Full Description
How can music withstand the death and destruction brought on by war? Global conflicts of the 20th century fundamentally transformed not only national boundaries, power relations, and global economies, but also the arts and culture of every nation involved. An important, unacknowledged aspect of these conflicts is that they have unique musical soundtracks. Music in World War II explores how music and sound took on radically different dimensions in the United States and Europe before, during, and after World War II. Additionally, the collection examines the impact of radio and film as the disseminators of the war's musical soundtrack. Contributors contend that the European and American soundtrack of World War II was largely one of escapism rather than the lofty, solemn, heroic, and celebratory mode of "war music" in the past. Furthermore, they explore the variety of experiences of populations forced from their homes and interned in civilian and POW camps in Europe and the United States, examining how music in these environments played a crucial role in maintaining ties to an idealized "home" and constructing politicized notions of national and ethnic identity. This fascinating and well-constructed volume of essays builds understanding of the role and importance of music during periods of conflict and highlights the unique aspects of music during World War II.
Contents
Dedication
Preface / Roberta Montemorra Marvin
Introduction: Music and Global War in the Short Twentieth Century / Pamela M. Potter
Part I: On the Airwaves and the Screen
1. Sandy Calling: Forging an Intimate Wartime Public at the BBC Theater Organ / Christina L. Baade
2. "Alien" Classical Musicians and the BBC, 1939 - 1945 / Tony Stoller
3. Musical "Diplomacy" in American and Soviet World War II Films of the 1940s / Peter Kupfer
Part II: Opera, Theater Stage, and Concerts
4. The Metropolitan Opera House and the "War of Ideologies": The Politics of Opera Publicity in Wartime / Christopher Lynch
5. Broadway Goes to War / Tim Carter
6. Throwing Some Light on the Dunkelkonzerte: Towards a New Image of Concert Life in Vienna, 1939-1944 / Nicholas Attfield
7. Before the End of Time: General Huntziger's Centre Musical et Théâtral / Christopher Brent Murray
Part III: National Imaginaries
8. Swing in the Protectorate: Czech Popular Music under the Nazi Occupation, 1938-1945 / Brian S. Locke
9. A Musical Reedeucation: Music-making in America's German POW Camps and the Intellectual Diversion Program / Kelsey Kramer McGinnis
10. Bunkers, Cellars, and Acoustic Memory: Sonic Experiences of War and Surrender in Nazi Germany / Abby Anderton
Afterword: Trans/national Soundscapes in World War II / Annegret Fauser
Selected Works
