Werner Egk And joan Von Zarissa: Music As Politics And

Transcription

Florida State University Libraries
Electronic Theses, Treatises and Dissertations
The Graduate School
2011
Werner Egk and Joan Von Zarissa: Music
as Politics and Propaganda under National
Socialism
Jason P. Hobratschk
Follow this and additional works at the FSU Digital Library. For more information, please contact [email protected]
THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE OF MUSIC
WERNER EGK AND JOAN VON ZARISSA:
MUSIC AS POLITICS AND PROPAGANDA
UNDER NATIONAL SOCIALISM
By
JASON P. HOBRATSCHK
A Dissertation submitted to the
College of Music
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Degree Awarded:
Fall Semester, 2011
Jason P. Hobratschk defended this dissertation on October 6, 2011.
The members of the supervisory committee were:
Denise Von Glahn
Professor Directing Dissertation
Joseph Kraus
University Representative
Douglass Seaton
Committee Member
Birgit Maier-Katkin
Committee Member
The Graduate School has verified and approved the above-named committee members, and
certifies that the dissertation has been approved in accordance with university requirements.
ii
To my mother, Linda, for her eternal unconditional love and support;
to my father, Harvey, who, despite having only an eighth-grade education, remains one of the
most intelligent men I have ever known;
and to Ryan, for his love and patience.
iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I owe sincere thanks to many people who made this project successful. Foremost among
them the governments of Germany and of the United States, who made the research for this
project possible through a generous Fulbright Full Grant. I especially thank Prof. Dr. Wolfgang
Rathert of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, a wonderful Ersatz-Doktorvater who
advocated for this project and provided much helpful guidance along the way. Special thanks are
also due Mr. Reiner Rohr and Ms. Julie McBride of The German American Fulbright Committee
who made the transition to a foreign culture very smooth. Thanks also go to Ms. Jamie Purcell
and Ms. Meredith B. Simpson of the Florida State University Office of National Fellowships;
and Dr. Douglass Seaton, for their kind assistance in the Fulbright application process.
A scholar would be hard-pressed to find an archive as welcoming and accommodating as
the Stadtarchiv Donauwörth. For creating such a convivial research atmosphere, I thank the
Oberbürgermeister of Donauwörth, Mr. Armin Neudert, and especially the staff of the
Stadtarchiv, Director Dr. Ottmar Seuffert, Mr. Deniz Landgraf, and Ms. Fulya Ergin. The
Stadtmuseum Bocholt was likewise an inviting place to learn, and for that I thank Mr. Georg
Ketteler.
For helping me to negotiate the immense troves of knowledge housed at the Bayerische
Staatsbibliothek in Munich, I heartily thank Dr. Sigrid Moisy, Dr. Nino Nodia, and Ms. Gertrud
Friedl of the Abteilung für Handschriften und Seltene Drücke. A special thank you goes to Ms.
Stephanie Fischer, who, after a few months, answered my insistent “Guten Morgen, Frau
Fischer” with a cheerful “Guten Morgen, Herr Hobratschk.” Kindest thanks are also due to the
personnel of the Musikabteilung, Dr. Veronika Giglberger, Dr. Reiner Nägele, Dr. Uta
Schaumberg, and the kind personnel at the reading room desk.
Gratitude is also due to Dr. Thomas Rösch of the Orff-Zentrum München and to Ms.
Brigitte Bergese, for allowing me access to letters among Egk, Orff, and Hans Bergese; to Ms.
Kristin Hartisch of the Bundesarchiv Berlin-Lichterfelde; and to the personnel of the
Staatsarchiv, München. I also thank Dr. John Michael Cooper of Southwestern University and
Dr. Joanna Biermann of the University of Alabama for making me think.
At Florida State University, I happened to meet fellow choral musician Jo-Anne Van der
Vat-Chromy, who provided translations of Dutch documents with the help of Lidewij Besnard.
iv
Thank you both. Thank you to Jena Whitaker for her translations from the French. Thanks go
also to Ms. Martha Dahlbert, for giving me a score of Egk’s Quattro Canzoni.
I could not have received a kinder validation for my research and work than that which I
got from Dr. Heike Lammers-Harlander as we sat together on a lovely Donauwörth day. In
Heike I found a kindred spirit. Herr Rathert and Heike provided invigorating confirmation that
my perspective on Egk and Joan von Zarissa found resonance among German scholars. Thank
you.
And I must thank my doctoral committee, Dr. Douglass Seaton, Dr. Joseph Kraus, and
Dr. Birgit Maier-Katkin for their guidance and thoroughness. Special thanks go to my Major
Professor, Dr. Denise Von Glahn, for the many hours—years—of chatting about, reading
through, and listening to me complain about my most recent thoughts on Egk.
Finally, thank you, Werner Egk. How I would like to have met you personally.
v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. ix
List of Figures ..................................................................................................................................x
List of Musical Examples ............................................................................................................ xiv
Abstract ..........................................................................................................................................xv
1.
WERNER EGK IN WEIMAR GERMANY ...........................................................................1
2.
WERNER EGK’S CAREER WITHIN NATIONAL SOCIALISM.....................................14
Bayerische Fahnen (1933)...........................................................................................14
Columbus (1933)..........................................................................................................15
Egk’s Contributions to Völkische Kultur – I................................................................18
Egk’s Radio Plays of 1933–34.....................................................................................22
Das große Totenspiel (1933) .......................................................................................22
Job, der Deutsche.........................................................................................................23
Egk’s Contributions to Völkische Kultur – II ..............................................................34
Georgica (1934)...........................................................................................................40
Die Zaubergeige (1935)...............................................................................................40
Bayerische Tanzbilder „Auf der Alm“ (Georgica, 1935)............................................56
Kapellmeister at the Berliner Staatsoper.....................................................................57
Der Weg (1936)............................................................................................................58
Geigenmusik mit Orchester (1936)..............................................................................60
Olympische Festmusik (1936)......................................................................................61
Natur-Liebe-Tod (1937)...............................................................................................66
Mein Vaterland (1937).................................................................................................67
Variationen über ein altes Wiener Strophenlied (1938) ..............................................67
Peer Gynt (1938)..........................................................................................................67
Die hohen Zeichen (1939)............................................................................................85
Music for the Film Jungens (1940)..............................................................................86
Egk’s Appointment to the Reichsmusikkammer ..........................................................88
Egk’s Work on Behalf of Composers’ Rights .............................................................95
Columbus (1942)..........................................................................................................96
Finis (1944)..................................................................................................................97
3.
“WELCH EIN BILD FÜR EINE DON-JUAN-HANDLUNG!”..........................................98
The Scores of Joan von Zarissa...................................................................................98
Joan von Zarissa: Egk’s Burgundian Don Juan Tragedy .........................................100
Differences between the Original and Revised Versions of Joan von Zarissa..........115
Egk’s Joan von Zarissa, as Premiered in Berlin........................................................126
Egk’s Inspiration for Joan von Zarissa......................................................................132
The Artwork of Jean Fouquet ........................................................................132
The Feast of the Pheasant ..............................................................................139
Influences of Fouquet and the Feast of the Pheasant in Joan von Zarissa ....141
Collaboration with Josef Fenneker ................................................................143
vi
Raimond van Marle’s Iconographie de l’art profane au moyen-age et a la
Renaissance..................................................................................160
Werner Egk’s Die Historie vom Ritter Don Juan aus Barcelona..................163
4.
THE GENRE OF JOAN VON ZARISSA .............................................................................167
Joan von Zarissa as New German Dance ..................................................................167
Modern Dance in National Socialist Germany ..........................................................170
Historical Antecedents ...................................................................................170
Dance under National Socialism....................................................................171
Leaders of Modern Dance in National Socialist Germany ........................................175
Hans Niedecken-Gebhardt and Otto von Keudell .........................................175
Rudolf von Laban ..........................................................................................177
New German Dance after Laban....................................................................183
Egk’s Association with Modern Dance .....................................................................185
New German Dance and the Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk......................................191
Wagner’s Gesamtkunstwerk ..........................................................................193
Joan von Zarissa as Gesamtkunstwerk..........................................................194
5.
MUSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF JOAN VON ZARISSA............................................203
6.
THE RECEPTION OF JOAN VON ZARISSA.....................................................................221
Premieres of Joan von Zarissa, 1940–1942...............................................................221
Joan von Zarissa in Paris, 1942–1944.......................................................................250
Premieres of Joan von Zarissa, 1943–1944...............................................................265
7.
JOAN VON ZARISSA AS PROPAGANDA ........................................................................268
German Cultural Propaganda in France.....................................................................268
Joan von Zarissa as Cultural Propaganda..................................................................281
8.
A READING OF JOAN VON ZARISSA AS SUBVERSIVE..............................................291
9.
WERNER EGK’S DENAZIFICATION.............................................................................301
10. ENCORE!............................................................................................................................334
APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................339
A.
JOAN VON ZARISSA LIBRETTO, ORIGINAL VERSION ..............................................339
B.
VON KEUDELL NOTE, 9 JANUARY 1934.....................................................................375
C.
JOAN VON ZARISSA PERFORMANCES..........................................................................378
D.
COMPILATION OF CULTURAL PROPAGANDA PRESENTATIONS IN OCCUPIED
FRANCE, AA PARIS 1115X .............................................................................................384
E.
SD-BERICHTE ZU INLANDSFRAGEN, 18 AND 25 OCTOBER 1943.........................387
vii
F.
LUCHT REPORT ON THE FRENCH PREMIERE OF JOAN VON ZARISSA.................398
G.
EGK’S OMGUS QUESTIONNAIRE AND APPENDIX ..................................................402
H.
DONAUWÖRTH WERNER EGK CULTURAL PRIZE RECIPIENTS...........................417
I.
PERMISSIONS ...................................................................................................................418
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................422
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................................430
viii
LIST OF TABLES
9.1. Egk’s income, 1931–1944. ..................................................................................................305
9.2. Egk’s revised income report................................................................................................319
ix
LIST OF FIGURES
1.1 Hanna Höch (1889–1978), Cut with the Dada Kitchen Knife through the Last Weimar BeerBelly Cultural Epoch in Germany (1919). ..............................................................................6
2.1. Comparison of Egk’s adaptation of Peer Gynt to Henrik Ibsen’s original. ..........................68
2.2. Comparison of cover designs for the first edition of Křenek’s Jonny spielt auf and Ziegler’s
guide for the Entartete Kunst exhibition. ..............................................................................78
3.1. Joan von Zarissa, original version, table of contents..........................................................116
3.2. Joan von Zarissa, revised version, table of contents...........................................................117
3.3. Comparison of the original and revised versions of Joan von Zarissa. ..............................118
3.4. Joan von Zarissa, revised version, cast of characters. ........................................................119
3.5. Joan von Zarissa, revised version, p. 210, lower portion....................................................121
3.6. Joan von Zarissa, revised version, p. 212, top system. .......................................................122
3.7. Joan von Zarissa, concert suite, disposition of the orchestra..............................................124
3.8. Joan von Zarissa, concert suite, p. 105. ..............................................................................125
3.9. Program for the Berlin premiere of Joan von Zarissa.........................................................127
3.10. Joan von Zarissa premiere program insert. ........................................................................130
3.11. Jean Fouquet, La Vierge et l’Enfant entourés de séraphins et de chérubins. ....................134
3.12. Codex gallicus 6, folio 2v....................................................................................................136
3.13. Codex gallicus 6, folio 210v................................................................................................138
3.14 Codex gallicus 6, folio 56r and Fenneker’s sketch of the same...........................................145
3.15. Codex gallicus 6, folio 60r and Fenneker’s sketch of the same. .........................................146
x
3.20. Codex gallicus 6, folio 115v and Fenneker’s sketch of the same........................................151
3.21. Codex gallicus 6, folio 123r and Fenneker’s sketch of the same. .......................................152
3.22. Fenneker’s sketch of Codex gallicus 6, folio 2v. ................................................................153
3.23. An initial sketch for Joan von Zarissa by Fenneker. ..........................................................155
3.24. Fenneker’s rendering of the stage design for Joan von Zarissa. ........................................157
3.25. Fenneker’s rendering of the drop scene for Joan von Zarissa............................................159
3.26. Van Marle, Fig. 179, Savage man.......................................................................................160
3.27. Van Marle, Fig. 416, Death triumphant..............................................................................162
4.1. Werner Egk, Augsburg, Maximilianstraße, undated (1924 or 25). .....................................197
4.2. Werner Egk, Scheidungsprozeß (Ehescheidung), 1928. .....................................................198
4.3. Werner Egk, Selbstbildnis, Spring 1925..............................................................................199
5.1. Form of No. 7, “Isabeau’s Rage.” .......................................................................................208
5.2. Form of No. 11, “Pantomime.” ...........................................................................................210
5.3. Form of No. 2, “Entrance and Dance of the Captured Moorish Women.” .........................211
5.4. Form of No. 10, “Opening Dance.”.....................................................................................211
5.5. Themes and keys in No. 13, “Perette’s Wrath.”..................................................................212
5.6. Themes and keys in No. 14, “Apparitions,” the final movement of the revised version of
Joan von Zarissa. .........................................................................................................................212
5.7. Obfuscation of key in No. 10, “Opening Dance.”...............................................................216
5.8. Harmonic analysis of the Hero’s fanfare, No. 11, “Pantomime.” meas. 58–69. .................218
6.1. Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: The Most Beautiful of the
Captured Moorish Women. .................................................................................................229
xi
6.2 Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: the Iron Duke ..............230
6.3. Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: Joan.............................230
6.4. Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: Isabeau........................231
6.5. Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: Isabeau in mourning. ..231
6.6. Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: Florence ......................232
6.7. Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: Lefou...........................232
6.8 Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: Perette. ........................233
6.9. Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: Standard Bearer. .........233
6.10 Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: Monster.......................234
6.11. Fenneker’s sketch of the stage design for the Vienna Staatsoper performances of Joan von
Zarissa. ................................................................................................................................247
6.12. Model of Brayer’s stage design for the Paris performances of Joan von Zarissa...............258
7.1. Arno Breker, Comradeship. ................................................................................................273
7.2. Sculptor Arno Breker in his studio......................................................................................274
xii
LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES
2.1. Zwiefacher rhythm in the prelude to Die Zaubergeige, meas. 15–23. ..................................48
3.1. Egk, Die Historie vom Ritter Don Juan aus Barcelona (1932), Finale. .............................164
5.1. Battle orchestration in No. 4, “The Duel,” meas. 23–26. ....................................................204
5.2. Battle orchestration in No. 7, “Isabeau’s Rage,” meas. 70–81............................................205
5.3. Joan von Zarissa, No. 1, “Procession,” meas. 21–28..........................................................207
5.4. Joan von Zarissa, No. 4, “The Duel,” meas. 77–89. ...........................................................214
5.5. Hero’s tucket in No. 11, “Pantomime,” meas. 58–64..........................................................218
5.6. Joan’s fanfare in No. 12, “Love-Dance,” meas. 105–11. ....................................................219
xiii
ABSTRACT
Werner Egk’s Joan von Zarissa, a relocation of the Don Juan saga to fifteenth-century
Burgundy, provides a case study in the complexities of creating art and establishing an artistic
career in Germany during the National Socialist period. Egk’s 1932 radio play Die Historie von
Ritter Don Juan aus Barcelona is a progenitor to Joan von Zarissa. Egk’s first works for radio
were a reflection of the leftist Weimar milieu in which Egk came of age as a composer. They
provided the foundation for Egk’s later works, perpetually lauded as both illustrative and
dramatic.
Werner Egk’s oeuvre from the National Socialist period appears to be a collection of
disparate pieces across a variety of genres. By considering them as part of a young composer’s
attempt to forge a career, Egk’s “Nazi works” such as Job, der Deutsche and works as “culturally
Bolshevistic” as Peer Gynt become possible to reconcile with one another. The ostensibly
dissimilar genres actually map Egk’s compositional path from film and radio to opera and dance.
Additionally, Egk wrote journal articles that attempted to make space for himself and his
colleagues.
The Joan von Zarissa published today is not that which premiered in Berlin on 20
January 1940, nor is it that which Egk originally composed. The primary sources from which
Egk drew his inspiration were Jean Fouquet’s paintings and the Feast of the Pheasant. Egk
collaborated with artist Josef Fenneker to create a stage design that captured the salient features
of these models.
Joan von Zarissa is an example of New German Dance, but this label does not admit the
presence of spoken and sung texts within it. The work is more correctly a latter-day Wagnerian
Gesamtkunstwerk synthesizing gesture, poetry, music, set, and lighting.
Egk’s music is an extension of conventional tonal music. Its power and dance-like
quality are carried by its rhythm and meter. Melody is fundamental to Joan von Zarissa, serving
both to delineate structural form and to unify the drama. While Egk expands his chordal
vocabulary beyond conventional triads and seventh chords, he often retains functional harmonic
progressions.
xiv
Joan von Zarissa premiered at the Berliner Staatsoper on 20 January 1940. By the time
all German theaters shut down in September 1944, Egk’s work had been produced in fifteen
cities across six European countries. Joan von Zarissa was danced twenty times in Occupied
Paris between 1942 and 1944. The cohesive nature of Joan von Zarissa and Egk’s recreation of
the atmosphere of Renaissance court culture were universally acclaimed. Both inside and
outside the Reich, Joan von Zarissa met with excitement and success.
The hybrid German-French nature of Joan von Zarissa created a perfect work of cultural
propaganda that the Germans directed toward Occupied France. In producing Joan von Zarissa,
Paris Opéra Director Jacques Rouché occupied the stage with a palatable work, thereby
preventing the production of something perhaps more insidious. Ultimately, Joan von Zarissa
never truly gained entry into the French canon.
Egk created a framework for subtextual interpretation in the many bifurcated elements of
Joan von Zarissa. These include the dual-platform stage, on which different actions occur
simultaneously; the image of Odysseus and the Sirens, which causes observers to question what
is being presented, especially by the choir behind it; and the parallel nature of the drama of Joan
von Zarissa itself. The presence of a subversive subtext is confirmed by the use of disjunctly
joyful elements that mitigate the problematic material preceding them. The choruses of Joan von
Zarissa call both Germans and the French to question the National Socialist regime.
After World War II, Egk was called to account for his artistic activity in the Third Reich
in three separate denazification proceedings. Egk was blacklisted by the Americans, exonerated
by the Germans, un-exonerated by a single German prosecutor, retried, re-exonerated, and
almost retried again. Egk did not deserve to be blacklisted by the Americans, nor does he
deserve a naïve whitewash. Egk occupies the expansive field of grey between. Like others who
survived Nazi Germany, Egk had made a life for himself within National Socialism but never
embraced its Weltanschauung.
After the war Egk continued to compose, work for composers’ rights, and advocate new
music; and Joan von Zarissa continued to traverse the globe in productions from Buenos Aires to
Berlin to Bangkok.
xv
CHAPTER ONE
WERNER EGK IN WEIMAR GERMANY
The image on Werner Egk’s tombstone is a labyrinth of his own design. The maze is the
most fitting icon for the final resting place of a composer whose career was nothing short of
labyrinthine. From his musical start to his career under National Socialism to his denazification,
Egk was constantly buffeted by strong forces that shaped both man and career. Throughout, Egk
sought to establish a career for himself, taking advantage of the National Socialist infrastructure
when it was helpful to him, but perpetually disavowing roles such as conspirator or profiteer. It
is impossible to say that Egk did not benefit from National Socialism, and it is just as impossible
to say that Egk embraced National Socialism. Egk remained in Germany when many other
composers fled, and he negotiated the National Socialist maze in a manner that allowed for his
personal success as a composer and the support and protection of his family. Had Egk lived
another place or another time, his career and works would not offer the insight they do about the
life of an artist and his work under National Socialism. Egk’s early career, however, predates
National Socialism. His career began in the liberal atmosphere of Weimar Germany, and his
first successful public works were for radio when it was still in its infancy. Egk’s early works
reflect the socialist-pacifist-avant-garde circle in which he came of age as an artist.
Werner Egk was born Werner Josef Mayer on 17 May 1901 in the Swabian village of
Auchesheim, near Donauwörth. His father had planned for the young Werner to become a postal
official; however, Mayer decided on a career as an artist, initially vacillating between the visual
and musical arts. By the late 1910s Mayer had settled on music and pursued a self-designed
course of study. In 1919 and 1920 Mayer visited the City Conservatory for Music in Augsburg.
In 1920 he studied voice with a chamber singer Nieratzki in Odenwald; piano with one Professor
Helberger in Frankfurt; theory with a student of composer Friedrich Klose; and music history on
his own. The following year, Mayer studied piano with Anna Hirzel-Langenhan in Munich,
where he also studied theory, composition, and conducting with Carl Orff. In 1922 Egk
matriculated at Ludwig Maximilian’s University in Munich and studied musicology under Adolf
Sandberger.
Mayer’s first compositions and practical experience date from these years. In 1920
Mayer composed a series of songs to texts of Theodor Däubler, Franz Werfel, Rainer Maria
1
Rilke, Hugo von Hofmannsthal, and others. In 1921 he worked as a stage director, set painter,
and Director of Stage Music at the Steinecke-Saal in the Schwabing borough of Munich. Mayer
composed music to a sacramental play for the inauguration of the playhouse of the SteineckeSaal in 1921, along with two string trios.
Werner Mayer met violinist Elisabeth Karl in 1922. The following year, they were
married, and Mayer adopted “Egk” as his artistic pseudonym, a tribute to his wife “Elisabeth nee
Karl,” in German “Elisabeth geborene Karl.” Many think that Egk is an acronym for the selfaggrandizing epithet, “a great artist” (Einen großen Künstler); however this is not the case. 1 But
this does not mean that Egk did not aspire to greatness. In 1922 sculptor Karl Bauer made a bust
of the young Egk, though he had thus far gained no acclaim, a testament that Egk thought
himself destined for fame. 2 In 1923 Egk attended a meeting of the National Socialist German
Workers Party, the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP, or “Nazi” Party) but
found it did not suit him. According to Egk’s autobiography, Die Zeit wartet nicht, the Nazi
“hooligans, braggarts, drunkards, and sadists” would later serve as models for the troll-world of
his 1938 opera Peer Gynt. 3 In 1924 Elisabeth gave birth to their only child, Titus. 4 The family
1
Werner Egk, Die Zeit wartet nicht: Künstlerische Zeitgeschichtliches Privates aus meinem Leben, expanded and
illustrated paperback edition (Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1981), passim and 550–51. Hereafter, “Egk, DZ.”
Egk’s account is expanded by Heike Lammers-Harlander in “Werner Egk und der Erfolg der Zaubergeige” (Lecture,
Stadtbibliothek Donauwörth und Historischer Verein, 18 November 2008). Egk’s name change became official in
1937, in compliance with National Socialist laws regarding the use of stage names.
2
Bauer’s bust of Egk resides in the Werner Egk Begegnungstätte in Donauwörth, Germany, along with two others:
one by Bernhard Bleeker (1959/60, cast 1982) and one by Arno Breker (August 1978, cast January 1979).
Additionally, the Werner Egk Begegnungsstätte houses a life mask made by one Weber-Hartl (1942); two portraits,
one by Kurt Weinhold (1942) and one by Erwin Hennig (1959); and a death mask made by Gerhard Gareissen
(1983).
3
Egk, DZ, 105–06. To encapsulate the experience of Hitler’s speech, Egk cites Bertolt Brecht’s 1934 Alfabet:
Adolf Hitler, dem sein Bart
Ist von ganz besonderer Art.
Kinder, da ist etwas faul
Ein so kleiner Bart und ein so großes Maul.
4
Unfortunately, a detailed discussion of Titus Egk lies beyond the scope of this investigation. Titus had been
pressed into service on Christmas 1943 and dispatched to Monte Cassino. He survived the German retreat but was
later charged with “illegal separation from the troop” (unerlaubte Entfernung von der Truppe) and sentenced to two
years in military prison. After he was released, he was sent to the Russian front. Titus’s final letter to his parents
2
spent two years (Summer 1925–September 1927) in Italy, a trip undertaken to help Egk
recuperate from life-threatening influenza. In Italy, Egk composed his Kleine Symphonie (Little
Symphony), a work that bears the mark of Egk’s lifelong idol, Igor Stravinsky.
In 1927 and 1928 Elisabeth Egk embarked on her performing career as a violinist.
Among her repertoire were selections from what would coalesce into Egk’s 1935 opera, Die
Zaubergeige (The Magic Violin). The Zaubergeige selections were a substantial draw, especially
in traditional Munich, a very different city from Cologne, the other city on Elisabeth’s 1928 tour,
where they met with less success. In August 1928, after the death of Elisabeth’s well-to-do
father, the family, along with Elisabeth’s sister and mother, moved into a home in the
Obermenzing borough of Munich. Egk was engaged as a conductor at Munich’s Phöbus-Palast,
but the position lasted only a few months. Just as Elisabeth’s career was starting, Werner moved
to Berlin to start his own, leaving the family behind. 5
The bustling Berlin of 1928 must have seemed a different planet to the young Egk, who
had to that point lived in the village of Auchesheim and in historical Augsburg. Munich, which,
while larger, still seemed quaint compared to the teeming Berlin metropolis. In July 1929 Egk
composed several dances for Else Adami, wife to Jewish Berlin architect Dr. Alfred Gellhorn.
This connection gained Egk access to the Gellhorn Circle (Gellhornkreis). Within the circle sat
various important leftist artists, including composer Kurt Weill; poet, cabarettist, and satirist
Erich Mühsam; avant-garde philosopher and writer Mynona, alias Salomo Friedländer, friend to
Dadaists Johannes Baader and George Grosz; poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht; and Peter
Pfitzner, son of composer Hans Pfitzner, from whose music Egk would later strive to distance his
own. Around the same time, Egk encountered director Erwin Piscator and composer Paul
Hindemith. 6 Egk’s relationship with these figures was more than a passing acquaintance, as
was dated 7 January 1945, after which he disappeared. Egk was unsuccessful in his post-war efforts to determine
the fate of his son, and his initial hopefulness slowly yielded to the sad realization that Titus had been lost.
5
Lammers-Harlander, Werner Egk und der Erfolg der Zaubergeige, 5. Lammers-Harlander asserts that it was
Elisabeth’s Egk family money that paid for the Egk’s stay in Italy and for their home in Munich. The Zaubergeige
numbers were scheduled for thirty-eight performances in Cologne, of which twenty-seven were cancelled; fifty-five
in Munich, of which three were cancelled. This may reflect a general lack of success in Cologne, where 163
performances were scheduled, out of which thirty were cancelled, compared to Munich, where 156 performances
were scheduled, out of which only five were cancelled.
6
Egk, DZ, 158–72. Mühsam died in the Oranienburg concentration camp in 1934.
3
their repeated appearances in his appointment books suggest. 7 Egk also made acquaintance with
Ernst Křenek, Alban Berg, and Igor Stravinsky, and he experienced Brecht and Weill’s
Dreigroschenoper in the company of its creators. In short, Egk found himself among the bestknown avant-garde of Berlin and, as did the members of this circle, counted himself an ardent
socialist and pacifist. 8
Bertolt Brecht recommended Egk to Hans Flesch, who offered Egk a composition
contract for the newly founded radio program Funk-Stunde. 9 On 18 August 1929 Egk’s first
radio work, Ein Cello singt in Daventry (A Cello Sings in Daventry) premiered. The bilingual
cantata for tenor, double choir, and orchestra centered on a metropolis citizen who returns home
amid the bustle of the city: “train-light, sky-signs, traffic-lights, scurring-crowds [sic], fortunetellers, match-sellers, paper-sellers.” Once there, he is still dogged by “automobiles–bank–
discount–typewriters–advertisements,” the detritus of his ten-hour workday that drives him to
smoke and drink. The citizen tunes his radio to 1600, a station from Daventry, England, and
hears a cello play from across the sea. Though he doesn’t know who plays, he knows the cello
plays for him, and he finds peace. Robert Seitz, the work’s librettist, wrote the work in both
English and German in the hopes that it would be received by an English station, making the
work an artistic inversion of itself. In inaugurating his radio project with Egk’s Ein Cello singt
in Daventry, Flesch introduced Egk, by association an avant-garde artist, to Berlin. Egk
followed this work with Weihnacht 1929 (Christmas 1929) and Ein neuer Sender sagt sich an (A
new station announces itself), both radio works for chorus, orchestra, soloists, and speakers. The
latter was premiered by the Association of Contemporary Music in Munich. 10 The income
generated by these first three works enabled Egk to return to his family in Obermenzing in
August 1929. 11 Upon his return to Munich, Egk studied composition and orchestration with
famed composer and contemporary-music advocate Hermann Scherchen. 12
7
Lammers-Harlander, Werner Egk und der Erfolg der Zaubergeige, 7–8.
8
Egk, DZ, 161–62, 552.
9
Ibid., 172–73.
10
Program, Festwoche Neuer Musik München, 15.–22. May 1931. Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Abteilung für
Handschriften und seltene Drücke, Nachlass Werner Egk, Ana 410. Hereafter, Egk’s bequest will be abbreviated
“BSB Ana 410.”
11
Ibid., 175–77, 552.
12
Egk, DZ, 185ff.
4
Egk’s Zeit im Funk (Time in Radio), a radio “experiment” for tenor, men’s chorus,
orchestra, and speakers, premiered in conjunction with the opening of the radio studio in Munich
on 27 November 1929. 13 The work chronicled world events from 1 October to 1 November
1929 in a montage of news reports from Paris, New York, Berlin, Peking, and other cities.
Reports of speed records, economic depression, catastrophes, assassinations, statesmen,
revolution in China, and a dialogue between a choruses of workers and machines were to be
punctuated by short, heated flash-debates between diametrically opposed pairs: a general with a
pacifist; or a member of the Deutschnationaler Party, the precursor to the NSDAP, with a
Communist. 14 Egk’s use of montage technique in Zeit im Funk, and to a lesser extent in Seitz’s
bilingual libretto for Ein Cello singt in Daventry, were similar to the works of Dadaism,
embodied in Hanna Höch’s Cut with the Dada Kitchen Knife through the Last Weimar BeerBelly Cultural Epoch in Germany (see Figure 1.1).
13
BSB Ana 410.
14
“Zeit im Funk” in Werner Egk, Musik–Wort–Bild: Texte und Anmerkungen; Betrachtungen und Gedanken
(Munich: Albert Langen Georg Müller Verlag, 1960): 20–28. According to Egk’s comments on the work, the
flash-debates were cut from the production that remained nonetheless “aggressive and provocative.” The NSDAP is
the National Socialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party, or “Nazi” party.
5
Figure 1.1. Hanna Höch, Cut with the Dada Kitchen Knife through the Last Weimar Beer-Belly
Cultural Epoch in Germany, 1919. Collage of pasted papers, 114 x 90 cm. Berlin,
Nationalgalerie, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Public domain within the United States.
Egk was exposed to such works through the Gellhorn Circle. Zeit im Funk is also similar to
Alfred Döblin’s pastiche novel Berlin Alexanderplatz of the same year, whose narrative is
spliced with train schedules, Bible passages, song texts, weather reports, and recipes. Egk’s
proximity to the creators of these other works places his own creations within those of the liberal
avant-garde of Weimar Germany.
In June 1930 Egk and Seitz again collaborated on a reportage project. 91 Tage
Zeitgeschehen (91 Days of Events) recounted world events from 1 February through 4 May 1930:
bootlegging in America; catastrophes and assassinations; the Disarmament Conference in
London; unemployment figures; strikes and demonstrations; turmoil and mutiny; war in China;
and the freedom movement in India. A review in the Berliner Zeitung am Mittag provided an
example from the work:
6
America! 2,400 people die of alcohol poisoning (boom, boom!) New York … (Sonny
boy) Penitentiary in Columbus … Children in Troppau shredded by a grenade … Cows
drowning in flooded Montauban (the music mimics the mooing of cows), etc. 15
Egk’s next work was Trebitsch Lincoln, the story of Jewish-Hungarian Ignatius TrebitschLincoln, a missionary and later Anglican priest and parliamentarian. The English-naturalized
Trebitsch-Lincoln offered to serve as an English spy during World War I but was rejected, so he
spied for the Germans instead. After his English imprisonment for espionage, he became
involved in German right-wing politics and in the Kapp Putsch attempt to overthrow the Weimar
government. Trebitsch-Lincoln fled Germany but continued his espionage activities, for which
he was later arrested and acquitted of high treason in Austria and deported. By the time Egk
decided to make a radio production about him, Trebitsch-Lincoln was a Buddhist monk in China.
Egk’s work premiered successfully as part of the Third Festival of the Association of
Contemporary Music in Munich. 16 Between 1927 and 1931 this association was responsible for
the premiere of Bartók’s Quartet no. 3; Egk’s Ein neuer Sender sagt sich an and Kanadisches
Intermezzo (Canadian Intermezzo); Carl Orff and Karl Marx’s Schulwerk; Orff’s Kleines
Konzert (Little Concerto) and Kantate (Cantata); as well as performances of 175 works by
contemporary composers including Berg, Debussy, Hindemith, Kodaly, Milhaud, Pfitzner,
Ravel, Reger, Schönberg, and Stravinsky; and various works of early music. 17
For the Fourth Festival of the Association Hermann Scherchen directed the premiere of
Egk’s oratorio Furchtlosigkeit und Wohlwollen (Fearlessness and Good Will) on 18 May 1931,
one day after Egk’s thirtieth birthday. Egk’s libretto is utterly pacifist and opens,
15
Berliner Zeitung am Mittag 151, 5 June 1930. “Amerika! 2400 Personen starben am Alkoholvergiftung (bum,
bum!) New York … (Sonny boy) Zuchthaus in Kolumbus … Kinder in Troppau, zerrissen durch eine Granate …
Kühe im überschwemmten Montauban am Ertrinken (die Musik ahmt das Muhen der Kühe nach) usw.” Ellipses in
original. “Sonny boy” appears to be a reference to the Al Jolson hit song. Troppau is Opava, Czechoslovakia.
16
Program, Neue Music München, III. Festwoche, Vereinigung für Zeitgenössische Musik e.V., 1930. BSB Ana
410.
17
Program, Festwoche Neuer Musik München, 15.22. May 1931. BSB Ana 410.
7
But he who is ready to kill,
He who is pricked by a mosquito,
What good does it do him if he kills it?
brings death upon himself.
He who is bitten by a snake,
He who is ready to defend,
What good does it do him if he kills it?
must fear attack.
A thousand mosquitoes remain,
But how does one face danger?
But how does one face every danger?
ready to prick.
A thousand snakes remain,
There is no danger for him
ready to bite.
Who practices fearlessness and good will,
He who fears attack,
without thinking of any resistance.
thinks of defense.
He who fears death,
thinks of killing.
In this work the farmer Gamani is wrongly accused of stealing oxen, beating a woman,
causing her to miscarry, and murder. With no witnesses to attest to his character, he is sentenced
by the King to be trampled to death by an elephant, but the elephant refuses to trample an
innocent man. Suspected of sorcery by the crown, Gamani replies that he has no spell, but that
he, an innocent man, trusted in the truth that fostered in him fearlessness and goodwill, even
toward the elephant. The folk celebrate Gamani as stronger than his foes, stronger than the King,
and victor of the elephant. 18
18
Textbuch: Furchtlosigkeit und Wohlwollen. BSB Ana 410.
“Der von einer Mücke gestochen wird, / Was nützt es ihm wenn er sie tötet.
Der von einer Schlange gebissen wird, / Was nützt es ihm, wenn er sie tötet.
Da bleiben noch tausend Mücken, / die bereit sind zu stechen. / Da bleiben noch tausend Schlangen die bereit sind
zu beißen.
Der den Angriff fürchtet, / denkt an die Gegenwehr. / Der den Tod fürchtet, / denkt daran, zu töten.
Aber der bereit ist zu töten, / der zieht den Tod auf sich. / Aber der bereit ist zur Gegenwehr, / der hat den Angriff zu
fürchten.
Wie aber begegnet man der Gefahr? / Wie aber begegnet man jeder Gefahr?
Für den gibt es keine Gefahr, / Der Furchtlosigkeit und Wohlwollen übt, / ohne an Gegenwehr zu denken.”
8
Reviews of Furchtlosigkeit und Wohlwollen were mixed. Some found Egk’s work to be
a realization of the potential of new music, lauding his ostinato techniques and diatonic-polytonal
harmonic language. 19 Others saw the work as primarily descriptive and marked by a naïve lack
of form. 20 This is not surprising, given Egk’s background in theater accompaniment and his
unconventional musical education. One of the most extensive reviews, however, telling not only
of Egk’s work but also of the change in prevailing political winds in Germany, was the lengthy
review carried in the Völkischer Beobachter, the primary organ of the NSDAP. The Völkischer
Beobachter was the folkish (völkisch) voice of the NSDAP. To be völkisch was to be “national,
with an emphasis on the value of race and national identity” as compared to the “international”
voice of a non-German weltanschauung. 21 A National Socialist Weltanschauung is not a general
world view, but a “value system determined by race, character and fate represented, for the
German people, by National Socialism.” 22
The reviewer attacked everything from new music to Egk’s knowledge of zoology to his
weltanschauung in his carefully conflated review:
Since Arnold Schönberg came before the Munich public with his opus Pierrot
lunaire in 1913 and had an undisputedly cheerful success, one has taken “innovation” as
the expression of one not grown in the “expertise” of German cultural soil. Even now, a
remnant of those uprooted in the postwar period continues to search along these paths.
Now, the word “search” indicates something “intended,” something “desired,” but
something that also has nothing in common with intuitive artistry.…
The farmer Gamani … is to be trampled by elephants. It is good that Egk chooses
even elephants as executioners, because he apparently knows that elephants, despite
beating, do not allow themselves to be coerced, even to get up close and personal with a
mosquito, so the sudden “reversal” of this thick-skinned one is simply to be found in its
good-natured and good-willed natural disposition. Despite all intended good will by
19
Münchener Neueste Nachrichten 136, 21 May 1931.
20
Bayrischer Kurier 141, 21 May 1931.
21
Cornelia Schmitz-Berning, Vokabular des Nationalsozialismus, 2nd ed. (Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter,
2007), s.v. “völkisch.”
22
Ibid., s.v. “Weltanschauung.” In order to distinguish the National Socialist Weltanschauung from the generic term,
the Nazi version will be capitalized in the body of this document.
9
Egk-Gamani, the magic would turn to black magic, had a hungry panther or malevolent
person arisen as his hangman.
In all, it manifests itself in a sinister pacifistic weltanschauung that believes itself
able to foster sympathy through mushiness and cant; had the two notions been able, for
example, to free Germany from its foreign and yet more from its domestic tormentors—
for nearly sufficient “good will” has now been summoned—we would stand as the freest
people on the earth.
I do not wish to be misunderstood, I bear sincere sympathy for the composer and
would be happy on his behalf, if he would wrench himself from such a powerless
philosophizing to a reckless fearlessness. 23
Critic Paul Stefan heard in Egk’s “‘barbaric’ rhythmic energies and vehemence of the brass”
another Stravinksy, but he concluded that Egk was a singular, meaningful new musical
personality. 24 And Berlin critic Dr. P. A. Pisk saw Egk carrying on the didactic tradition of
23
Völkischer Beobachter 143, 23 May 1931. “Als Arnold Schönberg im Januar 1913 mit seinem Opus „Pierrot
lunaire“ vor das Münchener Publikum trat, und sich dabei einen unbestrittenen Heiterkeitserfolg holte, nahm man
die „Neuheit“ als Ausdruck einer mit dem Boden deutscher Kultur nicht verwachsenen „Könnerschaft“ an. Daß ein
Teil der vom Boden losgelösten Nachkriegzeit auf dem angedeuteten Wege weitersucht, liegt in eben dieser Zeit.
Nun liegt schon in dem Worte „Suchen“ etwas „Beabsichtigtes“, etwas „Gewolltes“, was aber mit intuitivem
Kunstschaffen auch nicht das geringste gemein hat.…
Der Bauer Gamani … soll von Elefanten zertreten werden, es ist gut, daß Egk gerade Elefanten als
Vollstrecker erwählt, denn wahrscheinlich ist ihm die Tatsache bekannt, daß Elefanten trotz Schlägen sich nicht
zwingen lassen, auch nur einer Mücke zu Leibe zu gehen, also ist das plötzliche „Kehrt“ dieser Dickhäuter nur in
ihrer gutmütigen und wohlwollenden Naturveranlagung zu suchen. Trotz alles beabsichtigten Wohlwollens von
Egk-Gamani wäre der Zauber zum faulen Zauber geworden, wären ihm hungrige Panther oder übelwollende
Menschen als Henker erstanden.
Es äußert sich in allem eine unselige, pazifistische Weltanschauung, die glaubt, durch Weichlichkeit und
Gewinsel Mitleid heischen zu müssen; wenn die zwei Begriffe vermocht hätten, beispielsweise Deutschland von den
äußeren und viel mehr noch von den inneren Peinigern zu befreien–denn des „Wohlwollens“ ist ja nun nachgerade
genug aufgebracht worden–, wir ständen als das freieste Volk auf der Weltkugel.
Ich möchte nicht mißverstanden werden, ich hege für den Verfasser das aufrichtige Mitgefühl und würde
mich in seinem Interesse freuen, wenn er von einer solch kraftlosen Philosophiererei sich zu rücksichtloser
Furchtlosigkeit durchringen würde.” Emphasis in original.
24
Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung 237, 29 May 1931.
10
Brecht and Hindemith’s Der Lindbergflug (Flight of Lindberg) that had premiered under
Scherchen’s baton in December 1929. 25
Two of Egk’s works that followed these were of a completely different style: Der Löwe
und die Maus (The Lion and the Mouse, 1931) and Der Fuchs und der Rabe (The Fox and the
Raven, 1932) were Singspiele for children’s choir to texts by schoolchildren. These works were
understandably non-controversial and well-received, but Egk had not abandoned his Weimar
experiments. Egk had again collaborated with Seitz on Großstadt Weihnacht (Christmas in the
Metropolis, 1931), and he composed the cosmopolitan Zur Gast bei Frau Chang (A Guest of
Mrs. Chang) in February 1932. In light of Egk’s earlier reports on China in Zeit im Funk and 91
Tage Zeitgeschehen, critics opined that Egk reported too little on the modern Chinese woman but
that he had created a realistic Chinese atmosphere in his music. 26 Egk’s music to Von Helden
der Gegenwart (Of Heroes of Today) of the same year complemented Hanns O. Münstere’s
ballads on the archetypal polar explorer, engineer, American pilot, and doctor; and again
explored international boundaries. 27
On 30 May 1932 Egk’s “melodrama” Die Historie von Ritter Don Juan aus Barcelona
(The Story of Knight Don Juan of Barcelona) premiered on Bavarian Radio. Egk had adapted an
old German puppet play to the new medium of radio. Ritter Don Juan was more than a
melodrama, however, and represented an evolution from Egk’s earlier radio works toward opera.
Egk included four singing roles: Kaspar, a hermit, the Spirit of Don Pedro, and unison choir.
The other five roles, including Don Juan, were speaking roles. Egk included a seating chart in
the score, indicating the positions of the instruments and conductor relative to the microphone.
This revealed Egk’s understanding of radio broadcast, an attribute, according to critics,
noticeably absent from his earliest radio works. 28
Ritter Don Juan drew upon the Don Juan tale but set its characters in southern Germany.
While Egk retained Don Juan’s Spanish name, he remade Don Juan’s servant into Kaspar, a
German commedia dell’arte type who speaks in a Bavarian dialect, as do the other common
25
Berlin Börsen Zeitung 242, 28 May 1931.
26
Münchner Post 38, 16 February 1932.
27
Bayrische Radiozeitung, n.d., BSB Ana 410.
28
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Trésor Mus. Mss. 11907. The quoted text is found on page 1 of the typewritten
transcription of the play inserted in the manuscript.
11
characters in the melodrama. When the Spirit of Don Pedro accepts Don Juan’s invitation to
dinner, it is at a Gasthaus (tavern) in the middle of a mystical German forest. These woods
house mystical creatures and continue the German dark forest tradition of Carl Maria von
Weber’s Der Freischütz. Kaspar is particularly terrified by the “Prrrrrrrrr – Prrrrrrrrr” of a
demon. In response, he cheers himself by singing a Tanzerl, a moralizing dance-song
enumerating Don Juan’s sins of murder and lust. The meal to which Don Pedro sits down is one
of Braten (roast), a favorite of many Bavarian brewhouses. Before Kaspar settled on Braten for
the meal, the waitress was happy to recite a very Bavarian menu, including seven different types
of sausage. 29
Die Historie von Ritter Don Juan aus Barcelona is a progenitor to Joan von Zarissa. The
rustic work from the cosmopolitan Egk was alternately praised and criticized for its simplicity.
