Book contents
- The Cambridge History of Music Criticism
- The Cambridge History of Music
- The Cambridge History of Music Criticism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Music Examples, Figures and Tables
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I The Early History of Music Criticism
- Part II The Rise of the Press
- 7 French Music Criticism in the Nineteenth Century, 1789–1870
- 8 Gatekeeping, Advocacy, Reflection: Overlapping Voices in Nineteenth-Century British Music Criticism
- 9 Constructing a Musical Nation: German-Language Criticism in the Nineteenth Century
- 10 Music Criticism in Nineteenth-Century Italy
- 11 Music Criticism in Imperial Russia
- Part III Critical Influence and Influences
- Part IV Entering the Twentieth Century
- Part V New Areas
- Part VI Developments since the Second World War
- Postlude
- Bibliography
- Index
9 - Constructing a Musical Nation: German-Language Criticism in the Nineteenth Century
from Part II - The Rise of the Press
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 21 August 2019
- The Cambridge History of Music Criticism
- The Cambridge History of Music
- The Cambridge History of Music Criticism
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Music Examples, Figures and Tables
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Introduction
- Part I The Early History of Music Criticism
- Part II The Rise of the Press
- 7 French Music Criticism in the Nineteenth Century, 1789–1870
- 8 Gatekeeping, Advocacy, Reflection: Overlapping Voices in Nineteenth-Century British Music Criticism
- 9 Constructing a Musical Nation: German-Language Criticism in the Nineteenth Century
- 10 Music Criticism in Nineteenth-Century Italy
- 11 Music Criticism in Imperial Russia
- Part III Critical Influence and Influences
- Part IV Entering the Twentieth Century
- Part V New Areas
- Part VI Developments since the Second World War
- Postlude
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
In 1799 Friedrich Rochlitz, founding editor of the Leipzig-based Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung, wrote about the importance of music for the development of the German nation. It was a political statement at a time when German-speaking lands were not yet unified but a loose confederations of states. By aligning music with Germanness, and with history, Rochlitz and subsequent critics also elevated the art form from being considered mere entertainment to being treated as a meaningful discourse that could stand alongside literature and philosophy. Importantly, it was the way in which music was written about, as much as the exceptional achievements of individual musicians, which enabled the view that music was ‘the most German of the arts’.
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- Information
- The Cambridge History of Music Criticism , pp. 170 - 189Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2019