''Die Musik'' was a German music
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
established in 1901 by Bernhard Schuster (1870–1934). It was published semimonthly by Schuster & Loeffler from Berlin and Leipzig. Schuster was its
editor-in-chief
An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies.
The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...
from inception until July 1933, when the publication was taken over by the
Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
. The final publication, under the name ''Die Musik,'' was February 1943.
History
First published on Septembere 20, 1901, ''Die Musik'' ran semimonthly through September 1915, suspended publication due to
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. In 1922, the publisher, Schuster & Loeffler, merged with the Stuttgart firm
Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt
Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...
(de); and in October 1922, ''Die Musik'' (Vol. 25, Issue 1) resumed with Schuster as editor. A leaflet attached to the June 1933 issue marked its beginning as the official music journal of the
Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right politics, far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that crea ...
.
The publication continued through 1943, changing its name in 1943 to ''Musik im Kriege'' ''(Music in War)'' and continued through 1944.
''Die Musik'' was the first German magazine to publish special issues called "Sonderhefte" — ''Wagner-Heft,'' February 1902. By 1932, ''Die Musik'' had published 120 special issues. Schuster stated that the 14 Beethoven and 15 Wagner issues equated to 8 to 10 yearbooks.
According to essayist Stephen W. Brown, ''Die Musik'' was the most successful music periodical in Germany because it targeted readership, from laypeople, to musicians, to scholars. Brown commented that ''Die Musik'' was remarkable for its variety and attention to jazz, but was silenced for political reasons in 1934. Its importance in musicology is significant, especially considering, according to Brown, that the dominant periodicals for musicology of that era were German.
History during the Third Reich
According to the thesis of book by Erik Levi — ''Mozart and the Nazis: How the Third Reich Abused a Cultural Icon'' — the
Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
embraced the artistic heritage as its domain.
Because ''Die Musik'' was the most prestigious German-language music magazine of the first half of the twentieth century, the
Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
took a special interest in requisitioned as the official bulletin of the
RJF.
In its new role, ''Die Musik'' spearheaded several Nazi initiatives, including one called "Organ des Amtes für Kunstpflege beim Beauftragten des Führers für die gesamte geistige und weltanschauliche Schulung der NSDAP", commonly known as "
Amt Rosenberg".
Editors during the Third Reich
''Die Musik,'' under the editorship of Schuster, had been relatively apolitical. The editors during the
Third Reich
Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
were Johannes Gunther (born 1901),
Friedrich W. Herzog (1902–1976), and
Herbert Gerigk
Herbert Gerigk (2 March 1905, Mannheim – 20 June 1996, Dortmund) was a German musicologist, notable for his co-authoring of the Nazi '' Lexicon of Jews in Music''.
After graduation in 1928, Herbert Gerigk published in 1932 a thesis on Giuseppe ...
. Schuster had been editor until July 1933. Gunther, of the
Reichsjugendführer
''Reichsjugendführer'' ("National Youth Leader") was the highest paramilitary rank of the Hitler Youth. On 30 October 1931, Hitler appointed Baldur von Schirach as the Reich Youth Leader of the Nazi Party. In 1933, after the Nazi seizure of st ...
, became editor in August 1933. On April 1, 1934, ''Die Musik'' became the official bulletin of the
Reichsjugendführer
''Reichsjugendführer'' ("National Youth Leader") was the highest paramilitary rank of the Hitler Youth. On 30 October 1931, Hitler appointed Baldur von Schirach as the Reich Youth Leader of the Nazi Party. In 1933, after the Nazi seizure of st ...
. Herzog, one of 88 German writers who signed the "
Gelöbnis treuester Gefolgschaft
The Gelöbnis treuester Gefolgschaft (variously translated from German to English as "vow of most faithful allegiance", "proclamation of loyalty of German writers" or "promise of most loyal obedience") was a declaration by 88 German writers and poe ...
", a pledge of allegiance to Hitler, became editor on July 1, 1934.
Gerigk, of the
Reichsjugendführer
''Reichsjugendführer'' ("National Youth Leader") was the highest paramilitary rank of the Hitler Youth. On 30 October 1931, Hitler appointed Baldur von Schirach as the Reich Youth Leader of the Nazi Party. In 1933, after the Nazi seizure of st ...
, was a chief collaborator in the Nazi music administration. Among other things, he co-authored the antisemitic ''
Lexikon der Juden in der Musik'' in 1941.
From September 1936 to June 1937, ''Die Musik'' was the official bulletin of the
Militant League for German Culture
The English word ''militant'' is both an adjective and a noun, and it is generally used to mean vigorously active, combative and/or aggressive, especially in support of a cause, as in "militant reformers". It comes from the 15th century Latin ...
. In October 1937, ''Die Musik'' became the official musical voice of the Department for Art Preservation under Reich leader
Rosenberg.
In March 1943, ''Die Musik'' merged with ''Zeitschrift für Musik,'' ''Allgemeine Musikzeitung,'' and ''Neues Musikblatt'' to form ''
Musik im Kriege'' ''
(de),'' which resumed under its new name for the April/May 1943 issue with
Gerigk as editor-in-chief.
References
Literature
* Roberge, Marc-André. "''Die Musik'' (1901-44): la transformation d’un périodique à travers trois périodes de l’histoire allemande". Ph.D. diss., University of Toronto, 1988 (xxi, 445 p.). Available o
ProQuest(subscription required).
* Roberge, Marc-André. "Le périodique ''Die Musik'' (1901-1944) et sa transformation à travers trois périodes de l’histoire allemande". ''Revue de musicologie'' (Société française de musicologie) 78, no. 1 (1992): 109-44.
* Roberge, Marc-André. "Les guerres mondiales et la dictature nazie dans les pages du périodique ''Die Musik''". I
''Music and Dictatorship in Europe and South America', ed. Roberto Illiano and Massimiliano Sala (Fondazione Locatelli, Cremona), 141-70. Speculum musicae, vol. 14. Brepols: Turnhout, 2009.
External links
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links to pdfs of ''Die Musik'' at wikisource
{{DEFAULTSORT:Musik, Die
1901 establishments in Germany
1943 establishments in Germany
Biweekly magazines published in Germany
Defunct magazines published in Germany
Music magazines published in Germany
German-language magazines
Magazines established in 1901
Magazines disestablished in 1943
Magazines published in Berlin
Musicology