Its proponents saw the work as another in Egk’s line of children’s theater. Its detractors had
come to expect more from the composer. The evolution from Ritter Don Juan to Joan von
Zarissa marks the trajectory of Egk’s development from a fledgling composer of radio works to
an established composer of large-scale works. This is not to say that Egk had not composed
more traditional or absolute art music before, nor that Egk’s radio works were not significant.
The cosmopolitan, contemporary, avant-garde, and pacifist natures of Egk’s first successful
works for radio were a reflection of the liberal Weimar milieu in which Egk spent his formative
years as a composer. They provided the foundation for Egk’s later success in opera and dance,
Egk’s music for which was perpetually panegyrized as both illustrative and dramatic.
29
Ibid, 5.
Kellnerin:
Was wünschen der Herr? Haben der Herr schon bestellt?
Kaspar:
Ja was habns denn?
Kelln.:
Bei uns könnens scho alles haben: Ein Schweinsschnitzel, ein
Kalbsschnitzel, ein Beefsteak, ein Rindsbraten, ein Lungenbraten,
ein Saftbraten, eine Antn, ein Ganser, oder wollns Würstl haben?
Regensburger, Wiener, Frankfurter, Knackwürstl, Bratwürstl, Weisswürstl, Dampfwürstl?
Kaspar:
Sie – habens keine Blunzn [Blutwurst]?
Kelln.:
Nein, bedaure, Blunzn haben wir sganze Jahr nicht.
The exact nature of the Braten is difficult to specify, since this particular tavern offers three, including beef and
lung. Kaspar’s first choice, blood sausage, wasn’t available year-round.
12
With the 30 January 1933 election of Adolf Hitler as Chancellor of Germany, Weimar
Germany would give way to the National Socialist New Germany, with its paradoxical
antiquarian cultural paradigms, many modeled on the whims or perceived tastes of Hitler
himself. While the advent of National Socialism did not immediately obliterate the liberalism of
Weimar, its most ardent adherents would have to flee or adapt in the coming years. Scherchen
fled in 1933, along with many others in the years following. Egk did not. As Egk established
himself as a composer within the new regime, his cosmopolitan, avant-garde, and pacifist themes
would disappear from some of his works but surface again in others, vestiges of Egk’s Weimar
liberalism that National Socialism could not exorcise. In the end, Egk would never fully
embrace National Socialism, though he utilized its infrastructure to forge a career, nor would he
forget the freedom fomented by the culture of Weimar Berlin.
13
CHAPTER TWO
WERNER EGK’S CAREER WITHIN NATIONAL SOCIALISM
A work-by-work evaluation of Werner Egk’s oeuvre composed during the National
Socialist period suggests a collection of disparate pieces of polarized intent across a variety of
genres. By considering them as part of a young composer’s attempt to forge a career, Egk’s
“Nazi works” such as Job, der Deutsche and works as “culturally Bolshevistic” as Peer Gynt
become possible to reconcile with one another. Egk’s career began in accompanying film. It
was a small step from providing an illustrative soundtrack for a film to creating music for a radio
play. It was a step of some consequence, however, to create both the utilitarian and dramatic
musics required for a sacramental play and even further to compose libretti and inherently
dramatic music required for operas or for a dramatic dance-poem such Joan von Zarissa. These
ostensibly dissimilar genres actually map Egk’s compositional path. Along the way Egk also
wrote journal articles in an attempt to make space for himself and his colleagues, a new
generation of German composers who grew out of and then outgrew German Romanticism.
Bayerische Fahnen (1933)
Egk’s first work completed in the Third Reich suited it well. On 19 May 1933 Bavarian
Radio broadcast the radio play Bayerische Fahnen (Bavarian Flags), comprising seven
“impressive scenes from German and Bavarian flag-history.” The play was written by Alfons
von Czybulda and directed by Alois Johannes Lippl, the Managing Director (Oberspielleiter) of
Bavarian Radio from 1932 to 1935. The play spanned German and Bavarian history from the
First Reich, the Holy Roman Empire; through the Second Reich, Wilhelmine Germany; to the
Third Reich, National Socialist Germany. The play ended with a scene titled “The Eternal
Reich,” a model of the nationalistic programming featured on German radio after the National
Socialist assumption of power. For this play Egk composed music for the Bavarian Radio men’s
chorus and brass ensemble. It has since been lost. 1
1
Robert Braunmüller, “Aktiv im kulturellen Wiederaufbau. Werner Egks verschwiegene Werke nach 1933,” in
Werner Egk: Eine Debatte zwischen Ästhetik und Politik, ed. Jürgen Schläder (Munich: Herbert Utz Verlag, 2008),
40.
14
Columbus (1933)
On July 13, 1933 Bavarian Radio (Bayerische Rundfunk) broadcast Egk’s next radio play,
Columbus. Rather than a new product of the New Germany, Columbus was a vestige of Weimar
Germany. Egk, having been engaged by Bavarian Radio in 1932 to write a radio-opera,
completed its composition in that year; the work was to be broadcast in January 1933 but was not
broadcast until July. 2 The radio play chronicled the struggle of Columbus to gain funding for his
exploration of a westward route to India. After an endless journey across an unknown ocean,
Columbus claimed the New World for Spain. All are seized by a fever for the golden treasures
the New World is alleged to offer. Having found no promised gold, Columbus falls victim to
mutiny. He is brought back to Spain in chains, and after a lukewarm exculpation and trivial
further adventures, dies half-forgotten there. 3 For his libretto Egk went back to roughly
contemporary sources: works by Calderon and others. N.S. Funk boasted that everything
Columbus spoke in the play could be “authentically substantiated.” 4 In Columbus, then, Egk
employed a method to which he returned in Joan von Zarissa, the use of texts by authors
contemporary to the setting of the drama.
Egk worked closely with Hermann Scherchen on the composition of Columbus, but
Scherchen fled to Austria before its premiere. 5 Scherchen had reason to flee: he was a public
figure who was also Communist. The Communists were the group first suppressed after the
National Socialists gained power and the group on whom they blamed the 27 February 1933
Reichstag fire as the inauguration of revolution. 6 Scherchen was not formally expunged until 6
January 1942, when he was “forbidden from any endorsement within the purview of the Reich
Culture Chamber for the Greater German Reich for reason of his political orientation.” 7 An
2
Egk to Frau [Gustel Jansen-] Scherchen, 27 March 1969. BSB Ana 410.
3
Funk Zeitung, “Uraufführung der Funkoper Columbus,” n.d. BSB Ana 410.
4
N.S. Funk 1, no. 23 (9 July 1933). Spaniard Pedro Calderón de la Barca lived from 1600 to 1681, and is therefore
not actually a contemporary of Columbus.
5
Braunmüller, “Aktiv im kulturellen Wiederaufbau,” 37–38.
6
William Schirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (New York: Simon and
Schuster, 1960), 190–95.
7
Bundesarchiv Berlin-Lichterfelde, R 56-II. Memorandum of 6 January 1942. “Betrifft: Frühere
Generalmusikdirektor Herman Scherchen, geb. 21.6.1891. Hierdruch [sic] wird dem Obengenannten aufgrund
15
allusion to Egk’s work with Scherchen may be read in the review of Columbus published in the
Völkischer Beobachter:
Our time is grappling after a new, tonal language appropriate and specific to itself. We
cannot get around this if we wanted, and [can]not admit it to those, those to whom a
falsely-understood tradition and lame epigonism mean enough. The years of
internationalist Marxist and Jewish domination have addled and exacerbated the
situation, as they trained the young, budding composers in one spirit, that replaced
creative formal design with constructivism and above all knowingly estranged new talent
from the nurturing topsoil of national identity.
The reviewer lauded Werner Egk, who, despite being led astray was able to find his way back.
The writer continued that Egk’s
strong creative talent is on its way to making real and healthy musical progress.
Although no perfection yet exists apart from some intense points, so must work and
performance be counted and praised as success and as bold achievement. Also all those
who work at success and have mastered the not inconsiderable difficulties [must be
praised]. 8
The back-handed reviewer did not regard Columbus as completely successful, but he touted Egk
as a composer of the New Germany, though this work had originated in Weimar Germany and
was set outside the Reich.
seiner politischen Einstellung jede Bestätigung im Bereich der Reichskulturkammer für das Großdeutschen Reich
untersagt.” Hereafter, “Bundesarchiv Berlin-Lichterfelde” will be abbreviated “BA.”
8
Völkischer Beobachter 197 (16 July 1933). “Unsere Zeit ringt nach einer neuen, ihr gemäßen und eigentümlichen
Tonsprache. Darum kommen wir nicht herum, wollen wir und nicht zu denen bekennen, denen falsch verstandene
Tradition und lahmes Epigonentum Genüge bedeuten. Die Jahre internationalistischer Marxisten- und
Judenherrschaft haben die Situation insbesondere auch dadurch verwirrt und erschwert, als sie die jungen,
aufstrebenden Komponisten in einem Geist erzogen, die Konstruktivismus an die Stelle schöpferischen Gestaltens
setzte und der vor allem die jungen Begabungen bewußt dem mährenden Mutterboden des Volkstums
entfremdete.… Es sei hier lediglich zusammengefaßt, daß das Werk den Gesamteindruck hinterließ, daß hier eine
kräftige schöpferische Begabung echten und gesunden musikalischen Fortschritts auf dem besten Weg ist.
Wenngleich also außer an einigen konzentrierten Stellen noch keine Vollendung vorliegt, so muß doch Werk und
Aufführung als Erfolg und als wagemutige Tat verzeichnet und gerühmt werden. Und damit auch alle, die sich um
das Gelingen bemüht, und die nicht geringen Schwierigkeiten gemeistert haben.…” Emphasis in original.
16
The Völkischer Beobachter was never overly congratulatory of Egk. Dr. Max Neuhaus,
after hearing the concert performance of Columbus in April 1934, thought less of Egk’s efforts
than did his colleague, as his comments made clear:
Egk says in a foreword to the libretto, that “the musical language of the work is
derived from the great archetypes of the last centuries.” Therein he errs fundamentally.
The musical language is not derived from the great archetypes of the last centuries, but
from the calamity in the relation of tones to one another that, in the abrogation of
eternally valid laws, has first been taught by Arnold Schönberg. (That the beginning of
this corruptive work of Schönberg almost coincides with the notorious Zionist Congress
in Basel in 1897 has hardly been considered adequately.)
As the music sounded, it appeared as though the conductor had not heard the
mistakes in the orchestra at the proofreading rehearsals. It swarms with them. Later it
occurred to us that these “mistakes” were intended in order to produce “sound
combinations of one’s own style.” When in one chord the major third sounds at the same
time as the minor, yes, that may give the impression of suspenseful uncertainty; but when
such jokes are perpetually repeated, when alongside the bass note a half-step above or
below sounds as well, then through a sense of hearing so developed, gross discomfort
arises in our souls. 9
9
Max Neuhaus, Völkischer Beobachter 89 (9 April 1934). “Egk sagt in einem Vorwort zum Textbuch, daß „die
musikalische Sprache des Werkes sich von den großen Vorbildern des letzten Jahrhunderts herleite“. Darin irrt er
fundamental. Nicht von den großen Vorbildern des letzten Jahrhunderts leitet die musikalische Sprache her, sondern
von dem Unheil, das in der Aufhebung ewig gültiger Gesetze, in dem Beziehungen der Töne untereinander, zuerst
von Arnold Schönberg abgerichtet worden ist. (Daß der Beginn dieser Zersetzungsarbeit Schönbergs fast auf das
Jahr zusammenfällt mit dem berüchtigten Zionistenkongreß zu Basel im Jahre 1897, ist kaum noch hinreichend
bedacht worden.)
Als die Musik erklang, da schien es, als habe der Dirigent bei den Korrekturproben die Fehler in den
Orchesterstimmen nicht gehört. Es wimmelt davon. Später kam uns zum Bewußtsein daß diese „Fehler“
beabsichtigt waren, wohl um „Klangmischungen eigener Art“ hervorzubringen. Wenn in einem Akkorde die große
Terz gleichzeitig mit der kleinen erklingt, so mag das ja den Ausdruck von erwartungsvoller Unsicherheit geben
können; wenn solche Scherze aber dauernd wiederholt werden, wenn neben den Baßtönen fast immer gleichzeitig
der Halbton drüber oder drunter miterklingt, dann steigt uns durch ein sein [sic] entwickeltes Gehört krasses
Unbehagen in die Seele.”
17
Another review of the concert performance of Columbus in Munich found Egk to be a promising
young Bavarian musician who unfortunately adhered rigidly to “sound combinations of an
expressionistic technique that proclaims itself especially clearly in the accumulation of extraharmonic tones in the return of a wearisome diatonicism.” 10 Negative reviews of Egk’s music
referencing expressionism reflected the cultural shift from Weimar to National Socialist
Germany. In the short time between the composition of Columbus and its premiere, the
acceptable harmonic language of Germany had undergone a sea change from liberal Weimar
experimentalism to National Socialist asceticism. Expressionism was verboten. 11
Egk’s Contributions to Völkische Kultur - I
In addition to being a composer, Egk was the regular correspondent reporting on
contemporary music for Völkische Kultur, the “monthly journal for the entire spiritual [geistig]
movement of the New Germany.” In addition to music the journal devoted articles to cultural
studies, literature, arts, history, and politics. Between October 1933 and January 1936 Egk wrote
eleven articles or book reviews for Völkische Kultur. 12
Historian Michael Kater posits that the composer’s “publications such as those for
Völkische Kultur signify that Egk, despite being steeped in the modernist culture of Weimar, was
10
Der Volksfreund (Aachen) 96 (25 April 1934). “Egks starres Festhalten an den Klangkombinationen einer
expressionistischen Technik, die sich besonders deutlich in der Häufung harmoniefremder Töne und in der
Wiederkehr einer ermüdenden Diatonik kundgibt, spricht jedoch nicht für eine weise Benutzung überlieferter
musikalischer Formen.”
11
When Paul Hindemith attended the Columbus production staged in Zurich in 1955, he complimented the
“powerful work,” and apologized to Egk for not staying after the performance, but having to “leave under protest” in
order to meet with Swiss composer Walter Schultheiß. (Paul Hindemith to Werner Egk, 7 March 1955; BSB Ana
410.)
12
The term geistig, here reflects the all-encompassing scope of the journal, since that word means variably
“intellectual,” “mental,” or “spiritual.” Regular articles appeared in the columns devoted to cultural studies, history
of German literature, contemporary poetry, philosophy, fine arts, architecture, history, German pre- and early
history, race issues, school administration, youth education, gymnastics and dance, theater, German language,
Catholic and Protestant theology, culture and rights, rural customs and tradition, Germandom abroad, women’s
issues, military science, and contemporary critique.
18
early on trying to arrange himself with the new Nazi rulers.” 13 While that may be so, Egk often
lights on controversial points that make a reader wonder exactly what arrangement he was
attempting to construct. Instead of seeking to align him with National Socialism, many of Egk’s
divergent articles share the common goal of making a place for him within the cultural landscape
of the New Germany.
Egk’s inaugural article, titled “Music Yesterday and Today” focused on contemporary
music in the context of its forbears. Egk divided composers into five groups: eclecticists and
epigones of the Romantics, atonal music composers, popular hit-composers, those composers
who “wish to realize the idea of a community,” and folk-musicians. Those of the first group
acted as though Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, and Wagner had been rejected by their own
tradition, only “to be publicized by lately-born copycats.” According to Egk, the opposite was
true: the copycats hid behind the masters to “conceal their smallness.” 14 Here, the modernist
Egk set himself apart from those German Romantic epigones.
Egk embarked on his discussion of atonal composition by practically apologizing for a
lengthy discourse when the movement had found so few adherents in Germany. Egk pointed to
chromaticism as the origin of atonality, though it may have angered the epigones of the first
group, who equated “atonal” with “anarchical” or “ugly.” Egk countered that a piece of music
“can sound very ugly while righteously tonal” and defended the atonal composers, who worked
under a self-imposed law more exacting than any that had come before. He equated
dodecaphonic technique with the handling of a melodic motive of a tonal work “used
13
Michael Kater, Composers of the Nazi Era: Eight Portraits (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2000), 5.
14
Werner Egk, “Musik gestern und heute,” Völkische Kultur 1 (October 1933): 208–11. “Der Begriff, hinter dem
sich die große Masse der Eklektizisten und Epigonen im Kampf um ihre eigene Bedeutung und im Kampf gegen
eine neue geistige Haltung—im Musikalischen genau wie im Politischen—verschanzt, ist die Tradition. Als ob
Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms und Wagner darauf angewiesen wären, von spätgeborenen Nachahmern propagiert zu
werden! In Wirklichkeit ist der Vorgang genau umgekehrt. Jene Leute stellen sich nicht vor die Titanen, um für sie
zu kämpfen, sie haben es nötig sich hinter ihnen zu verstecken um ihre Kleinheit zu verbergen.” The word
“epigone” is a keyword used generally to describe the hangers-on to romanticism in the discussion of the changes in
musical culture from romanticism to modernism, be that atonality, dodecaphony, or Egk’s extended diatonicism.
The term is often used by critics and writers other than Egk, and the composer Hans Pfitzner particularly bears the
label.
19
architecturally through mirror imitation [Umkehrung, or “inversion”] and cancrizans [Krebs, or
“retrograde”] and varied by every thinkable rhythmic alteration.” By defending atonality and
dodecaphony to a certain extent, Egk defended his own music, which, while tonal, was replete
with non-harmonic additions.
Egk sarcastically acknowledged that the “discoverers of song-style” proceeded from the
“completely correct premise that the constriction of art music from the large part of music
consumers must lead to the dying off of art music.” Egk continued that such composers, “with a
stunning commercial instinct and disarming cold-bloodedness, marry a virtuoso-artistic
American jazz style with Yiddish folklore and give it one more shot of sentimental irony of their
own.” This “refined” product, Egk explained,
took cabaret, radio, theater, the recording industry and the concert hall, snobs and the
entire public by storm. Great jubilation! Finally the long-missed connection between art
and the masses had been established. 15
Egk opposed this group to his own, composers who “wish to realize community through the
musically-stylistic.” Their model was classic vocal polyphony, in which the “individual lives
through the whole and the whole through the individual.” Egk lamented that while much had
been written on the power of this music to build community, no community had yet arisen
outside “circles, conventicals, and sects” centered on enjoying polyphony. They saved the
construction of community for later. Egk posited,
Community presupposes a collective weltanschauung, which can then decree a musical
style, but the reverse cannot be. It is possible to interpret the instinctive connection to the
pre-Classical form principles as a parallel to the political ideation of recent years, and one
can hope that the new Germany will avail itself of the results of this development to
purify it [the instinctive connection to pre-Classical form principles] of every
15
Ibid., 210. “Sie verheirateten mit einem verblüffenden geschäftlichen Instinkt und einer entwaffnenden
Kaltblütigkeit den virtuos-artistischen amerikanischen Jazzstil mit der jiddischen Folklore und gaben aus Eigenem
noch einen herzhaften Schuß sentimentaler Ironie dazu. Dieses raffinierte Produkt eroberte das Kabarett, den
Rundfunk, das Theater, die Schallplattenindustrie und den Konzertsaal, die Snobs und das große Publikum. Heller
Jubel! Endlich war wieder die langvermißte Verbindung von der Kunst zur Masse hergestellt.”
20
arbitrariness and cultivate and enhance it to be a viable means of expression for resulting
representative-cultic causes. 16
Egk’s rhetoric on fostering community and his reference to the “cultic” cause paralleled the
language he would later use to describe Job, der Deutsche, which premiered the following
month. Here, Egk aligned himself with the National Socialist cultural goal of fostering
Volksgemeinschaft, the “community of the people,” the ideological antithesis to artificial, unGerman society or Gesellschaft. 17 Volksgemeinschaft was an important tenet of National
Socialism, community born out of common blood, destiny, and National Socialist belief, in
which individual interests were subsumed for the benefit of the entire body of the people. 18 Egk
offered himself and his works as capable of achieving this goal.
Egk closed his article with a discussion of folk music, pointing out that other countries
had already provided “living examples of the renewal of art music in the spirit of folksong.”
According to Egk, that spirit arose from a time before the “hegemony of chromaticism” and
broke out “in the colors of an expanded, steely diatonicism.” Through its clarity, aggressiveness,
dynamism and strength, this style could engage and inspire that Volk who identified with it. 19
Egk’s references to an expanded diatonicism again aligned with his own compositional style.
The influence of folksong and folk-like composition foreshadowed his work in Die Zaubergeige,
parts of which his wife had already introduced to Germany.
Egk’s second article for Völkische Kultur was published the following month, November
1933. Egk opened his article “Music for Radio Plays”: “we all still remember the advent of
radio plays, in which merry real glasses clinked, doors slammed open and shut, chains rattled and
steps within cavernous chambers reverberated from the speaker.” He then traced out the
development of German radio plays from mere “works of entertainment and enjoyment to
16
Ibid., 210–11. “Gemeinschaft setzt eine gemeinsame Weltanschauung voraus, die dann den musikalischen Stil
bestimmen kann, aber umgekehrt geht das nicht. Es besteht aber die Möglichkeit, die instinktive Anknüpfung an die
vorklassischen Formprinzipien als einen Parallelvorgang zu der politischen Ideenbildung der letzten Jahre zu deuten,
und man kann hoffen, daß das neue Deutschland sich der Ergebnisse dieser Entwicklung bemächtigen wird, um sie
von jeder Willkürlichkeit zu reinigen und sie zu einem brauchbaren Ausdruckmittel für die sich ergebenden
repräsentativ-kultischen Anlässe auszubilden und zu steigern.”
17
Ed. Benz, et al., Enzyklopädie des Nationalsozialismus, s.v. “Volksgemeinschaft.”
18
Schmitz-Berning, Vokabular des Nationalsozialismus, s.v. “Volksgemeinschaft.”
19
Egk, “Musik gestern und heute,” 211.
21
weltanschauung-oriented, ethically assertive radio plays for building community and state.” He
lamented the continued existence of “melodramatic kitsch and objectionable illustration-music”
regularly reported in the press as “the very pretty musical illustration by Mister X.” Egk closed
with an inventory of radio plays that accomplished the task of fusing strong ideas to music of a
more serious nature than Egk’s own earlier radio works. 20 In this article Egk traced his own
development as a composer of music for radio plays, from his early Ein Cello singt in Daventry
to his lighter Der Löwe und der Maus to his more serious Das große Totenspiel (The Great
Death-Play) that premiered the same month as his article.
Egk’s Radio Plays of 1933–34
Egk composed several radio plays that premiered in 1933 and 1934 and about which little
is known. In a letter to Guido Gatti regarding an upcoming article for the journal Rassegna, Egk
referred to three radio plays from 1933 for which he wrote music: Hölderlin to a text by
Rosskopf, for orchestra; Heimliche Reich (Covert Empire) to a text by Alois Johannes Lippl, for
large orchestra and baritone; and Kleine Schöpfung (Little Creation) to a text by Ernst Wiechert,
for large orchestra and choir. 21 In 1934 Egk composed music for Das kaiserliche
Liebesgespräch (The Imperial Call of Love). The radio program premiered on 2 April 1934. 22
Two other works from 1933 enjoy substantial historical documentation: the radio play Das
große Totenspiel and the sacramental play Job, der Deutsche (Job, the German).
Das große Totenspiel (1933)
On All Saints’ Day (1 November) 1933 Bavarian Radio premiered Das große Totenspiel,
written by Ernst Wiechert with music by Werner Egk. Like Bayerische Fahnen, both score and
libretto have been lost. According to an advertisement in the Bayerische Radio-Zeitung,
20
Werner Egk, “Hörspielmusik,” Völkische Kultur 1 (November 1933): 277–78. “Man findet sogar noch
melodramatischen Kitsch und üble Illustrationsmusik, die nach Art der Kinotheken unglückseligen Andenkens
Versatzstücke für jede beliebige Stimmung bereitstellt. In den Funkkritiken heißt es dann regelmäßig: „Sehr
hübsch die musikalische Illustration von Herrn X.“
21
Egk to Guido Gatti, 2 February 1934. BSB Ana 410. Rassegna Dorica was a Milanese cultural journal that ran a
series of articles on music composition in 1933 and 1934. < http://www.ripm.org/journal_info.php5?ABB=RAD>
(Accessed 24 June 2011).
22
Fred K. Prieberg, Handbuch deutsche Musiker 1933–1945 (CD ROM, Fred K. Prieberg, 2004), 8279.
22
however, the roles included God, Mary, the Angel, Death, a mother, her son, and a young
woman. The Radio Orchestra was joined by the Radio Choir, and both were conducted by
Egk. 23 Das große Totenspiel was broadcast by other radio stations in March 1934 to
commemorate the newly instated Heldengedenktag, or Heroes Remembrance Day. 24
Job, der Deutsche (1933)
On 16 November 1933 Job, der Deutsche premiered in the Grosse Messehalle in
Cologne, Germany. This Thingspiel (Tribunal Play) was written by Kurt Eggers, set to music by
Egk, and choreographed by Dr. Hans Niedecken-Gebhardt, stage director of the Metropolitan
Opera in New York from 1931 to 1933. 25 The program for the premiere touts Job, der Deutsche
as “the first festival play in Germany,” an “honorable commission” from Reichsminister Dr.
Josef Goebbels. 26 Job, der Deutsche is a variation on the biblical account of Job. According to
the program for the premiere, Eggers
prophetically foresaw how Job, the German Man, who, after a lost war, had to go through
all hardships of poverty, through pestilence and vice, who, finally, after overcoming all
vileness, after conquering the Evil Foe, entered eternity as a victor. 27
23
24
Ibid. This day commemorated the fallen of the First World War and of the Munich Beer Hall Putsch of 9
November 1923. From 1939, the day was a commemoration of the fallen of both World Wars, and the latter
commemoration received its own national holiday, the Gefallenen der Bewegung (The Fallen of the Movement) on 9
November.
25
Gerald Fitzgerald, Editor-in-Chief, Annals of the Metropolitan Opera: The Complete Chronicle of Performances
and Artists (Boston: G. K. Hall and Co. and New York: The Metropolitan Opera Guild, Inc., 1989), 428–449. His
name is listed as Hanns Niedecken-Gebhard in the Annals. Egk’s manuscript for Job, der Deutsche is housed in the
Musik Abteilung of the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich, Trésor Mus. ms. 17522. The title page bears the
name Der Weg and the date 1933; however, the score is that of Job, der Deutsche.
26
Program, Das Spiel von Job, dem Deutschen, 16 November 1933. BSB Ana 410. “Die Landestelle Rheinland hat
durch den Herrn Reichsminister Dr. Goebbels den ehrenvollen Auftrag erhalten, als erste die „Rheinische
Spielgemeinschaft für nationale Festgestaltung“ und die ersten nationalen Festspiele in Deutschland durchzuführen.”
27
Ibid. “Das Mysterium von Kurt Eggers „Das Spiel von Job dem Deutschen“ entstand im November 1932. Eggers
hat prophetisch vorausgeschaut, wie Job, der deutsche Mensch, der nach einem verlorenen Kriege durch alle Nöte
der Armut, durch Seuche und Laster hindurchgehen mußte, schließlich nach Überwindung aller Widerwärtigkeiten,
nach Bezwingung des bösen Feindes als Sieger in die Ewigkeit eingeht.”
23
The program did not specify exactly what Eggers prophesied. Given the economic ruin of the
defeated Germany seized by the National Socialists, and the German Everyman nature of Job,
Eggers drew an analogy to Germany itself after World War I and envisioned its future triumph.
The spectacle involved some 500 participants, including roles for Job, his wife, seven
sons, and a servant; the voice of the Lord of Glory; the Evil Foe; and an infernal triumvirate of
Poverty, Pestilence, and Vice, along with their minions. The Berlin Lokal-Anzeiger reported:
Job, the German, is the victim of temptation for the Lord of Glory, whom the Evil
Foe challenges to battle for a human soul, as in Goethe’s Faust. The adversary,
Mephistopheles in new clothes, in his unassuming earthly life, brings what wickedness
and misfortune this world has to offer: war and pestilence, poverty and vice. Job’s seven
sons take up arms and go off to war with courage and joy. They are brought back dead.
Poverty nags, pestilence lurks, vice entices—but Job remains steadfast and trusts his God.
He will be saved; he may enter that Reich that promises eternal bliss. The angels rejoice,
the flags greet, the choirs of heaven sing: a person remained true to himself, Job, the
German! And a proud song breaks out in the hall, in the world: “Now thank we all our
God.…” (“Nun danket alle Gott.…”) and closes the German Passion with victory and
praise. 28
After the production, the newly-appointed leader of the Reich Theater Chamber, Secretary Otto
Laubinger thanked the participants on the behalf of Reichsminister Dr. Josef Goebbels. 29
Job, der Deutsche is a Thingspiel, an open-air production named for the Thing (“Place of
Judgment”), the tribune in which the German Court met. Thingspiele were popular in Nazi
28
Erik Krünes, Berlin Lokal-Anzeiger, 17 November 1933. “Job, der Deutsche, ist für den Herrn der Herrlichkeiten,
den der böse Feind, wie in Goethes Faust herausfordert, mit ihm um eines Menschen Seele zu kämpfen, das Opfer
der Versuchung. Was es an Schlechtigkeit und Unglück in dieser Welt zu geben vermag, bringt der Widersacher,
Mephisto in neuem Kleid, in sein bescheidenes Erdenleben: Krieg und Seuche, Armut und Laster. Die sieben
Söhne Jobs greifen zum Gewehr und ziehen mit Mur und Freude in den krieg hinaus. Man bringt sie tot zurück.
Die Armut keift, die Seuche droht, das Laster lockt—doch Job bleibt standhaft und vertraut seinem Gott. Er wird
gerettet, er darf eingehen in das Reich, das ewige Seligkeit verspricht. Die Engel jubilieren, die Fahnen grüßen, die
Chöre des Himmels singen: Ein Mensch blieb sich selber treu, Job, der Deutsche! Und ein stolzer Gesang braust
auf, durch die Halle, durch die Welt: „Nun danket alle Gott …“ und schließt die deutsche Passion mit Sieg und
Lob.”
29
Berliner Tageblatt 542, 17 November 1933.
24
Germany from 1933 to 1937 and fell under the purview of the short-lived Reichsbund der
deutschen Freilicht- und Volksschauspiele (Reich Organization of Open-air and Community
Theater). 30 The genre developed as a proletarian alternative to bourgeois theater, first
originating in the 1920s among Social Democrats and Communists. Choruses, the central
element of the genre, simultaneously fascinated and disciplined their hearers. 31 The thingspiel
sought to bridge the gulf between actors and audience that had developed in the theater. In a
rejection of theater architecture, thingspiele were performed in large open-air theaters in the
round with seating for thousands, with the natural landscape comprising part of the set. Extras
were recruited from the audience gathered to see the production. Productions included choruses
of speech, song, and movement; pantomime and allegorical figures; flag ceremonies; modern
dance and ballet; and sound and lighting effects. Music was integral to thingspiele. In lieu of a
curtain, musical cues delineated scenes. The music was highly rhythmic, and finales featured
both actors and spectators joining in national or battle hymns. Actors often had no individual
identity but represented nameless workers or soldiers. Some characters were aggregate: a group
dressed in identical costume represented a single entity or allegorical figure, such as NiedeckenGebhardt’s characters of Poverty, Pestilence, and Vice. Finally, Thingspiele were massive: in
October 1933, a Thingspiel by Gustav Goes performed in Berlin featured approximately 17,000
costumed actors before an audience of 60,000. 32 With drama, movement and dance, music, and
natural landscape for a set, the Thingspiel was a Gesamtkunstwerk that sought to move the
masses and foster Volksgemeinschaft. Job, der Deutsche, a play that “in its choric-cultic form,
30
Henning Eichberg, “The Nazi Thingspiel: Theater for the Masses in Fascism and Proletarian Culture,” trans.
Robert A. Jones, New German Critique 11 (Spring 1977): 133–150. It is important to clarify that the term
“Thingspiel” originates from the place in which open-air instructional plays were performed, the Thingplatz (lit.,
“Thing-‘place,’” the open-air circular theater, many of which were constructed after 1933 specifically for the
production of such plays). “Thingspiel” can function as label of genre as well, though the terms Weihespiel
(“sacramental play,” of which Job, der Deutsche is one) and Massenspiel (“mass play”) are more descriptive. From
1935 Josef Goebbels sought the eradication of such “mystical” terms as Thing, Kult (“Cult”), and Mystik
(“Mysticism”) from the press, as they were incongruent with the National Socialist movement, whose leaders later
sought to distance themselves from a reputation as cultic or mystic. See Schmitz-Berning, Vokabular des
Nationalsozialismus, s.v. “Thing (Thingplatz, Thingstätte).”
31
Eichberg, “Nazi Thingspiel,” 141.
32
Ibid., 139–140.
25
in the denial of individualism and emphasis on folk-identifying solidarity, expresses true
Volksgemeinschaft through a grandiose harmony of stage and audience at its close” was just such
a work. 33
One critic surmised that Egk, after his years of wandering in Italy, lived among farmers
in the Bavarian mountains and created music out of this healthy German topsoil. The critic
stated that in Egk’s music:
simple rhythms and a strong sense of color are united. The Prelude was ceremoniously
played; the Pastorale transition to the play, a quiet song of praise to homeland; the March
to War of the sons is resolute, soldierly and powerful; the great Funeral March for the
fallen heroes is dignifiedly restrained and grows to the Transfiguration of the Dead in
major; the sounds of the Song of Poverty are moving; the great Dance of Vice and
Pestilence is a drunken spook from Hell—the Closing March, though, the Entrance of the
German People, a radiantly clear avowal to freedom and a life of honor. 34
The author commended Egk, “who in all his works, never celebrated the over-bred, but instead
created folk-identifying (volkhaft) music understandable by everyone.” 35 However, the reviewer
also referred to the dance of Vice and Pestilence as a “drunken spook from Hell.” This dance, or
rather, the music Egk composed for this dance, were something of a problem, as will be seen.
33
Program, Job dem Deutschen, 16 November 1933. BSB Ana 410.
34
“Kölner Mosaik” in an unnamed newspaper, no. 291, 15 November 1933. BSB Ana 410. “Hierin finden sich ein
einfacher Rhythmus und starker Sinn für Farben vereint. Das Vorspiel ist feierlich getragen; das Pastorale als
Ueberleitung zum Spiel ein stilles Preislied auf die Heimat; Der Auszugsmarsch der Söhne ist entschlossen,
soldatisch und stark; der große Trauermarsch für die gefallenen Helden ist würdig verhalten und steigert sich bis zur
Verklärung der Toten heroisch in Dur; die Klänge des Armutsliedes sind ergreifend; der große Tanz des Lasters und
der Seuche ist ein taumelnder Höllenspuk—der Schlußmarsch aber, der Einzug der deutschen Menschen, ein
strahlend klares Bekenntnis zu Freiheit und einem Leben in Ehre. Werner Egk, der ein geborener Münchener ist
und nach seinen italienischen Wanderjahren nun im bayrischen Gebirge unter Bauern lebt, zieht seine schaffenden
Kräfte aus gesundem Erlebnisgrund.”
35
Ibid. “In all seinen Werken, zuletzt in der Musik zu dem großen Totenspiel von Ernst Wiechert, hat er nie das
Ueberzüchtete gefeiert, sondern immer nur eine volkhafte, allgemein verständliche Musik geschaffen.”
The word “Überzüchtete” is difficult, and I have translated it as “over-bred.” Züchten, “to breed” or “to raise,” is an
agricultural term usually associated with livestock or plants, and also for inbreeding (durch Inzucht züchten). Here,
it refers to an over-cultivated, intellectual art music.
26
“Tango music in a Germany mystery play?” the reviewer of the Cologne newspaper
Westdeutscher Beobachter asked upon hearing a dress rehearsal of Job, der Deutsche. He then
answered his own question:
As the medieval painters most drastically depict Hell and the Temptation of St. Anthony,
in this play the entire life in its opposition of good and evil will be represented. Vice
presses on Job in tango step and invites him [Job] to find forgetfulness of sorrow and
misery in him [Vice]. 36
Egk accompanied scantily-clad, fiery-red-headed Vice and her minions with sultry tango music,
a characterization of evil. 37
Tango had an dubious reputation in National Socialism. Writing in 1938 for the
Deutsche Tanz-Zeitschrift (German Dance Journal), Reinhold Sommer acknowledged that
For years the most different circles have earnestly endeavored to find a dance form in
accordance with the cultural aspirations of our time.…
… It was often said that the foreign dances foxtrot and tango originate in an
individualistic Epoch and therefore henceforth appear unaesthetic. As counterexamples,
one cites simple dances such as the Rheinländer, polka, and not least, the waltz, that are
simply and therefore symmetrically built and in which a swaying in festive rhythm comes
about much more quickly than in the so-called modern dances.
It is indisputable that in the Rheinländer, and in the polka, as in the waltz, that is,
dances that already have been cultivated in Germany for over one hundred years, a
unifying dance-like link is present. This uniformity is based in simplicity in the first
place. For example, in the waltz, there is only a right or left turning; in the Rheinländer,
one distinguishes the open part, in which the dance partners separate and again come
36
Westdeutscher Beobachter 286, 10 November 1933. “Tangomusik in einem deutschen Mysterienspiel?—Und das
Laster wird dargestellt? Wie die mittelalterlichen Maler ja auch die Hölle, und wie sie die Versuchungen des
heiligen Antonius höchst drastisch darstellen, so wird auch in diesem Spiel das ganze Leben in seiner
Gegensätzlichkeit von Gut und Böse gezeigt. Das Laster dringt im Tangoschritt auf Job ein und fordert ihn auf, in
ihm Vergessen zu finden von Leid und Not.”
37
Pictures of the production were included in the Westdeutscher Beobachter 292 of 16 November 1933. The
Bearers of the Dead (Totenträger) were costumed as Nazi soldiers. Vice and Pestilence were played mostly by
women wearing very short skirts or shorts. Erik Krünes, in the Berlin Lokal-Anzeiger of 17 November 1933, refers
to the “fiery red-head [mit brennend rotem Haar] Flokina von Platen” as Vice.
27
together, and the closed round-dance part. That is all comparatively simple and easy for
everyone to learn. Not to be forgotten, these dances are enjoyable and everywhere allow
a happy sentiment to arise, so that here dance is obviously an expression of joie de vivre
[Lebensfreude].
Above all, we dance instructors also believe that we are certainly not able to
disclaim either dance, the foxtrot or tango. 38
Some seven years later Sommer was still trying to establish the canon of acceptable dance in
Germany. In the pages of Die Musik he described the tango as follows:
Tango. The question whether Tango is to be viewed as foreign to the German
type or, in movement and music, similar and thereby to be played and danced in the
future, must be clarified by the administration of the Dance Section of the Reich Theater
Chamber in agreement with the Reich Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and
Propaganda and with the Reich Music Chamber.
38
39
Reinhold Sommer, “’Mode’tänze oder deutsche Tänze?” Deutsche Tanz Zeitschrift 3, no. 110 (November 1938):
17–18. “Seit Jahren bemühen sich die verschiedensten Kreise ernsthaft, eine Tanzform zu finden, die dem
Kulturstreben unserer Zeit entspricht.…
Man hat vielfach dem Tanz die Schuld gegeben und gesagt, daß die ausländischen Tänze Foxtrott und
Tango einer individualistischen Epoche entstammen und daß daher die Tänze als solche unschön aussehen. Man
nannte als Gegenbeispiel die einfachen Tänze, wie Rheinländer, Polka und nicht zuletzt den Walzer, die schlicht und
dabei symmetrisch aufgebaut sind und bei denen eine Schwingung im festlichen Rhythmus viel eher zustande
kommt als bei den sogenannten modernen Tänzen.
Es ist unbestritten, daß beim Rheinländer, bei der Polka sowie beim Walzer, also Tänzen, die in
Deutschland bereits seit mehr als hundert Jahren gepflegt werden, tatsächlich eine einheitlich tänzerische Linie
vorhanden ist. Diese Einheitlichkeit fußt in erster Linie in der Einfachheit. Beim Walzer z. B. gibt es nur eine
Rechts- oder eine Linksdrehung, beim Rheinländer z. B. unterscheidet man den offenen Teil, bei dem die
Tanzpartner sich trennen und wieder zusammengehen, und einen geschlossenen Rundtanz-Teil. Das alles ist
verhältnismäßig einfach und für jedermann leicht zu erlernen. Nicht zu vergessen, dieses Tanzen macht Spaß und
läßt überall schnell eine fröhliche Stimmung aufkommen, so daß hier der Tanz als Ausdruck der Lebensfreude
augenfällig ist.
Darüber hinaus glauben wir Tanzlehrer allerdings auch auf die beiden Tänze Foxtrott und Tango nicht
verzichten zu können.”
39
Reinhold Sommer, “Neugestaltung des Gesellschaftstanzes.” Die Musik XXXIV, no. 8 (May 1942): 253–255.
“Tango. Die Frage, ob Tango als ein der deutschen Art fremder oder in Bewegung und Musik anzunähernder Tanz
anzusehen und damit weiterhin zu spielen und zu tanzen sei, müßte durch die Leitung der Fachschaft Tanz in der
28
In May 1939 a “clarification on the degeneracy of dance” was issued by Dr. Peter Raabe,
President of the Reich Music Chamber, and Dr. Ludwig Körner, President of the Reich Theater
Chamber:
Certain developments in social dance, especially some new foreign “dances,”
whose introduction in Germany would not be consistent with the principles of a
character-conscious culture, give cause to make the propagation of new types of domestic
or foreign dances dependent upon a “Declaration of Inoffensiveness.” In each case, these
will be conveyed in the Official Memoranda of the Reich Music Chamber and the Reich
Theater Chamber and in music journals.
Prior to the announcement of the Declaration of Inoffensiveness every
propagation of such dances—through publication, propagation and performance of
associated dance music and through teaching or demonstration of the dances—is to be
avoided. 40
By 1945 no such clarification regarding the tango appeared in the official memoranda nor in Die
Musik. But Sommer’s use of the phrase “in the future” (weiterhin, also “from now” 41 ) indicates
that the tango continued to be danced in 1942 when he was writing.
The Westdeutscher Beobachter that granted Egk a certain leeway with the tango music at
the rehearsal described above, changed its opinion of Egk’s music after the premiere. At issue
was not the use of tango but rather Egk’s use of harmony and non-harmonic tones:
Reichstheaterkammer im Einvernehmen mit dem Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda und mit
der Reichsmusikkammer geklärt werden.”
40
Amtliche Mitteilungen der Reichsmusikkammer 6, no. 13 (1 July 1939): 35. BA R 56-II/21. “Gewisse
Erscheinungen im geselligen Tanz, insbesondere einige neue ausländische „Tänze“, deren Einführung in
Deutschland mit den Grundsätzen einer artbewußten Kultur nicht vereinbar wäre, geben Veranlassung, die
Verbreitung neuartiger in- oder ausländischer Tänze von einer Unbedenklichkeitserklärung abhängig zu machen.
Diese wird jeweils in den „Amtlichen Mitteilungen“ der Reichsmusikkammer und der Reichstheaterkammer und in
den Musikzeitschriften mitgeteilt.
Vor Bekanntgabe der Unbedenklichkeitserklärung ist jede Verbreitung solcher Tänze—durch Verlegen,
Verbreiten und Aufführen von entsprechender Tanzmusik und durch Lehren oder Vorführen der Tänze—zu
unterlassen.”
41
Karl Breul, Cassell’s New German and English Dictionary, rev. and enl. J. Heron Lepper and Rudolf Kottenhahn
(New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1939).
29
Regarding the music of Egk, it speaks the word of the atonals more than is bearable.
Stravinsky and Schönberg might be more than uncalled-for as godparents of a music for
the first German character-play. We are not served when the keys C and D Major sound
concurrently to illustrate something. 42
On the other hand, Egk’s use of the tango to characterize vice was apparently understood by the
critics of Job, der Deutsche. Vice was the moral antithesis to the honorable Job, represented by
the chorale at the end of the play.
As a Weihespiel, Job, der Deutsche is a conflation of religion and state. The drama is
based on the biblical account of Job, and the organ, the icon of German sacred music, is a key
element in the musical score. 43 Typical for a sacramental play it ended with a procession of
flags accompanied by the singing of a hymn. In this hymn the religio-political conflation
presents itself most clearly. In the program for the 16 November premiere, the text of Martin
Rinckart’s well-known chorale “Nun danket alle Gott” was printed, that the audience might join
in singing.
The day before, the unemployed of Cologne were invited to a free performance of Job,
der Deutsche. In this program, there was no Rinckart hymn. Instead, the words of the
Deutschlandlied (“Deutschland, Deutschland über alles!”) were printed in the program. On the
reverse was this message to the audience:
Comrades!
