Language:
German
Year of publication:
1999
Titel der Quelle:
Mendelssohn Studien
Angaben zur Quelle:
11 (1999) 177-205
Keywords:
Wagner, Richard,
;
Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Felix,
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945), in music
Abstract:
In November 1936 the Mendelssohn monument in Leipzig was torn down, by order of Mayor Rudolf Haake, against the will of Head Mayor Carl Goerdeler (who was absent from the city at the time) and to the dismay of many citizens. The performance of Mendelssohn's music was not prohibited by law in Nazi Germany but was strongly discouraged as incompatible with Nazi racial ideology. Nevertheless, favorite pieces were occasionally performed as late as 1939. The songs were beloved by nationalistic choral societies: they seemed so deeply German, and were so integral a part of the repertoire, that it was hard to do without them. A special problem was the music to "A Midsummer Night's Dream"; the party cultural organization commissioned alternative compositions, but these never satisfied. Mentions performances by the Jüdischer Kulturbund and in the concentration camps.
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