Editing History

Dr. Solvik at the National Library, showing us Mahler manuscripts
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Today I had some great shopping successes. I’m realizing that my time here is coming quickly to an end and I still don’t have all the gifts and souvenirs I want! I’m well on my way after today though.

Today our history class went to the National Library and saw original manuscripts for Mahler’s Third Symphony. It was pretty neat to see how he planned out these massive orchestral works. While talking about the editing process, we came upon the subject of posthumous editing of editions and how the Nazis ethnically cleansed even the music of this era. Bruckner, who was hailed as a national musician of the Nazi movement was reworked to fit the "nationalistic" Nazi spirit. Beyond simple edits, the Nazis rewrote history. Johann Strauss was a quarter Jewish and they went back and doctored his grandparents’ marriage license so that the Viennese could safely listen to their waltzes. There was a categorical ban on Mahler, Meyerbeer, and others. Lorenzo Da Ponte, Mozart’s greatest librettist, was a Jew and therefore, a great threat to the Nazis. So they rewrote history, cleaned house in the music societies, and defeated all opposition through fear and murder. Horrific things happened to individuals, certainly. But there was also a profound impact on culture. Politics always affect the way music is received and the way history is written. It’s amazing to think all of this happened just a few decades ago. Because of the Nazis, Vienna is somewhat of an intellectual ghost town. Most of the great composers and thinkers moved to the U.S. or died without teaching a new generation of Viennese their craft. Where Vienna was once the intellectual center of the Western world, it’s now more of a museum.

Where Vienna was once the intellectual center of the Western world, it’s now more of a museum.

A suspiciously Aryan-looking Mozart
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After the field trip, Kristine and I had a long conversation with our professor about what’s going on in America right now. This is not a political blog, so I won’t go into great detail. But what does it say about our country when people from another country that has been through a good deal of oppression are worried about the rights of our people? When the people of Austria know about U.S. foreign policy than most Americans?