I am pleased that it was possible for us to invite you as our guests this evening to the
public dress rehearsal of our festival play Job, der Deutsche and bid you, in the spirit of
genuine National Socialistic camaraderie, cordial welcome. May this performance give
42
Hanns Schumacher, “Job, der Deutsche,” Westdeutsche Beobachter 294, 18 November 1933. “Zur Musik Werner
Egks ist zu sagen, das sie mehr als erträglich dem Atonalen das Wort redet. Strawinsky und Schönberg dürften als
Paten einer Musik für das ersten deutsche Symbolspiel doch mehr als überflüssig sein. Uns ist nicht damit gedient,
daß die Tonarten C- und D-Dur gleichzeitig zur Untermalung eines Stoffes ertönen.”
43
The organ as a German symbol was utilized by Sergei Eisenstein in his 1936 Russian propaganda film Alexander
Nevsky. The Teutonic Knights attempting to invade Novgorad were accompanied by a bishop whose miter bore
“crosses,” devices strikingly akin to swastikas and by monks who played plainchant-like tunes on a positive organ.
The organist continues to play as battle commences, is thrown from the bench, and plays dead.
The organ was a prominent feature of the Kölner Messehalle, located directly behind the stage and clearly visible in
photographs of the performance.
30
you an eloquent testimony of the will of the New Germany for unity among all classes
and clans, of the willingness to sacrifice, and of the standing together of all the people.—I
expect from you a favor in return. Tomorrow and in the next days, visit everyone you
know and all the residents of your neighborhoods; tell them of this performance; and say
to them that no Cologner is allowed to miss this show. Thus you help me in
accomplishing this national duty, as we help you.
Heil Hitler!
Toni Winkelnkemper M.d.R.
Head of the Rhineland Region of the Reich Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and
Propaganda 44
In the premiere program, this message was replaced by a membership form to join the
Reichsbund der deutschen Freilicht- und Volksschauspiele (Minimum annual dues: RM 10,--). 45
The Deutschlandlied was replaced by Rinckart’s “Now thank we all our God.” Those who had
the means to buy tickets and join the Reichsbund gave thanks to God for their blessing of a new
state. Those without jobs gave thanks to the German state that offered them salvation through
work. 46
44
Program, Öffentliche Generalprobe, Das Spiel von Job, dem Deutschen (15 November 1933), BSB Ana 410.
“Kameraden!
Ich freue mich, daß es uns möglich war, Euch heute abend al unsere Gäste zu der öffentlichen Generalprobe unseres
Festspieles „Job, der Deutsche“ einzuladen und heiße Euch im Geiste echter nationalsozialistischer Kameradschaft
herzlich willkommen. Möge diese Vorstellung Euch von dem Wollen des neuen Deutschland zur Einigkeit aller
Stände und Stämme, von der Opferfreudigkeit und von dem Zusammenstehen aller Volksgenossen ein beredtes
Zeugnis geben.—Ich erwarte aber auch von Euch eine Gegenleistung. Besucht morgen und in den nächsten Tagen
alle Bekannten und alle Mitbewohner Eures Häuserblocks, erzählt ihnen von dieser Aufführung und sagt ihnen, daß
kein Kölner es versäumen darf, diese Aufführung zu besuchen. So helft Ihr mir bei der Durchführung dieser
nationalen Aufgabe, wie wir Euch helfen.
Heil Hitler!
Toni Winkelnkemper M.d.R.
Leiter der Landesstelle Rhld. des Reichsministeriums für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda.
45
Ibid.
46
Coincidentally, in a state-sponsored building program parallel to those instituted as part of F. D. Roosevelt’s New
Deal in the United States, numerous jobs were created by the Reichsarbeitsdienst (Reich Labor Service) in its
campaign to construct numerous large arenas specifically for Thingspiele. By 1935, such productions would be
31
Job, der Deutsche offers the first reasonable work by which to evaluate Egk’s
involvement in the National Socialist regime. Generally, this is not a particularly fruitful
exercise. 47 Such an inquiry does not speak to the complexities of cultural life under National
Socialism, nor does it help to understand Egk’s cultural products. That said, the question “Was
Egk a Nazi?” dogs the composer. This question will be explored in greater detail in Chapter 9;
however, Job, der Deutsche provides occasion for a preliminary inquiry. In his memoir Die Zeit
wartet nicht, Egk wrote:
Alois Johannes Lippl, the popular author of the volkstümlich Bavarian plays Whitsuntide
Organ and Holledau Molds procured for me through his friend Dr. Gerst a supplemental
contract to compose the music for a volkstümlich mystery play, Job, der Deutsche. In
1948, Lippl became director of the Bavarian State Theater under Minister of Culture
Hundhammer. Kurt Eggers, the author of the mystery play, aimed for the understanding
of the masses and drew upon Goethe, Calderón, and Hofmannsthal. What came from it,
if I may use an expression by Pierre Boulez: dust and shit. 48
The value of such a judgment, forty years after the fact, might be limited. Egk might have
sought to exculpate himself from a very National Socialist activity and preserve his image for
posterity. His frank negative description of his own work, though, reflects a sometimes painful
honesty, similar to the harsh judgment that Albert Speer inflicted on himself in his memoirs,
Inside the Third Reich. 49
discouraged by National Socialist leaders. By 1937, the genre would cease to exist. See Eichberg, “Nazi
Thingspiel,” 137.
47
Even were it possible to precisely quantify Naziness, the benefit of ascertaining that a composer like Egk was
precisely 26.74% or 73.26% (or 0.01% or 99.99%) Nazi remains in itself of insubstantial value and discloses little
about the complexity of cultural production within a totalitarian regime.
48
“Alois Johannes Lippl, der populäre Verfasser volkstümlicher bayerischer Schauspiele, der „Pfingstorgel“ und des
„Holledauer Schimmels“, verschaffte mir durch seinen Freund Dr. Gerst einen zusätzlichen Auftrag zu einem
volkstümlichen Mysterium, „Job, der Deutsche“, die Music zu schreiben. 1948 wurde Lippl unter dem
Kultusminister Hundhammer Intendant des Bayerischen Staatsschauspiels. Kurt Eggers, der Verfasser des
Mysterienspiels, zielte auf das Verständnis der Massen und stützte sich auf Goethe, Calderón und Hofmannsthal.
Was dabei herauskam, war, wenn ich mich eines Ausdrucks von Pierre Boulez bedienen darf: Staub und Scheiße.”
49
Albert Speer, Inside the Third Reich, trans. Richard and Clara Winston (first published New York: MacMillan
and Company, 1970; reprinted New York: Galahad Books, 1995). Speer was Hitler’s architect and from 1942
32
Egk’s negative opinion of Job, der Deutsche, however, was not an invention for his
memoirs. In a letter of 3 May 1934 to composer Ernst Krause, Egk recollected his career thus
far, citing his important friendship with Hermann Scherchen:
In 1931 the performances of my oratorio [Furchtlosigkeit und Wohlwollen] caused a stir.
My friendship with Hermann Scherchen also dates from then, though since ’33 it has
been purely platonic since he no longer comes to Germany. The entire past year [1933], I
had part in countless national contracts, which flowed in to the greatest astonishment of
my contemporaries and to my own. The latest major such thing was my music to Job,
der Deutsche, a nightmarish national kitsch that came out last November with much to-do
in the Cologne Messehalle. Since then, I have again decided after a long while to
dedicate myself to my private composition plans and have had great luck in this, that
Schott publishers have financially supported me thus far so that I can abandon position
[Stellung] and contracts. 50
Egk was scienter. He knowingly composed “national kitsch” and identified it as such honestly
and immediately. He also unapologetic for doing what he needed to start his career. But he also
confessed that nationalistic kitsch was not his preferred genre—it kept him from the work he
wanted to do, but was necessary for financial support. With the support of B. Schott’s Söhne
publishers in Mainz, Egk no longer needed to sacrifice his principles in order to survive and
could compose what he wished.
Reichsminister für Bewaffnung und Munition (Reich Minister for Armament and Munitions). Eugene Davidson’s
introduction of this edition explores Speer’s self-criticism at length.
50
Egk to Ernst Krause, 3 May 1934. BSB Ana 410. “1931 begann durch die Aufführung meines Oratoriums
einiges Aufsehen zu entstehen, seit da datiert auch meine Freundschaft mit Hermann Scherchen, die allerdings seit
33 rein platonisch ist, weil er nicht mehr nach Deutschland kommt. Das ganze vorige Jahr hatte ich mit zahllosen
nationalen Aufträgen zu tun, welche mir zum grössten Erstaunen der Mitwelt und zu meinem eigenen automatisch
zuströmten. Die letzte grössere solche Sache war meine Musik zu „Job, der Deutsche“, einem schauerlichen
nationalen Kitsch der letzten November in grosser Aufmachung in der Kölner Messehalle herauskam. Seitdem habe
ich beschlossen, mich wieder mal auf längere Zeit meinen privaten Kompositionsplänen zu widmen und hatte dabei
das grosse Glück dass mich der Verlag Schott finanziell soweit stützt dass ich auf Stellung und Aufträge verzichten
kann.”
33
This reading is complicated by an article Egk wrote for the December 1933 issue of
Völkische Kultur. Egk reported on Job, der Deutsche and explained the metaphysical function of
its music:
In the attribution of the word with the depictions of fundamental visible and mental
actions there lies the danger that the world appears much simpler than it is. Here music
enters in its most meaningful function, because it has to the greatest extent the ability to
stir the soul, independent from mental and educational requirements. Unique and
assuming only the willingness of the hearers, it may bring all the stops of the soul to
sound and wake all metaphysical, spiritual, and ethical seeds to life and growth.
The fulfillment of this duty is also very capable of incorporating the musician and
his creation anew in the great community of the Volk. In such work, an active interest in
cultural reconstruction falls to him, and therein lies an essential sense that such duties
will be placed on him today. 51
Here, Egk seems to embrace the role of the National Socialist musician in the construction of a
new culture. This was Egk’s public face, the face of a new-music composer attempting to forge
a career for himself.
Egk’s Contributions to Völkische Kultur - II
Before the premiere of his next work, Egk contributed two additional articles to Völkische
Kultur that again claimed cultural ground for the new composer. In his “Wege der Harmonik”
(“Methods of Harmony”), a review of Alfred Ottokar Lorenz’s Der musikalische Aufbau von
Richard Wagners Parsifal (The Musical Structure of Richard Wagner’s Parsifal), Egk quoted
51
Werner Egk, “Volksschauspiel und Musik,” Völkische Kultur 1 (December 1933): 317–19. “In der
Zurückführung des Wortes auf die Darstellung elementarer sichtbarer und seelischer Vorgänge liegt aber die Gefahr,
daß die Welt um allzuvieles einfacher erscheint, als sie ist. An dieser Stelle tritt nun die Musik in ihre
bedeutungsvollste Funktion, denn sie hat im Höchsten Maße die Fähigkeit, unabhängig von gedanklichen und
bildungsmäßigen Voraussetzungen, Tiefenspannung herzustellen. Einzig und allein die Bereitschaft der Hörenden
vorausgesetzt, vermag sie alle Register der Seele zum Klingen zu bringen und alle metaphysischen, geistigen und
ethischen Keime zum Leben und Wachstum zu wecken.
Die Erfüllung dieser Aufgabe ist wohl auch geeignet, den Musiker und sein Schaffen erneut in die große
Gemeinschaft des Volkes einzugliedern. In solcher Arbeit fällt ihm ein aktiver Anteil am kulturellen Wiederaufbau
zu, und es liegt ein entscheidender Sinn darin, daß solche Aufgaben heute gestellt werden” (319).
34
Lorenz’s observation that the power of tonality was strongest when the composers wandered to
distant keys, embodied in works of the High Romantic, ultimately in those of Wagner, who had
employed the “keenest enharmonicism” with frequency and recklessness as none before him.
Lorenz had observed that the generation following Wagner, “that indeed never again
comprehended, that could no longer summon up the power of this musical sense of unity, flung
itself into the arms of atonality.’” 52 Egk posited that Wagner, like Beethoven before him, was
bound to personal rather than absolute standards and left in his wake a generation of composers
who “saw no possibility of being meaningful at all and were filled with a deep and hopeless
skepticism.” That generation, Egk declared, is the generation before his own. Egk concluded:
… The young generation has abandoned a slippery chromaticism and enigmatic
enharmonicism, renounced the means of enchantment and intoxication, to avail itself of a
simpler language suitable to work toward the formation of will within the new
community. 53
That chromaticism was no more slippery than the slope on which Egk found himself in this
article. Egk identified Wagner, at this time still Hitler’s favorite composer, as the endpoint of an
inaccessible system inappropriate for the New Germany and the catalyst for the atonal
movement. He championed the simpler style of new composers, able to more aptly mold the will
of the people, the style in which he himself was composing.
In June 1934 Egk opened his next article for Völkische Kultur, “Programmpolitik”
(“Programming Policy” or “The Politics of Programming”), with a rather cheeky intercession on
behalf of contemporary music:
The musical programs of the past year were so dominated by the Classic composers, that
one could have thought an eternal Classic composer celebration had broken out in opera
houses and concert halls. This stagnation, so distressing to living composers, quickly
brought about a veritable chorus of cries for help from their deepest souls: “Play recent
52
Werner Egk, “Wege der Harmonik,” Völkische Kultur 2 (March 1934): 139–41. “„Die folgende Generation, die
die Kraft dieses musikalische Einheitsgefühls nichts mehr aufbringen konnte, ja nicht einmal mehr verstand, hat sich
dann der Atonalität in die Arme geworfen.“”
53
Ibid., 141. “… die junge Generation einer gleitenden Chromatik und schillernden Enharmonik abgewandt, den
Mitteln der Bezauberung und Berauschung entsagt hat, um sich einer einfacheren Sprache zu bedienen, die geeignet
ist willensbildend auf die neue Gemeinschaft zu wirken.”
35
music!”—“Don’t forget the living!”—“Listen to your contemporaries!” Alongside this,
on the advertisements of organizers, more names began to surface whose bearers were
not yet (or not yet completely) dead.54
Egk italicized the crux of his argument:
We need works that present original thoughts in original form and therefore suitably add
the great inheritance of the past to the genuine contribution of the future. It is requisite
that these works not be performed sporadically and not as a last resort, but in a
distinguished place in dominant form and number on programs. 55
Egk not only carved out a niche for contemporary works, his own among them, he also
lambasted the omnipresent “organized yes-men, often supported by the intellectually-limited
contingent of expert critics ready to find everything old better than anything new and, endowed
with an unmistakable instinct for the inferior, to strike dead the better with indignant protest.” 56
Egk traced the hegemony of historical music back to the fifth-century B.C.E. politician and
musicologist Damon of Athens, who saw in the new Dithyramb the dissolution of his political
system. Training his sights on conductors, Egk volleyed that it is much easier for them to preen
the plumage of contemporary Damons and thereby “to enjoy a secure, well-tempered popularity,
than to work for the transformation of the world through mental hard work without regard to
one’s own person and to local or momentary opportunity.” Egk closed with a warning:
54
Werner Egk, “Programmpolitik,” Völkische Kultur 2 (June 1934): 279–280. “Die musikalische Programme des
vergangenen Jahres waren so sehr von den Klassikern beherrscht, daß man hätte denken können, in den
Opernhäusern und Konzertsälen wäre eine ewige Klassikerfeier ausgebrochen. Diese für die lebenden Tonsetzer so
erschreckende Stagnation bewirkte aber bald, daß sich ein Wahrer Chor von Hilferufen aus tiefster Seele vernehmen
ließ: „Spielt junge Musik!“—„Vergeßt die Lebenden nicht!“—„Hört eure Zeitgenossen!“ Daneben begannen in
den Ankündigungen der Veranstalter allmählich auch wieder mehr Namen aufzutauchen, deren Träger noch nicht
(oder noch nicht ganz) gestorben sind.”
55
Ibid., 279. “Wir brauchen Werke, welche originale Gedanken in originaler Form darstellen und deshalb geeignet
sind, dem großen Erbe der Vergangenheit den echten Beitrag der Gegenwart hinzuzufügen. Es ist zu fordern, daß
diese Werke nicht vereinzelt und nicht an letzter Stelle aufgeführt werden, sondern an hervorragender Stelle in einer
die Programme beherrschenden Form und Anzahl.”
56
Ibid., 280. “Immer und überall ist das organisierte Muckertum, häufig unterstützt von dem geistig beschränkten
Teil der Fachkritik, bereit, alles Alte besser zu finden als alles Neue und begabt mit einem untrüglichen Instinkt für
das weniger Gute, das Bessere mit empörten Protesten totzuschlagen.”
36
Nothing is more dangerous than this unfruitful and meretricious hooray-conservatism that
would be happiest when it would have once again changed nothing. One must not be
misled by the plea that it is the incontrovertible premeditation and will of the public to
hear again and again what is familiar. There is a great, broad base to the new and
upcoming open-minded ranks, refined in instinctive, healthy nature, that just waits for the
fall of an outdated embodiment of public musical life and programming policy rooted in
the social structure of the pre-war era [i.e., pre-World War I] and makes place for one of
universal timeliness. Only then will it be possible for a creative youth to find the
resonance that unmistakably displays the mark of cultural flowering. 57
In this article for a journal devoted to nurturing the fledgling culture of the New Germany, Egk
staked an unapologetic claim to his corner of the cultural landscape within which he would
cultivate his music. While Egk toed the party line in his rhetoric regarding the development of
the National Socialist Weltanschauung, he very nearly ran afoul of that party in his disavowal of
the Romantic tradition, its epigones, and the Romantically-oriented established musical culture,
not to mention his self-serving near-defense of atonality. Egk instead advocated for the
production of contemporary music utilizing extended diatonicism, music able to relate to the
German people at whose center stood Egk himself. 58
Three months after this article was published Egk wrote another. “Hans Pfitzner und die
deutsche Jugend” (“Hans Pfitzner and the German Youths”) was Egk’s contribution to a monthslong fracas across the pages of Völkische Kultur and Die Musik. In May 1934 Conrad Wandrey
57
Ibid. “Nichts ist gefährlicher als dieser unfruchtbare und aufdringliche Hurrakonservativismus, der dann am
zufriedensten wäre, wenn sich noch einmal doch nichts geändert hätte. Man lasse sich nicht durch den Einwand
beirren, daß es der unumstößliche Vorsatz und Wille des Publikums sei immer wieder das Altgewohnte zu hören.
Es gibt eine große, dem Neuen und Kommenden aufgeschlossene Schicht, eine breite Basis, gebildet von
instinktsicheren, gesunden Naturen, die nur darauf warten, daß eine überalterte, in der sozialen Struktur der
Vorkriegszeit wurzelnde Gestaltung des öffentlichen Musiklebens und der Programmpolitik falle und einer solchen
von allgemeiner Aktualität Platz macht. Damit wird es erst einer schöpferischen Jugend möglich sein die Resonanz
zu finden, die das untrügliche Anzeichen der kulturellen Aufblühens darstellt.”
58
Because the remainder of Egk’s writings for Völkische Kultur are in large part variations on the themes already
presented, I have elected to dispense with their individual exploration from this point. Important arguments
pertinent to the discussion of Egk’s works under National Socialism are included at their appropriate points in the
following discussion.
37
wrote an article for Völkische Kultur titled simply “Hans Pfitzner” on the occasion of Pfitzner’s
sixty-fifth birthday. In the article, the Romanticist Pfitzner is designated the last composer of the
Romantic era, is cast as out-of-touch with the New Germany, and is used as a foil for
championing the work of a new generation of composers. 59 Pfitzner defended himself in an
open letter to the editor of Völkische Kultur, Wolfgang Nufer, published in the July 1934 issue of
Die Musik and accused Wandrey of fabricating his image as artist and inflicting more harm than
“one hundred lampoons by his opponents and foes.” 60 In the meantime Nufer had asked Egk,
ostensibly because he was Völkische Kultur’s contemporary music correspondent, whether or not
he wanted to weigh in on the debate. Egk declined, deciding to wait until Wandrey responded
not wanting to enter into a controversy with the older composer which may have proven to be
“lifelong,” an apparent jibe at Pfitzner, some thirty years Egk’s senior. 61 In August 1934
Wandrey fired back with an open letter to the editor of Die Musik, in which he defended his
opinions and left the debate to posterity to decide a victor. 62 Egk joined the fray in September
1934. He credited Paul Hindemith, whose German career was collapsing at the time, with the
“strongest influence on the young generation” and noted that influence extended beyond national
boundaries to composers Bartók, Casella, Malipiero, Honegger, and Stravinsky, composers of a
“single spirit” that diverged from the Romantic tradition.63 Egk, speaking for the younger
generation, wrote,
We hope that just this aromantic spirit, observable in other areas, is suitable to form a
new generation whose task it will be to counteract the separation of all, to clear away the
last vestiges of romantic subjectivity and to establish new humanistic systems. 64
59
Conrad Wandrey, “Hans Pfitzner,” Völkische Kultur 2 (May 1934): 193–201.
60
Hans Pfitzner, “Offener Brief von Hans Pfitzner,” Die Musik XXVI, no. 10 (July 1934): 728–32.
61
Egk to Nufer, 28 May 1934. BSB Ana 410.
62
Conrad Wandrey, “Hans Pfitzner: Offener Brief an den Herausgeber der „Musik,“” Völkische Kultur 2
(September 1934): 401–05.
63
Werner Egk, “Pfitzner und die deutsche Jugend,” Völkische Kultur 2 (September 1934): 406. By 1935,
Hindemith’s career in Germany was all but over, primarily due to Hitler’s personal distaste of Mathis der Mahler.
64
Ibid. “Wir hoffen, daß gerade dieser aromantische Geist, welcher sich auch auf andern Gebieten feststellen läßt,
geeignet ist, eine Generation zu formen, deren Aufgabe es sein wird, die Vereinzelung aller aufzuheben, die letzten
Reste des romantischen Subjektivismus abzuräumen und neue menschliche Ordnungen aufzubauen.”
38
Egk conceded that, when this new evolution was complete, the new generation would not
abandon Pfitzner but instead would “view his work with deep adoration, since it expressed one
of the most substantial and most beautiful pages of German character in such a perfect way.” 65
Egk did not apologize for his advocacy of his own generation, nor did he disavow Pfitzner’s
place in German music. Egk’s salvo roused the ire of writer Ludwig Schrott, whose response
“‘Not so impudent, not so proud’ … a necessary correction” was published in the February 1935
issue of Die Musik and brought the battle to an indecisive end. Schrott was pro-Romantic, noting
that the Führer himself “perpetually draws new strength from the world of Richard Wagner.” 66
For the time being, Schrott was correct; however, after the German army’s defeat at Stalingrad,
the Führer turned instead to the operettas of Franz Léhar, especially Die lustige Witwe (The
Merry Widow). 67 This was all the more surprising because Hitler had disparaged the very same
as kitsch in speeches between 1920 and 1922. 68 Schrott parried,
When the thorns and stones densely strewn along Pfitzner’s path of life are simply denied
or when one expects more from the “aromantic style” of German youths taught by
Hindemith, Bartok, Casella, Malipiero, Honegger, and Stravinsky for the establishment
of “new humanistic systems” instead of from German Romanticism, that proves the
influence of the Soviet Star on our cultural life at that time. When such a washed-out
internationalism still sails today under the flag of “völkische Kultur,” to hell with it!” 69
65
Ibid., “Wenn auch in der deutschen Jugend dieser kurz angedeutete Umwandlungsprozeß zu einem neuen
Lebensgefühl in vollem Gange ist, und wenn auch Pfitzner keiner jener Neuerer ist, die ungestüm an den Toren der
Zukunft rütteln, wird gerade diese Jugend seinem Schaffen tiefe Verehrung entgegenbringen, weil es eine der
echtesten und schönsten Seiten des deutschen Wesens in so vollkommener Weise ausgedrückt hat.”
66
Ludwig Schrott, “»Nicht so dreist, nicht so stolz …« eine notwendige Richtigstellung,” Die Musik XVII, no. 5
(February 1935): 353–355.
67
Frederic Spotts, Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics (Woodstock and New York: The Overlook Press, Peter Mayer
Publishers, Inc., 2002): 263.
68
Ibid., 233.
69
Schrott, “Nicht so dreist,” 354. “Und wenn damals die auf Pfitzners Lebensweg reichlich gestreute Dornen und
Steine einfach geleugnet wurden oder man von dem an Hindemith, Bartók, Casella, Malipiero, Honegger und
Strawinskij geschulten »neuer menschlicher Ordnungen« mehr erwartete, als von der deutschen Romantik, so
entsprach das den seinerzeitigen Enwirkungen [sic] des Sowjetsterns auf unser Kulturleben. Wen ein solch
verwaschener Internationalismus aber heute noch unter der Flagge »völkische Kultur« dahersegelt, hol ihn der
Teufel!”
39
Egk had already trod this aesthetic minefield in his earlier articles for Völkische Kultur, and he
did so without placing himself in the company of such (to the Nazis) personae non grata as
Hindemith. While Egk’s attack on Romanticism was once again meant to clear the way for
himself and his fellow contemporaries, his positive view of Hindemith was of no help to the
cause.
Georgica (1934)
Georgica, drei Bauernstücke für Orchester (Georgica, three farmer-pieces for orchestra,
1934) was Egk’s first real attempt at putting the ideals that he expounded in Völkische Kultur
into practice, but the exercise was only marginally successful. Egk based Georgica on the
bucolic poem by Virgil and composed the work while he was waiting on the libretto for his opera
Die Zaubergeige to be finished. Georgica was premiered by the New York Philharmonic under
Herbert Janssen in November 1934. 70 Olin Downes of the New York Times said of Georgica,
that Egk
writes a series of witty though not important developments of a species of Bavarian
dance-tune. The pieces were good as contrast and entertainment, though they are scored
for a large orchestra disproportionate to the musical thought. There have been much
worse novelties—and much better. 71
Georgica received a second premiere as a ballet, retitled Bavarian Dance Scenes “On the Alm
River” (Bayerische Tanzbilder „Auf der Alm“) on 22 October 1935 in Cologne, with Egk
conducting. 72
70
Egk, Die Zeit wartet nicht: Künstlerische Zeitgeschichtliches Privates aus meinem Leben, expanded and
illustrated paperback edition (Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1981), 215, 553–4. On page 256, Egk apparently
misplaced the discussion of Georgica, making it appear as though the work premiered in 1936. However, reviews of
Die Zaubergeige indicate that Georgica had been premiered and later performed in museum concerts in Frankfurt
under Wetzelsberger and in Leipzig by early May 1935. See Neue Augsburger Zeitung 54 (5 May 1935);
Offenbacher Zeitung 113 (16 May 1935).
71
New York Times (15 November 1934).
72
The ballet is discussed after Die Zaubergeige.
40
Die Zaubergeige (1935)
Of all Egk’s works, Die Zaubergeige (The Magic Violin) is the one that established Egk’s
career within National Socialism. Die Zaubergeige is an opera, one of the genres by which a
composer asserts his stature. The success of Die Zaubergeige issued from its perceived
Volkstümlichkeit, its reflection of the characteristic essence of a people. 73
Die Zaubergeige was an adaptation of an eponymous puppet play by Franz Graf von
Pocci. The libretto was the collaborative product of Egk and Ludwig Andersen, a pseudonym
for Dr. Ludwig Strecker, proprietor of B. Schott’s Söhne. 74 Pocci’s version was itself an
adaptation of the Grimm fairy tale “Der Jude im Dorn” (“The Jew in the Thornbush”).
In the Grimm fairy tale, a “faithful and hard-working” farmhand asks his unscrupulous
employer for his earnings for his three years of faithful service. The farmer pays three copper
pennies, and the farmhand, thinking himself rich, sets out. On his way, he gives the pennies to
an old beggar and gets three wishes in return. He wishes for a gun that never misses; for a violin
(Geige) that, when people hear it, makes them dance; and that when the farmhand bids someone
do something, they cannot refuse him. The farmhand, gun and violin in hand, meets an old
Jewish man coveting a lyrical lark high in a tree. The farmhand, convinced that the Jew has
swindled many, shoots the bird from the tree and bids him retrieve it from the thornbush into
which it falls. As the Jew wriggles among the thorns, the farmhand begins to play his violin.
The Jew must dance, and as he does, the thorns tear his clothes and flesh. The Jew offers the
farmhand one hundred gulden to stop playing. The farmhand accepts this bargain and goes about
his way, while the Jew, “half-naked and pathetic,” reports the theft to a judge. The farmhand is
quickly apprehended, and the judge sentences the farmhand to be hanged for theft. As a last
request, the farmhand asks that he may play his violin once more before he dies. As the
farmhand strikes up, judge, Jew, and everyone around them dance themselves to agony. To stop
the music, the judge gives the farmhand back not only his life, but also the hundred gulden. The
farmhand presses the Jew to confess where he got the money, and the desperate Jew cries out for
73
Schmitz-Berning, Vokabular des Nationalsozialismus, s.v. “Volkstümlichkeit.” Volkstum is defined as “Das
arteigene Wesen eines Volkes; Nationalität.” Volkstümlichkeit is the degree to which something exhibits what is
conceived to be the quintessence of a people. In order to avoid circumlocution, the German term will be used.
74
Kölnische Zeitung 260, 23 May 1935.
41
all to hear, “I stole it; I stole it, and you truly earned it!” The farmhand stops playing, and in lieu
of the farmhand, the Jew is hanged. 75
In the Egk-Andersen version, the farmhand Kaspar is not at all industrious but decides to
pursue a life of singing, dancing, drinking, and card playing. In the forest, Kaspar comes across
Cuperus, the spirit of the mountain, dressed as a beggar, and in return for his kindness, Kaspar
receives one wish. He wishes for the magic violin. Enter Guldensack (Moneybags), who
relishes his two hundred ducats made at dishonest business dealings and sings a hymn of praise
to his god, Money. Kaspar appears and plays for Guldensack, who dances himself to exhaustion.
Kaspar replies, “Well-danced, you money-wolf, you unchristian, well-danced!” Two thieves,
Fangauf and Schnapper, enter and rob the unconscious Guldensack.
After coming to, Guldensack returns to his mistress’s home, where Gretl, Kaspar’s love,
is now working, to find that the evening’s entertainment has been cancelled. The mistress,
Ninabella, recommends a different divertissement, Spagatini, the violinist who appeared and
became famous practically overnight. Guldensack finds the violinist, recognizes him as Kaspar,
and poorly negotiates a price of one thousand ducats for Spagatini’s service. Kaspar goes to
Ninabella’s castle and sees Gretl, who is taken aback at the change in Kaspar after his newfound
success and wealth. The Bürgermeister arrives to hang a gold necklace about Spagatini’s neck,
and the people sing, “The stars will be your crown, the world your empire, stardom your throne!”
followed by a seven-fold “Heil!” 76 After the company dances a spagnola, Kaspar and Ninabella
retire to a pavilion, where Guldensack enters with officers and Kaspar, drunk on Spanish wine, is
arrested. Cuperus appears and absconds with the left-behind violin. As Kaspar is about to be
executed, Cuperus appears and begins to play the violin. Unable to bear the music, Fangauf and
Schnapper come out from behind a nearby tree and confess to the deed. Kaspar, again poor but
now honest, and Gretl sing, “Riches, honor, they can fade; love and truth last forever!” 77
Egk and Andersen mitigated the outright anti-Semitism present in both the Grimm
original and in Franz Graf von Pocci’s adaptation. In Pocci’s play, “Mauschl, a Jew” acquires
75
Brüder Grimm, Kinder- und Haus-Märchen, vol. 2 (Berlin: Realschulebuchhandlung, 1815): 133–138. Digital
full-text edition at <http://de.wikisource.org/wiki/Der_Jud’_im_Dorn_(1815)> (Accessed 24 May 2011).
76
Werner Egk and Ludwig Andersen, Die Zaubergeige, libretto (Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1935), 33 “Die Sterne
werden deine Kron, / Die Welt dein Reich, der Ruhm dein Thron!”
77
Ibid., 47. “Der Reichtum, die Ehren, die können vergehn, / Die Lieb und die Treue muß ewig bestehn!”
42
his money by going to Kasperl’s employer Stoffelbauer, one of the “dumb farm folk,” and
offering him a cow that produces eighteen liters of milk a day, “sure as he was an honest Jew.” 78
Mauschl then steals the cow back and intends to sell him to a butcher, when he comes across
Kasperl, who has since acquired his violin. Mauschl asks for something “composed by the great
musician Majer-Bär [Meyerbeer], because he’s one of our people.” 79 Mauschl dances “as if he
has no choice and springs like King David before the Ark of the Covenant.” 80
While Die Zaubergeige often serves as evidence in cases arguing that Egk was antiSemitic, this charge requires further exploration. It is true that Egk selected for his first opera a
story based on a Grimm fairy tale with a clear anti-Semitic stance, but he and Andersen adapted
Pocci’s play, removing from their libretto the reference to Meyerbeer, a well-known musical
target Jew since Wagner; the offensive reference to King David; and any outright references to
the Jewish character as such. That said, Egk and Andersen retained Jewish stereotypes of
crooked-dealing and money-grubbing, and the more vague descriptor “unchristian.” Egk and
Andersen focused on the volkstümlich aspects of the story instead of the anti-Semitic ones.
Kaspar’s adopted foreign name Spagatini, his drunkenness on Spanish wine, and the presence of
the Spagnola reflect Kaspar’s loss of his true self as he finds success. Kaspar abandons his
German identity in favor of foreign influences. Guldensack, instead of being an archetypal
villain in whose destruction by Kaspar’s machinations the audience is allowed to delight,
becomes a non-entity and simply disappears at the end of the opera.
Had Egk wished to emphasize the anti-Semitism of Die Zaubergeige, something that
would have ingratiated him with any ardent National Socialists in his audiences, he could have
relied on the Karl Seidelmann revision of Pocci’s drama published in 1934. Seidelmann “picked
78
Franz Graf von Pocci, Kasperlkomödien (Berlin: Hans Heinrich Tillgner Verlag, 1922), 38–39. “Mauschl: Is das
doch a dumm’s Volk, die Bauern; bin ich gewest beim Stoffelbauer in Kerchberg hab’n gesogt: Was hab’ ich ihm
gesogt? / Hab’ ihm gesogt: Stoffelbauer, willst du nit kaufen e Kuh in dein Stall bab [sic] zu verkaufen e
Prachtstück von einer Kuh, und die wird der geben, wird der geben all Tag achtzehn Maß Milch, so wahr ich en
ehrlicher Jüd bin.” The “honest Jew” epithet is intended as an oxymoron, i.e., this is not a viable oath at all.
79
Ibid., 40. “Mauschl: Werd mer machen e grauß Pläsier, und wenn er’s kann, so spiel er mir was, das ha
kaumpeniert der grauße Musikus der Majer-Bär, so ist gwest ach Ener von unsere Leut.”
80
Ibid., “Ist mir doch, als ob ich tanzen müßt und springen wie König David vor der Bundeslade.” The remainder of
the drama is preserved by Egk and Anderson, and the conclusions of the Pocci and Egk-Andersen versions are
generally identical.
43
the raisins of [Graf Pocci’s] cake” and baked a new one more palatable to contemporary National
Socialist tastes. 81 In the Seidelmann edition, Kasperl, instead of aspiring to be a louse, aspires to
be a health insurance inspector, government representative, or a party secretary. 82 Kasperl uses
unemployment as an excuse to try to wriggle out of giving Cuperus his pittance. 83 Mauschl,
instead of asking for something by Meyerbeer, asks for something by Willi Rosen, the renowned
Jewish cabarettist, perhaps the “beautiful song, ‘Do you also like to dance as much as I?’” After
Kasperl begins to play Mauschl replies, “O, wonderful! wonderful! O Rosen! O Tauber Richard!
O David!” 84 The reference to Tauber Richard, in German literally “deaf Richard,” is to the
Jewish tenor Richard Tauber, who fled Germany in 1933 after being beaten outside his Berlin
hotel by a band of Nazi brownshirts. 85 At the conclusion, Kasperl asks Cuperus, “And I won’t
be hanged? And I won’t be sent to a concentration camp?” Kasperl receives the violin, now
ordinary, and Gretl for his own. He must fall from the Kunsthimmel, “ideal heaven of art” or
“artificial heaven,” to the mundane world and forfeit an artist’s life for one of complete
fulfillment with Gretl. 86 If Egk had wanted to rely on the anti-Semitic viewpoint of Die
Zaubergeige to guarantee its success among National Socialist audiences, he could have easily
used Seidelmann’s edition.
Die Zaubergeige premiered on 22 May 1935 in Frankfurt under General Intendant
(General Manager) Hans Meissner. Meissner had been manager of the Frankfurt Opera since
81
Franz Graf von Pocci, Die Zaubergeige, ed. Karl Seidelmann, music by Christoph Dietrich (Potsdam: Ludwig
Voggenreiter Verlag, 1934), 5. “Wird sich der selige Graff Pocci im Grab herumdrehen? An nahezu drei Dutzend
Textstellen habe ich die Rosinen seines Kuchens herausgepickt und neue hineingestopft, wie sie unserem heutigen
Geschmack vielleicht besser munden.”
82
Ibid., 9. “Ich bin ganz zum vornehmen Herrn g’schaffen, zum Krankenkasseninspektor, zum Abgeordneten, zum
Parteisekretär oder so was G’scheits.“”
83
Ibid., 14, 15.
84
Ibid., 21.
85
http://www.lexm.uni-hamburg.de/object/lexm_lexmperson_00003109. (Accessed 24 May 2011)
86
Pocci, ed. Seidelmann, Die Zaubergeige, 55. “Cuprus: …Aber die Uhr deines Künstlerlebens ist abgelaufen. Die
Zaubervioline ist in deinen ordinären Händen zur gewöhnlichen Geige geworden. Falle zurück aus dem idealen
Kunsthimmel auf die materielle Erde! Hier nimm deine Margareta.
Kasperl (auf die Knie fallend): Also werd’ ich nicht gehenkt?
Cuprus: Nein, du brauchst nicht baumeln.
Kasperl: Und ich komm auch nicht ins Konzentrationslager?”
44
July 1933, assigned there from a previous position at the City Theater of Stettin. His predecessor
was the Jewish Josef Turnau, who had been dismissed in May 1933. Turnau had staged
productions of Arnold Schönberg’s Von Heute auf Morgen, Wilhelm Grosz’s Achtung!
Aufnahme!, and George Antheil’s Transatlantic. Meissner sought to distance himself and the
Frankfurt Opera from this inappropriate repertoire and establish instead an acceptable German
one. His conductor, Bertil Wetzilsberger, was friends with the leaders of B. Schott’s Söhne
publishers in Mainz, who from 1934 had supported Egk. 87
Under Meissner, Egk saw the potential to launch a career as a conductor as well as a
composer. Four days after the Frankfurt premiere, Die Zaubergeige enjoyed its north-German
premiere in Bremen, and at the 12 June performance, the composer conducted. 88 In a 21 June
letter to Meissner, Egk tactfully asked to conduct a performance of the work himself as a trial run
for productions which “other theaters had already requested he conduct himself.” 89 Egk finally
got the opportunity to do so on 27 November 1935. In the meantime, he had conducted a
performance in Essen. 90 It was in Egk’s best interest to wait for the Frankfurt conducting
engagement, since Frankfurt enjoyed a better cultural reputation than did Bremen or Essen.
From there, it would be easier to return to Berlin, not as a film accompanist, but as a composer
and conductor.
In the pages of the May 1935 Neues Musikblatt, Egk explained Die Zaubergeige in what
has come to be known as the “Lochhamer Opernbrief” (“Lochham Opera Letter”). 91 Egk wrote
that “as an ordinary citizen, I was overjoyed when I could hear a melody that was so finite,
accessible, and sensible, that one could whistle it afterward, as they left the theater.” 92 He
decided in his opera, “not to philosophize, nor, above all, to use music as symbol for
abstractions, but to write as simple a diatonic melody as possible.” He continued,
87
Heike Lammers-Harlander, “Werner Egk Komponist 1901–1983,” Lebensbilder aus dem Bayerischen Schwaben
17 (Weisenhorn, Germany: Anton H. Konrad Verlag, 2010): 335–336. Arnold Schönberg’s Von Heute auf Morgen
premiered on 1 February 1930; Wilhelm Grosz’s Achtung! Aufnahme! on 23 March 1930; and George Antheil’s
Transatlantic on 25 May 1930.
88
Egk, Terminkalender, BSB Ana 410.
89
Egk to Meissner, 21 June 1935, BSB Ana 410.
90
91
The letter was also published in the Zeitschrift für Musik 7, July 1935, 738–40.
92
Neues Musikblatt 7, May 1935.
45
All this, therefore, because I do not have the desire to reap praise as a philosopher or
musical chess master or as an esoteric mystic; but instead because I wanted to write a
piece for those who love the simple, who perceive the touching as touching, the comic as
comic, the good as good, and the bad as bad, to enjoy. Presently, the set designer is
happy because he has such a colorful world to build; the director is happy because so
much is solved; the singers are happy because they can sing out; and the composer is
happy because he will be performed. Hopefully the folk, for whom the whole is
intended, are also happy. But those who don’t expect more from art than what any
operetta can give them, those who do not know the fatherland with its forest secretly
populated by a thousand beloved figures because the mood-traps of the “Haus Vaterland”
can give them all they desire, they should stay peacefully at home—I have not thought of
them. And those overly clever people, who are no longer able to believe in sincere,
simple feelings, who detect behind every word the irony, the hidden cynicism or the
speculation of sentimentality, after the old custom of the Kurfürstendamm, I gladly wish
to forego as an audience. With these hopefully small exceptions, though, the work
appeals to the rich and the poor, the young and the old, to men and women, and master
baker, letter carrier, chimney sweep, civil servants, directors, professors, and to all other
stations, on those whom the King of England took care to wish a happy new year on New
Year’s Eve at midnight. 93
93
Ibid., “Als gewöhnlicher Volksgenosse freute ich mich immer unbändig, wenn ich eine Melodie hören durfte, die
so endlich, greifbar und sinnlich war, daß man sie noch nachpfeifen konnte, wenn man aus dem Theater
herausging.…”
“Also beschloß ich auch im Stillen, in meiner Oper weder zu philosophieren noch überhaupt die Musik als Symbol
für Abstraktionen zu mißbrauchen, dafür aber eine möglichst einfache diatonische Melodik zu schreiben. Das alles
deshalb, weil ich nicht das Bedürfnis habe als Philosoph oder musikalischer Schachmeister oder als esoterischer
Mystiker Lob zu ernten, sondern weil ich denen, die das Einfache lieben, das Rührende als rührend, das Komische
als komisch, das Gute als gut und das Schlechte als schlecht empfinden, ein Stück schreiben wollte, an dem sie sich
freuen sollen. Vorläufig freut sich der Bühnenbildner, weil er eine so bunte Welt zu bauen hat, freut sich der
Regisseur, weil so viel lost [sic] ist, freuen sich die Sänger, weil sie sich aussingen können und freut sich der Autor,
weil er aufgeführt wird. Hoffentlich freut sich auch das Volk, dem das Ganze zugedacht ist. Die aber, die von der
Kunst nicht mehr erwarten, als ihnen jede Operette geben kann, die das Vaterland mit seinem von tausend geliebten
Gestalten heimlich bevölkerten Wald nicht kennen, weil ihnen die Stimmungsattrappen des „Hauses Vaterland“
alles zu geben vermögen, was sie verlangen, die sollen ruhig zu Hause bleiben, an die habe ich nicht gedacht. Und
46
Egk’s references to 1920s Weimar culture aligned him with his New German audience. Haus
Vaterland was a large pleasure palace with numerous restaurants and a cinema located on
Potsdamer Platz in Berlin. It was also home to Universum Film AG or UfA, the producer of Fritz
Lang’s Metropolis (1927). In Weimar Germany, the Kurfürstendamm was a center for fashion,
shopping, leisure, and nightlife, as it is today. Egk is not interested in those lazy Germans who
would rather enjoy such divertissements as these or in those who pride themselves on their
cleverness. Instead, Egk appeals to the New Germany with an honest, lyrical, volkstümlich
expression of the German Everyman.
To the music critic of the Frankfurt General-Anzeiger, the Volkstümlichkeit of Egk’s
music lay in his use of “all sorts of folk music, of South German folk music particularly,
including rural Ländler, waltzes, marches, together with their typical accompaniments.” 94 Most
prominent among these is the Zwiefacher dance rhythm, which freely alternates between triple
and duple metrical units and originated in Bavaria and had gained popularity in the folkdance
movement following World War I. 95 This rhythm first presents itself in the prelude of Die
Zaubergeige:
jene neunmal Klugen, die nicht mehr fähig sind an ein ehrliches einfaches Gefühl zu glauben, die hinter jedem Wort
nach der alten Sitte des Kurfürstendamm die Ironie, den verdeckten Zynismus oder die Spekulation auf die
Sentimentalität wittern, auch auf die möchte ich als Publikum gerne verzichten. Mit diesen hoffentlich geringen
Ausnahmen aber wendet sich das Stück an Arm und Reich, and Jung und Alt, an Mann und Weib, and
Bäckermeister, Briefträger, Kaminkehrer, Regierungsräte, Direktoren, Professoren und an alle anderen Stände,
denen der König von England an Sylvester um Mitternacht ein gutes neues Jahr zu wünschen pflegt.”
