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German Culture: German Music

Robert Easton

Germany undoubtedly has one of the greatest musical traditions of any country in the world.

Although in modern times few German bands have achieved international recognition, many influential classical composers have come from Germany or German-speaking Austria.

They include Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Wagner and Mendelssohn to mention just a few. Germany also has a rich tradition of traditional folk songs and religious carols.

Modern German Music

A great variety of home grown music still holds its own in Germany against the tide of English language imports.

German artists produce music of every genre, and there is also a strong musical satire scene. In 2002 'The Tax Song' become a number one hit, in response to Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's raising taxes just ten days after an election in which he'd promised not to.

From a German point of view, perhaps one of their most successful musicians is the London based Herbert Grönemeyer, who formed his first band at the age of 12, and also acted in 'Das Boot' (The Boat).

'Rammstein' are at the same time one of Germany's most loved and hated bands. Their uncompromising heavy metal, obscene lyrics and over the top live shows are reminiscent of Marilyn Manson, but they allow a successful tour of the US to speak for itself. 'Rammstein' have been accused of far-right tendencies, and while their lyrics are provocative to say the least, there is little evidence to suggest any of the six members are actually fascists.

'Modern Talking' are Germany's most successful disco-pop band, they poured out hits in the 1980s, but never pleased the critics. 'Die Toten Hosen' ('The Dead Trousers') also attained great success through their simple political lyrics and punk-rock attitude.

In the club scene, 'Jazzanova' have been an international underground success, fusing house, breakbeats and bossa nova to create a modern dancefloor friendly sound.

Against the background of the hippy movement and mass protests against pollution, nuclear weapons and war, the 60s and 70s were the heyday of German rock. It was originally a 'free art' movement, where records were simply given away at art fairs. However the German government perceived this as a threat and banned it.

At the forefront of 70s German rock, and for long afterwards, were such bands as 'Kraftwerk', 'Tangerine Dream', and Klaus Schulze. The term 'Krautrock', coined by the British press, unsurprisingly, is not used in Germany.

In the 1980s hip-hop spread across Europe in tandem with graffiti art and breakdancing. 'The Fantastic Four' have been at the forefront of German hip-hop for over a decade. They were virtually the first to rap in German, and the first to have commercial success.

Traditional German Music

Germany's traditional folk songs, known as Volkslieder, are popular with the older generations and occupy prime-time on some German TV stations.

This kind of music is not so popular with younger generations, partly because of its history of being manipulated by politicians of all colours. Volkslieder are often taught in German schools.

Germany is also the home of many Christmas carols. Such universally admired classics as 'Silent Night' and 'Oh Christmas Tree' were both originally German.

The tune of 'Oh Christmas Tree' is a traditional German folk song. 'Silent Night' was created one cold Christmas Eve in 1818, when pastor Joseph Franz Mohr did not have any music prepared for his midnight mass in just a few hours time.

He walked three kilometres to the house of his friend, Franz Xaver Gruber, who then put to music a poem Mohr had written several years before. In about two hours they had completed the hymn, which is now world famous.

After it became popular, many could not believe Gruber had written it, and thought it must have been the work of a more famous composer such as Beethoven or Mozart. It was not until long after Gruber's death that they argument was settled.

The German Classical Composers

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)

Bach who once said of playing an instrument - 'There's nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself' - is considered the greatest exponent of baroque music. His best known works are probably the 'Brandenburg Concerti', 'The Well-Tempered Clavier', 'The Art of Fugue', 'The Mass in B-minor', and 'The St. Matthew Passion'.

Friedrich Handel (1685-1759)

The name of Friedrich Handel is now most strongly associated with his 'Water Music'. The suite was composed to appease King George I, whom Handel had offended by remaining in England without express permission. The King enjoyed the compositions so much that they were played three times in the same party. Handel is also well known for Messiah, an oratorio which contains the famous 'Hallelujah Chorus'.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Mozart was without doubt the most brilliant musical child genius of all time. He produced more than 600 works before his premature death. Rumour has it that he was poisoned by his rival Salieri who worried that he might be displaced as the most popular composer in Italy. Mozart however, died a pauper. Famous as a child prodigy, in adulthood he never managed to turn great music into financial security. Mozart is most admired for works in the piano concerto, the string quartet and quintet, and the symphony.

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)

Both the father and grandfather of Beethoven were court musicians. His personal style is characterised by its optimism, where ill-fortune is joyfully overcome by enthusiasm. He went deaf at the age of 29, but carried on composing and was planning a tenth symphony on his deathbed. 20,000 people attended his funeral. Though not as prolific as either Mozart or Schubert, Beethoven's symphonies, the later piano concerti (nos. 3, 4 and 5) and the concerto for violin are all tremendous achievements. Many of his piano sonatas and string quartets are marked by a depth and profundity that perhaps no other composer has ever matched.

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Schubert left more unfinished work than any other composer. During his lifetime he was better known as a composer of songs and his classical works did not become well known until much later. After contracting syphilis in 1822, Schubert went to live in the suburbs of Vienna where poor plumbing caused him to get typhus too. At the time, appreciation of his work was limited and the music world considered his death a tragedy primarily for his unfulfilled promise. His most famous works are 'Die Forelle', 'Die Erlkonig', 'Wintereisse' and the '8th 'Unfinished' Symphony'. Schubert idolised Beethoven and was buried next to him according to his own request.

Felix Mendelsohn (1809-1847)

In contrast to Schubert, Mendelsohn was publicly successful though he too was to die young. Apart from composing a wealth of chamber music, sonatas, symphonies, songs and operatic works, Mendelssohn was a brilliant conductor and organiser of music festivals. He was appointed Director of Music for the city of Dusseldorf and established the Leipzig Conservatory which soon became the leading music school in Germany. He was also largely responsible for reviving interest in the works of Bach. His concerto for violin is one of the best loved and most performed violin concertos of all time.

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Wagner was a highly unpleasant character who combined egotism, arrogance, ruthlessness, hedonism, rampant anti-semitism and revolutionary tendencies in one frightening personality. His work is as much despised as it is worshipped but there is no question that he did more than any other composer to change people's conceptions of art and music. His masterwork, the 'Ring des Nibelungen', is a 4-night cycle of operas consisting of 18 hours of music. It took 22 years to complete and addresses the issues which Wagner himself considered vital to society, like the tension between love and selfishness, good and evil. It has since been interpreted as socialist, fascist, Jungian, prophetic, as a parable about industrial society, and much more.

Other articles by Robert Easton
The Amber Room
The Berlin Wall
Austrian Beer
Austrian Food
German Beer
German Cars
German Food
German Music
German Philosophers
German Politics
German Stereotypes
Hiking in Austria
Johannes Gutenberg
Michael Schumacher
Sex in Germany
Sex in Austria
Sex in Switzerland
Skiing in Switzerland
Swiss Stereotypes
William Tell

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