genres of applied music like theatre music, political music, music for revues, cabarets and education, and the role of progressive music in society, was applied in my dr.Phil. dissertation, Kulturradikalismens musik (2013). A continuous main topic is Danish music and music history, regarded as history of musical culture, with Carl Nielsen and other composers represented in a number of studies and scholarly, critical editions of musical works. Currently, I am head of a collective research project which will provide a new monography on Carl Nielsen as a European composer (to be published in 2023), funded by Carl Nielsen and Anne Marie Carl-Nielsens Legat.
Credits
- Fjeldsøe, Michael. “Kulturradikalismens Musik.” Danish Humanist Texts and Studies. Museum Tusculanums Forlag/Museum Tusculanum Press, 2013.
- Fjeldsøe, Michael, and Sanne Krogh Groth. 2020. “‘Nordicness’ in Scandinavian Music: A Complex Question.” In The Nature of Nordic Music, 3–19.
- Fjeldsøe, Michael. 2020. “Getting Away with Cultural Bolshevism: The First European Performance of Porgy and Bess in Copenhagen, 1943.” In The Routledge Handbook to Music under German Occupation, 1938–1945: Propaganda, Myth and Reality, 303–18.
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Yvonne Wasserloos studied Musicology, History, German and Scandinavian studies at the WWU Münster (1996 Magistra Artium-Degree); 2002 PhD (Dissertation Kulturgezeiten. Niels W. Gade und C.F.E. Horneman in Leipzig und Kopenhagen, supervisor Klaus Hortschansky); 2014 Habilitation (Musik und Staat. Dimensionen der Interaktion im 20. Jahrhundert) at the Folkwang University of the Arts Essen. She worked as a Lecturer and Professor for Musicology and German Cultural Studies at the Universities of Berlin, Copenhagen, Düsseldorf, Leuven, London, Lüneburg and Münster. From 2017-2022 she was Professor for Musicology and Head of the Zentrum für Verfemte Musik at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock. In October 2022 she will take over a professorship (Chair for Musicology) at the Mozarteum University Salzburg.
Her research focuses on music, society and politics, especially in regard to National Socialism and right-wing extremism, occupation and music in Denmark (1940-1945), (Northern) European cultural transfer, institutionalization of music education in the 18th and 19th centuries, Memory culture and political popular music.
Credits
- Zwischen Vereinnahmung und Affirmation. Beethoven und Wagner in der NS-Rassenideologie, in: wagnerspectrum 31 (2020), S. 105-137.
- Protestgesang und verbotener Klang. „Alsang” und „Lili Marleen” in Kopenhagen 1940-1943, in: Moderne Stadtgeschichte, Themenheft „Sounds of the Towns - Stadt und Mu-sik“, 1/2017, S. 84-99.
- „Nordische Musik“ als Faktor der Propaganda der Nordischen Gesellschaft und der DNSAP in Dänemark um 1940, in: Matthew Gardner/Hanna Walsdorf (Hg.): Musik – Politik – Identität. Internationaler Kongress der Gesellschaft für Musikforschung; 15 (Göttingen): 2012.09.04-08. Göttingen 2016, S. 45-66.
- Deutsch, nordisch oder national(sozialistisch)? Gesangspropaganda und -protest in Dä-nemark 1934–1940, in: Sabine Mecking/Yvonne Wasserloos (Hg.): Inklusion & Exklusion. ‚Deutsche‘ Musik in Europa und Nordamerika 1848-1945. Göttingen 2016, S. 229-251.
- Songs and identity in Denmark during the German occupation, in: Culture during the World War II (1939-1945). Symposiumsband des National Liberation Museum Maribor & Institute for Musicinformation Science at the Centre for Interdisciplinary & Multidiscipli-nary Research & Studies of the University of Maribor, Juni 2012. (ca. 15 S.)