The reference to the New Year’s address is obtuse. Assuming that Egk is speaking about New Year 1935, the King
would have been George V, first cousin of German Kaiser Wilhelm II; however, neither the king’s speeches from
Christmas 1932 nor Christmas 1935 mention Germany. (There were not speeches in 1933 or 1934).
94
General-Anzeiger 119 (23 May 1935).
95
Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, Zweite neubearbeitete Ausgabe, Ludwig Finscher, ed. Sachteil Band 9
(Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1998) s.v. “Zwiefacher.” More precisely, the Zwiefacher originated in Oberpfalz, Hallertau,
Nördlinger Ries, and Oberfranken.
47
Example 2.1. Zwiefacher rhythm in the prelude to Die Zaubergeige, meas. 15-23.
The Zwiefacher is most conspicuously associated with the peasant Kaspar and, by its association
with Bavaria, reinforces his volkstümlich character. In Act II, Scene 6, at the entrance of the
mayor (Oberbürgermeister), the Zwiefacher appears, but in a series of seventh chords with
grace-note figures. Kaspar is drunk on Spanish wine, and his drunkenness is reflected in Egk’s
harmonization of the Zwiefacher. As the mayor arrives, Egk provides a march. At the end of the
scene, the march is combined with the drunken Zwiefacher to accompany a choir ejaculating
“Heil!” in a practically cacophonous free-for-all, as the mayor hangs a great gold chain about
Spagatini’s neck. The use of the word “Heil!” here conjures the specter of Adolf Hitler.
Thousands were seen cheering the same to their Führer in Leni Riefenstahl’s 1935 film Triumph
of the Will, chronicling the 1934 Nuremberg Party Rally, released just shy of two months before
the premiere of Die Zaubergeige. There is a parallel here. The Oberbürgermeister decorates
Spagatini, actually Kaspar the peasant, for his musical gifts. On 30 January 1933, Paul von
Hindenburg, the second President of the German Reich declared Adolf Hitler Chancellor of the
German Reich, paving the way for the National Socialist assumption of power. In Die
Zaubergeige, the ceremony is accompanied not by a straightforward, dignified march, but by a
polluted one composed in extended diatonicism, indicating a negative connotation.
48
The mayor and Kaspar are accompanied by a march that musically contradicted
prevailing National Socialist attitudes. On the other hand, Guldensack is accompanied by music
that approaches dodecaphony, apparently reinforcing National Socialist stereotypes. Here, a
parallel could be drawn between Guldensack and the Jewish composer Arnold Schönberg, the
ubiquitous antihero of New German music, the embodiment of musical intellectualism and the
lack of a clear racial identity. 96
Music critics who heard Die Zaubergeige did not hear the whisper of Schönberg. What
they did hear, likely owing to Egk’s use of percussion and repeated chords variably accented,
was Stravinsky. The critic of the Frankfurt General-Anzeiger who earlier pinpointed the
Volkstümlichkeit of Die Zaubergeige added,
… Not one of the many alluded precursors from which Egk extracts the tradition remain
innocent and as they were originally intended. They all are broken, changed. How does
he do it? Sometimes through other “false” instrumentation, through a sort of
recoloration. Sometimes through the opposite: through exaggeration. But mostly
through harmonic changes, through non-triadic additions or “false” basses or nonfunctional harmonic juxtapositions. Or in that he does not allow forms to be completed,
but uses them fragmentedly. Without a doubt, all of this is reminiscent of middle
Stravinsky, of his small works, of L’Histoire du Soldat, but also of Petruschka. In fact,
one must name him [Egk] the “Bavarian” Stravinsky (and some have), because his raw
material is, needless to say, not Russian, but Bavarian folk music, and also what he
displays in art music is taken from the vicinity, from the German tradition. 97
96
In 1927 Egk had already composed a sketch entitled Judenmusik (Jew-Musik) while he was accompanying films
in Berlin, with similar musical content (Lammers-Harlander, “Egk,” 339). To clarify, Egk, as an autodidact, did not
compose dodecaphonic music for either Judenmusik or Die Zaubergeige.
97
General-Anzeiger 119, 23 May 1935. “… kein einzige von den vielen erwähnten Vorformen, die Egk der
Ueberlieferung entnimmt, bleibt naiv und so, wie sie ursprünglich gemeint war. Sie alle sind gebrochen,
verwandelt. Wie er das macht? manchmal durch andere „falsche“ Instrumentation, durch eine Art Umfärbung.
Manchmal durch das Gegenteil: durch Uebertreibung. Meistens aber durch harmonische Veränderungen, durch
dreiklangfremde Zusätze, oder „falsche“ Bässe, oder harmonische Rückungen. Oder indem er die Formen nicht
fertig werden läßt sondern bruchstückartig verwendet. Das alles erinnert zweifellos an den Stil des mittleren
Strawinski, an seine kleinen Stücke, an die „Geschichte vom Soldaten“, aber auch an Petruschka. Man müßte ihn
freilich den „bayrischen“ Strawinski nennen (und hat es getan), denn sein Ausgangsstoff ist natürlich nicht die
49
In the Offenbacher Zeitung, music critic Ernst Krause did not attempt to reconcile the Bavarian
and Stravinskian in Egk’s music, as his review demonstrated:
Still another significant force adds to the folk-like melody of this “play-opera”: a
strongly developed, irrepressible rhythm. It definitely does not come from jazz. In its
accumulation of ostinato creations and asymmetrical meters, its three- and four-part
rhythms, it is much more reminiscent of Stravinsky with whose style this music shares a
great deal in common. Also in the harmonic, for Egk’s music in no way leaves the tonal
train tracks; however, [it] is studded with spicy mixed tones and dissonant counterpoints
(as we know them from Stravinsky). 98
In a more critical review that appeared in the Völkischer Beobachter, a critic conceded that “this
opera still exhibits certain childhood illnesses,” though they did not detract from the positive
impression of the opera. One apparent illness was Egk’s imitation of the style of Stravinsky,
“whose inspirational role is not to be overlooked, though it perpetrated much mischief and
confusion.” 99
Regardless of Stravinsky’s influence, Egk’s goal remained a melody that people could
whistle on their ways out of the theater. According to Helmut Schmidt-Garre in the Zeitschrift
für Musik, Egk succeeded:
From the few rehearsals that I have thus far heard of this work, one can perceive how the
melodic always gains more ground, a melody that has in its straightforward simple style
russische, sondern die bayrische Volksmusik, und auch was er an Kunstmusik heranzeigt, ist aus der Nähe geholt,
aus der deutschen Ueberlieferung.”
98
Offenbacher Zeitung, 23 May 1935. “Zu der volksnahen Melodik dieser „Spieloper“ kommt nun noch ein anderes
bezeichnendes Moment hinzu: ein stark entwickelter, unbändiger Rhythmus. Er kommt durchaus nicht vom Jazz
her. Vielmehr erinnert er in seiner Häufung von Ostinatobildungen und ungleichförmigen Metren, seinen dreiund
vierteiligen Rhythmen an Strawinskij, mit dessen Stil diese Musik überhaupt viel gemeinsam hat. Auch im
Harmonischen, denn Egks Musik verläßt keineswegs tonale Gleise, ist jedoch gespickt an würzenden Mischtönen
und dissonanzbildenden Kontrapunkten (wie wir das von Strawinskij kennen).”
99
Völkischer Beobachter 144, 24 May 1935. “Daß diese Oper noch gewisse Kinderkrankheiten besitzt, soll nicht
bestritten werden, wenn es auch den positiven Eindruck nicht vermindert. Ob manche Anklänge eine Stilkopie
darstellen (Strawinsky, dessen anregende Rolle nicht zu übersehen ist, wenn sie auch viel Unheil und Verwirrung
angerichtet hat) schaut ihm in 1. Akt mehrmals über die Schulter.”
50
the means to volkstümlich effect, without ever the danger of the banal or of only getting
at a merely romanticized folksiness. 100
Not only did Egk succeed at the creation of an accessible melodic style, but in it, he captured the
nature of what was perceived as German. According to a speech by Josef Goebbels at the 1938
Reich Music Festival (Reichsmusiktage) in Düsseldorf, an accessible melody was the marrow of
music:
Not program and not theory, not experiment and not construction constitute the essence
of music. Its essence is melody. Melody as such uplifts the heart and quickens the mind;
it is not therefore kitschy or objectionable, because it owes its memorability to being sung
by the people. 101
The Düsseldorf festival was also the occasion of the launch of the Degenerate Music exhibition
created by Dr. Hans Severus Ziegler and modeled on the Munich Degenerate Art exhibition of
1937. 102
Egk’s perceived proximity to Stravinsky was something of a problem in National
Socialist Germany. While Stravinsky enjoyed performing and conducting engagements in
Germany through early 1933, once the Nazi Weltanschauung gained ascendancy, German
companies were reluctant to engage him or perform his works. The issue was Stravinsky’s
characterization by National Socialists as a “cultural Bolshevist.” 103 This label connoted much
beyond Stravinsky’s association with Russia and communism. In the early struggle of the
100
Helmut Schmidt-Garre, “Werner Egk,” Zeitschrift für Musik 7 (July 1935): 736–737.
“Aus den wenigen Proben, welche ich bisher von diesem Werk härte, kann man erkennen, wie das Melodische
immer breiteren Boden gewinnt, eine Melodik, die in ihrer geraden einfachen Art das Zeug zu volkstümlicher
Wirkung in sich hat, ohne jemals der Gefahr des Banalen oder einer bloß romantisierenden Volkstümelei auch nur
nahe zu sein.” This article is followed by a reprint of Egk’s Lochhamer Opernbrief.
101
Josef Goebbels, “Zehn Grundsätze deutschen Musikschaffens” in Amtliche Mitteilungen der Reichsmusikkammer
5, no. 11 (1 June 1938): 41. Bundesarchiv Berlin Lichterfelde, R 56-II, 20. “Nicht das Programm und nicht die
Theorie, nicht Experiment und nicht Konstruktion machen das Wesen der Musik aus. Ihr Wesen ist die Melodie.
Die Melodie als solche erhebt die Herzen und erquickt die Gemüter; sie ist nicht deshalb kitschig oder verwerflich,
weil sie ihrer Einprägsamkeit wegen vom Volke gesungen wird.”
102
See Albrecht Dümling and Peter Girth, eds., Entartete Music: eine kommentierte Rekonstruktion zur
Düsseldorfer Austellung von 1938 (Düsseldorf: Kleinherne, 1988).
103
See Joan Evans, “Stravinsky’s Music in Hitler’s Germany,” Journal of the American Musicological Society 56,
no. 3 (Autumn 2003): 525–594.
51
National Socialist party for political dominance, its primary rival was the Communists. 104 The
term “Bolshevist,” though, extended well beyond political party affiliation.
The Degenerate Art (Entartete Kunst) exhibition in the House of German Art (Haus der
deutschen Kunst) in Munich in 1937 provides a study in the codification of cultural Bolshevism.
Though the commentary here applies to the visual arts, the concepts are equally applicable to
music, literature, and other cultural arenas. According to Ziegler, the goal of the Degenerate Art
exhibition was to provide a “firsthand survey of the gruesome last chapter of those decades of
cultural decadence that preceded the great change” and to “expose the common roots of political
anarchy and to unmask degenerate art as art-Bolshevism in every sense of the term.” 105 The
display further meant to reveal
the true peril of a trend that, steered by a few Jewish and openly Bolshevik ringleaders,
could succeed in enlisting such individuals to work toward Bolshevik anarchy in cultural
politics, when those same individuals might well have indignantly denied any affiliation
with Bolshevism in party politics. 106
The exhibition was primarily one of anti-example. Some six-hundred fifty works were divided
among nine separate rooms, each representing different aspects of the amorphous, subjective
designation “culturally Bolshevistic.” The first group comprised works maligned for “barbarism
of representation” and its “collapse of sensitivity to form and color,” and a “conscious disregard
for basics of technique.” The second group consisted of works on religious themes that put
people “more in mind of mumbo-jumbo” and were therefore to be regarded as a “shameless
mockery of any religious idea.” Then followed the third group, in which “methods of artistic
anarchy are used to convey an incitement to political anarchy … to class struggle in the
Bolshevik sense.” The fourth group, also of political tendency, included works of art that served
as “Marxist draft-dodging propaganda.” The fifth group was one in which the world was
depicted as a “brothel and the human race is exclusively composed of harlots and pimps.” Some
104
See Schirer, Rise and Fall of the Third Reich.
105
Führer durch die Austellung Entartete Kunst (Munich: Verlag für Kultur- und Wirtschaftswerbung, November
1937). Facsimile in Stephanie Barron, et al., “Degenerate Art”: The Fate of the Avant-Garde in Nazi Germany
(Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art and New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1991) 360.
Emphasis in original. The use of italics in the following discussion reflects their presence in the original Ziegler
guide.
106
Ibid., 361–62. Emphasis in original.
52
of the works of this group were so obscene, vulgar, or “criminal” that they could not be exhibited
due to the presence of female visitors to the exhibition. The sixth group featured works
demonstrating that “degenerate art often lent its support to that segment of Marxist and
Bolshevik ideology whose objective is the systematic eradication of the last vestige of racial
consciousness” and which championed the “negro and the South Sea islander as the evident
racial ideal of ‘modern art.’” The seventh group of works showed that, “alongside the negro as
the racial ideal of what was then ‘modern art,’ there was a highly specific intellectual ideal,
namely the idiot, the cretin, and the cripple.” Here, a “mindless, moronic face constituted a
special creative stimulus” and human figures showed “more of a resemblance to gorillas than to
men.” The eighth group comprised works solely by Jewish artists; the last, “sheer lunacy,” a
“cross-section of all the -isms thought up, promoted, and peddled over the years.” 107
The overarching theme of the exhibition was encapsulated in the large-writ caption on the
walls of Room 5, “Even museum bigwigs called this ‘art of the German people.’” 108 Art
Bolshevism and cultural Bolshevism in general was un-German in a New Germany that
championed a traditional idyllic German archetype. Other practically synonymous pejoratives
could be drawn from the language of the exhibition as well: “barbaric,” “intellectual,” and
“Jewish.” The extension of the Nazi anti-aesthetic of art to music is confirmed by Ziegler’s 1938
Degenerate Music Exhibition. Stravinsky was included in that exhibition despite performances
of Stravinsky’s works around Germany at the time of the exhibition. 109
Igor Stravinsky could be condemned as a cultural Bolshevist on a number of counts. The
perceived barbarism and lack of form of Le Sacre du printemps alone made a case. In April
1933, however, Stravinsky sent a letter to Willy Strecker of B. Schott’s Söhne in Mainz, his
German publisher, in which he explained,
I loathe all communism, Marxism, the execrable Soviet monster, and also all liberalism,
democratism, atheism, etc. I detest them to such a degree and so unreservedly that any
connection with the country of the Soviets would be senseless. 110
107
Ibid., 364–381.
108
Ibid., 61. “So schauen kranke Geister der Natur…aber auch Museumsbonzen nannten das ‚Kunst des deutschen
Volkes.’”
109
Evans, “Stravinsky’s Music in Hitler’s Germany,” 570.
110
Stravinsky in Evans, “Stravinsky’s Music in Hitler’s Germany,” 538.
53
Here, Stravinsky places too much emphasis on the literal Bolshevik aspect of cultural
Bolshevism. Stravinsky, though by lineage racially acceptable to the Germans, presented other
problems. Stravinsky was Russian-born but French-nationalized. As such, he was, in the
National Socialist mind, a man without a Volk. By 1936 attitudes toward Stravinsky had
loosened very slightly. Through Strecker Stravinsky arranged to conduct at the Frankfurt opera,
sharing the program with Bertil Wetzelsberger. This was to be a second German concert planned
after the Baden-Baden festival of contemporary music in April 1936, in which Stravinsky was to
participate. Hans Meissner, the music representative appointed by the Reich Music Chamber to
oversee concert programs, forbade the engagement. 111
Analogies drawn between Die Zaubergeige and Stravinsky’s music were not in Egk’s
best interest. He, too, ran the risk of being accused of cultural Bolshevism, not because of his
lineage—he was Bavarian and therefore definitely German—but because of the music itself. In
the pages of Völkische Kultur, Egk used as non-culturally-Bolshevistic a venue as possible to
declare Die Zaubergeige, even with its Stravinskian rhythms and mixed meters, as definitely
German. For the June 1935 issue, Egk wrote a review of Richard Eichenauer’s infamous Musik
und Rasse (Music and Race). In his review, Egk alights on two elements of music, melody and
meter, the two style elements most often cited in contemporary reviews of Die Zaubergeige then
in performance. Egk stated,
For example, it is established that through the millennia, the diatonic melody is identical
with the dominance of the Nordic spirit, or that the introduction of close and small
pitches, chromaticism, and the subdivision into still smaller intervals is symptomatic of
the incursion of the Near-Eastern attitude toward life. 112
Here, Egk claimed the most important element in Die Zaubergeige, melody, as essentially
Nordic. Further, he set aside his new diatonic melody from the chromatic melodies of the
Romantic era, making place for his music. Egk also commented on rhythm, defining non-
111
Ibid., 544–47. Meissner was the director of the Frankfurt Opera, where Egk’s Die Zaubergeige had its premiere
not quite one year earlier.
112
Werner Egk, book review: Musik und Rasse by Richard Eichenauer in Völkische Kultur 3 (June 1935): 284–85.
“Zum Beispiel wird festgestellt, daß durch die Jahrtausende hindurch die diatonische Melodik identisch ist mit der
Herrschaft des nordischen Geistes, oder daß der Einbruch der engen und kleinen Tonstufen, der Chromatik und der
Unterteilung in noch kleinere Intervalle wesensgleich ist mit dem Einbruch des vorderasiatischen Lebensgefühls.”
54
foursquare rhythms, such as those of the Zwiefacher in Die Zaubergeige, along with Stravinskian
rhythmic elements, as distinctly German. Egk the “ultra-Bavarian” invoked race, knowing that
his Germanness was above reproach, in order to rebut the arguments of those placing his music
in proximity to that of Stravinsky, the cultural Bolshevist. 113 Egk pointed out,
How often has one encountered the view that primitive, regular meter is especially
German. Eichenauer demonstrates, however, that the altogether too stamped-out
regularity is romantic, un-German, and un-Nordic, while the “non-quadratic rhythm, the
wrestling of multiple stress patterns” depicts “something extraordinarily German.” 114
The critic of Berlin’s Friedericus equated Volkstümlichkeit with modernism in his review of Die
Zaubergeige. He wrote,
his volkstümlich and thereby modern opera Die Zaubergeige met with such a one hundred
percent affirmation before a parquet of experts and the musically educated that his name,
unknown just yesterday, is on the tips of everyone’s tongues today. 115
The modernism that arises from Die Zaubergeige is not musical modernism. It is rather the
contemporary National Socialist Weltanschauung that viewed a bucolic Bavarian landscape as an
ideal setting for a simple life, a perfectly Romantic idea. One could argue that the presence of an
educated audience contradicts the volkstümlich nature of the work. According to Egk’s Lochham
Opera Letter, inherently volkstümlich works should appeal to the uneducated layman as well as
to the expert. Perhaps the Volkstümlichkeit of Die Zaubergeige actually had little to do with its
ultimate purpose: by writing a work congruent with the volkstümliche weltanschauung of
contemporary music, of which Egk was always a strong proponent, Egk ensured a place for
113
Berliner Tageblatt, Abend Ausgabe 244, 1. Beiblatt (24 May 1935). “Werner Egk wohnt in Lochham bei
München. Er ist ein Urbayer. Er holt die Triebkräfte seiner Oper aus dem heimischen Boden, aus der heimischen
Tradition.”
114
Ibid., 285. “Wie oft begegnet man auch der Ansicht, daß der primitive gerade Takt besonders deutsch sei,
Eichenauer zeigt aber, daß die allzu weit getriebene rhythmische Regelmäßigkeit romanisch, undeutsch und
unnordisch ist, während die „unquadratische Rhythmik, das Ringen mehrerer Betonungsordnungen etwas ungemein
Germanisches“ darstellt.”
115
Friedericus, 2. Ausgabe, 28 (July 1935). “Werner Egk heißt der eine und ist ein 34 Jahre alter Urbayer. Seine
volkstümliche und dabei moderne Oper: „Die Zaubergeige“ fand am 21. Mai im Frankfurter Opernhaus vor einem
Parkett vom Sachverständigen und musikalisch Gebildeten eine so hundertprozentig bejahende Aufnahme, daß sein
Name, gestern noch unbekannt, heute in aller Munde ist.”
55
himself and his music. This was something of a ruse, however, considering that Egk’s music is
not especially völkisch.
Bayerische Tanzbilder „Auf der Alm“ (Georgica, 1935)
Egk’s 1934 orchestral work Georgica premiered as a ballet, Bayerische Tanzbilder „Auf
der Alm, “in Cologne on 22 October 1935. The ballet was not especially successful. Helmut
Heinrichs reported in the Düsseldorf paper Der Mittag, that “the Georgica-dances are to be wellviewed as unused ideas from Die Zaubergeige.” While the ballet was not a “defilement of
culture,” the critic saw no reason to seek expressiveness by underpinning an A-major chord with
an A-flat and an E-flat in the bass, a similar observation to that made regarding the “false basses”
of Die Zaubergeige. 116 The critic of the Westdeutscher Beobachter found Egk’s “unsalted copy
of Stravinsky’s Petruschka-suite” written with “willful primitiveness” resulting in a “spirit- and
humorless satire.” He continued, Egk “would like to provide painting instead of feeling; he
provides loud colors instead of painting, overblown dynamics through an ornamented use of
brass instead of timbral discipline.” 117 Egk found no better reception in his native Bavaria, as
another reviewer made clear:
And Werner Egk seeks to “freshen up” the volkstümlich Bavarian dance music he uses,
and in fact, one senses occasionally imitations of Stravinsky’s well-known parody-suite
or Hindemith’s march-grotesques. Outside this though, a unified impression may be able
to arise. The orchestration is intentionally raw, supported by preference for the trumpets
and trombones; dynamic shading is all but missing, and the parodic undertone compels
the choreographer to joke-scenes and the set designer to fitting costumes and sets that run
to the farcical. 118
116
Der Mittag 247, 23 October 1935. The German title translates as “Bavarian Dance Scenes on the Alm River.”
117
Westdeutscher Beobachter 493 (23 October 1935).
118
Münchener Neueste Nachrichten 294 (27 October 1935) “Auch Werner Egk sucht die von ihm verwendeten
volkstümlichen Tanzmusiken bayerischer Herkunft „aufzufrischen“, und zwar empfindet man gelegentliche
Anlehnungen an Strawinskys bekannte Parodie-Suite oder Hindemiths Marschgrotesken, ohne daß jedoch ein
einheitlicher Eindruck entstehen könne. Die Orchestrierung ist absichtlich rauh [sic] gehalten unter Bevorzugung
der Trompeten und Posaunen, dynamische Schattierungen fehlen so gut wie ganz, und der parodistische Unterton
mußte den Choreographen zu Ulkszenen und den Bühnenbildner zu entsprechenden Kostümen und Bildern
zwingen, die auf das Gebiet der Posse leiten.”
56
While German critics were more willing to make exceptions for the music of Die Zaubergeige,
they were not so inclined toward Georgica.
Kapellmeister at the Berliner Staatsoper
Despite the reception of Georgica, Egk’s star was still ascending, thanks to the
momentum of Die Zaubergeige. Following its successful premiere in Frankfurt, the opera was
performed in Bremen, Trier, Hannover, Kassel, Antwerp, and Mannheim. 119 Die Zaubergeige
was slated, “after some opposition” was overcome, for performance in a new setting at the
Staatsoper in Berlin in February 1936. 120 Egk had met General Manager Heinz Tietjen, also the
General Manager for the opera at Kassel, following a performance of Die Zaubergeige there, and
the latter then requested the composer’s presence in Berlin. 121 At the dress rehearsal, conductor
Hans Swarowsky, overcoming the reticence of General Manager Heinz Tietjen, arranged it so
that Egk proposed that he himself direct the production. Egk initially resisted. Swarowsky
suddenly became ill and could not conduct. After a visit by Swarowsky, Egk convinced himself
to direct the Berlin premiere on 15 February 1936.
Following the successful Berlin premiere of Die Zaubergeige and inquiries about Egk’s
opinion of the orchestra and choir, Tietjen requested a meeting with him on 28 February 1936.
This meeting was the opening of Egk’s new career. He promised to make the manuscript for his
next opera available to Tietjen before submitting it to his publisher. Together, and with Egk’s
interest in mind, they would decide where the work would premiere: Berlin, Kassel, or in the
event that it were inappropriate for either of these, another theater within the Reich. That opera
would be Egk’s 1938 Peer Gynt. After the opera Tietjen would award Egk a contract for a largescale, feature-length, dance work. That work would be Egk’s 1940 Joan von Zarissa. Finally,
because Tietjen held Egk to be “in every respect, a man of the future,” he would engage Egk as
Kapellmeister (Conductor) at the Staatsoper, effective 7 March 1935. Egk now had a guaranteed
performance for his next opera and a contract for a large dance work, but most importantly, he
119
Egk, Die Zeit, 236, 238.
120
Staatsarchiv München Spruchkammer Ka 339, Egk Werner. Hereafter, “StAM, Ka 339.” The date of the
premiere is given by Egk in Die Zeit, 240.
121
Egk, Die Zeit, 243–45.
57
had a position that would offer him a fixed salary of RM 20,000. 122 Egk remained a
Kapellmeister at the Berliner Staatsoper until September 1940, when he entered into a contract
with the Städtischen Bühnen (City Theaters) of Frankfurt am Main. The new Frankfurt contract
guaranteed Egk premieres of his new works for five years. 123
Der Weg (1936)
On 8 February 1936 the “first world-premiere of a German work [outside Germany] since
1914” took place in Antwerp, that of Egk’s ballet Der Weg (The Way), with the composer
conducting. 124 A knight on a crusade loses his way in a mythical forest, where he frees a trapped
gazelle. The empress Nineana appears and reclaims her gazelle. The knight becomes infatuated
with her and attempts to embrace her, but she disappears, leaving him victim of the forest and its
demons, who seek to drive him to despair. Along the way, the knight loses his crusader’s sword
and helmet. Nineana reappears, drives away the demons, and returns the knight’s possessions.
The knight’s earthly way has come to an end. In the final tableau St. Michael knights the
crusader, welcoming him into the ranks of his brethren. 125
The critic of the Handelsblad van Antwerps, Painpare, reported simply that the work was
the story of a knight crusader “whose path is hindered by different symbolic and mythical
challenges.” Of the music, the reporter states that the music sounded “distinctly pre-Wagnerian,”
opening with a funeral reminiscent of Beethoven’s Eroica and closing with a Verdian heroic
apotheosis. 126 German coverage of the event offered a more detailed description:
122
Egk, Die Zeit, 242–251. Egk quotes the confidential minutes of the meeting as sent to him later. StAM, Ka 339.
Egk provides the salary amount in the minutes of a 17 October 1947 public meeting during his second denazification
process.
123
Kater, Composers of the Nazi Era, 17.
124
Hamburger Fremdenblatt 42, 11 February 1936; also, Berliner-Börsen-Zeitung 70, 11 February 1936.
125
Program, Koninklijke Vlaamsche Opera, 8 February 1936. BSB Ana 410.
126
Het Handelsblad van Antwerps, 9 February 1936. “«De Weg» ist een eenvoudig gesponnen, plastische
gebarenspel en het scenario geschreven naar een oude legende, biedt ons de avonturen van een druisridder versperd
wordt door allerlei symbolische of sprookjes-achtige hinderpalen.
De muziek klinkt bepaald voor-Wagneriaansch. Ze vangt aan met een soort uitgebreide treurmarsch die
veel overeenkomst biedt met die der Eroica en besluit met een op zijn Verdi’s opgevatte heldhaftige apotheose.”
Kindest thanks are due to Ms. Jo-Anne van der Vat-Chromy and Ms. Lidewij Besnard for their translation from the
Dutch.
58
The most powerful moments in Egk’s score are the solemn march of the exhausted knight
in the tempo of a funeral march, and then the poignant episodes of the wounded gazelle
protected by a good fairy. The fairy, metamorphosed into an oriental princess, appears to
the crusader in the rhythm of a finely engraved tango. At the close, an adagio offers the
soloist the opportunity to carry out a classical dance. Then the finale grows to a rich
triumphal march. 127
The reception of Der Weg foreshadowed that of Joan von Zarissa. Critics found Der Weg
noteworthy in its poignant moments, as they would Joan von Zarissa. Der Weg closed with a
grand finale, as would Joan von Zarissa. In Der Weg, the crusader dies, and the triumphal march
accompanies his entry into heaven, dissolving the sadness of death in the joy of eternal life. In
Joan von Zarissa, the rondeau-finale dispels the sadness of the tragedy that precedes it. The
presence of the tango in Der Weg remains a mystery, however. Such an inclusion was an evil
characterization in Job, der Deutsche; however, the dance is associated with a positive character
in Der Weg.
Besides offering information on Egk’s music, reviews of Der Weg confirmed Egk’s
success in his fledgling career. The above critic noted that the ballet was “reminiscent of the
successful opera Die Zaubergeige in the melodic noblesse, the dazzling orchestration and the
rhythmic polymorphism.” 128 The Hamburger Fremdenblatt and the Berliner Börsen-Zeitung
celebrated not only Egk’s “complete success” in Antwerp, but also the upcoming Berlin debut of
Die Zaubergeige and his reception of the “honorable commission” to compose music for the
opening ceremonies of the 1936 Berlin Olympic games. 129
127
Neues Musikblatt (Mainz) 15, March 1936. “Die stärksten Momente in Egks Partitur sind der feierliche Marsch
des erschöpften Ritters im Tempo eines Trauermarsches, und dann die rührende Episode der verwundeten, durch
eine gute Fee beschützten Gazelle. Die in eine orientalische Prinzessin verwandelte Fee erscheint dem Kreuzfahrer
in den Rhythmen eines fein ziselierten Tangos. Zum Schluß gibt ein Adagio den Solisten Gelegenheit einen
klassischen Tanz auszuführen. Dann steigert sich das Finale zu einem klangreichen Triumphmarsch.”
128
Ibid. “Das Ballett „Der Weg“ erinnert an die erfolgreiche Oper „Die Zaubergeige“ durch die melodische
Noblesse, die schillernde Orchestration und die rhythmische Vielgestaltigkeit.”
129
Hamburger Fremdenblatt 42, 11 February 1936; also, Berliner Börsen-Zeitung 11 February 1936. “Der junge
deutsche Komponist, Werner Egk, dessen Oper „Die Zaubergeige“ in diesen Tagen an der Berliner Staatsoper zum
ersten male aufgeführt wird, und der den ehrenvollen Auftrag erhalten hat, die Musik für die Berliner
59
Geigenmusik mit Orchester (1936)
Werner Egk directed the premiere of his Geigenmusik mit Orchester (Violin Music with
Orchestra) on the first day of the Baden-Baden Internationales Zeitgenössisches Musikfest
(Baden-Baden International Contemporary Music Festival), 3 April 1936. This festival was an
island in the tide of National Socialist cultural conservatism sweeping Germany at the time.
Perhaps this was due to the Olympic games Germany would be hosting in some four months:
Germany wanted to project an atmosphere of cosmopolitanism and openness in light of the
games. Festival participants included Igor Stravinsky, Paul Hindemith, and other composers
from France, Denmark, Switzerland, Sweden, Italy, and Greece. Among them were Paul
Graener, the future President of the Reich Music Chamber, and Francesco Malipiero and Max
Trapp, future members of the German and International Olympic Committee for music. Egk’s
success with Die Zaubergeige made him an important part of the festival. Geigenmusik
premiered with Lars-Erik Larson’s Concert Overture No. 2, op. 13; Karl Höller’s Symphonic
Fantasy on a Theme of Girolamo Frescobaldi for orchestra, op. 20; and Petro Petridis’s Greek
Suite for large orchestra. 130 Reviews were mixed. The Völkischer Beobachter reported,
Werner Egk had the greatest audience success with his Geigenmusik mit Orchester,
which apparently originated from thematic material collected for the composition of the
opera Die Zaubergeige. In any event, the stylistic proximity to the opera is unmistakable.
The rhythmic verve of the melody, the original mixture of timbral combinations, and the
earthiness of the demeanor of the whole stamp the concerto with an importance that is not
to be diminished even by occasional lapses into popular gestures. 131
Eröffnungsfeierlichkeiten der Olympiade zu komponieren, hatte die Genungtuung, sein Ballett „Der Weg“ durch die
Königlich-vlämische Oper in Antwerpen zur Aufführung gebracht zu sehen. Es war ein voller Erfolg.”
130
Program for the Baden-Baden Internationales Zeitgenössisches Musikfest, 3–5 April 1936. BSB Ana 410.
131
Völkischer Beobachter, Berliner Ausgabe 96, 5 April 1936. “Den stärksten Publikumserfolg hatte Werner Egk
mit seiner Geigenmusik mit Orchester, die offenbar aus dem bei der Komposition der Oper „Die Zaubergeige“
gesammelten Themenmaterial entstanden ist. Jedenfalls ist die stilistische Nachbarschaft zu der Oper unverkennbar.
Der rhythmische Schwung der Melodik, die originelle Mischung der Klangkombinationen und die Urwüchsigkeit
der Gesamthaltung stempeln das Konzert zu einer Bedeutung, die auch durch gelegentliches Abgleiten in populäre
Gesten nicht vermindert wird.”
60
The Frankfurt am Main General Anzeiger pointed out that Egk “relocated Kaspar of Die
Zaubergeige,” but “unfortunately, the ideas were diluted.” 132 The review published in Der
Mittag was less tactfully ambiguous:
The most recent work of Werner Egk, a Geigenmusik mit Orchester, stood at the center
of interest. What did one expect? Much, some—but on no account a repeat of the
Zaubergeige-style. Whoever does not yet know this opera will take pleasure in a light
instrumental music that assigns the grateful duties to the violin. The others are certainly
dumbfounded to find almost verbatim the features of the opera score: the yodel- and
strum-style of the melody; the duple and triple rhythm; the glassy combinations of
timbre. This has now lost its appeal to everyone. Such a style is original only once. Is
Egk’s expressive compass really so narrowly defined? Curious slump. 133
Apparently the German market for such melodically-volkstümlich works as Die Zaubergeige had
been saturated. Critics once again demanded music not necessarily beholden to the quaint
rusticity of an idealized folkish German life.
Olympische Festmusik (1936)
The 1936 Olympics brought National Socialist Germany, its cultural products, and its
representative Werner Egk onto the world stage. Dr. Carl Diem, General Secretary of the
Eleventh Olympic Games, and his collaborator Hans Niedecken-Gebhardt, author of Job, der
Deutsche, asked Egk and Carl Orff to provide music for Olympische Jugend, a pageant to be
132
General-Anzeiger 81, 4 April 1936. “Im Mittelpunkt des Interesses natürlich: der neue Werner Egk, eine
„Geigenmusik“. Es siedelt da noch immer der Kaspar aus der „Zaubergeige“, aber die Einfälle haben sich leider
verdünnt.” This review by Düsseldorfer Ernst Krause was broadcast in several newspapers. The use of the phrases
pertaining to the dilution of Zaubergeige ideas and the narrow definition of Egk’s expressive compass show up in
three newspapers: the Frankfurt am Main General-Anzeiger; the Düsseldorf Der Mittag; and the Leipzig Neue
Leipziger Zeitung. The latter two are signed “E.Kr.”
133
Der Mittag 82, 6 April 1936. “Das jüngste Werk Werner Egks, eine „Geigenmusik mit Orchester“, stand im
Mittelpunkt des Interesses. Was hatte man erwartet? Vieles, manches—aber keinesfalls eine Wiederholung des
„Zaubergeigen“-Stiles. Wer diese reizvolle Oper noch nicht kennt, wird seine Freude haben an einer leichten
„Spielmusik“, die der Violine dankbare Aufgaben zuweist. Die anderen sind freilich verblüfft, all die urtümlichen
Merkmale der Opernpartitur fast wörtlich wiederzufinden: den Jodler- und Schrammeltypus der Melodik, den dreiund vierteiligen Rhythmus, die gläsernen Klangmischungen. Das hat nun alles an Reiz verloren. Ein solcher Stil ist
nur einmal original. Sollten die Ausdruckssphären Egks wirklich so eng umgrenzt sein? Sonderbarer Fall.”
61
performed at the opening ceremonies of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Diem believed that Olympic
sport was a valuable tool in keeping the German people “fit and militarily strong.” 134 Egk likely
received the commission prior to an organizational meeting for Olympische Jugend, then called
Sieg der Jugend (Victory of the Youths), which he attended with Carl Orff and dance instructor
Dorothee Günther on 16 March 1935. 135 The early conception of the pageant featured a
rhetorical battle, “Overcoming the Foes,” between youth and a group of bureaucrats,
intellectuals, financiers (Geldmenschen), seductresses, shallow people (Oberflächliche), movies,
and cards. 136 In contrast to this National Socialist-oriented play, the final Olympische Jugend
pageant was more international in nature, as befit the Olympic Games. The program explained:
The Festival Play “Olympic Youths” has been organized in response to the repeatedly
expressed wish of the founder of the Olympic Games, Baron de Coubertin, to combine
the opening ceremonies at the Festival held in Germany with the final chorus of
Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. Dr. Diem, the General Secretary of the XIth Olympiad,
accepted this wish as an obligation, but felt that the magnificent music set to Schiller’s
“Hymn to Joy” should form the conclusion of a Festival Play which would take place in
the Olympic Stadium itself and which would lend artistic expression to the Olympic
ideals. It should be a pageant of youth. Working upon this basis, he planned a Festival
and composed the libretto in cooperation with the director, Dr. Niedecken-Gebhard [sic],
who was for so many years the stage director of the Metropolitan Opera in New York. 137
Egk’s Olympische Festmusik was featured throughout this four-tableau, one-and-a-half-hour
spectacle of 10,000 participants.
134
David Clay Large, Nazi Games: The Olympics of 1936 (New York and London: W. W. Norton and Company,
2007), 33–35.
135
Report of the 16 March 1935 German Organizing Committee for the 11th Olympiad concerning the composition
of the pageant. Bundesarchiv Berlin Lichterfelde, R 8077, 196.
136
Report of the 16 March 1935 German Organizing Committee for the 11th Olympiad concerning the composition
of the pageant. Bundesarchiv Berlin Lichterfelde, R 8077, 196.
137
Olympische Jugend Festspiel (Berlin: Reichssportverlag, 1936), 23. In English. Gebhardt was stage manager at
the Metropolitan Opera from 1931 to 1933. See Gerald Fitzgerald, Editor-in-Chief, Annals of the Metropolitan
Opera: The Complete Chronicle of Performances and Artists (Boston: G. K. Hall and Co. and New York: The
Metropolitan Opera Guild, Inc., 1989), 428–449. His name is listed as “Hanns Niedecken-Gebhard” in the Annals.
62
On 31 July 1935 Egk wrote to Niedecken-Gebhardt that he was in the middle of the work
and would finish “around the end of August, beginning of September, at the latest,” almost one
year before the 1 August 1936 opening ceremonies. 138 Olympische Festmusik comprised five
tableaus interspersed with the music of Orff throughout the pageant. A “Festlicher
Willkommruf” (“Festival Welcome-Call”) announced, after the ringing of the Olympia-Bell, the
start of the pageant. Egk’s “Einzug der Jünglinge” (“Entrance of the Adolescents”) served as a
prelude to the folksongs of Finland, India, Italy, Yugoslavia, and Germany. The flags of the
nations entered to Egk’s “Walzer” (“Waltz”), and the tableau concluded with the last movement
of the Olympische Festmusik suite, Egk’s hymn “Ewige Olympia” (“Eternal Olympia”). The
fourth tableau, “Heroic Struggle and Death Lament,” was a sword dance featuring dancers
Harald Kreuzberg and Mary Wigman. While ostensibly denouncing the needless death caused
by war, the accompanying narration eulogized those who gave their life for their fatherland and
thereby earned the highest victory.139 This tableau featured the “Waffentanz” (Sword Dance)
and “Totenklage” (“Death Lament”) movements of Egk’s work. 140 The pageant closed with a
tableau built around the final movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, as Coubertin had
desired.
As a composer at the 1936 Olympics Egk found himself in good German company.
Richard Strauss had been commissioned to write music for an Olympic hymn, and Carl Orff
shared in the music of Olympische Jugend. Egk’s Olympische Festmusik found itself alongside
the overture of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger, Liszt’s Les Préludes, and the “Hallelujah” chorus of
138
Egk to Diem, 31 July 1935. BSB Ana 410.
139
Ibid., 11. The text for the tableau is as follows:
Allen Spiels
Denkt der Toten
heil’ger Sinn:
dankt der Toten,
Vaterlandes
die vollendet
Hochgewinn.
ihren Kreis.
Vaterlandes höchst Gebot
Ihnen aller Ehren
in der Not:
allerhöchsten Siegespreis.
Opfertod!
140
Almost ten years later, Diem would again invoke the image of this tableau. He delivered an inspirational speech
in the Kuppelsaal of the Sportforum, where Olympic fencers met in 1936. His speech of 18 March 1945 was
addressed again to youth, a group of Hitler Youth facing a hopeless battle with American and Russian forces, now
outside Berlin. (Large, Nazi Games, 323–324.)
63
Handel’s Messiah, all connected with the opening ceremony. 141 Unlike Orff and Strauss,
however, Egk was awarded an Olympic gold medal in the category of Sportart-Kunst,
Orchestermusik (“Sport-art, Orchestral Music.”)
Cultural competitions were part of the Olympics starting in 1912, and prizes were
awarded in the areas of architecture, literature, music, painting, and sculpture. 142 For the 1936
Olympics, thirty-four entries were received for the music portion of the cultural events,
distributed across the categories of solo vocal and choral works; solo instrumental or chamber
music; and orchestral works. Of these, four works, including Egk’s Olympische Festmusik, came
from Germany. Egk relates in his memoirs that Niedecken-Gebhardt requested him to enter his
music into the art competition because there were too few entries in the competition. 143 Egk
agreed, and Olympische Festmusik was forwarded to the German jury for consideration and from
there to the contest as a German entry. Egk’s competition consisted of two works from Holland;
five from Italy; five from Japan; one from Monaco; seven from Austria; five from
Czechoslovakia; three from the United States of America, including Roy Harris’s “When Johnny
Comes Marching Home” for orchestra; and two from Yugoslavia. 144
Egk’s success at the 1936 Olympics was likely due to his connections in addition to the
quality of his music. Egk had taken part in the earliest organization of the pageant for the
opening ceremonies in March 1935. His connections with the Olympics predated this, though.
Egk had worked with Heinz Niedecken-Gebhardt on Job der Deutsche two years before in 1933.
He also enjoyed a favorably-disposed committee. From at least 1934 the German Working
Committee for Music (Arbeitsausschuß Musik) awarded composition contracts intended to
produce works for the 1936 competition. Special consideration was given to those composers
141
Ibid., 196–201. Though Handel was a German who sought to produce Italian opera in England, his Germanness
was not questioned.
142
Richard Stanton, The Forgotten Olympic Art Competitions: The Story of the Olympic Art Competitions of the
th
20 Century (Victoria, B.C.: Trafford, 2000), 35–37. Stanton’s book is the only such on the subject in English.
143
144
BA R 8077/169. Cultural Olympic events were replaced by the Olympic Arts Festival in 1952 on the premise that
artists were professionals rather than amateurs.
64
with experience in youth and worker movements. 145 The Working Committee was comprised of
members recommended by then-President of the Reich Music Chamber Richard Strauss and
originally included composers Paul Hindemith and Emil Nikolaus Reznicek, both replaced by
November 1934. Strauss removed himself from the committee when he resigned from the Reich
Music Chamber in July 1935. 146 Egk’s previous work in Job der Deutsche would have likely
qualified him for special consideration, but the Working Committee did not offer him a contract.
The German committee that recommended Egk’s work for competition consisted of Prof. Dr.
Peter Raabe, Presidential Councilor (Präsidialrat) Heinz Ihlert, Prof. Gustav Havemenn, Prof.
