The Legacy of Johann Strauss: Political Influence and Twentieth-Century Identity - Hardcover

Lang, Zo� Alexis

9781107022683: The Legacy of Johann Strauss: Political Influence and Twentieth-Century Identity

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1107022681 ISBN 13: 9781107022683

Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2014

The Legacy of Johann Strauss examines constructions of Austrian identity through the reception of Johann Strauss Jr.'s waltzes in the twentieth century. Zo� Lang argues that the music of Strauss Jr. remained popular because it continued to be revitalized by Austrians seeking to define their culture. Press coverage from the 1925 centennial celebration of Strauss Jr.'s birth celebrations in Vienna shows how he was reinvented for the new, post-Habsburg nation. The book also includes a discussion of the origins of the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year's Concert and considers how Strauss Jr. was appropriated as a National Socialist icon in the 1930s and 1940s. The Strauss family's Jewish ancestry is discussed, along with the infamous forgery of paperwork about their lineage during the 1940s. There is also a case study of Strauss Jr.'s Emperor Waltz, considering its variegated usage in concerts and films from 1925-1953.

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Book Description:

The Legacy of Johann Strauss examines constructions of Austrian identity through an examination of commentary on Johann Strauss Jr.'s waltzes. Zo� Lang argues that the music of Strauss Jr. remained popular because it continued to be revitalized by Austrians seeking to define their culture.

About the Author:

Zo� Alexis Lang is Assistant Professor of musicology in the School of Music at the University of South Florida. She graduated in 2005 from Harvard University with a dissertation that examined the importance of Johann Strauss, Jr in conceptions of Austrian identity during the interwar period. Her article about Johann Strauss, Sr's Radetzky March appeared in the Journal of the Royal Musical Association. Her research has been funded by the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies and the National Endowment of the Humanities. Beyond Strauss and Austrian identity, her other research interests include the phenomenon of Hausmusik in German culture and popular music during the First World War.

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