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Born in Trier (Trier) in 1960, university studies in history, art history and political science at the University of Trier, degree 'Magister Artium' in 1985, PhD at the University of Trier in 1991. Scholarship holder at the German Historical Institute in Rome in 1987/1988, member of the organising committee for the centenary preparations of the German Historical Institute in 1988, curator of the exhibition catalogue on the history of the Institute. Researcher at the University of Trier 1988-1991, at the University of Cologne 1992-1999. Scholarship holder at the Historisches Kolleg Foundation in Munich in the academic year 1997/98, Feodor-Lynen scholarship holder at the Alexander-von-Humboldt Foundation (research stay at the University of Paris-IV Sorbonne) in 1998/99. Since April 1999 researcher at the German Historical Institute in Rome with responsibility for the field of Contemporary History. In 2016 qualification as a lecturer in modern and contemporary history and member of the teaching staff of the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz. Since March 2017 Deputy Director.
Awarded 'Acqui Storia' in 1994 for the book 'The German Occupation in Italy 1943-1945'. In 1994 activity as historical expert of the Koblenz Court of Appeal at the trial against W. Lehnigk-Emden for the massacre of Italian civilians in Caiazzo. Consultant to the 'Parliamentary bicameral Commission of Inquiry into the causes of the concealment of files relating to Nazi-Fascist crimes' (2004-2006) and to the 'Commission for the recovery of the bibliographic heritage of the Jewish Community of Rome, plundered in 1943' (2005-2007). Member of the Italian-German Historical Commission established by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Italian Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany from 2009 to 2012.
Credits
Klinkhammer, L. (1994). Zwischen Bündnis und Besatzung: Das nationalsozialistische Deutschland und die Republik von Salò 1943-1945. de Gruyter.
Gentile, C., (Italy), I. L., Klinkhammer, L., & Prauser, S. (2003). I nazisti: i rapporti tra Italia e Germania nelle fotografie dell’Istituto Luce. Editori Riuniti.
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Erik Levi is Visiting Professor in Music at Royal Holloway, having formerly been Professor of Music and Director of Performance there up to 2015. He studied in the Universities of Cambridge and York and at Berlin Staatliche Hochschule für Musik. An extremely versatile musician, he has interests both in the academic and practical aspects of music, having become a worldwide authority on German music of the 20th century especially during the Nazi era with the pioneering books Music in the Third Reich (1994) and Mozart and the Nazis (2010). He has also worked as a professional accompanist, appearing at the South Bank and Wigmore Hall, the Aldeburgh Festival and on over thirty BBC Recordings. A frequent broadcaster for BBC Radio 3, he also works regularly as a music journalist writing articles and CD reviews for BBC Music Magazine and International Piano. Erik Levi is also Academic Director of the International Centre for Suppressed Music at Royal Holloway, and has organised a number of Conferences on topics that include music and national identity in the 1930s, the composition class of Franz Schreker, Music and Displacement, the impact of Nazism on twentieth-century music, Hanns Eisler and England and most recently Music under German Occupation during the Second World War. The research students he has supervised have submitted PhDs on a wide range of topics including the use of Kitsch and popular culture in opera during the Weimar Republic, Paul Bekker, Alfredo Casella and Italian Fascism, the music of Matyas Seiber, the musical press in Franco’s Spain, Music during the First World War in Britain, and Alan Bush and the London Labour Choral Union.
Credits
Levi, E. (1996). Music in the third Reich (1994th ed.). Palgrave MacMillan.
Levi, E. (2017). Mozart and the Nazis: How the third Reich abused a cultural icon. Yale University Press. https://doi.org/10.12987/9780300165814
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This is Claiming Beethoven. We portrait a group of international musicologists and historians examining aspects of propaganda, collaboration, resistance, persecution and exile, to learn about the distortion of historiography and the relevance for our own present times. This podcast by Michael Custodis and his team at the University of Münster is related to the project "The Role of Beethoven and His Music in Nazi-Occupied European Countries".