Georg Schumann, Prof. Fritz Stein, Prof. Heinz Tiessen and Prof. Max Trapp. 147 The
international Olympic jury consisted of the same, augmented by the Italian Francesco Malipiero,
Finnish composer Yrjö Kilpinen, and Federal Councilor Dr. Kurt Biebrach of the
Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda (Reich Ministry for Popular
Enlightenment and Propaganda, a.k.a. Propaganda Ministerium (Propaganda Ministry), or
“Promi”), and General Secretary of the Berlin Olympics Carl Diem. In effect, it was largely the
same committee that initially put forward Egk’s work as a German entry that would also
determine the Olympic gold-medalist. The committee convened on 3 June 1936 and made its
decision on 11 June; before the results were officially announced, Diem succinctly telegraphed
Egk, “Confidential Winner Congratulations / Diem.” 148 On 12 June Francesco Malipiero met
with Josef Goebbels and, according to Goebbels “referred to Werner Egk as the upcoming bearer
of the Olympic medal for music.” “That would be very nice,” Goebbels mused. 149 The
145
Albrecht Dümling, “Von Weltoffenheit zur Idee des NS-Volksgemeinschaft,” in ,” in Werner Egk: Eine Debatte
zwischen Ästhetik und Politik, ed. Jürgen Schläder (Munich: Herbert Utz Verlag, 2008), 23–24. Surprisingly, the
anti-Nazi composer Paul Höffer was awarded a contract in 1935.
146
Amtliche Mitteilungen der Reichsmusikkammer 2, no. 21 (24 July 1935): 61. BA R 56-II/17.
147
Amtliche Mitteilungen der Reichsmusikkammer 2, no. 2 (16 January 1935): 3–4. BA R 56-II/17.
148
Letter from Diem, 23 May 1936. Bundesarchiv Berlin Lichterfelde R 8077, 173. The committee is confirmed by
Michael Kater in Composers of the Nazi Era: Eight Portraits (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2000), 7–8. The telegram is quoted in Dümling “Von Weltoffenheit,” 23–34.
149
Josef Goebbels, Die Tagebücher von Joseph Goebbels. Im Auftrag des Instituts für Zeitgeschichte und mit
Unterstützung des Staatliche Archivdienstes Rußlands. Herausgegeben von Elke Fröhlich. Teil I: Aufzeichnungen.
14 vols., (München: K.G. Saur, 1998–2006), I.3/II, 105. “Italien. Komponist Malipiero. Macht guten Eindruck.
Ob auch guter Musiker? Bezeichnet Werner Egk als kommenden Träger der olymp. Medaille für Musik. Wäre sehr
schön.”
65
committee conferred the gold medal in the solo vocal and choral works category on Paul Höffer
for his cantata Olympic Oath (Olympischer Schwur). The remaining medals in the orchestral
division went to non-Germans: the Italian Lino Liviabella was awarded a silver medal for his
symphonic poem Il Vincitore (The Victor); the bronze medal was awarded to the
Czechoslovakian composer Jaroslav Kricka for his Bergsuite (Mountain Suite). Two honorable
mentions were conferred on Italy’s Gian Luca Tocchi, for his Recordo (Record); and Japan’s
Bunya Koh, for his Tanz Formosa (Formosan Dance). In the category of solo vocal and choral
works, the silver medal was awarded to Kurt Thomas for his Kantate zur Olympiade 1936
(Cantata for the 1936 Olympiad), and the bronze to Harald Genzmer for Der Läufer (The
Runner). No medals were awarded in the instrumental solo and chamber works division;
however, Gabriele Bianchi from Italy was awarded an honorable mention for Due Improvvisi
(Two Improvisations). 150
Natur-Liebe-Tod (1937)
After his Olympic success, Egk received a commission for a cantata celebrating the 200th
anniversary of the University of Göttingen. Egk’s four-movement Natur-Liebe-Tod (NatureLove-Death) for bass and chamber orchestra premiered on 26 June 1937. The text of the cantata
was drawn from the poetry of Ludwig Christoph Heinrich Hölty (1748-1776), who had been a
theology student at the university and a member of the Göttingen Circle. 151 Natur-Liebe-Tod
was also performed on 29 May 1938 at the first Reichsmusiktage in Düsseldorf, where the
Michael Kater in Composers of the Nazi Era states “Already in June 1936, weeks before the Olympic
event, Goebbels, the chief of the Reich Music Chamber (RMK), who most certainly had been pulling strings, had
been told by Malipiero that Egk could be looked upon as the ‘future bearer of the Olympic Medal for Music.’”
Kater’s statement is somewhat mendacious. Goebbels’s statement is dated 12 June, nine days after the first meeting
of the committee, and the day after Egk himself had been notified, albeit confidentially, by Diem. It is true that this
occurred weeks before the Olympics, but there appears no reason to suspect Goebbels was directly involved in the
decision, especially given the predisposition of the committee favorably toward Egk. Kater’s definite statement is
also incongruous with the subjunctive mood Goebbels uses in the phrase following that which Kater translates
[“Wäre sehr schön.” (Italics mine.)]. Nor does it match Goebbels’s entry following his attendance of the 31 January
1939 performance of Peer Gynt in which he describes Egk as “new discovery” in a tone which does not indicate
intimate prior knowledge of Egk or his works. See following discussion.
150
Stanton, Forgotten Olympic Art Competitions, 179.
151
<http://www.schott-music.com/shop/products/show,151462,,f.html> (Accessed 20 June 2011).
66
infamous Entartete Kunst exhibition by Hans Severus Ziegler had opened just five days
earlier. 152
Mein Vaterland (1937)
Egk composed another choral work that premiered with Natur-Liebe-Tod. Egk set
Friedrich Gottlieb Klopstock’s 1768 poem “Mein Vaterland” (“My Fatherland”) for unison choir
and orchestra or organ. 153 Historian Fred Prieberg, in “The Case of Werner Egk,” states this
work “was not exactly harmless in the Third Reich and promptly played its role in the Goebbels
propaganda film Das deutsche Lied [The German Song].” 154 The composition is confirmed in
Egk’s denazification record; however, the date of composition is listed as 1938. 155
Variationen über ein altes Wiener Strophenlied (1938)
Egk composed his Variationen über ein altes Wiener Strophenlied (Variations on an Old
Viennese Strophic Song) for the Berlin performance of Rossini’s Barber of Seville of 19
September 1938. Erna Berger sang the part of Rosina, and Egk’s music became one of her trunk
arias. Walter Abendroth, critic for the Berliner Lokal Anzeiger wrote that though Egk’s music
aligned itself well with Rossini, the “very personal signature of the composer” was
recognizable. 156
Peer Gynt (1938)
On 25 November 1938, Kapellmeister Werner Egk of the Berliner Staatsoper fulfilled his
promise of his next-born opera to General Intendant Heinz Tietjen. Peer Gynt, dedicated to
Tietjen, premiered to mixed reviews. The libretto was an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s play by
the composer himself, with some substantial omissions, revisions, and additions to Ibsen’s
original (see Figure 2.1).
152
Program for the Reichsmusiktage Düsseldorf in Dümling and Girth, Entartete Musik, 105–110.
153
<http://www.schott-music.com/shop/9/show,157490.html> (Accessed 17 October 2011).
154
Prieberg, “Der Fall Werner Egk.” “Nicht die Vertonung von Klopstocks Hymne „Mein
Vaterland“ (1937), die im Dritten Reich eben nicht harmlos war und prompt in dem Goebbelschen
Propagandafilm „Das deutsche Lied“ ihre Rolle spielte.” Egk’s score is available on loan from B. Schott’s Söhne
publishers in Mainz. Research into the film Das deutsche Lied lies beyond the purview of this study.
155
StAM, Ka 339. Anlagen zum Fragebogen.
156
Berliner Lokal Anzeiger 224, 17 September 1938.
67
Henrik Ibsen’s Peer Gynt
Act I
Scene at the Fence
Act I
Courtyard at Hægstad
Act II
Act II
Act III
Act IV
Act IV
--
---
Werner Egk’s Peer Gynt
Prelude
Act 1, Tableau
1
Scene with Ingrid and Åse. Encounter
with the “Green one”
King’s Hall of the Dovre-Alt (Old Man of
the Mountain or Mountain King)
(Without Åse Scenes)
Southwest Coast of Morocco
(until the Shipwreck)
Anitra Scenes
(without Sphinx and Dr. Begriffenfeldt)
Based on Act II Finale (the Bøyg with
Bird’s Voices). The Unknown One
melded from the Strange Passenger and
the Button-Molder. Items from “Hill
beside the Riverbed,” “Woody Heath”
(Act V)
------Solveig’s Song from Act IV
Crossroads Scenes and Finale
Barren Hill
Courtyard at Hægstad
I, 2.
Talus in the High Mountains
I, 3.
Hall in the Mountain of the Old One
I, 4.
Act II
(Tableau 5)
Forest Clearing in the High Mountains
Pier in a Central-American Port
II, 6.
Sailor’s Pub in Central America
II, 7.
Peer Gynt’s Homeland. Three black
birds. An Unknown One.
III, 8.
Hall in the Mountain of the Old One
III, 9.
Forest Clearing
Figure 2.1. Comparison of Egk’s adaptation of Peer Gynt to Henrik Ibsen’s original. Fritz
Stege, “Berliner Musik,” Zeitschrift für Musik 1, January 1939.
Among the changes Egk made were the relocation of Peer to Central America instead of Africa;
the change in color of the troll seductress from Ibsen’s green to Egk’s redhead; and the return
trip to the mountain hall that Egk inserted in the third act. The first two changes Egk made allow
the reintroduction of an Egk character from an earlier work: the Redhead of Peer Gynt is a
reincarnation of redheaded Vice from Job, der Deutsche. In each case, the character is
accompanied by a sultry tango by which they seek to seduce the heroes.
At least one newspaper criticized Egk for choosing to adapt Ibsen’s play himself instead
of using the version translated and adapted by Dietrich Eckart, an important member of the early
National Socialist party and devoted follower of Adolf Hitler. 157 According to Egk’s
recollection in Die Zeit wartet nicht, the problem lay not in his adaptation per se, but in that he
adapted the German translation by Christian Morgenstern (1971-1914), not that by Eckart,
157
Berliner Zeitung am Mittag 281, 24 November 1938.
68
thereby angering the Party. 158 Morgenstern was incorrectly listed in the 1933 edition of
Handbuch der Judenfrage as part Jewish. 159 This was a mistake and was later corrected. 160 The
misconception of Morgenstern’s Jewish ancestry could have also contributed to the negative
reaction to Egk’s use of his libretto.
On 3 November 1938 Egk took part in a press conference at the Haus der deutschen
Presse in Berlin. Egk discussed Peer Gynt, and other musicians discussed the development and
importance of music in the home (Hausmusik) and contemporary choral compositions. 161 This
press conference was the second in a series instituted by Josef Goebbels, whose purpose was to
promote “understanding between creators of art and contemplators of art” (Kunstschaffenden und
Kunstbetrachtern) and involved composers “explaining the artistic goals of their works in
production.” Egk had been ill and unable to take part in the first press conference the preceding
month, at which composer Arthur Kusterer discussed his opera Katharina. 162
This press conference was the locus of one of the ancillary dramas surrounding Egk’s
Peer Gynt. In Die Zeit wartet nicht, Egk related,
I could not escape the established little Press-mill in which every misunderstanding
between creators of art and contemplators of arts was to be ground. On Wednesday,
November 3rd, I had to make good on my appearance at the “House of the German
Press.” The conference did not begin with the subject Peer Gynt, but rather with
demonstrations on the current development of Hausmusik. It was not very enthralling.
Before the start of the presentation, the hall was as if electrically charged, but the many
speeches on Hausmusik were as agreeable [to this energy] as a downpour to a timpani
head. Many yawned covertly, some openly. I rubbed the bridge of my nose and gritted
158
159
Egk, Die Zeit, 313.
Theodor Fritsch, Handbuch der Judenfrage: Die wichtigsten Tatsachen zur Beurteilung des jüdischen Volkes,
nd
32 ed. (Leipzig, Hammer-Verlag, 1932), 378. < http://www.archive.org/details/Fritsch-Theodor-Handbuch-derJudenfrage-3> (Accessed 27 June 2011).
160
Theodor Fritsch, Handbuch der Judenfrage: Die wichtigsten Tatsachen zur Beurteilung des jüdischen Volkes,
th
49 ed. (Leipzig: Hammer-Verlag, 1944). <http://nsl-archiv.com/Buecher/Bis-1945/Fritsch,%20Theodor%20%20Handbuch%20der%20Judenfrage%20(49.%20Auflage%201944,%20339%20S.,%20Text).pdf> (Accessed 27
June 2011).
161
Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung 516, 3 November 1938.
162
Düsseldorfer Nachrichten 502, 3 October 1938.
69
my teeth. After the music-educator ultimately had to quit speaking, because not one
single little question came after her presentation, it was my turn.
I was well-prepared and spoke without notes, from the heart. The energy rose
again. I related why, despite Grieg, and something about how and what.
Then came the questions. A contemplator of art actually had the piano-vocal
edition and himself read the stage directions. “So you intend the trolls not to be taken for
legendary creatures?”
“No.”
That was too little for him: “What displeases you about the traditional depiction
of the troll-world?”
“The struggle and melee that usually coils itself at the hero’s feet in the stage
productions of Peer Gynt.”
“So you intend a different impression?”
“No, I intend a different expression.”
“You write on page 69 of the piano-vocal edition, that the trolls are the
‘frightening incarnation of human baseness.’ Where do you find this baseness today?”
“Today? As it has always been: everywhere, below and above.”
“How do you envision, for example, the costume of a Head Troll?”
I was slowly growing furious at his intentional underhandedness and said, icecold, ‘Stick a fat supernumerary in general’s trousers, put a uniform shirt on him, and
decorate him with a slew of medals and orders, then you have a perfect costume!”
“Bravo Egk,” muted but clearly audible came from the corner where I saw
[journalist and music critic Edwin] von der Nüll standing.
The questioner was satisfied. Everyone thought the same, “His name is
Hermann!”
The press reported neutrally; the Angriff found my speach [sic] ironically and
sarcastically flavored. That wasn’t too bad. No one who understood me could have
risked acknowledging it. The thought alone was punishable. A priceless tactical
advantage for subversives. 163
163
Egk, Die Zeit, 300–02. “Trotzdem entkam ich der aufgestellten kleinen Pressemühle nicht, in der jedes
Mißverständnis zwischen Kunstbetrachtern und Kunstschaffenden zermahlen werden sollte. Am Mittwoch, den 3.
70
Equating a Head Troll with “Hermann” was a serious transgression: based on the status and
largess of the supernumerary, listeners took “Hermann” to be Hermann Göring. Göring held no
fewer than twenty official posts from 1933 to 1945, including Prussian Minister-President,
President of the Reichstag, Reich Aviation Minister, Commander of the Air Force, Reich
Superintendent of Forestry, Reich Superintendent of Hunters, and President of the Reich
November, mußte ich meinen Auftritt im „Haus der deutschen Presse“ nachholen. Die Konferenz begann jedoch
nicht mit dem Thema „Peer Gynt“-Oper, sondern mit Ausführungen über die aktuelle Entwicklung der Hausmusik.
Sehr spannend war das nicht. Vor Beginn der Veranstaltung war der Saal wie elektrische geladen, vertrug aber das
viele Reden über Hausmusik so schlecht wie ein Paukenfell den Platzregen. Viele gähnten verstohlen, manche
offen. Ich rieb mit den Nasenrücken und mahlte mit den Kiefern. Als die Musikerzieher endgültig aufhören mußten
zu reden, weil auf ihren Vortrag hin keine einzige kleine Frage kam, war die Reihe an mir.
Ich war gut disponiert und sprach ohne Manuskript frei von der Leber weg. Die Spannung stieg wieder an.
Ich erzählte: Warum, trotz Grieg, und einiges über das Wie und das Was.
Dann kamen die Fragen. Da hatte ein Kunstbetrachter tatsächlich den Klavierauszug und selbst die RegieAnweisungen gelesen. „Sie wollen die Trolle also nicht als Fabelwesen gelten lassen?“
„Nein.“
Das war ihm zu wenig: „Was mißfällt Ihnen an der traditionellen Darstellung der Trollwelt?“
„Das Gewürge und Gewühle, das sich üblicherweise in den Schauspielaufführungen des ‚Peer Gynt’ um
die Füße des Helden wickelt.“
„Sie wollen also eine andere Impression?“
„Nein, ich will eine andere Expression.“
„Sie schreiben auf Seite 69 des Klavierauszuges, daß die Trolle die ‚erschreckende Verkörperung
menschlicher Minderwertigkeit’ sind. Wo finden Sie diese Minderwertigkeit heute?“
„Heute? Genau wie immer: überall, unten und oben.“
„Wie sehen Sie zum Beispiel das Kostüm eines Obertrolls?“
Ich wurde langsam wütend über sein zielstrebige Hinderfotzigkeit und sagte eiskalt: „Stecken Sie einen
fetten Statisten in Generalshosen, ziehen Sie ihm ein Netzhemd über und dekorieren sie das mit einer Menge Orden
und Ehrenzeichen, dann haben Sie ein perfektes Kostüm!“
„Bravo Egk“ kam es gedämpft, aber deutlich vernehmbar aus der Eck, in der ich Herrn von der Nüll stehen
sah.
Der Frager war bedient. Alle dachten das Gleiche: „Hermann heesst [sic] er!“
Die Presse berichtete neutral, der „Angriff“ fand meinen speach [sic] ironisch und sarkastisch gewürzt.
Das war nicht so schlimm. Niemand, der mich verstanden hatte, konnte es wage, das zuzugeben. Schon der
Gedanke war strafbar. Ein unschätzbarer taktischer Vorteil für Subversive.”
71
Research Council. 164 In his capacity as Prussian Minister-President, he exercised control over
the theaters in Prussia, including those of Berlin.
Apparently having recovered from his anger at the reporter’s attempt to entrap him, Egk
finished the press conference by clarifying his definition of Volkstümlichkeit. Unlike the tunefulmelody definition Egk gave in context to Die Zaubergeige, his revised definition was “based on
the assent of the listener.” It was not based on a “catchiness” of music effortlessly grasped, nor
did it mean that a listener could “take part in musical events without any intellectual effort or
inner cooperation with musical events.” Rather, true Volkstümlichkeit called for “inner
engagement with the artistic event and willingness to allow oneself to be led.” 165 This lexical
repositioning pointed to a reorientation of Egk’s compositions away from the völkisch nature of
Die Zaubergeige and Georgica and toward a more intellectually stimulating creation with the
intention of leading its listeners to moral conclusions. Considering once again Egk’s 1934 letter
to Ernst Krause, one can posit that Egk had not yet returned to a true-to-self compositional style
with Die Zaubergeige or Georgica. These works were the continuation of an inauthentic music
in a style Egk perceived as marketable but, more importantly, uncontroversial. Peer Gynt was
the opposite.
The 3 November 1939 press conference was an inelegant introduction of Egk’s Peer
Gynt to the German press. Given the perceived Volkstümlichkeit of his Die Zaubergeige, Egk’s
account of the sudden controversy around his next work might seem fanciful. In his book
Composers of the Nazi Era: Eight Portraits, historian Michael Kater writes,
Egk’s postwar remark that any of the head trolls could have been taken to be Hermann
Göring, if a somewhat different costume had been imagined on them—a remark he
claims to have made at a press conference before the dress rehearsal—is hardly
credible. 166
In fact, Egk’s remark is quite credible. Egk was present at a press conference prior to the dress
rehearsal of Peer Gynt, having missed the first such conference due to illness. Both are reported
164
The German titles of Göring’s offices: Preußischer Ministerpräsident, Präsident des Reichstags,
Reichsluftfahrtminister, Oberbefehlshaber der Luftwaffe, Reichsforstmeister, and Präsident des
Reichsforschungsrats.
165
Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung 516, 3 November 1938.
166
Kater, Nazi Composers, 9.
72
in contemporary newspapers, as described earlier. The Angriff reported that Egk gave an
“introduction to his new opera Peer Gynt flavored by ironic and sarcastic inflections.” 167
Wilhelm Matthes reported on the 3 November press conference in the Berliner Zeitung am
Mittag, providing final confirmation:
Self-awareness, Solveig, the fruit of awareness, not the “salvation,” but the return to her
by his [Peer’s] own resolution, is the victory of the positive in the last act. The world of
the trolls, of the sub-humans, takes on the role of adversary. It is the symbol of malice,
stupidity, and flippancy. Additionally, these trolls are no fairy tale figures but material
conceptions: profiteers, capitalists, and other criminals, caricatured with a cellular shirt,
on which a wide decoration of medals gleams, deceivers who wish to anoint Peer Gynt
with filth and feces as their emperor. 168
The reference to the trolls not only in decorated military uniform, but also as real, not fairy-tale,
figures corroborates Egk’s own account in Die Zeit wartet nicht.
Immediately following the above citation, Kater writes further, “There was, after all, a
reliable Nazi image one could draw on for the trolls, and that was—again after the model of
Guldensack in Die Zaubergeige—the stereotype of the ugly, deformed Jew.” 169 This statement
requires nuance. The image of the troll was referred to by Matthes as an Untermensch, a subhuman. The same term was used by Walter Steinhauer in the Hamburger Anzeiger review of the
premiere. 170 While the term did apply to Jews, its compass was much broader. The term
Untermensch was the “derisive term for Jews, Poles, and Russians declared to be racially and
167
Der Angriff 263, 3 November 1938.
“Schließlich gab der junge 36jährige Komponist Werner Egk eine durch ironische und sarkastische Wendungen
gewürzte Einführung in seine neue Oper „Peer Gynt“.”
168
Berliner Zeitung am Mittag 263, 3 November 1938. “Selbsterkenntnis, Solveig, die Frucht der Erkenntnis, nicht
die „Erlösung“, sondern die Rückkehr zu ihr aus eigener Entschließung, ist der Sieg des Positiven im letzten Akt.
Die Welt der Trolle, der Untermenschen, übernimmt die Rolle des Gegenspielers. Sie ist das Symbol der Bosheit,
Dummheit und Leichtfertigkeit. Diese Trolle sind also keine Märchengestalten, sondern reale Begriffe: Schieber,
Kapitalisten und sonstige Verbrecher, karikiert mit einem Netzhemd, auf dem ein breiter Orden prangt,
Scheinmenschen, die Peer Gynt mit Schmutz und Kot als Kaiser salben wollen.”
169
170
Hamburger Anzeiger 276, 25 November 1938. “Das Reich der Trolle is das Reich der Untermenschen, der
boshaften Schieber und leichtfertigen Kapitalisten.”
73
morally debased; and for Communists.” 171 Egk described his trolls as the “frightening
incarnation of human baseness.” Steinhauer defined the trolls as “ruthless merchants, democratic
politicians, criminals, and prostitutes” that “emblematize the catastrophe of egoism and
individualistic capitalism.” 172 Alfred Burgatz quoted Egk’s stage directions for his Berliner
Börsenzeitung description of the trolls as “a collection of social climbers, pedants, dullards,
ruffians, sadists, and prostitutes, and gangsters of all sorts.” 173 Egk’s description was much less
politically-oriented than is that of Steinhauer. That said, Egk does include “dullards”
(Beschränkte), a term that could also connote the feeble-minded or mentally-handicapped, a
group targeted by National Socialist pogroms. The trolls were sub-human in their moral
corruption and in their physical deformation, with their tails and grotesque faces. Steinhauer
measures them sub-human by a National Socialist standard of politics and economics that
accommodates the Nazi-touted dichotomy of Weimar versus National Socialist German life.
There is no explicit link between villainy and Jewishness in the tale of Peer Gynt as there is in
Die Zaubergeige; however, Jews and trolls would, in the Nazi mind, belong to the same subhuman genus and therefore exhibit similar physical, moral, and political turpitude.
Peer Gynt opened to mixed reviews. Neither critics nor audience knew what to do with
the trolls. Nor did critics know exactly how to reconcile the motley music accompanying the
libretto. In reference to the first troll scene, critic Erich Roeder of Der Angriff declared,
Words and ways reminiscent of Weill’s Dreigroschenoper. There is only one step from
here to Egk’s beloved province: the music becomes a delirium of joy of the underworld
spirits after the search for a troll-wife, is upper-Bavarian, sounds strongly of Oktoberfest.
Then there’s a homicide-jamboree when Peer and the new beloved land in the troll hall
on the back of a boar. As promised early on, jazz now dominates.
In the Central American bar, “belly and apache dances” were accompanied again by music
reminiscent of the Dreigroschenoper, and the only things missing were a “negro boxer” and
171
Schmitz-Berning, Vokabular des Nationalsozialismus, s.v. “Untermensch.”
172
Hamburger Anzeiger 276, 25 November 1938. “Rücksichtslose Kaufleute, demokratische Politiker, Verbrecher
und Dirnen versinnbildlichen die Katastrophe des Egoismus und individualistischen Kapitalismus.”
173
Berliner Börsenzeitung 552, 25 November 1938. “Und wenn Egk diese Trollwelt als „eine Versammlung von
Strebern, Pedanten, Beschränkten, Rohlingen, Sadisten und Gangsters aller Schattierung“ aufgefaßt wissen will, so
muß man ihm zugestehen, daß er ihr orchestral eine Ausdeutung gegeben hat, die an Eindeutigkeit nichts zu
wünschen übrig läßt….” Burgatz quotes from Egk’s stage directions in Act I, Tableau 2.
74
“juke-joint” rabble. 174 Critic Paul Sackarndt, though, acknowledged that Egk’s music fit the
drama. He explained,
This music is explicit in each case and focused on the central point of the scene. It gives
to the soul what is hers and to the mind what is hers. The musician can confidently avail
himself of the crassest forms only when, as here, the portents conform to the idea.
(Therein this opera fundamentally differs from Křenek’s psychologically-materially
similarly mixed opera of the Weimar Republic.) 175
Egk’s “mixed” style is detailed by Walter Steinhauer in the Hamburger Anzeiger:
For this setting, Egk writes a music that characterizes individual spheres through stylistic
echoes. The troll-hymn is a travestied chorale. The dance of the sub-humans, a wild cancan. Relatively errant skepticism expresses itself in a song à la Kurt Weill; the liberal
merchants sing a foxtrot; a tango paints the carnal atmosphere of the American sailors’
pub. All these pieces are furnished with a Stravinsky-schooled rhythm with much timbral
harshness, magnificently orchestrated by Egk. Everything is bold and aggressive.
174
Der Angriff, 25 November 1938. “Worte und Weisen gemahnen an Weills „Dreigroschenoper“. Nur ein Schritt
ist von hier zu Egks beliebtem Gebiet: Die Musik wird zum Freudentaumel der Unterweltgeister, nach der Freite
um das Trollweib, ist oberbayrisch, klingt stark nach Oktoberfest. Eine Mordsgaudi gibt es dann, wenn Peer und die
neue Geliebte auf eines Ebers Rücken im Trollsaale landen. Frühzeitig angekündigt herrscht nun der Jazz.
Den nächsten Teil läßt Egk in verständlicher Absicht statt in Afrika in Amerika spielen. Peer, steinreich
geworden, träumt vom Regiment der Welt. Den unter näselnder Jazztrompetenbegleitung auftretenden
Staatspräsidenten besticht er maßlos, um sein Gold ausführen zu können. Drei Kaufleute, Zechkumpane, machen
indes seinen Dampfer los und entfliehen mit seinem Besitz. Mit dem letzten Geld geht er in eine Hafenkneipe.
Bauch- und Apachentänze. Musik wieder à la „Dreigroschenoper“. Ein Negerboxer fehlt ebensowenig wie die
wüste Kaschemmenkeilerei.”
175
Westfälische Landeszeitung 320, 25 November 1938. “Egk schließt keine Kompromisse und gibt sich lieber
blasphemisch (Unterwelt-Choral!) als parodistisch á la „Dreigroschenoper“; diese Musik ist jeweils eindeutig und
bestimmt auf den Kernpunkt der Szene gerichtet, sie gibt der Seele, was ihrer ist, und den Sinnen, was derer ist. Der
Musiker kann sich getrost der krassesten Formen bedienen, — wenn nur, wie hier, die Vorzeichen der Meinung
stimmen. (Darin unterscheidet sich diese Oper grundlegend von Kreneks psychologisch-materiell ähnlich
gemischter Oper der Systemzeit.)”
75
Solveig’s music functions most problematically, because here the expression of feeling
wanders into the realm of the sentimental. 176
Such reviews could have proven problematic for Peer Gynt. By placing the opera in close
proximity to the works of Kurt Weill, Ernst Křenek, and, again, Stravinsky, the critics
approached labeling the opera “degenerate” and the composer a “cultural Bolshevist.” In fact, no
two more damning composers than Weill and Křenek could have been named—these were,
literally in Křenek’s case, the poster boys of the Düsseldorf Entartete Musik exhibition. Weill
received top billing as a cultural Bolshevist for his singspiels Dreigroschenoper (1928) and
Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny (Rise and Fall of the City Mahagonny, 1930), as well as
for his Jewish heritage. 177 Bertolt Brecht’s lyrics for Mahagonny, reproduced for the exhibition
guidebook, could have served as a model for those of the trolls in Peer Gynt. Brecht penned the
following creed of Mahagonny:
Erstens, vergeßt nicht, kommt das Fressen
First, don’t forget, comes the gorging,
Zweitens kommt die Liebe dran,
Second, then, comes the love-making,
Drittens das Boxen nicht vergessen,
Third, don’t forget the boxing,
Viertens Saufen, so lang man kann.
Fourth, guzzling, as long as one can,
Vor allem aber achtet scharf,
Above all, pay careful heed,
Daß man hier alles dürfen darf.
That one may be permitted anything here. 178
176
Hamburger Anzeiger 276, 25 November 1938. “Zu dieser Handlung schriebt Egk eine Musik, die die einzelnen
Sphären durch Stilanklänge charakterisiert. Die Troll-Hymne ist ein travestierter Choral. Der Tanz der
Untermenschen ein wilder Cancan. Relative irrenden Skeptizismus äußert sich in einem Song á la Kurt Weill, die
liberalen Kaufleute singen einen Foxtrott, die sinnliche Atmosphäre der amerikanischen Hafenschänke schildert ein
Tango. Alle diese Stücke sind von Egk mit einer prägnanten, an Strawinsky geschulten Rhythmik ausgestattet mit
vielen klangliche Härten, die glänzend instrumentiert wurden. Das alles ist schwungvoll und draufgängerisch. Am
problematischsten wirkt die Musik um Solveig, denn hier gerät der Gefühlsausdruck in die Nähe des
Sentimentalen.”
177
Hans Severus Ziegler, Entartete Musik: Eine Abrechnung (Düsseldorf: Völkischer Verlag, [1938]), 14.
Facsimile in Dümling and Girth, Entartete Musik, 127–143.
178
Ziegler, Entartete Musik, 19.
76
In Act II, Tableau 3 of Peer Gynt, the trolls swear their oath, “I swear that I shall never do
anything except that which suits me!” This is followed by the troll hymn:
Tu nur, was dich erfreut,
Do only that which pleases you,
jetzo und alle Zeit,
Now and for ever,
was es auch sei.
And that it is to be.
So will’s bei uns der Brauch,
So may it be our custom,
ärgert’s die andern auch,
Though it offends others,
wir leben frei!
We live free!
In both Weill and Egk, the themes of libertinism and self-centeredness prevail. As for Křenek,
Ziegler wrote,
A people who almost hysterically jubilate at Jonny, which have long since struck it up,
but at least, without instinct, watch it, have become so spiritually and mentally sick and
so inwardly addlepated and unclean, that nothing can remain for the unendingly and
perpetually stirring purity and simplicity and depth of feeling of the first bars of Der
Freischütz overture. 179
Jonny spielt auf (1927), Ernst Krenek’s opera about a jazz musician, was quite possibly the most
denigrated icon of degenerate music. Ziegler claimed that “In Jonny spielt auf, Ernst Křenek
propagandized race-defilement as the freedom of the ‘New World.’”180 Not only did the cover
imagery of the score appear in the exhibit, an adaptation of it served as the cover of the
exhibition guide (see Figure 2.2). 181
179
Ibid., 12. “Ein Volk, das dem „Jonny“, der ihm schon lang aufspielte, nahezu hysterisch zujubelt, mindestens
aber instinktlos zuschaut, ist seelisch und geistig so krank geworden und innerlich so wirr und unsauber, daß es für
die unendliche und uns immer wieder erschütternde Reinheit und Schlichtheit und Gemütstiefe der ersten Takte der
„Freischütz“-Ouvertüre gar nichts mehr übrig haben kann.”
180
Ibid., 11. “Ernst Krenek propagierte in „Jonny spielt auf“ die Rassenschande als die Freiheit der „Neuen Welt.“”
181
Ibid., p. 126 interleaf.
77
Figure 2.2. Comparison of cover designs for the first edition of Krenek’s Jonny spielt auf and
Ziegler’s guide for the Entartete Kunst exhibition.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Krenek_Jonny-spielt-auf_Titel.jpg;
http://danajohnhill.com/dana/2010/02/03/toward-entartete-musik/. Public domain.
The resemblance of the designs is striking, but there are a few changes that make Ziegler’s
design conform more to the tenets of cultural Bolshevism. Ziegler’s jazz musician looks more
apelike than human, and he sports an earring. These make the musician conform more to the
National Socialist stereotypes of “primitive” or “sub-human” African races. The musician also
wears a tuxedo and top hat instead of the more informal dress of the original. The dress denotes
socio-economic supremacy, the class of intellectuals and Jews, confirmed by the change from the
flower on the musician’s lapel to include the Star of David. According to Nazi dogma, it was
this Jewish intellectual class that was directing cultural activity, as they had in the Weimar Era,
away from a German ideal. Ziegler’s Křenekian poster child was the embodiment of cultural
Bolshevism: primitive, non-Aryan, musically base, intellectual, and Jewish—a paradoxical
amalgam. Egk’s music was likewise potentially musically Bolshevistic in its variety.
But Peer Gynt was fundamentally different from Křenek’s Jonny. Peer Gynt was not an
opera about jazz. In fact, Egk did not much care for jazz. In a November 1941 interview with
composer Gottfried Rüdinger, Egk discussed his view of jazz, specifically jazz broadcast via
78
radio. Egk clearly credited the dissemination of jazz not to the “Novemberlings,”
(Novemberlinge) the Weimar-era German people, but to the National Socialist Party, more
particularly to the Reich Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda. He noted that the
fighting spirit of soldiers at the front was strengthened through “schnapps, women, and jazz,”
and that pilots especially liked jazz. If the German radio stations were to stop broadcasting jazz,
Egk claimed the soldiers would simply turn to foreign stations. Egk continued, “The masses
long for jazz. The whole of north Germany is jazzified [verjazzt]. In Hamburg, juvenile jazz
clubs that move from one tavern to another have formed and have put on nigger-dances
[Niggertänze].” At Rüdinger’s prodding that the German people will be “dishonored and
unnerved by the Jazz-pestilence [Jazzseuche],” Egk responded that “The German Volk are just a
mass!” He characterized jazz as “base and impudent” and lamented that there was no viable folk
music alternative to jazz. When reminded of the work of the Hitler Jugend (HJ), Band deutscher
Mädel (League of German Girls, BDL), and Kraft durch Freude (Strength through Joy, KdF)
organizations, Egk acceded that such programs could work against jazz. Polemic was to no
avail. 182
182
BA R 18/5032, 013782-784. “Werner Egk erklärte, die gegenwärtig propagierte Jazzmusik werde von
maßgebender Stelle als „neuer deutscher Tanz“ bezeichnet. Diese Musik werde in nächster Zeit noch mehr forciert
werden. Es sei anzunehmen, daß jede Gegenaktion unterbunden werde. Die Jazzmusik werde deshalb propagiert,
weil sie „dessen“ Rhythmus habe, dem Zeitempfinden entspreche und weil keine andere Unterhaltungsmusik und
kein anderer Tanz vorhanden seien, die zeitgemäß wären. Nicht die „Nobemberlinge“ [sic] propagierten die
Jazzmusik, sondern die Partei, in erster Linie das Reichspropagandaministerium und der Rundfunk. Es gäbe aber
einige hohe Persönlichkeiten, die nichts von [unlesbares Wort] wissen wollten, z.B. der Reichserziehungsminister
und der Reichsinnenminister. Solange die Kunst dem Propagandaministerium unterstehe, sei an keine Änderung zu
denken.
Dem Heere würden zur Hebung des Angriffsgeistes Schnaps, Weiber und Jazz serviert. Besonders die
Flieger verlangten nach jazz. Man habe Weiber schlimmster Sorte an die Front geschickt und es seien die
gemeinsten Dinge vorgekommen. Auf Einspruch hoher militärischer Kommandostellen seien die Weiber verhaftet,
abtransportiert und an anderer Stelle wieder eingesetzt worden.
Wenn der deutsche Rundfunk nicht Jazz sende, so würden viele Soldaten Auslandsender einschalten. Die
Masse verlange den Jazz. Ganz Norddeutschland sei verjazzt. In Hamburg hätten sich jugendliche Jazzklubs
gebildet, die von einer Gaststätte zur anderen gezogen seien, und Niggertänze aufgeführt hätten. Auf meinen
Vorhalt, daß das deutsche Volk durch die Jazzseuche entehrt und entnervt werde, erklärte Egk, das deutsche Volk
sei nur eine Masse! (An den bezeichnenden Beinamen kann ich mich nicht mehr erinnern) Diese Masse solle durch
den Jazz abgestumpft werden. Egk bezeichnet selbst den Jazz als gemein und frech, es fehlt aber das positive gute
79
In order to understand these comments, though, it is essential to understand Egk’s
position in relation to popular music of the time. Egk was a composer of serious music (Ernste
Musik or E-Musik) composer, not of “light music” (Unterhaltungsmusik or U-Musik), which
included jazz. From 1940, Egk was an advocate for serious music composers, working to ensure
they received appropriate royalties from performances of their music. At this time, though, light
music was thought to be more beneficial to the men at the front than serious music. 183 In
prioritizing serious music, Egk was making a place for his own music. Jazz, as
Unterhaltungsmusik, regardless of its official approval, competed against serious music and
therefore against Egk’s own.
Egk’s general dislike of jazz is confirmed in Peer Gynt. Those places at which Egk
utilized jazz rhythms, the tango, the can-can, and the like were characterizations of the depravity
of troll culture. He did not use perceived jazz elements as positive or even neutral
characterizations. The real problem was that Egk utilized the “degenerate” material too well.
Robert Oboussier reported in the Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung that, in development and
intensity, Egk “placed the accent so strongly on the ‘negative’ side, that the ‘positive’ paled in
comparison.” 184 Critic Karl Ruppel echoed Oboussier, but respected Egk as true to himself:
There is no doubt that Egk’s talent for this sharp musical wit, a mixture of cold irony and
Oktoberfest vitality, is exceptional, so exceptional, that through it the weight of his Peer
Gynt music is shifted clearly to the characterization of the “negative” element. In
contrast, the lyricism that flows around the “positive” figure of Solveig is reserved and
muted, which admittedly speaks for the absolute artistic honesty of Egk and his justifiable
mistrust of the overblown tonally rhetorical lyricism of some so-called “moderate
modernists.” (The round dances of his Olympic Festmusik, written under contract, for
Gegenbild. Der Rundfunk gebe sich allerdings auch zu wenig Mühe, nach guter Unterhaltungsmusik zu forschen
und brächte deutsche Volksmusik meistens in schlechter Form heraus. Es fehle auch am guten deutschen
Gesellschaftstanz. Außer dem Walzer sei nichts vorhanden und die Jügend [sic] wolle doch tanzen. Ich machte ihn
auf die Volkstanzübungen von K.d.F., HJ, und BDM aufmerksam, an denen auch Militär teilnimmt und wies auf
meine eigene Tätigkeit auf diesem Gebiete hin. Egk sagte, diese positiven Erscheinungen seien das einzige Mittel,
dem Jazz entgegenzuwirken, wogegen eine Polemik nichts fruchte.”
183
184
Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung 552, 25 November 1938. “Aber nach Ausbreitung und Intensität legt er den
Akzent so sehr auf die „negative“ Seite, daß die „positive“ daneben verblaßt.”
80
which he received the Olympic gold medal, completely dispense with this type of
lyricism.) 185
Erwin Kroll’s review of the premiere highlights the negativity of Egk’s opera in a more negative
tone:
His music seizes us completely at those places where it concerns the trollish, the netherhuman. The scenes of the troll-king and his daughter, above all those in the mountain
hall and in the American sailors’ pub, are of a positively dastardly musical forcefulness
and appear to invoke the shadows of Jonny and Mahagonny. Here, the rhythmician and
tonal magician Egk engages with his utmost prowess. He knows how to make jazz,
tango, bolero, waltz, galop, and cancan serve his infernal grotesqueness, and the
maelstrom of his rhythm is matched by a hellishly-peppered orchestration. Beside such
successful “evil” music, the “good,” descriptive of Solveig’s world, pales a bit. 186
Friedrich Wagner was the most direct, coming very close to denouncing the music of Peer Gynt
in the Steglitzer Anzeiger. Describing the scenes in the troll hall, Wagner wrote,
Then the cow Kitty, led by the billy goat Kid, appears in the pleasurable dance-steps of
two danseuses. The choir pitches in satanically with this, cheers, yowls, and the orchestra
185
Kölnische Zeitung (Reichsausgabe) 600/601, 27 November 1938. “Kein Zweifel, daß Egks Talent für diesen
scharfen musikalischen Witz, ein Gemisch aus kalter Ironie und Oktoberfestvitalität, außerordentlich ist, so
außerordentlich, daß dadurch auch das Gewicht seiner „Peer-Gynt“ Musik eindeutig auf die Charakterisierung des
„negativen“ Elements verlagert wird. Die Lyrik, die sich um die „positive“ Gestalt der Solveig breitet, wird
dagegen im Ausdruck merklich zurückgehalten und gedämpft, was allerdings für die unbedingte künstlerische
Ehrlichkeit Egks und sein berechtigtes Mißtrauen gegen den verblasenen klangrhetorischen Lyrismus mancher
sogenannter „gemäßigt Moderner“ spricht (auch die Reigen seiner im Auftrag geschriebenen „Olympische
Festmusik“, die für die er die goldene Olympia-Medaille bekam, entbehren völlig dieser Art Lyrik.).”
186
Danziger Neueste Nachrichten 277, 26/27 November 1938. “Seine Musik packt uns unmittelbar überall dort, wo
es sich um das Trollhafte, das Niedermenschliche handelt. So sind die Szenen des Trollkönigs und seiner Tochter,
vor allem die im Bergsaal und in der amerikanischen Hafenschenke, von einer geradezu niederträchtigen
musikalischen Eindringlichkeit und scheinen die Schatten „Jonnys“ und „Mahagonnys“ zu beschwören. Hier tritt
und [sic] der Rhythmiker und Klangzauberer Egk mit seinem ganzen Können entgegen. Jazz, Tango, Boléro,
Walzer, Galopp und Cancan weiß er seiner infernalischen Groteske dienstbar zu machen, und dem Wirbel seiner
Rhythmen entspricht eine höllisch gepfefferte Instrumentation. Neben so gelungener „böser“ Musik verblaßt die
„gute“, die Welt Solveigs erklärende, ein wenig.”
81
blares in true-to-style syncopated jazz rhythms that displace the spectator from the ambit
of opera to the regions of a completely differently constituted art.187
A second drama unfolded around the opera in December 1938. According to Egk, the
references to influences of Weill and Křenek in Peer Gynt carried in reviews of the opera were
alarming, and both he and Tietjen were nervous. At the second performance, a civilian
accompanied by a Labor Service leader protested the opera loudly and left the hall. On 17
December, Egk recollected, he was visited by a “pale man with glasses” who announced that he
was a member of a “magisterial organization of cultural-politicians” that met daily to determine
the “march route.” Egk was informed that
The day after tomorrow, at the next performance of Peer Gynt, there will be a unit of SA
[Sturmabteilung] personnel in plainclothes” to “organize a demonstration of a healthy
sentiment of the Volk [gesunde Volksempfindung].” Unless you can prevent it, you’re
done-for. I ask for your absolute discretion. 188
Gesunde Volksempfindung was the evaluation of a given circumstance according to the standard
of National Socialist Volksgemeinschaft as determined by the Führer. 189 Egk remembered a
1934 performance of Alban Berg’s Five Pieces from Lulu for Concert Performance, an
“undesirable” (unerwünscht) work, at which such a demonstration of gesunde Volksempfindung
had been organized. The demonstration, it was reported, was prevented by three hundred secret
police in plainclothes. Egk ran to Tietjen, who refused to act. “We stand imminently before a
war,” he said to Egk, “that is lost before it is begun. You and I, we both will have a strong
position after the war if they kick us out now.” The day before the performance, SA staff
motorcycled through Berlin, calling off the demonstration. A couple of SA members who hadn’t
heard tried to disrupt the performance but were quickly quelled. 190
187
Steglitzer Anzeiger 325, 25 November 1938. “Dann erscheint die vom Ziegenbock Kid angeführte Kuh Kitty im
vergnüglichen Tanzschritt zweier Balletteusen. Dazu stimmt der Chor satanische an, jauchzt, jault, und brüllt das
Orchester in stilecht synkopierten Jazzrhythmen, die den Zuschauer aus dem Bereich der Oper in die Regionen einer
ganz anders gearteten Kunst versetzen.”
