Dreams of Germany

For many centuries, Germany has enjoyed a reputation as the ‘land of music’. But just how was this reputation established and transformed over time, and to what extent was it produced within or outside of Germany? Through case studies that range from Bruckner to the Beatles and from symphonies to dance-club music, this volume looks at how German musicians and their audiences responded to the most significant developments of the twentieth century, including mass media, technological advances, fascism, and war on an unprecedented scale.

Neil Gregor is Professor of Modern European History at the University of Southampton. His past books include Daimler-Benz in the Third Reich (winner of the 1998 Fraenkel Prize for History), Haunted City: Nuremberg and the Nazi Past (winner of the 2008 Fraenkel Prize for History), and How to Read Hitler (new edition, 2014).

Thomas Irvine is Associate Professor of Music at the University of Southampton. He has published widely in leading musicology journals in English and German. His book Listening to China: Sound and the Sino-Western Encounter, 1770-1839 is published by University of Chicago Press.

“Gregor and Irvine have assembled a collection that ably reflects new directions in research on music and its ties to notions of Germanness that have emerged over the past twenty-odd years. Especially welcome is the collective attention to notions of musical practice and experience as well as the authors’ catholic approach to music’s very definition. Well-written, informative, and frequently suggestive of themes that warrant further attention, the essays are sure to attract a broad, multidisciplinary readership.” • Journal of Modern History

“This collection achieves the aims as formulated in the introduction. Especially the articles on affective practices as well the inherent tensions between the regional and the national are very convincing.” • Francia

“[This volume] is a terrific contribution to scholarship examining the relationship between music and German national identity in the twentieth century…[It] offers a strong blueprint for those wishing to conduct research on music’s complicated role in German history. The authors convincingly demonstrate the topic’s elasticity, flexibility and breadth while also covering new ground. The book will also be an accessible and thoroughly enjoyable read for historians wishing to acquaint themselves with the field and assign new material in their courses.” • German History

“A wonderful anthology that connects the European classical tradition with popular music in fascinating ways. It is a pleasure to read.” • Ulrich Adelt, University of Wyoming