188
Egk, Die Zeit, 308. The Sturmabteilung were the brownshirts, the National Socialist German Workers’ Party
uniformed and armed stormtroopers.
189
Schmitz-Berning, Vokabular des Nationalsozialismus, 270–72. s.v. “Gesunde Volksempfindung.”
190
82
Egk felt that the inevitable demise of both Peer Gynt and his career had come with the 31
January 1939 performance of the opera. Adolf Hitler and Josef Goebbels attended. 191 Egk
directed with a “cold wrath,” drowning out questionable lyrics with loud orchestra, and taking
the troll hymn at such a “simian tempo” (Affentempo) that no word was discernible. After the
performance, a heavy-hearted Egk went to Tietjen, who dumbfoundingly replied, “We’ve won
man, we’ve won!” Shortly before the intermission, Hermann Göring had telephoned Tietjen and
bellowed, “I order you to report to the Führer immediately, that I am sorry that he attended this
shit!”
Tietjen replied, “I’m sorry that you did not see the work.”
Göring retorted, “None of my chamber singers are singing,” meaning his favorites.
Tietjen answered, “The cast is first-rate.”
Göring, enraged, replied “Carry out my order,” and after, “I have my reports!”
Tietjen carried out the order and informed Hitler, who was incensed at Göring’s call, and
screamed, “I do not need to ask him when I want to go to the Staatsoper. The lazy sack never
gets up before 11:00. Tomorrow I will get him out of bed at 8:00!” 192 According to Austrian
composer Gottfried von Einem, Hitler called Egk to the Führer-box at intermission, where he
191
Program, Staatsoper, Berlin, 31 January 1939. BSB Ana 410. The program for the performance bears the note,
in Egk’s hand, “Adolf Hitler and Josef Goebbels in attendance.” (In Anwesenheit Adolf Hitler und Josef Goebbels)
192
Egk, Die Zeit, 311–313. “Göring hatte ihm vor der pause von Karinhall aus angerufen. Kaum hatte er sich
gemeldet, brüllte er: „Ich befehle Ihnen, dem Führer sofort mitzuteilen, daß ich bedaure, daß er in diesen
Scheißdreck gegangen ist!“
Tietjen: „Ich bedaure, daß Sie sich das Stück nicht angesehen haben.“
Göring: „Keiner meiner Kammersänger singt.“ Gemeint waren wohl seine Lieblinge.
Tietjen: „Die Besetzung ist erstklassig.“
Göring in höchster Wut: „Führen Sie endlich meinen Befehl aus.“ Und hinterher: „Ich habe meine
Berichte!“
Damit hieb er den Hörer auf die Gabel. Er dachte wahrscheinlich an meinen Kostümvorschlag für den Obertroll, an
den fetten Statisten, die Generalshosen, das Netzhemd und die Orden. Sicher hatte er „seine Berichte“. Auch in
Karinhall gab es das Ohr des Dionysos.
„Und Hitler?“ fragte ich beklommen.
„Der war nur noch wütend über Görings Anruf: Ich brauche ihn nicht zu fragen, wenn ich in die Staatsoper
gehen will, schrie er. Der faule Kerl steht nie vor 11 Uhr vormittags auf. Morgen hole ich ihn um acht Uhr früh aus
dem Bett!“”
83
exclaimed, “Egk, I am pleased to make the acquaintance of a worthy successor to Richard
Wagner!” 193 This does not necessarily contravene the heavy-heartedness Egk reported in his
memoirs—the salacious tango is part of the sixth tableau in the second act. The intermission
took place after the first. 194
Goebbels was also very positively impressed by Egk. In a practically loquacious diary
entry, he reported,
Evening with the Führer to the Staatsoper. Werner Egk Peer Gynt. We both go
with strong suspicion. But that was quickly musicked away. Egk is a huge, original
talent. Goes his own and willful ways. Piggybacks on no one and nothing. But he can
make music. I am very enthusiastic and the Führer as well. A new discovery for us both.
One must keep the name in mind.
The boy is just 27 years old.
And his music makes a very original, powerful impression.
Too bad that he chose to compose Peer Gynt. He has it difficult up against Grieg.
Nevertheless, he comes out on top. 195
Not always. One month later, on 1 March, Goebbels and Hitler attended a rehearsal and struck
up a conversation with theater personnel. Goebbels confided to his diary, “The Führer defended
Werner Egk and his Peer Gynt. Without the intervention of the Führer, he would have been
thrown under the bus.” 196
193
194
Program, Staatsoper, Berlin, 31 January 1939. BSB Ana 410.
195
Goebbels, Tagebücher, I:6, 246. “Abends mit dem Führer in der Staatsoper. Werner Egk „Peer Gynt“. Wir
gehen beide mit starkem Argwohn hin. Aber der wieder bald wegmusiziert. Egk ist ein ganz starkes, originales
Talent. Geht eigene und auch eigenwillige Wege. Knüpft an niemanden und nichts an. Aber der kann Musik
machen. Ich bin ganz begeistert und der Führer auch. Eine Neuentdeckung für uns beide.
Den Namen muß man sich merken.
Der Junge ist erst 27 Jahre alt.
Und seine Musik trägt ein ganz eigenes, starkes Gepräge.
Schade, daß er gerade den „Peer Gynt“ zum Komponieren wählte. Er hat es dabei schwer gegen Grieg.
Und trotzdem setzt er sich durch.”
196
Goebbels, Tagebücher, I:6, 272. “Noch etwas Parlaver mit den Theaterleuten. Der Führer verteidigt Werner Egk
und seinen „Peer Gynt“. Der wäre ohne Eingreifen des Führers unter die Räder gekommen.”
84
Ultimately, though, Egk did come out on top: Peer Gynt was chosen as a featured work
for the second Reichsmusiktage in Düsseldorf. Ironically, one year prior, that same festival had
featured the opening of the Hans Severus Ziegler’s Entartete Musik exhibition, impugning
Křenek and Weill, with whose works Egk’s opera was compared. Various clarifications of the
troll imagery in the opera were offered, both by Egk and others attempting to reconcile the nonGerman elements of the work. Peer Gynt was well-received at the festival, and at its close on 21
May 1939, Josef Goebbels announced the second National Music Award. He bestowed on
Werner Egk a composition contract for RM 10,000, one-half of his annual Staatsoper salary, for
the composition of a new opera. 197
Between 1939 and 1943 Peer Gynt opened in Darmstadt, Osnabrück, Preßburg
(Bratislava), Halle, Prague, Essen, Turin (Italy), Dresden, and Breslau. On 4 October 1943, Peer
Gynt premiered in Occupied Paris. Egk himself conducted performances of the opera in a
French translation by Coeurroy, with Solange Schwarz and Serge Lifar dancing the everproblematic tango. 198 Within the Reich, Peer Gynt was performed until the closure of German
theaters in 1944, and, as Egk relates, never ceased to be controversial. On 9 June 1944, three
days after the allied invasion of Normandy, organized National Socialist students and uniformed
soldiers demonstrated at the Gera performance of the opera, chanting “Cultural Bolshevism, JewMusik Out!” 199 Considering Egk’s account of Peer Gynt, his next work was an unexpected one.
Die hohen Zeichen (1939)
Die hohen Zeichen (The Noble Symbols), replete with festival fanfares and organ music,
was broadcast from Leipzig in observance of Adolf Hitler’s fiftieth birthday on 20 April 1939.
Egk scored a tripartite Weihespiel by Josef Weinheber that began with soliloquies by the
Speakers of Reich insignias: the crown, sword, scepter, and orb. 200 The second portion of the
play traced the symbols of the Reich as they wandered through history from the coronation of
Charlemagne through a 1920 street demonstration with a “Red Orator” who wants to turn the
artistic treasures of the Hapsburgs to money. The third portion was a poetic play on the
197
Bremer Nachrichten 139, 22 May 1939.
198
Pariser Zeitung 275, 5 October 1943. Generalanzeiger (Frankfurt am Main) 159, 7 October 1943.
199
Werner Egk, “Der Weg der „Peer Gynt“-Oper von Werner Egk”, 8 December 1965. BSB Ana 410.
200
I.e., the Speakers are characters, e.g. the Speaker of the Crown, the Speaker of the Sword, etc.
85
swastika. The whole “according to the wish of the composer,” was to close with “FanfareVariations on the Horst Wessel Song,” though it remains moot whether or not Egk composed the
variations. The music to Die hohen Zeichen is nonextant, and the historical record is
confoundingly silent. 201
Egk’s next work was Joan von Zarissa, the discussion of which will be the focus of
succeeding chapters. Around the time of the premiere of the dramatic dance-poem, a change
occurred in Adolf Hitler’s perception of Egk. In March 1939, Hitler had defended Egk and his
Peer Gynt. By late February 1940, Goebbels reported that “The Führer complained about
Werner Egk, who always composes such absurd librettos. In general, good poets don’t stoop to
writing librettos. Here the composer reaps great glory.” 202
Music for the Film Jungens (1941)
Joan von Zarissa was followed by another work congruent with National Socialism. For
the 1941 propaganda film Jungens (Youths), Egk composed a “March of the German Youths”
(“Marsch der deutschen Jugend”) to a text by Hans Fritz Beckmann. The Hitler Jugend “on
board the proud ship Großdeutschland (Greater Germany)” stand shoulder to shoulder as the
march plays. Shortly after its composition, the march was recorded, played by the music corps
of the Berlin Guard Infantry Regiment “Großdeutschland,” and broadcast in the Occupied
Netherlands. All of these, according to historian Fred K. Prieberg, “sired a sustaining pay-off”
for Egk. 203 According to Egk, the film royalties were going to “stop a hole in his coin purse”
ripped there by the contraction of his Staatsoper duties because of the war. Egk thought that the
theme of fisher-boys on the Courland Spit hunting smugglers was harmless. It did not bother
him much that they were to be outfitted in uniform at the end of the film. However, it did bother
Egk that they were to sing a Hitler Jugend song. “Hitler Jugend songs,” Egk argued “were
available in spades.” He would not have to write one, thus carefully sidestepping any moral
crisis. In the end, Egk’s justification was unnecessary. Egk reported,
201
202
Goebbels, Tagebücher, I:7, 319. “Der Führer beklagt sich über Werner Egk, der immer so abwegige Librettos
komponiert. Gute Dichter geben sich im Allgemeinen für Librettos nicht her. Da erntet ja doch der Komponist den
Hauptruhm.”
203
Fred K. Prieberg, Musik im NS-Statt (Frankfurt: Fischer, 1982; reprint Köln: Dittrich, 2000), 26–28.
86
At the end of filming, though, the use of real products of HJ-culture for this
apolitical and ideologically ineffective film was forbidden. Tough luck!
A quarter of a century later someone scratched the film music out of the dirt of the
archives, and I advanced from cultural Bolshevist to Nazi. Career must be. 204
Egk distilled the musical activities of twelve years into three words, “Karriere muß sein.”
The one who scratched in the dirt of the archives appears to have been Fred Prieberg.
Prieberg made a case against Egk in an article titled “The Case of Werner Egk: a Sad Example of
a Sadly Compromised Generation” in Die Zeit of 25 April 1969, some twenty-eight years after
Egk’s composition of the Jungens music. 205 Egk’s vitriol is perhaps justified—after the
controversy of Peer Gynt, the assertion that Jungens qualifies Egk as a Nazi composer reflects a
complete reversal in the course of three years. Such sea changes in opinions of cultural figures,
e.g. Richard Strauss, Paul Hindemith, or Rudolf von Laban, were certainly possible. 206 Die
hohen Zeichen further complicates the matter, and that complication is compounded by the
international and potentially subversive nature of Joan von Zarissa. One explanation may be
found by again examining Egk’s career trajectory. Though Peer Gynt was very successful, Egk
204
Egk, Die Zeit, 333–34. “Ich hatte dem Regisseur R. A. Stemmle die Musik für seinen Film “Jungens” zugesagt.
Das Filmhonorar sollte das Loch in meinem Beutel stopfen, das die empfindliche, kriegsbedingte Verringerung
meiner Staatsoperngage gerissen hatte.
Das Thema was harmlos: „Fischerjungen von der Kurischen Nehrung jagen Schmuggler.“ Daß sie bei der
Schlußapotheose für ihren Erfolg in HJ-Uniform ausgezeichnet wurden, störte mich wenig. Das war Milieu, sonst
nichts. Daß sie dabei ein HJ-Lied singen sollten, freute mich nicht. Aber HJ-Lieder gab es in Massen. Ich würde
keines schreiben müssen.
Gegen Ende der Filmaufnahmen aber wurde die Verwendung echter Produkte der HJ-Kultur für diesen
unpolitischen und weltanschaulich unwirksamen Film untersagt. Mein Pech.
Ein Vierteljahrhundert später kratzte einer die Filmmusic aus dem Archivdreck, und ich avancierte vom
Kulturbolschewisten zum Nazi. Karriere muß sein.”
205
Fred K. Prieberg, “Der Fall Werner Egk: Ein trauriges Beispiel für eine traurig kompromittierte Generation,” Die
Zeit 17 (25 April 1969): 13. “Der Historiker vermißt allerdings die Musik zu dem nationalen Mysterienspiel Job der
Deutsche" (1933), zu Weinhebers großdeutschem Weihespiel „Die hohen Zeichen“ (1939) und namentlich zu dem
Propagandastreifen „Blaue Jungs“ (1941) mit dem schwungvoll−demagogischen „Marsch der deutschen Jugend“
und er rätselt, wie wohl ein überzeugter Anhänger Hitlers Regimetreue demonstrieren konnte, wenn schon ein
Antifaschist sich so überzeugender Tarnung bediente.”
206
The reversal of opinion of Rudolf von Laban is discussed at length in Chapter 4.
87
lost significant political capital in the controversies surrounding the opera. Both Die hohen
Zeichen and the music for Jungens would help to re-ingratiate Egk with National Socialist
leaders who had since decided Egk’s libretti were “outlandish.”
Egk’s Appointment to the Reichsmusikkammer
On 7 June 1941 Egk was appointed Head of the Composers Section of the Reich Music
Chamber (Leiter der Fachschaft Komponisten der Reichsmusikkammer, RMK) by Dr. Josef
Goebbels. 207 From the early days of National Socialist ascension, Nazi ideologues sought to
regulate German culture. The first to do so was Alfred Rosenberg, who organized the
Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur (Fighting League for German Culture, KfdK) in February 1929.
The KfdK, though, was not an official party organization and lacked support from either the
capital Berlin or Munich, the seat of the Party, and Rosenberg found himself competing for
cultural control of Germany. From among the contenders, including Göring, Goebbels emerged
as victor. Goebbels had managed the propaganda of the NSDAP and since March 1933 had
occupied a ministerial position as overseer of culture, and consequently, music. He received
permission from Hitler to form the Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda,
effectively establishing himself as dictator of culture and shunting aside Rosenberg. The Reich
Music Chamber was officially formed on 1 November 1933, as part of the formation of the
Reich Culture Chamber (Reichskulturkammer, RKK). Other chambers within the RKK were
devoted to visual arts, theater, literature, journalism, radio, and later, film. 208 Goebbels had
become dissatisfied with the inactivity of the RKK less than a year after its formation and
complained to his diary on 15 October 1934, “Reform of the R.K.K. More Nazis!” 209 Two days
later, he explained, “Presidents of the chambers of the RKK. More Nazis and with them, more
activity.” Throughout 1935 and 1936, the chambers within the RKK underwent various
207
208
Michael Kater, The Twisted Muse: Musicians and their Music in the Third Reich (New York and Oxford:
Oxford University Press, 1997), 14–22. Kater provides a succinct exposition of the struggle for control of culture in
the New Germany. For a more expanded discussion, see Alan E. Steinweis, Art, Ideology, & Economics in Nazi
Germany: The Reich Chambers of Music, Theater, and the Visual Arts (Chapel Hill and London: The University of
North Carolina Press, 1993).
209
Goebbels, Tagebücher, I:3/1, 119.
88
reorganizations that ceded self-governance to the centralized control of Goebbels. 210 This
reorganization reflected the Gleichschaltung of Germany. Here, the cultural infrastructure was
gleichgeschaltet, or organized according to the Führerprinzip, the pyramidal structure with the
Führer and his agent Goebbels at the peak. Their dicta filtered down through the cultural
bureaucracy to its members. The laws decreeing Gleichschaltung of German government
infrastructure had been issued in March and April 1933, and governmental spheres were largely
gleichgeschaltet by 1934, though another surge in such activities was necessary after the
annexation of Austria in 1938. 211 Membership in the RKK was required if cultural professionals
were to be active within the Reich.212 Werner Egk was a member of the Reich Theater Chamber
(Reichstheaterkammer, RTK) from 1936 to 1940. His appointment as Kapellmeister at the
Berlin Staatsoper made such membership obligatory, and from September 1936 through
September 1940, Egk was Reich Theater Chamber member number 60187. 213
By April 1936 the Reich Music Chamber was a highly organized structure. At its head
was the Führer and immediately beneath him, Josef Goebbels, who controlled the RKK and its
member chambers. 214 The first president of the RMK was Richard Strauss, who had been
appointed to that position by Goebbels. Strauss had three main goals as president: instituting the
highest-quality training and performances to upgrade Germany’s musical culture; increasing
210
See Steinweis, Art, Ideology, & Economics, 51–59.
211
Schmitz-Berning, Vokabular des National-Sozialismus, s.vv. “Gleichschaltung,” “Führerprinzip,”
“Führergrundsatz.”
212
Ibid., s.v. “Reichskulturkammer (RKK).”
213
StAM, Ka 339. In his Meldebogen, Egk lists his as “obligatory membership” (Zwangsmitglied). Egk provides
his membership number in The U.S. Military Government of Germany (OMGUS) Fragebogen.
214
Findbuch Reichsmusikkammer R-56 II, BA. The administrative arm of the RMK was headed by the President and
the Manager (Geschäftsführer) and was divided into eight departments: a General Department (Allgemeine
Abteilung); Finance; Administration (Wirtschaft); Rights; General Questions of Culture; Propaganda; Statistics and
Archive; and Foreign Affairs. The President and Manager oversaw six sections (Fachschaften) of professional
musicians: Composers; Reich Musicians; Concert Affairs, Music Publishers; Choral Affairs and Folk Music; and
Music and Instrument Dealers. Additionally the Staatliche genehmigte Gesellschaft zur Verwertung musikalischer
Urheberrechte (State-approved Society for the Recovery of Musical Copyright) or “Stagma” was a member of the
RMK at the Fachschaft level. Also under the management of the President and Manager were the many
Landesleiter, the Regional Leaders who oversaw various geographically-organized administrations, organizations,
and individual musicians.
89
profits for serious music composers versus those of light music, whom Strauss saw represented
by operetta composer Franz Léhar, one of Hitler’s personal favorites; and extending copyright
protection to benefit composers and their heirs. Strauss also voluntarily took on leadership of the
Composers Section of the RMK. 215 The Official Memoranda of the Reich Chamber of Music
reported in July 1935 that Strauss requested to be relieved of both duties because of his “age and
his failing health,” whereupon Goebbels thanked him for his service and appointed Peter Raabe
as President of the RMK and Paul Graener as Head of the Composers Section. 216 The amicable
parting was a fabrication: Strauss was forced to resign over his 1932 collaboration with and
continued defense of Stefan Zweig, the Jewish librettist of Die schwiegsame Frau; his support of
Paul Hindemith through his entanglements with the National Socialists in 1934 and 1935
stemming from Hitler’s personal dislike of the composer; his general autonomy; and his lack of
interest in carrying out Goebbels’s goals for the RMK. But the nondescript, pliable, and lesserknown Raabe, the retired music director from Aachen, would do as directed. Raabe remained
president of the RMK through 1945. 217 The conservative Graener remained Head of the
Composers Section of the RMK until July 1941, when he “requested to be released from his
office for health concerns.” Goebbels reassigned him to the post of Vice-President of the RMK
and appointed Egk in his stead. 218 Egk had allowed his membership in the RKK to lapse from
1940, when he terminated his contract with the Berliner Staatsoper. From 1941 through the end
215
Kater, Twisted Muse, 18–20.
216
Amtliche Mitteilungen der Reichsmusikkammer 2, no. 21 (July 1935), 61. BA R 56-II. “Der Präsident der
Reichsmusikkammer, Dr. Richard Strauß, hat den Präsidenten der Reichskulturkammer, Reichsminister Dr.
Goebbels, gebeten, ihn mit Rücksicht auf sein Alter und seine angegriffene Gesundheit von seinen Aemtern als
Präsident der Reichsmusikkammer und als Vorsitzender des Berufsstandes der deutschen Komponisten zu
entbinden.
Reichsminister Dr. Goebbels hat diesem Ersuchen stattgegeben und Dr. Richard Strauß in einem Schreiben
seinen Dank für die geleistete Arbeit ausgesprochen.
Gleichzeitig hat Dr. Goebbels den Generalmusikdirektor Prof. Dr. Peter Raabe zum Präsidenten der
Reichsmusikkammer und den Komponisten Prof. e. h. Paul Graener zum Leiter des Berufsstandes der deutschen
Komponisten ernannt.”
217
Kater, Twisted Muse, 19–22.
218
Amtliche Mitteilungen der Reichsmusikkammer 8, no. 7 (15 July 1941), 22. BA R 56-II.
90
of the war, Egk was the unpaid Head of the Composers Section of the Reich Music Chamber
and, despite his appointment, never became a member of the Chamber. 219
After Egk’s official installation on 10 July 1941, Carl Orff wrote to Hans Bergese, the
arranger of the piano-vocal scores of many of Egk’s works (including Joan von Zarissa) and
observed,
Egk’s entrance is of some importance for all of us who stand near him. Between us, Egk
will understandably want to have as many colleagues as possible that he personally
knows and esteems, and you can count yourself as such, so that he will not have to deal
with the smallest opposition. Perhaps that is only a fairly large glimmer of hope, but I
wanted to write you about it.220
The arcane last sentence is in response to Bergese’s recent assignment to a “vacation destination
[Ferienaufenthalt] on the Western Front” thanks to the German war machine. 221 Orff was
ostensibly bittersweet at Egk’s appointment. He had written earlier in the same letter,
He will receive the title of President first at the end of the year. With his approval he
will, I imagine, only and of his own request be addressed as “Holy Father.” Refer to this
in your letter, which you absolutely must write to him (best wishes, etc.). A first order of
business for him would be that he has proposed on behalf of the chamber a work-vacation
[Arbeitsurlaub]. Egk’s plans, which certainly give us both much on which to ruminate,
are that he wants you for a very important position as his colleague in the chamber. 222
219
StAM, Ka 339. Military Government of Germany Fragebogen.
220
Carl Orff to Hans Bergese, 15 July 1941. Orff Zentrum, Munich. “Soviel sage ich Ihnen nur heute schon, dass
Sie mit der Verwirklichung dieser Pläne rechnen können und dass Egks Eintreten für uns alle, die wir ihm nahe
stehen von einiger Bedeutung ist. Unter uns gesagt, will Egk begreiflicherweise möglichst viel Mitarbeiter, die er
persönlich kennt und schätzt haben, da Sie sich denken können, dass er mit keiner kleinen Gegnerschaft zu rechnen
hat. Vielleicht ist das alles für Sie nun schon ein ziemlich grosser Hoffnungsschimmer, den ich Ihnen doch
schreiben wollte. Sie hören bestimmt bald mehr.” Orff states that Egk was officially appointed “the day before
yesterday,” the Amtliche Mitteilungen der Reichsmusikkammer cited above gives the date as 10 July.
221
Bergese to Orff , undated [1940]. Orff Zentrum.
222
Orff to Bergese, 15 July 1941. Orff Zentrum. “Nun zum wichtigsten: Um diese abzuwarten, habe ich solange
nicht geschrieben. Egk ist vorgestern offiziell als Leiter der Fachschaft Komponisten als Graeners Nachfolger in
sein Amt eingeführt worden. Den Titel Präsident bekommt er erst Ende des Jahres. Mit seiner Zustimmung wird er
auf meinen Vorschlag einfach und bescheiden nur als „Heiliger Vater“ angeredet. Berücksichtigen Sie dies auch in
Ihrem Brief an ihn, den Sie ihm unbedingt schreiben müssen (Glückwunsch etc.). Eine erste Amtshandlung von ihm
91
Unfortunately for Bergese, Egk was not able to procure his release from military service, and
Bergese became a clerk. In November 1941 Bergese lamented what, if any, help Egk could
arrange. He wrote to Orff, “I don’t promise myself success; no one gets loose from this war
machine.” 223 This was true in Bergese’s case, and he wrote Orff from northwest Russia in
March 1943, happy to be alive. In February 1944 he narrowly escaped the Russians in Estonia.
In December he wished Orff a Merry Christmas while worrying about how his parents fared
during the recent Allied offensive on Freiburg. 224 What came of Egk’s help for which Orff and
Bergese hoped? Unfortunately, the record is silent. Perhaps Egk did not pursue the matter, or
perhaps Egk’s position was not influential enough to effect the extraction.
Egk’s appointment as Head of the Composers Section of the Reich Music Chamber
sounds like a position of importance, but the title discloses little about what that position
entailed. The March 1941 issue of Die Musik, however, reveals a great deal. The issue opened
with an article by Peter Raabe titled “What the Reich Music Chamber Is Not,” followed by
contributions from the sections for composers, soloists, orchestras, U-music, and music
education. While this issue dates from several months before Egk was appointed, it is reasonable
to infer that the Composers Section described in it remained essentially the same when Egk took
office. At least it was the section he inherited. The composer and music critic Hugo Rasch,
Deputy to the Head of the Composers Section drew selections from the Section’s mailbag as
examples of the “many-sidedness” (Vielseitigkeit) of the Section’s work:
Query of a composer about which regulations exist concerning the foundation of a selfpublishing firm. Complaint about overdue invoices from a publisher. Query about the
distribution of rental income from an operetta among the composer, librettist, and
composer. Complaint from a composer who never received a composition sent on
approval back from a conductor after four months. A librettist sends texts with the
request that a composer take interest in scoring them or he sends poetry with a request to
evaluate if they are suitable at all for scoring. Petition of a composer to change his
war, dass er für Sie von der Kammer aus einen Arbeitsurlaub beantragt hat. Sie werden davon hören. Unternehmen
Sie nichts. Egks Pläne, die wir natürlich vielfach zusammen durchkauen geben dahin, dass er Sie an einer ganz
wichtigen Stelle in der Kammer als seinen Mitarbeiter haben will.”
223
Bergese to Orff, 25 November 1941. Orff Zentrum.
224
Bergese to Orff, 16 February 1944 & 21 December 1944. Orff Zentrum.
92
contract of assignment [of copyright exploitation rights] to a usage contract [concerning
usage of copyrighted material] with Stagma. Query of an inquisitive mind why there is
the 2/4 bar inserted in the “Horst Wessel Song” (1941!). Query of a conductor if there
are objections to the performance of a certain work. A marching band leader of the SA
requests a list of objectionable music. Query of a pupil if there is money to be made by
composing; he must decide on a career. Query about how the name “Dvořák” is to be
pronounced. The request of an inheritrix for the assessment [Prüfung] of the complete
musical bequest of her father. A lecturer requests suggestions of musical works for a
school performance. Query about the pitch of the large bell of the Cologne cathedral.
Complaints about a publisher who did not print a work by the due date and many more of
the same. Innumerable are the requests for the promotion of compositions through
performance opportunities or printing subvention.
This avalanche landed atop the self-defined roles of the section: the approximately 1,000 annual
consultations with musicians; the work of section lawyers regarding copyright and royalties; the
Committee for the Assessment of Works (Werkprüfungsaussschuß) that determined the
performance suitability of 825 works in 1940 and forwarded noteworthy works to the Committee
for Employment Provision (Arbeitsbeschaffungsausschuß); the work of Section fiduciaries with
Stagma; and the organization of annual composers’ conferences, chamber music evenings, and
concerts of works of “field gray” composers (feldgraue Komponisten) conscripted for military
service; and welfare programs for elderly composers and composers in need. 225 During his
225
Hugo Rasch, “Der deutsche Komponist und seine Standesvertretung,” Die Musik XXXIII, no. 6 (March 1941):
191–93. “Über die Vielseitigkeit der Fachschaftsarbeit möge der Posteingang eines einzigen Tagens Aufschluß
geben: Anfrage eines Komponisten, welche Vorschriften für die Gründung eines Selbstverlages bestehen.
Beschwerde über rückständige Abrechnungen eines Verlegers. Anfrage über Verteilung der Leihgebühr zwischen
Komponist, Textdichter und Verleger bei einer Operette. Beschwerde eines Komponisten, weil er seit vier Monaten
von einem Dirigenten die zur Ansicht gesandte Komposition nicht zurückerhält. Ein Textdichter sendet Texte mit
der Bitte, einen Komponisten für die Vertonung zu interessieren oder er sendet Gedichte mit der Bitte um
Beurteilung, ob sie sich überhaupt für eine Vertonung eignen. Antrag eines Komponisten auf Umwandlung seines
Wahrnehmungsvertrages in einen Berechtinungsvertrag [sic] bei der Stagma. Anfrage eines Wißbegierigen, warum
im Horst Wessel-Lied der Zweivierteltakt eingeschoben sei (1941!). Anfrage eines Dirigenten, ob gegen die
Aufführung eines Werkes Bedenken bestehen. Ein Musikzugführer der SA. bittet um Zusendung einer Liste von
unerwünschter Musik. Anfrage eines Schülers, ob mit Komponieren Geld zu verdienen sei; er müsse sich zu einem
Beruf entschließen. Anfrage, wie der Name Dvořák ausgesprochen wird. Bitte einer Erbin um Prüfung des
93
tenure as Head of the Composers Section, Egk did not live in Berlin but commuted back and
forth from Lochham by Munich for official duties when his physical presence was required. In
addition to managing this bureaucratic hydra, Egk maintained a very active performing career,
conducting or overseeing the production of his own musical works throughout greater Germany,
Prague, and Paris. 226
Only four months after Egk took office, Rudolf Schmid issued a report to Reichsleiter
(Reich Leader) Marin Bormann in which he included the above-referenced meeting with
composer Gottfried Rüdinger that Schmid himself had orchestrated. Schmid felt that Goebbels
had made an egregious error in appointing Egk and wrote to Bormann,
After Egk’s predecessor Graener was sidelined, then we were all happy, and there was
the greatest hope and expectation that a man would take the position who would represent
the office in the spirit of the Movement and hundreds of thousands of listeners.
Unfortunately, the opposite has happened. When I think on our Führer’s speech of 8
November [1940, the day before the commemoration of the Gefallenen der Bewegung],
in which he said verbatim, “I have come to know these Jews as benefactors of the Great
War [lit. “benefactors of the burning of the world”]. Indeed, one saw how they slowly
poisoned the people the years prior through the misdirection of press, of radio, of film,
theater, etc.” I am of the opinion, surely with most listeners, especially with the
professionals like Prof. Rüdinger, [composer] Prof. [Franz] Dannehl and others, that the
discussion with Werner Egk reveals precisely that which our Führer censured with those
cited words.
In this discussion, the highest positions are incriminated, and I am of the opinion
that only the Führer himself can decide whether he holds this type of propaganda for true
or false.
gesamten musikalischen Nachlasses ihres Vaters. Ein Studienrat bittet um Nennung von Musikstücken für eine
Schulaufführung. Anfrage nach der Tonhöhe der großen Glocke des Kölner Domes. Beschwerde über einen
Verleger, der ein Werk nicht fristgemäß druckt und noch viel dergleichen mehr. Zahllos die Bitten um Förderung
durch Aufführungsmöglichkeiten oder Hilfe bei der Drucklegung von Kompositionen.”
226
94
Schmid also requested the opinion of the Minister of the Interior, Wilhelm Frick, on the
matter. 227 Whereas Graener had been a malleable tool with which Goebbels could institute his
malreform of German culture, Egk did not appear so. In making a place for his music, Egk was
willing to target even his boss Goebbels for propagating music that competed with his own.
Here, Egk is reminiscent of his predecessor Richard Strauss, who, too headstrong for Goebbels
to rein in, was forced to resign from the RMK.
Egk’s Work on Behalf of Composers’ Rights
As a composer of ernste Musik (E-music, “serious music”), Egk perpetually worked to
ensure a place for his music and that of this contemporaries. Since the 1920s, though, composers
of Unterhaltungsmusik (U-music, “light music”) had been contributing more to national music
profits than had composers of serious music. By 1934, E-music composers had been granted the
so-called Ernstes Drittel (serious third); that is, one-third of the national music profits were given
to serious music composers. The profit generation from E-music; however, was less than onethird, and U-music composers chafed at their loss of income. Thinking the propagandistic value
of U-music was greater than that of E-music, Goebbels began working to eliminate the serious
third in 1939 and 1940. Goebbels made up for the removal of the serious third by subsidizing Emusic composers with other funds not generated by music profits. 228
On 28 February 1941 Josef Goebbels held a meeting with Richard Strauss, Paul Graener,
and Werner Egk, the past, present, and future heads of the Composers Section of the Reich
Music Chamber. Goebbels reported that he
227
BA R 18/5032, 013782-784. “Nachdem der Vorgänger Egks, Paul Gräner, kaltgestellt wurde, haben wir uns alle
schon gefreut und waren der besten Hoffnung und Erwartung, daß an diese Stelle ein Mann käme, der im Sinne der
Bewegung und Hunderttausender von Hörern das Amt vertritt. Leider traf das Gegenteil ein. Wenn ich an die Rede
unseres Führers vom 8. November denke, in der er wörtlich sagt, „Ich habe diese Juden als Weltbrandstifter
kennengelernt. Man sah ja, wie sie in den Jahren vorher über dem Umweg von Presse, von Rundfunk, von Film,
Theater usw. langsam die Völker vergiftet haben“, so bin ich mit gewiß den meisten Hörern, insbesondere mit den
Fachleuten, wie Prof. Rüdinger, Prof. Dannehl usw., der Meinung, das die Aussprache mit Werner Egk gerade das
sagt, was unser Führer mit angeführten Worten geißelt.
In dieser Aussprache wird allerdings die höchste Stelle belastet und ich bin der Ansicht, daß nur der Führer
selbst darüber entscheiden kann, ob er diese Art Propaganda für richtig oder falsch hält.”
Bormann was Head of the Reich Chancellery after Rudolf Hess’s desertion in May 1941.
228
Kater, Composers of the Nazi Era, 13, 251.
95
negotiated with the serious composers. Richard Strauss proved himself excessively
senile and obstinate. Werner Egk is the most reasonable. Graener only wants money. I
maintained my position: U-music receives that to which it is entitled; E-music will be
subsidized. In the end they all accepted this. I paid Strauss a couple of kindnesses for his
impertinent letters. He can’t leave letter-writing alone, and it has already brought him so
much misfortune. But I’ll help him next time. 229
From 1934 to 1935, Richard Strauss had secured a fifty-year composer copyright through
his work with Stagma. From late 1941, after Egk’s appointment as Head of the Composers
Section of the Reich Chamber Music, Egk worked closely with Stagma for the rights of serious
music composers, traveling to Berlin for multiple meetings through late 1944. 230 After the war
Egk’s work for composers’ rights continued. In 1947 Egk became involved with the
Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische Vervielfältigungsrechte (Society
for Musical Performance and Mechanical Reproduction Rights, “GEMA”) and was the first
German to be elected President of the International Confederation of Authors and Composers
Societies (CISAC), the international umbrella copyright organization, after World War II.231
Columbus (1942)
The final work of Egk’s career within the National Socialist period was a staged version
of his 1932 radio play Columbus that premiered on 13 January 1942 at the Frankfurt Opera. The
opera was still managed by “Red Hans” Meissner, under whom Die Zaubergeige had had its
successful premiere. The work enjoyed several performances before the “slow death of the
229
Goebbels, Tagebücher, I:9, 165. “Mit den ernsten Komponisten verhandelt. Richard Strauß erweist sich als
maßlos senil und eigensinnig. Werner Egk ist der Vernünftigste. Graener will nur Geld. Ich bleibe auf meinem
Standpunkt verharren: die U Musik bekommt, was ihr zusteht, die E Musik wird vom Staat subventioniert. Zum
Schluß nehmen alle das an. ich sage Strauß ein paar Liebenswürdigkeiten für seine frechen Briefe. Er kann das
Briefeschreiben nicht lassen, und es hat ihm schon soviel Unglück eingebracht. Aber jetzt werde ich ihm beim
nächsten Mal schon helfen.” Goebbels’s reference to letter writing stems from the Gestapo interception of a letter of
17 June 1935from Strauss to his Jewish librettist Stefan Zweig in which he stated he was “only playacting as RMK
president to prevent the worst from happening.” The letter gave Goebbels, long suspicious of the independent
Strauss, reason to demand his resignation (Kater, Twisted Muse, 19).
230
Egk, Terminkalender, BSB Ana 410. There is no calendar for the year 1945 in Egk’s Nachlass. In the 1946
calendar, Egk recollected various important events of 1945; however, Stagma activities did not figure among them.
231
“Werner Egk Centenary,” GEMA News 163 (June 2001): 40–43.
96
opera house began in a series of bombings starting 29 January 1944” and ended on 23 March,
when a phosphorus bomb struck the auditorium. 232 In July 1944 Egk traveled to Paris to record
Columbus for broadcast, which was scheduled for 14 July 1944 between 11:00 p.m. and 1:00
a.m. the next day because of the power restrictions around the city. 233
Finis (1944)
On 11 September 1944 Werner Egk traveled to Berlin for a Stagma meeting the
following day. This was to be the last act of his career under National Socialism. 234 Theaters
had begun to close after Goebbels’s pronouncement of “Total War” in a speech of 18 February
1943, after the German defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad. 235 In March 1944 the Frankfurt Opera
ceased to be. On 7 January 1945, the day he received the last letter from his only child Titus,
now-soldier Werner Egk was drafted for the Volkssturm (Homeguard). Egk did not report for
duty and fled instead, choosing not to be “mowed down and blown away,” as would be the case
with the entirety of Egk’s assigned unit upon its disembarkation at Frankfurt an der Oder. 236 Egk
remained in the vicinity of his home in Lochham and greeted the American troops on 30 April
1945, the day Adolf Hitler committed suicide. Egk’s career—which had begun in film in the
Weimar Era, grew with the New Germany into radio and sacramental plays, and reached a
pinnacle in opera and New German Dance as National Socialist Germany reached its own—was
now no more. And five months later, and for two-and-a-half years following, and indeed for
decades, Egk would be called to account for it.
232
233
Pariser Zeitung 171, 12 July 1944.
234
Egk, Terminkalender. BSB Ana 410.
235
<http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/goeb36.htm.> (Accessed 28 June 2011).
236
BSB Ana 410, Terminkalender. Egk, Die Zeit, 363.
97
CHAPTER THREE
“WELCH EIN BILD FÜR EINE DON-JUAN-HANDLUNG!” 1
In his autobiography Die Zeit wartet nicht Werner Egk devotes no fewer than twelve
pages to Joan von Zarissa. A careful reading of this book, the most frequently cited source on
the work, reveals significant inconsistencies with the score currently available from B. Schott’s
Söhne publishers, the sole publisher associated with the work. The most obvious incongruity is
Egk’s clear reference in Die Zeit wartet nicht to a spoken prologue and epilogue. 2 In the scores
of Joan von Zarissa presently available no such prologue or epilogue appears. Further research
reveals that the Joan von Zarissa published today is not Egk’s original, nor is it the Joan von
Zarissa that premiered in Berlin on 20 January 1940. This chapter traces the genealogy of Joan
von Zarissa from Egk’s original conception of the work through its subsequent revision. Further,
this investigation discusses Joan von Zarissa as it premiered at the Berliner Staatsoper (Unter
den Linden), then already altered from Egk’s original conception, and explores the sources that
inspired Egk to adapt the Don Juan story to fifteenth-century Burgundy.
The Scores of Joan von Zarissa
Eight scores of Joan von Zarissa, or arrangements from the work, are presently extant:
1. Egk’s pencil manuscript of Joan von Zarissa, dated 9 October 1939. This score is housed
in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek (Bavarian State Library) in Munich, Germany, under
the signature Trésor Mus. Mss. 11890. The manuscript comprises sixteen scenes and four
choruses on texts by French poet Chrales d’Orléans. It contains a heading for a Prolog,
although the text is absent; a scene titled “The Homage” (No. 9, “Die Huldigung”), to be
danced without music; and a closing “Rondeau-Finale” (No. 16). Egk also includes
instructions for engraving and typesetting for the publisher. It appears that the original
version and the original piano score (see following discussion) were created from this
manuscript, though the texts of the Prolog and Epilog were finished sometime after the
music was composed. The manuscript will be identified as the “manuscript.”
1
“What an image for a Don Juan setting!” Werner Egk, DZ, 321.
2
Egk, DZ, 321–323.
98
2. A full score of Joan von Zarissa published by B. Schott’s Söhne in Mainz, bearing a
copyright date of 1939. The front matter and music of the score are printed, but scene
titles and stage directions are pasted in the score from an outside source printed on paper
lighter than that of the score. This version also comprises sixteen scenes and contains a
Prolog and an Epilog. This score is presently unavailable from the publisher, but a copy
is housed at the Stadtarchiv Donauwörth (City Archive of Donauwörth) in Donauwörth,
Germany. This score will be identified as the “original version.” 3
3. A piano-vocal reduction of Joan von Zarissa edited by Hans Bergese and published in
1940 by B. Schott’s Söhne. This reduction comprises sixteen scenes as found in the
original version. This score is likewise unavailable from the publisher today, but a copy
is housed in the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. This score will be identified as the “original
piano score.”
4. A full score available on a rental basis from B. Schott’s Söhne publishers in Mainz,
Germany. This score bears no copyright date. According to the Schott website, the score
dates from 1939/1940. The work comprises fourteen scenes and three choruses. This
score will be identified as the “revised version.” 4
5. A piano-vocal reduction of Joan von Zarissa prepared from the above source, edited by
Hans Bergese, and published in 1940. This score will be identified as the “revised piano
score.”
6. A Konzertsuite aus dem Ballett “Joan von Zarissa” (Concert Suite from the Ballet Joan
von Zarissa) available on a rental basis from the publisher. The suite contains the
d’Orléans choruses of the revised version; however, they are arranged for soprano and
baritone duet with orchestral accompaniment. 5 This score dates from 1940 and will be
identified as the “concert suite.”
3
Requests for a full score with texts were made to Schott on the behalf of this author by Mr. Deniz Landgraf of the
Stadtarchiv Donauwörth. Mr. Landgraf received a reply that no texts for Joan von Zarissa exist outside the three
choruses contained in the revised version, the revised piano score, and the three separately published choruses.
Deniz Landgraf, e-mail message to author, 2 November 2009.
4
<http://www.schott-music.com/shop/9/show,151486.html> (Accessed 2 May 2011).
5
<http://www.schott-music.com/shop/9/show,234921.html> (Accessed 2 May 2011). While the Schott website lists
the suite as derived from the “dramatic dance-poem” (dramatische Tanzdichtung) Joan von Zarissa, the score itself
reads “ballet” (Ballett).
99
7. A Tryptichon from Joan von Zarissa available on a rental basis from the publisher. This
work is in three movements, titled “Isabeaus Klage,” Isabeaus Zorn,” and “Isabeaus
Verführung,” corresponding to Nos. 6, 7, and 8 of the original version. This score is
dated 1940 and was premiered by the Bayerische Rundfunk on 8 September 1941. 6
8. A collection of Drei Französische Chöre aus dem Ballet “Joan von Zarissa” (Three
French choruses from the ballet “Joan von Zarissa”), with German translations, published
in 1940.
Joan von Zarissa: Egk’s Burgundian Don Juan Tragedy
After a short prelude the curtain opens to reveal an actor in period costume standing atop
a “magnificent structure with different allegorical figures (Comedy, Tragedy, nymphs, satyrs,
etc.).” 7 This collection is located in front of a “backdrop depicting Odysseus lashed to the mast
and surrounded by the Sirens in the form of great birds in the manner of an old French tapestry.”
The actor speaks:
Im Jahre vierzehnhundertdreizehn kam
In the year fourteen hundred thirteen,
Kurz vor dem Fest des heiligen Martin
Shortly before the Feast of St. Martin,
Herr Joan von Zarissa auf die Welt.
Lord Joan von Zarissa came into the world.
Zur selben Stunde stand am Firmament
At the very same hour appeared in the
firmament
Ein Stern, neunfach geschwänzt, furchtbar
A star, nine-times tailed, dreadful to see,
zu sehn,
Und in Bewegung war der Erde Bau,
And the foundation of the earth was in motion,
Die Wasser ungestüm und seltsam groß,
The seas tumultuous and curiously heavy,
6
<http://www.schott-music.com/shop/9/show,151452.html> (Accessed 2 May 2011). Because of cost and the date
of preparation and premiere of this excerpt (well after the premiere of the original Joan von Zarissa), I did not rent a
perusal copy of the score.
7
Egk does not specify the nature of the figures. They were likely decorations, but they could have been actors
portraying the figures.
100
Wie’s nur geschieht zum Zeichen seltnen
As it only happens at signs of rare fortune
Glücks
Und ungewöhnlicher Begebenheit.
And exceptional events.
Ich weiß, daß viele diese Zeichen nicht
I know that many of these signs were not
Joans Geburt zuschreiben, daß man sagt,
Ascribed to Joan’s birth, so one says,
Selbst seine Herkunft wäre ungewiß,
Even his ancestry would be unknown,
Sein Stand nur angemaßt. Doch hört mich
His class only presumed. Now listen:
an:
Sein Ursprung steckt im phrygischen
His origins have root in the Phrygian race
Geschlecht
Des Paris, der die Helena geraubt,
Of Paris, he who abducted Helen,
Woraus sich leicht die feurige Natur
Which readily portends the fiery nature
Des spätgebornen Enkels deuten läßt.
Of the late-born grandson.
Er war sehr schön und kräftig, hoch
He was very beautiful and strong, tall,
gebaut,
So licht sein Antlitz von vollkommner
So clear his countenance of perfect form
Form
Und so begabt mit edler Eigenschaft,
And so gifted with noble character,
Daß rings [sic], erliegend seiner Wirkung
That all around, defeated by the effect of
Kraft,
his force,
Von brennender Begierde ward verzehrt,
Were consumed by burning lust,
Selbst wer sein Leben lang ihn nie gesehn.
Even those who had never seen him in their
whole lives.
Man sagt, doch scheint uns dieses ungewiß,
It is said, though this seems dubious to us,
Er habe das Buch Smagorad gekannt,
That he knew the book Smagorad,
Das Buch, aus dem sich Adam Trost geholt
The book in which Adam took solace
In seiner Trauer um des Abel Tod.
In his sorrow at the death of Abel.
8
Werner Egk, Joan von Zarissa, Partitur (Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1939), [13]. Hereafter, “JvZ original version.”
101
Er habe auch den Teufel aufgesucht
He supposedly also sought out the devil
Im wilden Schottland und ihn ausgeforscht,
In wild Scotland and questioned him
thoroughly,
Des Orten kund zu werden, wo der Schatz
To find out about the place, where the treasure
Des Antichrist geheim verborgen sei.
Of the antichrist allegedly lay hidden in secret.
So viel ist sicher, daß er ohne Furcht
So much is certain, that without fear he
Jedwedes Abenteuer kühn bestand.
Boldly faced any adventure.
Kein Wunder also, wenn er Liebe fand
No wonder therefore, that when he found love
Bei mancher Schönen, die ihn kaum
In some beauties who hardly noticed him
erblickt
Und jäh von heißem Liebesweh
And were abruptly melted by hot pain of
love,
zerschmolz,
Die nichts und nichts vermochte über sich,
That could not change anything about itself,
Weil nie ein Feuer heißer als die Glut,
Because a flame is never hotter than the ember
Die unerbittlich sie versengt, gebrannt.
That unrelenting burns, scorched.
Verhüt es Gott, daß Ihr ihm darum
God forbid, that one would defame him for
this.
schmäht!
Betrachtet dieses Bild des armen Herrn
Contemplate this image of the poor lord
Von Ithaka und wie er an dem Mast
Of Ithaca and how he to the mast
Des eignen Schiffes angebunden ist,
Of his own ship is bound,
Damit er blind nicht folge dem Gesang.
Lest he blindly follow the song.
Bedenkt, daß nur der stärksten Fessel
Consider that only the strongest fetter of
Zwang
bondage
Ein schlimmes Schicksal hat Ulyss erspart.
Spared Ulysses a wicked fate.
Habt Mitleid mit Joan, der ohne Arg,
Have compassion on Joan who, without
malice,
Verachtend jede Vorsicht, jeden Schutz,
Spurned every precaution, every safeguard,
Der Sinne Zauber nimmer widerstand!
Never resisted the charm of sense!
102
Doch wenn Ihr ungerührt, gerecht zu
But when you, unmoved, appear to be just,
scheinen,
Hartherzig richten wollt die blinde Tat,
Hardhearted, wish to judge the blind deeds,
Dann geb ich Euch den wohlgemeinten
Then I give you the well-intended advice:
Rat:
Vergeßt nicht Eure Sünden vor den seinen!
Forget not your sins in the face of his! 8
The first tableau of Joan von Zarissa opens on the Burgundian court of the Iron Duke.
He and the Duchess Isabeau are seated on a dais elevated above the stage. Grand staircases lead
up from either side to a second, raised platform on which musicians and folk are gathered. The
court is seated below, on the stage proper, to watch a reenactment of an ancestral duke’s triumph
over the heathen, depicted as “beastly hairy savages.” 9 The pageant concludes with a procession
of captured Moorish women, the “Most Beautiful” of whom emerges from an enormous peacock
and performs a dance. She begins innocently, and the others drape her with veils. As the Most
Beautiful unveils herself at the end of the dance, that innocence is subsumed into her “salacious
nakedness.” Lefou appears. He is a fool and the companion of Joan von Zarissa, the Don Juan
figure. As the Most Beautiful and her companions exit the stage, Lefou rushes to follow.
Prevented from doing so by a squire, he instead dances with a life-sized puppet that descends
from above. As the puppet returns from whence it came, Lefou clings to it until he is unable to
keep his grip and falls to the stage. He then unrolls a runner across the stage and points to the
wings, announcing the arrival of his master.
The fashionably attired Joan von Zarissa enters and greets the Iron Duke and Duchess
Isabeau. Meanwhile, a tournament arena has been staked off in front of the pair. A strong,
heavily armored knight goes to the arena and throws down his gauntlet. Joan, undaunted though
outmatched, accepts the challenge. By confusing his enemy through quick feints, Joan triumphs.
To honor his victory, Isabeau presents him with a flower from her dress, and the two begin an
honor dance. Joan makes inappropriate advances toward the duchess, thereby angering the Iron
Duke.
9
This summary is based on the original version except where otherwise noted. A transcription of the texts
contained in all scores (scene titles, stage directions, prolog and epilog, and chorus texts) is included in Appendix A.
103
As this takes place on the stage proper, the maid Perette appears in the puppet’s costume
on the upper platform; Lefou is behind her. He mimics his master’s actions, attempting to
seduce her as Joan does Isabeau below. Both men seek to kiss their new acquaintances. Perette
slaps Lefou, and the matter is finished. Below, something more serious transpires. The Iron
Duke advances on Joan with sword drawn. They fight, and Joan slays the duke. In the ensuing
tumult Joan and Lefou escape, as Isabeau collapses over her dead husband.
At the end of this first tableau, an unseen choir sings the following from behind the drop:
C’est grant paine que de vivre en ce monde
Living in this world gives great trouble,
Encore esse plus paine de mourir
And dying even greater pain.
Si convient il en vivant mal souffrir
As we live, we must suffer death
Et au derrain de morte passer la bonde.
And, in the end, pass along the road of
death.
L’aucune fois joye ou plaisir abonde.
If at times joy and pleasure abound,
On ne les peut longuement retenir.
They cannot be kept for long.
Encore esse plus paine de mourir.
Pour ce je vueil comme un fol qu’on me
And so, I am willing to have my head
shaved like a madman if,
tonde
Le plus pense quoy que voye avenir
Whatever I see coming, I think about
anything
Qu’a vivre bien et bonne fin querir!
Except living virtuously and seeking a
good end.
Las! Il n’est rien que Soussy ne confonde
Alas! There is nothing that Care does not
overwhelm.
C’est grant paine que de vivre en ce monde.
And dying even greater pain. 10
10
Werner Egk, Joan von Zarissa, Klavierauszug (Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1940), 105 ff. Hereafter “JvZ revised
piano score.” Translation in John Fox, The Lyric Poetry of Charles d’Orléans (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969), 33,
alt.
104
The choir takes on a role similar to that of the chorus in Greek tragedy. It responds to the drama
of the ballet, moralizing on the larger themes of virtue and life.
Though the music is Egk’s, the text is not. It is a rondeau by fifteenth-century French
poet Charles d’Orléans (1394–1465). Joan von Zarissa features four such poetic additions. Egk
sets to music three rondeaux by d’Orléans as interludes to be sung by a ten-voice choir and an
additional rondeau as the “Rondeau-Finale.” 11 D’Orléans was more than a poet: he was nephew
to King Charles VI of France; he was the Duke of Orléans; and he was father to future King
Louis XII of France. 12 Egk finished composing Joan von Zarissa in the early months of World
War II. For the choruses in it, he selected poetry written by another man who was himself
engulfed by war. Charles d’Orléans was captured by the English at the Battle of Agincourt on 25
October 1415, during the Hundred Years War. 13 During his comfortable imprisonment in
England over the next twenty-five years, d’Orléans became smitten with an English lady,
referred to only as Beauté. He wrote the chanson “C’est grant paine,” among eighty-eight
others, for her. 14 The chansons were intended to be sung, as various manuscripts include space
for musical notation, which was never added. 15 Egk’s fascination with the French may be traced
to sometime before 1922, when he passed his Abitur examination at the end of his Gymnasium
studies. 16 His education was grounded in Classical and Romantic “poetry, philosophy, rhetoric,
and mythology.” 17 It is reasonable to assume that during his studies he was introduced to the
poetry of Charles d’Orléans.
11
D’Orléans’s poems are all rondeaux, in their form, and chansons, in that they are lyric poetry with French texts.
Egk refers to the four rondeaux as “Chanson I,” “Chanson II,” “Rondeau,” and “Rondeau-Finale” respectively. For
clarity, the following discussion utilizes Egk’s labels for the choral movements.
12
David A. Fein, Charles d’Orléans (Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1983), “Chronology” [v–vi].
13
John Fox, The Lyric Poetry of Charles d’Orléans (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969), 9.
14
Ibid., 75.
15
Ibid., viii.
16
The Abitur is a cumulative examination given at the end of university preparatory studies at the Gymnasium.
Gymnasium roughly corresponds to the U.S. high school; however, only students tracked for university studies are
matriculated at the Gymnasium, while other students are directed toward trade-oriented schools (Realschule and
Hauptschule).
17
Andrew McCredie, “Werner Egks Frankophilia,” in Werner Egk, eine universelle Begabung: Komponist,
Schriftsteller, Interpret und Zeichner: Beiträge zum 1. Werner-Egk-Symposium Donauwörth, 12.–14. November
1999 (Donauwörth: Stadt Donauwörth, 2004), 36–37.
105
After this choral interlude the curtain opens to reveal a space resembling a dimly-lit
cathedral. As Isabeau prays for her dead spouse, Joan enters. Isabeau, enraged, attempts to
strangle him. She is unable to do so and collapses, her strength totally spent. As the stage
lightens in a great “light-crescendo” Joan sets Isabeau upright and removes her mourning robes.
Professing his love Joan envelops Isabeau in his arms despite her feeble protestations. The
curtain falls, and an unseen choir sings the following chanson from behind the drop:
D’ont vient ce souleil de plaisance,
From where comes this sun of pleasure,
qui ainsi m’es bluyst les yeulx?
That so astounds my eyes?
Beaulté, doulceur et encore mieulx
Beauty, sweetness, and even better
Y sont a trop grant habondance.
Are here in too great a measure.
Soudainement louyst par semblance
Suddenly lit up as if
comme un esclair venant des cieulx.
From a lightning bolt coming from on high.
Il fait perdre la contenance
It makes all men lose their composure
A toutes gens, jeunes et vielz ;
All men, young and old;
N’il n’est eclipse, se m’aist Dieux,
There is not an eclipse, so help me God,
Qui de l’obscurir ait puissance ;
That has the power to obscure it:
Beaulte, Doulceur et encore mieulx!
Beauty, sweetness, and even better!
D’ont vient ce souleil
From where comes this sun
Ah!
Ah! 18
Like the previous chanson, “D’ont vient ce souleil de plaisance” was also written for Beauté
while d’Orléans was imprisoned in England. 19 And again the choir functions as a Greek chorus.
The chanson is written from a male point of view and reflects Joan’s grandiloquent pledge of
18
Egk, JvZ revised piano score, 113 ff. Translation by Sarah Spence in The French Chansons of Charles d’Orléans
(New York and London: Garland Publishing, 1986), 117.
19
Fein, Charles d’Orléans, 75.
106
love for Isabeau. In the next tableau Joan’s love for Isabeau is consumed by his lust for
Florence, a lady in waiting. The choir’s praise of love, then, is unfounded—Joan’s love for
Isabeau is false.
At the opening of the third tableau Egk includes a scene titled “The Homage.” 20 In this
scene, Joan and Isabeau sit on two thrones before the court. Its members file past and bow in
homage, “though with visible reluctance,” to the duchess and the usurper in a scene played
without music. 21 In the first musical scene of the tableau, Lefou interrupts a large public dance:
after Perette refuses to dance with him, he seeks out two kitchen maids with whom to dance and
kid. Having seen enough, Joan orders the maids to be escorted from the hall. The court finishes
its dance and directs its attention toward a theatrical pantomime on the upper platform, now an
improvised stage.
A large monster refuses an offering of fruits and artichokes given him by several old
townsfolk. The distraught folk bring a more fitting sacrifice, a young virgin, and tie her to a tree
trunk. The creature prepares to stab the virgin, when a young knight appears and slays the firebreathing fiend. The curtain closes, and the actors resume their places in the court. Florence,
who portrayed the virgin, and the unnamed actor who portrayed the young knight begin to dance
to the accompaniment of a solo flute. Joan cuts in. He dances with Florence, enraging the court
by his breach of etiquette. The court, especially Isabeau, try to persuade Joan to quit his game.
The duchess orders her men-at-arms to avenge her, and Lefou dispatches Joan’s men. As the
two groups advance on each other Joan whisks away Florence behind his own lines, and Isabeau
collapses and is carried away by her attendants. Joan’s men rout their opponents, and the stage
empties. Timidly, Lefou emerges, as does Perette. She lashes out at the fool as the curtain falls.
The unseen choir sings, again from behind the drop, a rondeau by Charles d’Orléans:
Vous y fiez vous
Do you put your trust
En mondain espoir?
in this world?
S'il scet decevoir
If it disappoints you,
Demandez à tous!
Ask everyone!
20
The following discussion is based on the original version.
21
JvZ, original version, 123.
107
La, la, la …
La, la, la …
Son attrait est doulx
Its lure is sweet
Pour gens mieulx avoir
And it gets the better of people.
Vous y fiez vous
en Mondain espoir?
in this world?
La, la, la …
La, la, la …
De joye, ou courroux,
Whether of joy or anger,
Soing, ou nonchaloir,
Care or nonchalance—
Veult, à son vouloir,
The world speaks to you
Tenir les deux boux.
Out of both sides of its mouth.
Vous y fiez vous?
Do you put your trust? 22
“Vous y fiez vous?” was written after d’Orléans’s return to France in 1440, a period in which his
poetry is marked by themes of satire, self-reflection, and melancholy. 23 Nonchalance, a key
element in the rondeau, was a central concept for d’Orléans, one that was tied to “emotional
apathy [and] depression” and used in many of his poems. 24
In Egk’s rondeau the woodwinds double the female voice parts; the strings, the male. The
men repeat the text “Demandez à tous!” (Ask everyone!) five times over the course of ten
measures. To this entreaty, Egk adds a string of 165 “la-la-las” not present in the original
d’Orléans rondeau. Similarly, the choir asks three times if its hearers place their trust in a
deceptive world. After the second statement, another 165 la-la-las dissipate the tension of the
interrogation. The final iteration is left as an open-ended question to the audience. The
reference to a world that “speaks to you out of both sides of its mouth” is particularly vivid in the
context of the National Socialist regime, infamous for its propaganda and doublespeak. 25
More reflective of the plot, the change from the refulgence of the preceding chanson
reflects the continuing descent from frivolity to tragedy that begins in the third tableau and
22
Egk, JvZ, revised piano score, 131 ff. Translation by Brigite Riskowski, et al. in the program for the Ninth
International Chamber Choir Competition Marktoberdorf (2005), 50, alt.
23
Fein, Charles d’Orléans, 118–129.
24
Sarah Spence, The French Chansons of Charles d’Orléans, 238.
25
The theme of subversion is treated in much greater detail in Chapter 8.
108
culminates at the end of the fourth. At the opening of the final tableau, Lefou seeks to cheer up a
melancholy Joan with drink and a game of dice. Joan loses repeatedly. Drunk and broke, he
decides to wager Florence. Again he loses and brutally flings Florence to the fool, who dances
lustily. In despair, Florence plunges a dagger in her heart and collapses, dead. Lefou slowly
drags the corpse away.
As Joan remains alone below, two masked, shrouded female forms appear at the rear of
the upper platform, carrying between them a grey cloth, which extends to the floor. The figures
allow the cloth to fall, revealing Joan’s Likeness. Joan’s Likeness dances with the women,
joining with each in turn. After again lifting the cloth, the shrouded figures reveal their faces,
those of Florence and Isabeau.
There is no ambiguity about Florence’s being dead. She had plunged a dagger in her
heart moments before. Her accompaniment by Isabeau means that the duchess is also dead,
though this is not specified in the stage directions. We may assume that Isabeau dies at the end
of the Love Dance in the third tableau, when she collapses and is carried out by her attendants.
This conclusion is corroborated by the plot synopsis in the Berlin program, which provides more
detail regarding the conflict at the end of the “Love-Dance” scene (No. 12). The following
description takes up the action as the young virgin is tied to the tree trunk as an offering to the
beast:
A monster presses upon a virgin shackled to a tree stump. A young hero rushes at the
monster in order to free her. As the two fight, Joan unexpectedly springs to the shackled
maiden, the beautiful lady-in-waiting Florence, with whom he has become infatuated, and
frees her. General confusion of the court. Isabeau’s intermediaries succeed in settling
this gross breach of etiquette. But during the following dance, Joan once again snatches
away the maiden from the hero. As Lefou drags his opponent from the hall, he [Joan]
begins a love-dance with her [Florence]. In vain, Isabeau seeks to end Joan’s frivolous
game. Finally, she calls for her men to avenge the dishonor inflicted upon her. As Joan,
protected by his men, finally carries the maiden from the hall, Isabeau, out of despair,
takes poison. Battle erupts between the men of the duchess and those of Joan. 26
26
Program, Staatstheater Berlin – Staatsoper, 23 January 1940, 13r. BSB Ana 410. “Ein Untier bedrängt einen an
einem Baumstumpf gefesselte Jungfrau. Ein junger Held stürzt sich, um sie zu befreien, auf das Untier. Während
beide kämpfen, springt unvermutet Joan, der an dem Mädchen, der schönen Hofdame Florence, sich entzündet hat,
109
Isabeau, like Florence, is dead. These are their specters, their apparitions.
The spectral Florence and Isabeau again allow the cloth to glide to the floor, revealing the
figure of the Iron Duke, who holds an executioner’s sword. The duke lets the sword
ceremoniously fall in the direction of Joan. Joan collapses, lifeless. Afterward, Lefou again
enters, accompanied by an orchestral version of the previous rondeau, its short la-la-la figures
reinforcing the staccato musical passages that characterize him as the fool. Seeing his lord dead,
he starts to flee, but he then returns to the body. He takes his lord’s rapier, girds himself with it,
and absconds. The stage darkens.
As light again fills the stage, the speaker, in the same allegorical context as the prologue,
speaks the epilogue:
Weh ihm, den jäh ein grausames Gesetz
Woe to him, who is suddenly held hostage by
Durch der Vergeltung harte Geisel traf!
a savage law of severe retribution!
Er ward in seiner Jugend schönster Kraft
He was in his youth of most beautiful strength
Zu früh zerstört und aufgelöst zu Staub,
Too early undone and returned to dust,
Verschlungen von den Flammen, die er
Devoured by the flames, which he himself,
selbst,
Unkundig der Gefahr, arglos genährt.
Ignorant of the danger, carelessly fed.
Mit trüber Klage, kummervollem Blick
With a turbid dirge, grieving glance
Vermag ich zu betrachten nur sein Los
I am able to regard only his lot
Und könnte wohl verstehn, wenn der und
And could well understand when everyone
der
Bedenkend das Geschick, das jenen traf,
Contemplating the fate that met him,
Die Freude meidend um die Qual zu fliehn,
Would shun joy to flee misery,
auf die Gefesselte zu und befreit sie. Allgemeine Verwirrung der Hofgesellschaft. Isabeaus Dazwischentreten
gelingt es, diese grobe Verletzung der Etikette beizulegen. Doch bei dem nachfolgenden Tanz entreißt Joan aufs
Neue dem Helden das Mädchen. Er beginnt, während Lefou den Gegner aus dem Saal drängt, mit ihr einen
Liebestanz. Vergebens sucht Isabeau das frivole Spiel Joans zu beenden. Schließlich ruft sie ihre Mannen herbei,
um den ihr zugefügten Schimpf zu rächen. Als Joan, von den Seinen geschützt, schließlich das Mädchen aus dem
Saal trägt, nimmt Isabeau in der Verzweiflung Gift. Es kommt zum Kampf zwischen den Mannen der Herzogin und
denen Joans.” Elsewhere in the program, the monster is identified as a Löwe, a lion. See Figure 6.5.
110
Beschließen würde nimmermehr sein Herz
Would resolve never again
Der Liebe je zu öffnen um in einem
To open his heart to love, at once
Das Sehnen zu ersticken, das in uns,
To suffocate the longing that lives in us
Solang wir leben, lebt und die Gefahr
As long as we live and the danger
Die uns, so lang wir sind, in ihm bedroht!
That threatens us as long as we are!
Doch endete die Zeit schon vor der Zeit
However, time ended before the time
Den Toren, die sich ohne Grund und Not
Of the fools, they who without cause or
distress
Zu Tode quälten um den Tod zu fliehn!
Tortured themselves to death to flee from
death!
Nicht ist’s die Liebe ja, die Unheil bringt,
Nay, it is not love that brings calamity,
Nur der Betörung Sporn, und edle Glut!
Only the bewitchment of infatuation, and
noble embers!
Drum meidet stets die ungestüme Gier,
Thus shun always the impetuous lust,
Den bösen Zäuber [sic] der Sirenen stets,
The evil charm of the Sirens ever,
Doch flieht die heilige Bezauberung,
However, the holy enchantment does not flee,
Die segenspendende, der Liebe nicht!
The blessing-bestowing, of love!
In ihrem Feuer glüht der ewige Schmied
In her fire the eternal smith makes
Sein Eisen seit dem Anbeginn der Zeit
His iron glow since the dawn of time
Und trennt das spröde Erz in ihrer Glut
And separates the rough ore in its flame
Zu trüber Schlacke und zu reinem Gold.
Into dull slag and into pure gold.
Nur wenn auch unsre Brust ihr Glanz
Only when her luster glows within our breast
durchglüht
Und ihre helle Flamme und durchsprüht,
And her bright flame and sparkles through,
Wenn Sinn und Seele ganz sich ihr
When sense and soul give themselves
ergeben,
Kann unser Sein zum Leben sich erheben!
27
totally to her,
Can our being arise to life!
Egk, JvZ, original version, [251].
111
Verscheucht deshalb mit uns Melancholie
Therefore shun melancholy with us,
Und Gram und Trauer um Vergangenes,
And grief and sadness at what is past,
Das keine Klage mehr entreißen kann
That no lament can longer pluck
Dem dunklen Grund der Zeit und seht mit
From the dark ground of time and watch
uns
with us
Dem Spiel für eine frohe Spanne zu,
The play for a happy time,
Das neu in jedem Augenblick beginnt,
That begins anew in each moment,
Dem Spiel, in dem auch, wer verliert,
The play, in which also, he who loses,
gewinnt,
wins,
In dem sich stets erneuert alles Leben
In which all life renews itself
Und Fordern Schenken heißt und Nehmen
And demanding is called gifting
and taking, giving. 27
Geben.
The speaker functions as the choir did between the individual tableaus. In a pitying tone, he
encapsulates the moral of the entire work: true love conquers impetuous lust. The figure of
Odysseus is finally explained: lust is the “evil magic of the Sirens.” After forging a lesson on
true love, the epilogue abruptly becomes a happy benediction, though one with a rather arcane
conclusion.
After the epilogue, the entire forces of Joan von Zarissa unite in the “Rondeau-Finale.”
The choir, to this point dispatched behind the backdrop, is posted on the stage, along with the
stage trumpets, formerly the backstage trumpets. The entire troupe, in period costume, dances
for the “most exuberant joy of life and the triumph of love.” 28 Whereas its message in the earlier
interludes had been symbolic, the choir’s address in the rondeau-finale is explicit. The choir
sings,
28
Werner Egk, Joan von Zarissa, Klavierauszug (Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1939), 128. Hereafter, “JvZ original
piano score.” “Der Singchor und die acht Bühnentrompeten sind sichtbar auf der Bühne aufgestellt. Das gesamte
Ballettkorps, im Stil der Zeit modisch gekleidet, führt diesen Tanz aus, der die überschäumendste Lebensfreude und
den Triumph der Liebe symbolisiert. ” This descriptive text is absent in the original version. One expects the
description to be pasted in at the head of the scene, as are the titles and stage directions of the remainder of the
original version; however, it is not. The title “Rondeau-Finale” is written in Latin cursive (as opposed to Sütterlin
script) in ink at the top of the printed page.
112
Allez-vous-en, allez, allez !
Go away, go, go!
Soussy, Soing et Merencolie !
Worry, Care, and Melancholy!
me cuidez-vous toute, ma vie
Will you burn me all of my life,
Gouverner, comme fait avez ?
Governing, as you have been?
Je vous prometz que non ferez ;
I promise you will not;
Raison aura sur vous maistrie :
Reason has triumphed over you:
Go away, go, go!
Se jamais plus vous retournez,
That you would never again return,
Avecques vostre compaignie,
Along with your company,
je pri à Dieu qu’il vous maudie
I pray to God that he curse you
et ce par qui vous reviendrez !
And that by which you return!
Go away, go, go! 29
And so the tragic tale of Joan von Zarissa is dissolved into effervescent joy. This dissolution is
the only function of the rondeau-finale, since the drama is finished by this point. Joan is already
undone, and the choir does not comment on the foregoing drama as it had before. It offers no
moral lesson but instead shoos away any residual sadness lingering from the preceding tragedy.
The spoken portions of Joan von Zarissa were very important to Egk. In a letter to Heinz
Tietjen, Generalintendant of the Preußische Staatstheater and producer of Joan von Zarissa, Egk
wrote,
a very important and as yet unresolved question is the casting of the actor for the Prolog
and Epilog. It concerns not only finding someone who can speak both these portions
perfectly, it must be someone who can make a gestalt of the Speaker. I imagine the
speaker to be a commanding, wily, ancient fellow of massive proportions (costume: like
that of the fool in the piece, but with faded colors) and hope that we can perhaps get
someone of Jannings’s type for the role. 30
29
30
Ibid., 132 ff.
Egk to Tietjen, 19 December 1939, BSB Ana 410. “Eine sehr wichtige und noch ungeklärte Frage ist die
Besetzung des Schauspielers für den Prolog und Epilog. Es handelt sich nicht darum jemanden zu finden der diese
beiden Stücke nur vollendet spricht, es muss jemand sein der auch eine Gestalt aus dem Sprecher machen kann. Ich
113
Egk’s reference to “Jannings” is to the six-foot-tall, rather corpulent Swiss actor Emil Jannings
(1884–1950). Jannings co-starred with Marlene Dietrich in Der blaue Engel (1930, her first
role). He was also the first non-American to win an Academy Award for best actor for The Way
of All Flesh (1927) and The Last Command (1928). 31 Fritz Hofbauer (1884–1968), who ended
up playing the Speaker, was an Austrian actor and director active from the 1910s through the
1960s, also of large frame. 32
Egk reinforced the importance of the spoken portions of the work in an interview with the
Berliner Lokal-Anzeiger on 13 January 1940. To the assertion that the ballet was “exceptionally
tragic stuff,” Egk responded,
But with a reconciliatory finale! I have chosen a new form that in the end also brings a
resolution to the dissonance. After the overture, an actor speaks the prologue introducing
the plot, otherwise the observers always would have to read in their programs what was
intended by the ballet.… A spoken epilogue brings the final resolution: the hero must be
undone on account of his own wickedness, but an absolute tragedy of love should not be
shown, only the downfall of destructive love. The good, real, great love culminates in a
victorious finale, in which I have utilized all media, choir, orchestra, and ballet, to a
harmonious conclusion. 33
stelle mir den Sprecher als einen überlegenen, schlauen, uralten Burschen von gewaltigen Ausmassen vor (Kostüm,
wie das des Narren im Stück, aber mit verblassten Farben) und hoffe, dass man vielleicht jemanden vom Typ
Jannings dafür bekommen kann.”
31
The Internet Movie Database, <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0417837/> (Accessed 25 November 2009).
Jennings received a single Oscar for both films, a common practice at the time.
32
The Internet Movie Database, < http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0388649/> (Accessed 25 November 2009).
Pictures, while not included at the above address, are available on the internet.
33
Berliner Lokal-Anzeiger, 13 January 1940. “„…Für ein Ballett also ein ungewöhnlich tragischer Stoff.“
„Aber mit versöhnlichem Ausklang! Ich habe eine neuartige Form gewählt, die auch zum Schluß eine Auflösung
der Dissonanz bringt. Nach der Ouvertüre spricht ein Schauspieler einen Prolog, der in die Handlung einführt, denn
sonst müßte der Zuschauer immer im Programm nachlesen, was wohl in dem Ballett gemeint ist.… Ein
gesprochener Epilog bringt die versöhnliche Lösung: der Held mußte an seiner eigenen Schlechtigkeit zugrunde
gehen; aber nicht eine Tragödie der Liebe schlechthin sollte gezeigt werden, sondern nur der Untergang der
zerstörenden Liebe. Die gute, echte, große Liebe klingt in einem sieghaften Finale aus, in dem ich alle Mittel, Chor,
Orchester und Ballett, zum harmonischen Ende eingesetzt habe.“ ”
114
Egk clearly conceived of Joan von Zarissa as more than a ballet. That genre, already stretched
by Egk’s addition of choral interludes, is extended even farther by the utilization of the spoken
prologue and epilogue. Notice that Egk subtitles the work a dramatische Tanzdichtung, a
dramatic dance-poem, instead of “ballet.” 34 The work approaches a Wagnerian
Gesamtkunstwerk featuring poetry (spoken and/or sung), gesture and dance, and music. All of
these forces, including choir, are represented in the rondeau-finale.
Differences between the Original and Revised Versions of Joan von Zarissa
Despite the importance Egk placed on the spoken portions and rondeau-finale of Joan
von Zarissa, these elements would not endure. In an advertisement for its publication of Joan
von Zarissa, B. Schott’s Söhne detailed all sixteen scenes of the ballet as in the original version.
But the firm noted that the ballet “may be concluded before the Epilog, if the visible placement
of the choir in the finale causes too many difficulties.” 35 In the manuscript under the title
“Rondeau-Finale,” Egk wrote “definitiv gestrichen” (definitively cut; lit., “definitely stricken”)
in a large box with an arrow up to the title. 36 It is unclear when exactly Egk made the
determination to cut the rondeau-finale and under what circumstances, but the decision was made
by at least the end of 1940.
Within a year of the premiere of Joan von Zarissa, the revised score was published, with
substantial changes. These changes can be traced by comparing the tables of contents of the two
versions (see Figures 3.1 and 3.2).
34
Further discussion of the genre of Joan von Zarissa is reserved for Chapter 4.
35
BSB Ana 410. “Es kann auch vor dem Epilog abschließen, wenn die sichtbare Aufstellung des Chores im Finale
Schwierigkeiten macht. ” Emphasis in original.
36
This is written on what appears to be a separate title page for the rondeau-finale. The fourth tableau ends on page
298 (folio recto). The verso side is blank and unnumbered. The following unnumbered page (298a, recto) contains
the above text. The music of the rondeau-finale begins on the verso face, numbered page 299. No indication of the
Epilog is contained in the manuscript, though Egk may have intended it to fill these two blank pages.
115
Figure 3.1. Joan von Zarissa, original version, table of contents.
The table of contents of the revised version is an adaptation of that of the original version
(see Figure 3.2).
116
Figure 3.2. Joan von Zarissa, revised version, table of contents.
The notation of the revised table of contents is inconsistent. The titles of tableaus,
characters, scenes, and choral interludes are printed in the serif font of the original, while the
page numbers are typed in a sans serif font. The latter are also often skewed, unlike the former.
The numerals of Scenes 1 through 8 are printed in the same font as the scene titles; however, the
numeral of Scene 9 and the second digits of numerals for Scenes 10 through 14 are written in
117
manuscript. Additionally, a large gap separates the titles “Vorspiel” (Prelude) and “Erstes Bild”
(First Tableau). This space was previously occupied by the title “Prolog.” Finally, the titles and
participants of the epilogue and rondeau finale are absent in the revised version.
When the two versions are compared side by side, the differences between them become
readily apparent:
Joan von Zarissa, Original Version
Prelude
Prologue
First Tableau
No. 1. Procession
No. 2. Entrance and Dance of the
Captured Moorish Women
No. 3. Dance of the Fool
No. 4. The Duel
No. 5. The Honor Dance
Chanson I, “C’est grant paine”
Second Tableau
No. 6. Isabeau’s Lament
No. 7. Isabeau’s Rage
No. 8. The Seduction of Isabeau
Chanson II, “D’ont vient ce souleil
de plaisance”
Third Tableau
No. 9. The Homage (no music)
No. 10. The Opening Dance
No. 11. Pantomime
No. 12. The Love-Dance
No. 13. Perette’s Wrath
Rondeau, “Vous y fiez vous?”
Fourth Tableau
No. 14. Wine and Dice Game
No. 15. The Apparitions
Epilogue
Finale
No. 16. Rondeau-Finale
“Allez-vous-en, allez, allez!”
Joan von Zarissa, Revised Version
Prelude
-First Tableau
No. 1. Procession
No. 2. Entrance and Dance of the
Captured Moorish Women
No. 3. Dance of the Fool
No. 4. The Duel
No. 5. The Honor Dance
Chanson I, “C’est grant paine”
Second Tableau
No. 6. Isabeau’s Lament
No. 7. Isabeau’s Rage
No. 8. The Seduction of Isabeau
Chanson II, “D’ont vient ce souleil
de plaisance”
Third Tableau
-No. 9. The Opening Dance
No. 10. Pantomime
No. 11. The Love-Dance
No. 12. Perette’s Wrath
Rondeau, “Vous y fiez vous?”
Fourth Tableau
No. 13. Wine and Dice Game
No. 14. The Apparitions
----
Figure 3.3. Comparison of the original and revised versions of Joan von Zarissa. 37
The prologue was cut from the work, as was No. 9, “The Homage.” Additionally, two
separate performance options were provided for the remaining choral interludes. The epilogue,
and rondeau-finale were likewise cut, and the ballet ended with scene no. 14, “The Apparitions.”
37
From this point onward, scene number citations will reference the original version.
118
For each choral interlude in the revised version table of contents (see Figure 3.2), two
separate page numbers are given. The first is for a run-in chorus, i.e., a chorus whose music
appears at the appropriate place within the score, with a reduced scoring for soprano and baritone
with orchestral accompaniment. The second is for a ten-voice a cappella version found at the
end of the score. In his stage directions, Egk makes no provision for a reduced scoring. The
alternate page numbers correspond to another change, found in the cast of characters printed on
page 2 of the score (see Figure 3.4).
Figure 3.4. Joan von Zarissa, revised version, cast of characters.
119
There is a variance in notation in the line for the participating vocalists. “Ein Singchor” (lit., “A
sing-choir”) is printed in the same serif font as the remainder of the cast of characters, while the
alternative, “oder Sopran und Bariton” (or soprano and baritone) is a later addition written in
manuscript. 38 The run-in choral interludes in the revised version are later arrangements with
reduced scoring for ease of performance.
The final scene of the revised version of Joan von Zarissa (No. 14, “The Apparitions”),
was also changed from the original version. As Joan stands alone on the stage, a Vision
confronts him with his past deeds. After apparitions of Joan’s opening dance with Isabeau and
the honor dance fade away, the image of the slain Iron Duke appears. The duke strikes Joan
dead. The drama concludes to the sound of the Dies irae, a quotation of the rondeau “Vous y
fiez vous?” for orchestra, and the sound of bells backstage. In this scene the score of the revised
version differs markedly from that of the original version.
In the first thirteen scenes titles and stage directions have been inserted into the score
from another source. As may be seen in Figure 3.5, the texts are printed on paper darker than
that on which the score is printed. They are cut irregularly and pasted into the score, and the
composite score was reproduced by a diazo printing process, making some texts difficult to read
due to lack of contrast between the text and the paper on which it was printed. 39
38
Egk’s use of the term Singchor may strike some as interesting. The term Singchor differentiates this ensemble
from a movement choir (Bewegungschor), also in vogue in Germany at this time. Olympische Jugend, the mass
choreography pageant for the 1936 Olympics, for which Egk and Carl Orff composed the score, constitutes a good
example of the latter. For additional discussion of Bewegungschor, please see Chapter 4 of this dissertation.
39
On page 20, adhesive tape holds the stage direction in place. In other places within the score, tape is not visible.
120
Figure 3.5. Joan von Zarissa, revised version, p. 210, lower portion.
The style of the score for No. 14 “The Apparitions” is quite different in the revised
version, as can be seen in Figure 3.6.
121
Figure 3.6. Joan von Zarissa, revised version, p. 212, top system.
Here, the title and stage directions are copied directly in the score. The manuscript style also
differs from that which comes before. Dynamic markings are written in a heavier style. In those
markings requiring successive fortes, the f s touch only at their crossbars. In the previous
manuscript style, the tips and tails of successive f s touch, as well. Additionally, the 7 used in
rehearsal number 172 is crossed. These changes reveal more than a different copyist. Additional
investigation of this portion of the score shows it to be a composite of various sources.
The manuscript style previously described and shown in Figure 3.6 continues through
page 226, the point at which the Iron Duke slays Joan. Page 227 returns to the previous notation
122
style with pasted stage directions and lighter, connected dynamic markings; however, it features
other disparities, which show it to be of altogether different origin than the rest of the revised
version. Page 227 contains only three bars of music with a substantial right-hand margin. The
musical material includes a statement of the Dies irae by eight backstage trumpets, followed by
an orchestral quotation of the previous choral interlude, the rondeau “Vous y fiez vous?” Most
surprising, an ad libitum organ part appears. Organ is not included in the disposition of the
orchestra at the beginning of the work (page [4]). The lighter style continues through page 233,
where the score abruptly breaks off, leaving the lower right quadrant of the page blank. This
portion of the page was originally printed with staff lines, as they extend slightly beyond the last
barline before the blank portion. The lower right quadrant appears to have been cut away from
the page. The next page contains the last five bars of the score, with a substantial left-hand
margin. These bars originate from another source. The one rehearsal mark on the page is letter
“F,” the only such letter rehearsal mark in the score outside the choruses. According to the
established sequence of numerical rehearsal marks, rehearsal “F” should read rehearsal “186.”
Finally, five empty staves marked “Fr. St.” and five marked “M. St.” appear. These are the choir
parts: Fr[auen] St[immen] (Women’s Voices) and M[änner] St[immen] (Men’s Voices). But in
the revised version the choir has no part in the final scene.
The perplexing “Apparitions” scene of the revised version is largely explained by
examining the score to the concert suite score. The disposition of the orchestra included in the
concert suite clearly allows for an ad libitum organ (Orgel) part, as can be seen in Figure 3.7.
123
Figure 3.7. Joan von Zarissa, concert suite, disposition of the orchestra.
Additionally, the music on pages 227 through 230 in the revised version corresponds exactly to
that on pages 98 through 101 in the concert suite. The revised version, however, features
rehearsal marks appropriate to itself and pasted-in stage directions. It therefore appears that
pages 227 through 230 of the revised version are not original to the score but are reproduced
from the concert suite.
124
The last five bars of the work present something of a quandary. The revised version page
234 corresponds musically to the concert suite page 105, and in both scores the gap to the right
of the clefs is present. In the concert suite the vocal staves are boxed and marked through with
cross-hatching (see Figure 3.8).
Figure 3.8. Joan von Zarissa, concert suite, p. 105.
125
These bars are not crossed out in the revised version. Page 234 of the revised version, then, does
not come from the concert suite; otherwise it, too, would bear the cross-hatching. Nor does the
concert suite page 105 come from the revised version page 234, because the concert suite bears
no rehearsal mark on page 105. The presence of the “F” rehearsal mark in the revised version
points to the appended ten-voice choruses in the same score as the origin of the material;
however, the last five bars of “Vous y fiez vous?” in the revised version contain only twenty
staves, instead of thirty-one. 40 Additionally, the dynamic is marked fortissimo in the concert
suite, while it is an unmarked continuation of a pianissimo dynamic with a decrescendo hairpin
to pianississimo in the revised version. Page 234 of the revised version, then, does not come
from the choruses bearing letter rehearsal marks appended to the revised version either. Turning
again to the concert suite another inconsistency in the copy is discernible. The page number
digits differ: the 1 and 0 are written in one manuscript style, the 5 in another. Page 105 of the
concert suite is not original to the concert suite, but instead comes from yet another source. That
unidentified source provided the last five bars of both the revised version and the concert suite. 41
Egk’s Joan von Zarissa, as Premiered in Berlin
The program folder for the Berlin premiere and first performances of Joan von Zarissa
provides vivid context for the Berlin performances of Joan von Zarissa. According to the
program, the prologue, epilogue, and rondo-finale were to be performed (see Figure 3.9).
40
The staves for the following are absent: oboe, B-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, horns (2 staves), trumpets, trombones,
tuba, timpani, bass drum, and tam-tam.
41
It is likely, based on the orchestration of these last five bars, that there existed an intermediary concert suite, with
vocal sections scored for a ten-voice chorus.
126
Figure 3.9. Program for the Berlin premiere of Joan von Zarissa. Munich, Bayerische
Staatsbibliothek, Nachlass Werner Egk, Ana 410. Reproduced by permission.
But the original version of the ballet was not what was heard by the audience in Berlin,
despite its description as such in the program. In Karl H. Ruppel’s lengthy review of the
premiere of Joan von Zarissa for the Kölnische Zeitung, he noted,
The baroque theater-ideas of the peacock, out of which emerges the Most Beautiful of the
Captured Moorish Women; of the puppet, with whom the fool Lefou dances his
unfulfilled longing-for-love dance; of the monster, which instead of fruits and artichokes
demands a virgin; and the knight, against whom chimney-fire blasts, were cut. Also
severely reduced was the rondo-finale [sic], the joy-dance of love after Joan’s demise.
127
Apart from the ravishing music that it contained, it seems, for reasons of inner proportion
as well as the formal composition in its entire dimension and in its entire scale, that the
incorporated tonal palette of the choir is important. This finale is, so to speak, a danced
cantata, which must work as an apotheosis of life and of love with dazzling elan, of the
play that “begins anew in each moment.” 42
Two of the most spectacular images from the first tableau, the peacock and the puppet, were not
included. The Berlin program clearly identified both a lion and a hero in the “pantomime of the
third tableau,” and Ruppel stated that these were cut. 43 This would result in a greatly altered
pantomime, one with neither protagonist nor antagonist. Ruppel also noted that the rondeaufinale was reduced, but to what extent, he did not say. Music critic Dr. Fritz Brust provides more
information pertaining to the curtailed rondeau-finale. He reported,
An epilogue articulates the moral (“always shun impetuous lust, the evil charm of the
Sirens”) and commends love as the “holy enchantment.” Then follows a rondeau-finale
with choir, in the performance changed so that the vocal parts were taken over by the
orchestra, and a formal, absolutely necessary grand dance number. 44
While Egk specifically intended the choir to take part in the rondeau-finale, this did not happen.
The explicit message carried in “Allez-vous-en, allez, allez!” was not present. Instead, the
tragedy of the drama was dissipated by a dance spectacle.
42
Die Kölnische Zeitung, 25 January 1940. “Die barocken Theatereinfälle des Pfaus, dem die schönste der
gefangenen Maurinnen entsteigt, der Puppe, mit der der Narr Lefou seine unerfüllte Liebensehnsucht tanzt, des
Ungeheuers, das statt Früchten und Artischoken eine Jungfrau begehrt, und dem Ritter, der es bekämpft, aus einem
Rohr Feuer entgegenbläst, waren gestrichen. Stark reduziert war auch das Rondo-Finale, der Freudentanz des
Lebens nach dem Untergang Joans. Abgesehen von der hinreißenden Musik, die es enthält, scheint es und auch aus
Gründen der inneren Proportionen ebenso wie der formalen Komposition in seiner ganzen Ausdehnung und in
seinem ganzen großen, den Chor einbeziehenden Klangumfang notwendig. Dieses Finale ist sozusagen eine
getanzte Kantate, die mit einem umwerfenden Elan wie eine Apotheose des Lebens und der Liebe wirken muß, des
Spiels, ‚das neu in jedem Augenblick beginnt’.”
43
See Figure 6.5. The monster was depicted as a lion at the premiere. When the knight stabs the lion, fire shoots
out of the latter. Ruppel’s “knight” is the Held (hero) of the program.
44
Fritz Brust, „’Joan von Zarissa’ von Werner Egk,“ Schlesische Zeitung, Breslau, 23 January 1940.
“Ein Epilog spricht die Moral aus („Meidet stets die ungestüme Gier, den bösen Zauber der Sirenen“) und empfiehlt
die Liebe als „heilige Bezauberung“. Dann folgt noch ein Rondo-Finale mit Chor, in der Aufführung so geändert,
daß die Gesangsstimmen ins Orchester genommen wurden, und eine formal unbedingt nötige große Tanznummer.”
128
In fact the rondeau-finale of Joan von Zarissa would not be performed until almost a year
after the ballet’s premiere in Berlin. The ballet premiered in Hamburg on 5 December 1940, and
a review of the event in the Stuttgarter Neues Tageblatt opened,
Werner Egk’s Joan von Zarissa premiered in Berlin—though with substantial deletions.
Only now in the Hamburg premiere has it been hazarded to have the epilogue, a rondeau,
sung and danced: with resounding success.… 45
The reporter errs in stating that the “epilogue, a rondeau” was sung and danced. This is a
conflation of the epilogue and the rondeau-finale. The point remains, the rondeau-finale was
present. Though the reporter refers to an epilog, the conflation makes it unclear whether or not
the epilog was recited. Intervening performances in Halle in April and May 1940 included
neither the epilogue nor the rondeau-finale. 46
The Berlin premiere program booklet also featured extra-musical context for the premiere
of Joan von Zarissa. Inserted in the pages of the program was the flyer shown in Figure 3.10.
45
Stuttgarter Neues Tageblatt, 13 December 1940. “Werner Egks „Joan von Zarissa“ ist in Berlin uraufgeführt
worden—doch mit wesentlichen Streichungen. Erst in der Hamburger Uraufführung hat man jetzt gewagt, den
Epilog, ein Rondeau, tanzen und singen zu lassen: mit durchschlagendem Erfolg.”
46
Program and reviews contained in BSB Ana 410.
129
Figure 3.10. Joan von Zarissa premiere program insert (Left: front. Right: reverse). Munich,
Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Nachlass Werner Egk, Ana 410. Reproduced by permission.
On the front side are instructions for evacuation in case of air raid. The instructions are as
follows:
In case of air raid warning, keep calm!
The interruption of the performance will be announced from the stage with due notice.
Quietly leave the auditorium, gather your belongings from the coat check, and find your
way to the air raid shelter as indicated by the air raid marshals.
Your air raid shelter is Room I in the University (See sketch on reverse).
After the all-clear is given by the air raid marshals, enough time will be allowed for
location of places before the continuation of the performance.
The performance will continue from the point at which it was interrupted.
On the reverse, a small sketch depicted the Staatsoper building footprint with arrows toward
Humboldt University (then Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität) across Unter den Linden.
130
Going to the opera or anywhere else in 1940 Berlin could be a dangerous outing. As the
war continued, such evacuation plans become more common. Instead of program inserts,
evacuation instructions were more often printed at the bottom of many programs. For the South
German premiere of Joan von Zarissa by the Württembergische Staatstheater (Stuttgart) on 27
February 1941, the following instruction was not included as an insert, but was printed in the
booklet, beneath the program itself:
Attention Air Raid Warning! In case of air raid warning, the performance will be
interrupted with due notice. Guests have to find their way immediately to air raid shelters
indicated by posters. The direction of the marshal is an unconditional order to be carried
out. If the air raid warning occurs during intermission, the same will be announced by
the marshal. The coat check remains closed during the air raid warning. Leaving the
building is forbidden, as is smoking in the shelters. 47
The Germans were by this time taking air raids more seriously than at the Joan von Zarissa
premiere—attendees were not allowed to retrieve their belongings from the coat check, and
shelters were indicated by more permanent placards, not by personnel. This is especially true for
northern German cities vulnerable to air raids from England. A New-Year-commemorative
performance of Joan von Zarissa was scheduled for 6 January 1941 at the Hamburgische
Staatsoper. The north German city of Hamburg housed one of Germany’s principal naval
bases. 48 The performance was cancelled due to the “major offensive by the English air force on
neighboring Wilhelmshaven on 2 January 1941.” The Hamburg concert was scheduled for 3:00
p.m., reflecting another change in cultural life in Germany. Events that normally occurred at
night were moved to earlier in the day. Potential opera-goers were “in their own interest,
strongly urged to observe closely the new start times of performances in the Hamburg
47
Program, Staatstheater Berlin, 20 January 1940. BSB Ana 410. “Achtung Fliegeralarm! Bei Fliegeralarm wird
die Vorstellung rechtzeitig unterbrochen. Die Besucher haben unverzüglich die durch Plakat bezeichneten
Luftschutzräume aufzusuchen. Den Anweisung der Ordner ist unbedingt Folge zu leisten. Kommt in der Pause
Fliegeralarm, so wird derselbe durch die Ordner bekanntgegeben. Die Garderobe bleibt während des Fliegeralarms
geschlossen. Das Verlassen des Hauses ist verboten, ebenso das Rauchen in den Schützräumen.”
48
William Schirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany (New York: Simon and
Schuster, 1960), 752. The other two were located in Wilhelmshaven (approximately seventy-seven miles west) and
Kiel (approximately sixty miles north).
131
Staatsoper.” 49 Apparently, the change made it possible to observe nighttime blackouts in cities
targeted for aerial bombardment. 50
Egk’s Inspiration for Joan von Zarissa
One important question remains unanswered: why adapt the Don Juan saga to fifteenthcentury France in the first place? In Die Zeit wartet nicht, first published in 1973, Egk cites
several sources for his inspiration to do so. He felt Don Juan to be a “primary European cultural
element” (ein europäischer Urstoff). As such, it transcended national and cultural boundaries.
This was not necessarily advantageous for a composer working in National-Socialist Germany.
A lack of distinct Germanness, however that was measured, could brand the work as kulturbolschewistisch, “culturally Bolshevistic.” Such works were designated “degenerate” and
excluded from the repertoire of Reich theaters. Nevertheless, Egk chose this cosmopolitan
material for his drama, and Joan von Zarissa was a success.
The Artwork of Jean Fouquet
Egk was further inspired by the artwork of French painter Jean Fouquet (1420–1481),
about whom little is known. Fouquet was a native of Tours. He traveled to Italy between 1443
and 1447, when he painted a portrait of Pope Eugenius IV. In 1461, he returned to France and
became court painter to Louis XI. 51 Several of Fouquet’s works particularly inspired Egk:
49
Das Programm der Hamburgischen Staatsoper 1940–41 7. BSB Ana 410. The following is written in pencil on
the program cover: “abgesagt wegen Grossangriff der englischen Luftwaffe auf das benachbarte Wilhelmshaven am
2.1.41” Regarding concert times, the following appeared in the August, 1940 program of the Hamburgische
Staatsoper, “Die Besucher der Hamburgischen Staatsoper werden im eigenen Interesse dringend gebeten, die neuen
Anfangszeiten der Aufführungen in der Hamburgischen Staatsoper genau zu beachten….”
Similar early start times, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., are given in programs from December 1940 through February
1941.
50
Observation of blackouts may explain early start times; however, a 5:30 p.m. performance would still begin after
dark in the winter. Earlier performances would not extend as late into the blackout period, though.
51
Le Comte Paul Durrieu, (Membre de l’Institut de France Conservateur honoraire au Musée de Louvre), Le
Boccace de Munich: Reproduction des 91 Miniatures de célèbre manuscrit de la Bibliothèque royale de Munich.
Étude historique et critique et explication détaillé des planches, 2 vols. (Munich: Jacques Rosenthal, 1909), 1:44–
45.
132
La Vierge et l’Enfant entourés de séraphins et de chérubins. Egk was impressed by Fouquet’s
painting La Vierge et l’Enfant entourés de séraphins et de chérubins, which he saw in Antwerp
in 1935 (see Figure 3.11). 52 Egk cited Germain Bazin’s art book Fouquet, part of the series Les
trésors de la peinture française, in which the painter is described as follows:
Fouquet saw war and peace; he knew how men murdered others, how man dealt
blows, and how man parried them. He penetrated the organic unity of this monstrous
entity, formed of a thousand fates, knotted together, inextricably tied…
By him, the invisible was led back to the dimensions of the visible world. With
him the angels are choir boys, and the Blessed Virgin bears the traits of the mistress of
the king.… 53
52
Egk, DZ, 320.
53
Ibid., 320–321. Egk translated Bazin into German for DZ. “„Genau wie Germain Bazin Fouquet in “Les trésors
de la peinture française” beschrieb, genauso habe ich ihn verstanden:
‚Fouquet hat den Krieg und den Frieden gesehen, er weiß, wie sich Männer töten, wie man Schläge austeilt und wie
man sie pariert. Er durchdringt die organische Einheit dieses monströsen Daseins, geformt von tausend
Schicksalen, die in einander verknäult, unlösbar verbunden sind…
Das Unsichtbare wird bei ihm auf die Dimensionen der sichtbaren Welt zurückgeführt. Bei ihm sind die Engel
Chorknaben, und die Heilige Jungfrau trägt die Züge der Maitresse des Königs…’”
The original text is in Germain Bazin, Fouquet of the series Les trésors de la peinture française (Geneva: Editions
d’art Albert Skira, 1942): [2, 3]. “Fouquet a vu la guerre et la paix, il sait comment les hommes se tuent ; comment
on porte les coups et comment on les pare ; il perçoit l’unité organique de cet être monstrueux, formé de mille
destins enchevêtrés qu’est une mêlée.…
… L’invisible est ramené par lui aux dimensions du monde visible. Chez lui les anges sont des enfants de choeur, la
Vierge a les traits de la maîtresse du roi… [Egk ends his quote here, but Bazin continues] et les personnes de la
Trinité sont des diacres célébrant la liturgie…. ”
133
Figure 3.11. Jean Fouquet, La Vierge et l’Enfant entourés de séraphins et de chérubins.
Tempera on panel. 94.5 x 85.5 cm. c. 1452–55. Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten,
Antwerp. The Yorck Project: 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei. DVD-ROM, 2002. ISBN
3936122202. Distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH. Public domain.
134
In Die Zeit wartet nicht Egk quoted Bazin, and in so doing, conveyed his own reading of
Fouquet’s work. However, Bazin could not have influenced Egk during the compositional
process, as his book was published in 1942, over two years after Egk completed the score to
Joan von Zarissa.
The Illuminations of the Codex gallicus 6. In addition to La Vierge et l’Enfant, Egk credits
Fouquet’s illuminations in the Codex gallicus 6, a Trésor I manuscript in the Bayerische
Staatsbibliothek, Munich. 54 Codex gallicus 6 is known colloquially as the Münchner Boccaccio
(the Munich Boccaccio). The codex contains a French translation of Giovanni Boccaccio’s De
Casibus virorum illustrium prepared by Laurent Premierfait as Des Cas des nobles hommes et
femmes (Accounts of Noble Men and Women). The volume dates from 1458, when it was
received at the port of Paris by Laurens Gyrard, Controller-General of Finances to Charles VII,
King of France. The Boccaccio arrived in Munich sometime before 1628, when it was included
in an inventory of Elector Maximilian the Great’s objets d’art and curiosities. 55 Des Cas
consists of nine books preceded by a prologue in which Boccaccio dedicated the tome to his
Florentine patron Mainardo di Cavalcanti.
Within Des Cas, Boccaccio uses the lives of noble men and women to teach moral
lessons. These models are both sacred and secular, historical and contemporary. They include
the Biblical figures Adam and Eve; Nimrod, the son of Cush, grandson of Noah by Ham and
founder of the Babylonian Empire; King Saul; and Samson. They also include the secular
historical characters Cadmus, the founder of Thebes; Agamemnon; Dido, the Queen of Carthage;
Hannibal; and others. From among his contemporaries, Boccaccio includes the Knights Templar
and Filippa the Catanese, a washerwoman-aristocrat, whom he knew personally at the court in
Naples. In terms of the lessons taught, Adam and Eve serve to show the wages of disobedience,
while the story of Samson warns of the perfidy of women. 56
More germane to the discussion of Egk, Codex gallicus 6 contains ninety-one miniatures
of various sizes painted by Jean Fouquet: eighty small miniatures, one at the beginning of each
chapter (i.e., story of noble man or woman); nine larger miniatures, one at the beginning of each
book; one even larger miniature depicting Laurent Premierfait’s presentation of his French Des
54
A Trésor I manuscript is one of the most prized acquisitions of the Staatsbiliothek.
55
Durrieu, Le Boccace de Munich, 1:5–6, 15.
56
Ibid., 1:20.
135
Cas to Jean, Duke of Berry (1340–1416); and the largest, on folio 2 verso, reproduced as Figure
3.12.
Figure 3.12. Codex gallicus 6, folio 2v. Parchment. 34 x 28 cm. Munich, Bayerische
Staatsbibliothek, Codex gallicus 6. Reproduced by permission.
136
This miniature depicts Le Lit de justice (The Bed of Justice), the solemn assembly of 10
October 1458, at which Charles VII presided. The king pronounced Jean II, Duke of Alençon
guilty of treason for conspiring with the English against the French. Charles VII sits on a dais at
the top of the painting, flanked by two pairs of winged stags holding emblems of the crown. To
the right of the king are dukes of France, members of parliament, and members of the king’s
household. To his left are officials of the church and government. Two people in the assembly
are of particular note. The short man all in black, seated third from left in the top row to the
king’s right is Charles d’Orléans, the poet whose texts Egk used for his ballet. In addition to the
poet, there is a curious figure in the crowd at the lower right of the miniature. He does not at all
regard the solemn assembly, but instead stares out at the viewer. This is Jean Fouquet, the
painter of the miniature and Egk’s muse, in self-portrait. 57 Similarly in La Vierge, one cherub is
unmistakably staring directly at the onlooker. 58 Here again is Fouquet, perhaps not in portrait,
but in gesture.
Fouquet’s miniatures for the Codex gallicus 6 are replete with minute details concerning
the stories they illustrate. Typical of the style, they are often divided into quadrants or by
foreground and background. Discrete areas depict separate events pertinent to the accounts, and
the division of the space of the miniature accommodates concurrent narrative threads, though the
events depicted did not happen simultaneously. In some of his miniatures, Fouquet allows for
variants of a single tale or of multiple tales within one miniature. For example, folio 210v is
decorated with the miniature reproduced as Figure 3.13.
57
Ibid., 1:51–55
58
Cf. Figure 3.11.
137
Figure 3.13. Codex gallicus 6, folio 210v. Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Codex gallicus
6. Reproduced by permission.
This miniature illustrates the tales of three queens named Cleopatra. On the right, Cleopatra the
mother of Antiochus Gryphus of Syria drinks poison as her son commanded. In the center,
Tryphaena orders the hands of her sister Cleopatra to be severed to free her from the statue to
which she clings for refuge from her husband Antiochus Gryphus, the son of the Cleopatra
depicted at the right. On the left, Cleopatra the widow of Ptolemy Physcon of Egypt is put to
death by her son Ptolemy Alexander, with whom she reigned. The three fields of the miniature
are separated by the foreground columns and the invisible planes they create with those of the
background. As does Boccaccio’s tale, this miniature conflates the three stories. They are
visually separated only by the permeable columnar planes that allow interconnectedness,
something especially important to the stories and illustrations of the center and right panels.
Fouquet’s miniatures are more than simple illustrations. They are narrative in
themselves, bridging time and space to offer visual renderings of Boccaccio’s tales through their
multiplicity-in-unity. This attribute finds its way into Joan von Zarissa in Egk’s division of the
performance space into various planes, as will be discussed.
138
The Feast of the Pheasant
In Die Zeit wartet nicht Egk credits another source for his conception of Joan von
Zarissa: a description of a “banquet of the Duke of Burgundy in the year 1453.” Egk quotes,
“In the middle of the hall, near the side wall, on a high pillar was the picture of a
naked woman who had long hair that, behind, enshrouded her to her loins; and on her
head was a resplendent hat. She was, to conceal that which is seemly to conceal, covered
with a sheet, as if with a window lattice, on which Greek letters were written in several
places. On another pillar, wide as a jousting barrier, a living lion was tied with an iron
chain, as guard and defense for this picture; and on a tablet on his pillar was written in
golden letters: Do not touch my lady.”
What an image for a Don Juan setting! 59
Egk does not credit his source. Based on proximity, it might appear that he is continuing to
quote Germain Bazin here, as he had on the previous page. Bazin’s text, though, contains no
such language.
Instead, Egk is quoting from an unidentified source describing the Feast of the Pheasant,
a grand banquet given by Philip the Good of Burgundy (1396–1467) on 17 February 1453/4 in
Lille. The description Egk cites comes from the Memoires of Olivier de La Marche, one of the
banquet organizers. 60 The Bayerische Staatsbibliothek houses a copy of the fourth edition of de
59
Egk, DZ, 321 “‘Inmitten des Saals, nahe der Seitenwand, war auf einem hohen Pfeiler das Bild einer nackten
Frau, die langes Haar hatte, das sie hinten bis zu den Lenden einhüllte; und auf ihrem Kopf war ein prächtiger Hut.
Sie war, um das zu verbergen, was zu verbergen sich ziemt, mit einem Tuch bedeckt, wie mit einem
herabgelassenen Fenstergitter, worauf an mehreren Stellen in griechischen Buchstaben geschrieben war. An einem
anderen Pfeiler, der breit war wie eine Turnierhürde, war mit eiserner Kette ein lebendiger Löwe gebunden, als
Schutz und Verteidigung dieses Frauenbildes; und auf einem Schild an seinem Pfeiler war in goldenen Buchstaben
geschrieben: Rührt meine Dame nicht an.’
Welch ein Bild für eine Don-Juan-Handlung!”
60
La Marche, Olivier de, Les Memoires. Fourth Edition, (Lovain: Everaerdt de Witte, 1645): 419. “Ainsi comme
au milieu de la longuer de la sale, assez pres de la paroy, à l’opposite de la longe table avoit un haut pillier, sur quoy
avoit une image de femme nuë : qui les cheveux avoit si-longs, qu’ilz la couvroyent par derriere, iusques aux reins :
& sur son chef avoit un chapeau tres-riche : & estoit envelopée, ainsi que pour musser ou il apartenoit, d’une
serviette, à maniere de volet bien delié, escritte en plusieurs lieux, de lettres Gregeoises : & gettoit cest image, par la
mammelle droicte, ypocras, autant que le souper dura : & aupres d’elle avoit un autre pillier large, en manier d’un
139
La Marche’s memoirs along with Codex gallicus 6. In this 1645 publication, years in which
various events occurred are included as marginal notes. La Marche dates the Feast of the
Pheasant as 1453, but most modern sources date the banquet as 1454. At this time in France, the
new year (civil year) began on the Feast of the Annunciation, 25 March according to the Anno
Domini calendar system introduced by Dionysius Exiguus (c. 470 – c. 544). The practice
continued until 1564, when the beginning of the civil year was made to coincide with that of the
historical year, on 1 January. 61 This may explain Egk’s apparent mistake regarding the date.
Egk cites the civil year, 1453, as does La Marche. Olivier de La Marche and Mathieu
d’Escouchy (de Coussy) provide the two most detailed chronicles of the fete. In very similar
words, d’Escouchy describes the dual columns with woman and live lion. He also includes the
motto Egk adapts, “Ne touchez à ma dame.” 62
The Feast of the Pheasant was a pro-war propaganda event meant to promote a crusade
against the Turks who had taken Constantinople in 1453. Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy
and his knights took an oath on a live, bejeweled pheasant to deliver the Church (however, the
crusade never materialized). In addition to a live lion, the banquet featured an elephant, a trick
horse, a camel, a ship, a windmill, reenactments from the myth of Jason and the Golden Fleece,
hourd : surquoy estoit ataché, à une chaisne de fer, un Lyon vif, en signe d’estre garde, & deffence de cest image : &
contre son pillier estoit escrit, en lettres d’or en un targe, Ne touchez à ma Damme…. ”
61
Mike Spathaky, Old Style and New Style Dates and the change to the Gregorian Calendar: A summary for
genealogists, <http://www.cree.ie/genuki/dates.htm> (Accessed 10 December 2009). The Annunciation to the
Blessed Virgin Mary is regarded as the first event in the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, about which the Anno Domini
system is oriented.
62
Mathieu d’Escouchy, Chroniques. Volumes 10 and 11 of Collection des chroniques nationales Françaises by J.
A. Buchon, new ed. (Paris: Verdière Libraire and J. Carez, 1826): 11:98–99. “… Environ le milieu de la longueur
de la salle, assez près da la paroy, à la pointe de la longue table, estoit dressé un haut pillier sur lequel estoit eslevée
la statue d’une image de femme nue, excepté que se blonds cheveux la couvroient par derrière jusques aux reins ; et
sur son chef elle portoit un très riche chapeau ; et estoit enveloppée, comme pour mucer (cacher) ce qu’il
appartenoit, d’une serviette en manière de viole bien délié, et escrite en plusieurs lieux de lettres grégeoises
violettes, en for gentille façon ; et jettoit icelle image, par la mamelle dextre, de l’hypocras tant que le souper dura.
Auprès d’elle, en tirant contre le buffet, il y avoit un autre pillier, non pas si eslevé que celuy qui soustenoit la
susdite image, mais qui estoit un peu plus large, en manière d’un hourt (échaffand), sur lequel estoit attaché, à une
chaisne de fer, un fort beau lion tout vif, en signe d’estre le gardien et le deffenseur d’icelle image ; et contre son
pilier estoit escrit, en une targe de lettres d’or : Ne touchez à ma dame. ”
140
and music. Organ music and motets by Guillaume Dufay emanated from a model church large
enough to accommodate a small organ and choir. The sacred music, representing the sacred
nature of a crusade, was juxtaposed with secular music. The secular music comprised
instrumental music and chansons of Gilles Binchois by musicians from within a large pie or
pastry, representing the secular nature of the crusade. The Church was depicted as a grieving
lady, both in the painting under the guard of the lion and as a corporeal banquet participant.
Through poetry, she beseeched the assembled knights to crusade on her behalf and pledged to
bless them with both renown and spiritual benefit if they helped. 63 The Feast of the Pheasant,
therefore, provided Egk with the idea to set the stage as a “huge emblem with the figures of a
naked woman and a lion, who in his paws held a plaque with the inscription, ‘Ne touchez pas ma
Dame.’” 64
Influences of Fouquet and The Feast of the Pheasant in Joan von Zarissa
While Egk cited specific details from the Feast of the Pheasant that find their way into
Joan von Zarissa, he did not explain how Fouquet’s painting and miniatures influenced the work.
Egk’s stage directions at the beginning of the first tableau, the “Banquet of the Iron Duke,”
illustrate his overall concept of the setting:
A mighty double stair leads up from the left and the right to a second platform
above center stage. Above right and left, at the confluence of the stairs, two pillared
pedestals bear far larger-than-life figures, one with only a veiled woman and one a
gigantic lion facing her, who in his raised paws carries a tablet with the inscription: “Do
not touch my lady.” The background is filled by a coat-of-arms; over it waves a banner
with the words “Dieu et Foi [God and Faith].” The entire set has the effect of a huge
emblem, wherein the great steps should be sensed as an ornamental base for the coat-ofarms and the figures, its flanking bearers. In the middle of the stage directly under the
second platform between the two ascending stairs sit the Iron Duke and Isabeau, the
63
Arjo Vanderjagt, “The Princely Culture of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy” in Princes and Princely Culture 1450–
1650, eds. Martin Gosman, Alasdair MacDonald, Arjo Vanderjagt. Volume 1. (Leiden, the Netherlands:
Koninklijke Brill NV, 2003): 60–61. See also Agathe Lafortune-Martel, Fête noble en Bourgogne au XVe Siècle.
Le banquet du Faisan (1454): Aspects poltiiques, sociaux et culturels, (Montreal: Bellarmin and Paris: Vrin,
1984); La Marche, Olivier de, Les Memoires; and Mathieu D’Escouchy, Chroniques.
64
Egk, DZ, 321.
141
Duchess, with their court. On the upper platform, musicians and folk; in the space below,
the entourage. 65
The influence of the Feast of the Pheasant is unmistakable. There are the two pillars; the woman
shrouded, not with her own hair, but with a veil; the lion; and the motto, which Egk translates
into German, “Berühre meine Dame nicht.”
The influences of the Codex gallicus 6 are there as well. The double stairs Egk mentions
yield an overall lozenge shape to the set, just as the benches to either side of Charles VII create a
similar design in Fouquet’s Codex folio 2v miniature. Egk’s use of multiple tiers is also
foreshadowed by the miniature. In Egk’s rendering, the tiers, from top to bottom, may be
designated musicians and folk; duke and duchess; and entourage. In Fouquet’s painting, they are
occupied by king, court, and crowd. Egk merely moved the Feast of the Pheasant motto from the
lion’s pillar to the lion’s paws. This creates an image similar to that of the large winged stags on
either side of Fouquet’s miniature. There are two pairs, mirroring the large figures of woman
and lion, and in their hooves they hold emblems as Egk’s lion holds the motto. Egk never states
whether or not he knew that Charles d’Orléans was featured in Fouquet’s miniature; however,
his presence provides another link with Joan von Zarissa.
The influence of La Vierge on the ballet is rather more difficult to establish, although two
of the most obvious commonalities are color and period dress. Outside these, the gossamer veil
of the Virgin deserves note. The use of veils figures prominently in Joan von Zarissa: from the
opening set, to the veils draped on the Most Beautiful of the Captured Moorish Women, to
Isabeau’s mourning veils, which Joan removes as he seduces the duchess. In the final scene of
65
Egk, JvZ, original version, 14. “Eine mächtige Doppeltreppe führt im Mittelgrund der Bühne von rechts und von
links auf eine zweite Spielfläche. Rechts und links oben, bei der Einmündung der Treppe, tragen zwei
säulenförmige Sockel die weit überlebensgroßen Figuren einer nur mit einem Schleier verhüllten Frau und eines ihr
zugewandten riesigen Löwen, der in seinen erhobenen Pranken eine Tafel mit der Inschrift: „Berühre meine Dame
nicht“ trägt. Den Hintergrund füllt ein Wappen aus, über dem ein Spruchband mit den Worten „Dieu et Foi“
schwebt Die ganze Szene wirkt wie ein riesiges Emblem, wobei die große Treppe als ornamentale Basis des
Wappens und die Figuren als dessen flankierende Träger empfunden werden sollen. In der Mitte der Bühne
unmittelbar unter der zweiten Spielfläche zwischen den beiden Treppenaufgängen sitzen der Eiserne Herzog und
Isabeau, die Herzogin, mit ihrem Hofstaat. Auf der oberen Spielfläche Spielleute und Volk, im unteren Raum
Gefolge.”
142
the original ballet, the shrouded characters Isabeau and Florence hold the veil that reveals Joan’s
fate.
Collaboration with Josef Fenneker
At the beginning of May 1939 Egk began collaborating with Josef Fenneker on the set
design for Joan von Zarissa. Josef Fenneker was born in 1895 and was trained by painter and
lithographer Emil Orlik. From 1918 Fenneker was known for his film posters and oils; and from
the mid-1920s, for his artwork for various periodicals.66 Fenneker’s theater career began with
his set design and portraits of various characters for the Preußische Staatstheater’s production of
Shakespeare’s Othello in 1932. 67 From 1935 to 1938 he worked primarily for the Duisburg
Oper; from 1939, for various Berlin theaters; and thereafter, for theaters in various large
European cities. By the end of his career, Fenneker had designed some one hundred sixty
productions and a handful more for which he designed only costumes or theater posters. After
Joan von Zarissa, Fenneker designed seven additional productions of Egk works before 1954.
These included two later productions of Joan von Zarissa, for the Vienna Staatsoper in 1942 and
for the Frankfurt am Main Städtische Bühnen in 1953. Fenneker died in 1956, two years after
designing the last of his productions of Egk’s works, the opera Peer Gynt. 68
According to Egk, Fenneker was enthusiastic about basing the colors of the Joan von
Zarissa production on those of Fouquet and the stage design on the idea of “emblem,” or
heraldic device. 69 In a letter of 5 June 1939 to Josef Fenneker, Egk relayed the discovery of a
“treasure” key to understanding the visual elements of Joan von Zarissa. He wrote,
Dear Mr. Fenneker,
66
Harald Buhlan, “Josef Fenneker (1895–1956),” Unser Bocholt: Zeitschrift für Kultur und Heimatpflege 42, no 4
(1991), ed. Verein für Heimatpflege Bocholt e.V., 8.
67
Ibid., 13. Fenneker’s first theater work was for Hermann Haller’s 1928 revue Schön und Schick, but his work in
this production was limited.
68
Ibid., 39–42. Fenneker designed productions of Egk’s Joan von Zarissa (Vienna, 1942; Frankfurt am Main,
1953); Circe (Berlin, 1948); Abraxas (Berlin, 1949; Stockholm, 1951); Columbus: Bericht und Bildnis (Berlin,
1951); and Peer Gynt (Berlin, 1954).
69
Egk, DZ, 324. “Mit dem Bühnenbildner Josef Fenneker sprach ich zum ersten Mal Anfang mai und begeisterte
ihn durch die Vorstellung, die Farben auf Fouquet zu stellen und das Bild auf „Emblem“.”
143
I have just now discovered a true treasure for our work, that is also surely to be
found in the Berlin Staatsbibliothek, possibly even in the library of the Staatsoper:
Iconographie de l’art profan au moyen-age et la Renaissane par Raimond van Marle.
La Haye, Martinus Nijhoff 1932 (Publisher)
In this book you will easily find generally everything that has come down to us from the
time. Reproductions of tapestries, drawings, paintings, sculptures, etc. Also illustrations
of grandiosity [Prunk] and carriages [Triumphwagen], in short anything you could want.
I think it quite important that you see this work; I am very glad that I found it.
Incidentally, I have looked at the Codex Gallicus VI in the Munich Staatsbibliothek and
am convinced that one can’t even begin to gain a true perception of its colors from any
reproduction.
Perhaps you can yet come to Munich before beginning work. If you wish, I can
also write to the management [Generalintendanz] that it would be necessary that we meet
now and again after the production of the first sketches. Please write regarding this.
Most sincerely yours,
[Werner Egk] 70
70
Egk letter to Josef Fenneker, 5 June 1939, BSB Ana 410.
Lieber Herr Fenneker! [Written in pencil:] Berlin
Eben habe ich für unsere Arbeit einen wahren Schatz entdeckt, der sicher auch in der Berliner
Staatsbibliothek, möglicherweise sogar in der Bibliothek der Staatsoper zu finden ist:
Iconographie de l’art profane au moyen-age et a la Renaissance par Raimond van Marle.
La Haye, Martinus Nijhoff 1932. (Verlag)
Sie finden in diesem Buch einfach alles was uns aus der Zeit überhaupt erhalten ist, Reproduktionen von Gobelins,
Zeichnungen, Bildern, Plastiken etc. Auch Abbildungen von Prunk und Triumphwagen, kurz was Sie überhaupt
wollen.
Ich halte es für wirklich wesentlich, dass Sie dieses Werk ansehen, ich freue mich sehr, dass ich es
gefunden habe. Übrigens habe ich den Codex Gallicus VI in der Münchner Staatsbibliothek angesehen und mich
überzeugt, dass man von keiner Reproduktion auch nur annähernd eine richtige Farbvorstellung bekommen kann.
Vielleicht können Sie doch noch vor Beginn der Arbeit nach München kommen. Wenn Sie wollen
schreibe ich auch an die Generalintendanz, dass es notwendig wäre, dass wir uns jetzt und nochmals nach
Anfertigung der ersten Skizzen besprechen. Bitte schreiben Sie mir darüber.
Herzlichst Ihr:
144
It remains uncertain whether Fenneker obtained van Marle’s Iconographie; however, he did
travel to Munich to look at the Codex gallicus 6.
In the Josef Fenneker bequest at the Stadtmuseum Bocholt, two sheets of letterhead from
the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten (Four Seasons Hotel) in Munich are covered, front and back, with
sketches Fenneker made from the illuminations in Codex gallicus 6. On other sheets, Fenneker
outlined more of Fouquet’s illuminations, making a total of nine sketches. These are reproduced,
along with the original Codex gallicus 6 miniatures, in the following figures.
Figure 3.14. Codex gallicus 6, folio 56r and Fenneker’s sketch of the same.
Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Codex gallicus 6; Bocholt, Stadtmuseum Bocholt,
Fenneker-Nachlaß, 89/4908v. Reproduced by permission.
The miniature reproduced as Figure 3.14 depicts the death of Dido, founder and first queen of
Carthage, according to two different traditions, one of death by self-immolation, the other, by her
own sword. 71 The handwritten notes in Fenneker’s sketch are references to the colors of the
The tome to which Egk refers is Raimond van Marle, Iconographie de l’art profane au Moyen-Age et a la
Renaissance et la décoration des demeures, La Haye: Martinus Nijhoff. Vol. 1: La vie quotidienne. Avec 4
planches en héliotypie et 523 illustrations, 1931. Vol. 2: Allégories et symboles. Avec 6 planches en héliotypie et
524 illustrations, 1932. Egk’s statement also reinforces the importance of color mentioned previously in
conjunction with La Vierge.
71
Durrieu, Le Boccace de Munich, I:67.
145
original. At the upper left, for example, Fenneker’s handwriting read “blauer Himmel,” blue
sky. He also makes note of the gold at the top of the tower and the gray stone of the base of the
tower. 72
The right panel of another miniature (see Figure 3.15) depicts the self-indulgent king of Assyria
Sardanapalus, in the midst of his female courtiers. (Notice that the lady to the king’s left holds
her hand in a suggestive, perhaps even possessive, position between the king’s legs.) The
background in the upper left quadrant of the miniature depicts Sardanpalus’s death. To avoid
capture by his enemies, Sardanpalus immolates himself atop his worldly belongings. 73 This
miniature gives an impression of the decadence of court culture often cited in descriptions of
Joan von Zarissa.
72
Unfortunately, Fenneker’s handwriting is very difficult to decipher. His note of the gold at the top of the tower
includes additional information, “mit [blau?]” (with [blue?]), as does his note of the gray (grau); however, these
additional glosses are practically illegible.
73
Durrieu, Le Boccace de Munich, I:68–69.
146
Fenneker-Nachlaß, 89/4908r. Reproduced by permission.
In the miniature reproduced in Figure 3.16 Fouquet juxtaposes the stories of three kings:
Sennacherib of Assyria, Amaziah of Judah, and Uzziah of Judah. In the lower left quadrant,
Sennacherib is murdered in the temple by his two sons. In the background, Amaziah is murdered
in a public square. In the right half of the miniature, King Uzziah, offers incense to the Lord, a
ritual reserved for priests only. For his transgression, Uzziah was struck with leprosy. 74 As was
the case with the gossamer veils of the Blessed Virgin Mary in La vierge, Fouquet captures the
translucence of the rising incense in this miniature.
74
147
Fenneker-Nachlaß, 89/4908r. Reproduced by permission.
Another miniature (see Figure 3.17) depicts the story of Astyages, the last king of the Median
Empire. The right half of the miniature depicts Mandane, daughter of Astyages, having given
birth to Cyrus. Astyages was warned in dreams that Cyrus would overthrow him and ordered
him to be killed. Harpagus takes the newborn to Mitradates, whose wife raised Cyrus as her
own. The lower left quadrant showcases a dog suckling young Cyrus alongside a reflective pool
and defending him against a peasant who wishes to recapture the boy. In the background,
Astyages exacts revenge on Harpagus for not killing Cyrus, feeding Harpagus the flesh of
Harpagus’s own son. 75
75
Durrieu, Le Boccace de Munich, I:70–71.
148
On the left side of this miniature (see Figure 3.18), Tullia, wife of Roman emperor Lucius
Tanquinius Superbus, or “Tarquin the Proud,” rides her chariot over the body of her father,
murdered by her and her husband and left in a Roman street. On the right, Lucretia commits
suicide after her rape by Sextus Tarquinius, son of Tullia and Tarquin the Proud. Lucretia’s rape
and suicide led to the overthrow of the Roman monarchy in 510 BCE. 76 Fenneker seems
unconcerned with the story illustrated by this miniature, since he omits all of the people in his
sketch. He does, however, carefully reproduce Fouquet’s architecture, with the exception of the
misplacement of the castle in the upper right of the miniature relative to the outline of the
miniature itself. Fenneker would mimic this miniature in his reproduction of a city seen from a
window in his set design for Joan von Zarissa.
76
149
The miniature reproduced in Figure 3.19 illustrates the story of Xerxes, king of Persia (r. 485–
465 BCE). Two onlookers in the lower central portion of the miniature gaze on Leonides, king
of Sparta, surprising Xerxes’s camp during the night in the Pass of Thermopylae. Xerxes,
highlighted in gold, exits the battle to the left of the miniature. In the background, the onlookers
see the naval Battle of Salamis “on another coast,” during which the Persian fleet was decimated.
Within the Corinthian-columned edifice to the right of the miniature, we see the murder of
Xerxes by his own captain of the guard Artabanus, fifteen years later. 77 The style of the ships in
the background would later serve as a model for Fenneker’s design of the Odyssean drop scene
for the set of Joan von Zarissa.
77
150
Figure 3.20. Codex gallicus 6, folio 115v and Fenneker’s sketch of the same.
In another miniature (see Figure 3.20), Fouquet depicts the gruesome death of Hanno the Great
of Carthage. The Carthaginians stripped Hanno, beat him with clubs, lacerated him, and broke
his legs before finally beheading him. Here Fouquet juxtaposes a sea populated with ships,
described by Durrieu as “a very French aspect,” with a building featuring a sphere-capped dome,
revealing Fouquet’s research of eastern architecture. 78 As with the miniature on folio 86r (see
Figure 3.18), the city scene in the background of this miniature would serve as Fenneker’s
inspiration for the set design for Joan von Zarissa.
78
Durrieu, Le Boccace de Munich, I:77. According to Durrieu, Hanno the Great was put to death in 350 BCE.
151
The miniature reproduced in Figure 3.21 depicts the siege of Rome by the Gauls, during which
Marcus Manlius Capitolinus, highlighted in gold, was awakened by the honking of sacred geese.
He rushed to the walls of the citadel atop the Capitol and turned back the first attackers. In the
background to the left, Marcus Manlius Capitolinus is thrown from the Tarpeian Rock, subjected
to a shameful death after he was condemned for trying to usurp power. Here again, Fenneker
seems more concerned with architecture than the narrative illustrated and sketches the people
only as rough shapes. Durrieu explains that Fouquet errs in having the Tiber flow around the
base of the Capitol; however, Premierfait’s text specifies that both that the Gauls and Marcus
Manlius Capitolinus ended up in the Tiber.79 Again the vista encompassing the city would find
itself into Joan von Zarissa.
79
152
Figure 3.22. Fenneker’s sketch of Codex gallicus 6, folio 2v.
Bocholt, Stadtmuseum Bocholt, Fenneker-Nachlaß, 89/4911. Reproduced by permission.
153
Fenneker sketched only the basic elements of Codex gallicus 6 folio 2v; however, he captured the
salient features of the Fouquet miniature: the lozenge design, the winged stags and shield, the
general outlines of the costumes, and the canopied dais on which Charles sits (see Figure 3.22).
In the upper left corner of the drawing, Fenneker includes the border that surrounds the whole of
the miniature. He also includes two other features not present in this miniature. The column at
the upper right of the sketch either occurs elsewhere in the codex or was newly created by
Fenneker. The decorative filigree at the bottom left of the sketch is the border that frames the
text of the codex.
Through the work of Josef Fenneker, the artwork of Fouquet finds its way into Joan von
Zarissa. Alongside Codex gallicus 6, Fenneker had Egk’s stage directions, his distillation of the
Feast of the Pheasant. While he was sketching his copies of the illuminations of the Codex
gallicus 6, Fenneker was formulating the set design for Joan von Zarissa. The sketch shown in
Figure 3.23 is found on the same Four Seasons Hotel letterhead referenced earlier. The upper
portion of the sketch represents a frontal view. The lower portion is a view from above. A small
scale diagram is found within the lozenge of the lower diagram.
154
Figure 3.23. An initial sketch for Joan von Zarissa by Fenneker.
Bocholt, Stadtmuseum Bocholt, Fenneker-Nachlaß, 89/4941v. Reproduced by permission.
155
The amalgam of Egk’s directions, the artwork of Jean Fouquet, and Raimond van Marle’s
Iconographie, which will be discussed, led Fenneker ultimately to the following stage design for
Joan von Zarissa (see Figure 3.24)
156
157
Figure 3.24. Fenneker’s rendering of the stage design for Joan von Zarissa.
The lozenge design of Codex gallicus 6 folio 2v is the central construction in Fenneker’s sketch.
It cordons off two thrones at the back of the space created by the stairs and upper platform.
Isabeau stands on the right stair, gazing up at Egk’s heraldic emblem, which features the lion,
lady, and coat of arms. One change is evident in Fenneker’s sketch: the motto Egk specifies in
the original piano score. Fenneker changes the motto from “Dieu et Foi” (God and Faith) to
“Dieu et Feu,” “God and Ardor.”
Fenneker’s design for the Odyssean drop scene (see Figure 3.25) is similarly fashioned
and complements the stage design.
158
159
Figure 3.25. Fenneker’s rendering of the drop scene for Joan von Zarissa.
The figures of the sirens mimic the figure of the lady of the emblem. The design of Odysseus’s
ship parallels those of Codex gallicus 6 folio 98r.
Raimond van Marle’s Iconographie de l’art profane au moyen-age et a la Renaissance
In his letter to Fenneker, Egk described what a “treasure” van Marle’s Iconographie was,
a compendium of images and information from the time in which Egk set Joan von Zarissa. 80
While it remains unclear whether Fenneker consulted the work, Egk certainly did. Though he
does not credit specific images from van Marle as inspiration for Joan von Zarissa, several
images in Iconographie find their way into his work.
At the outset of the Dance of Captured Moorish Women in the first tableau, Egk specifies
two vivid images: “beastly hairy savages” and a large peacock out of which the Most Beautiful
steps. Van Marle’s Iconographie contains the image of a “Savage Man” (Figure 3.26):
Figure 3.26. Van Marle, Fig. 179, Savage man. Van Marle, Iconographie 1:191. Public
domain.
80
Egk to Fenneker, 5 June 1939. See above.
160
This is not van Marle’s only image of such a personage; three similar depictions appear in the
“Nature” portion of the first volume. As in this drawing, the savages are covered in hair from
head to toe. The latter image, the peacock, also features prominently in van Marle’s collections
of forest images, along with fantastic creatures including chimeras, unicorns, leopards, bears, and
dragons. Egk draws inspiration from this inventory for the antagonist in the Pantomime of the
third tableau, a fire-breathing monster variously depicted as a lion or dragon. 81
Egk incorporates another dimension that figures prominently in Iconographie, that of
allegory. The entire second volume of van Marle’s work is dedicated to allegorical figures
ranging from philosophical allegories (e.g., virtues and vices) to scientific allegories (e.g., the
elements), to political and social allegories (e.g., personifications of lands or cities), to love, to
death. Such allegories also figure prominently in the Prolog and Epilog of Joan von Zarissa;
Egk sets the speaker in the midst of them. The image of death, specifically that of “Death
triumphant,” which van Marle includes, appears to serve as impetus for Egk’s treatment of the
original “Apparitions” scene (see Figure 3.27).
81
The Berlin program clearly states this creature is a lion. In Paris, the creature was a dragon.
161
Figure 3.27. Van Marle, Fig. 416, Death triumphant. Van Marle, Iconographie, 2:382. Public
domain.
Here, the figure of Death Triumphant, to whom the Iron Duke is analogous, is flanked by two
smaller skeletons, parallels of the dead Florence and Isabeau. The three stand on a raised
platform and a king, to whom the usurper “Duke” Joan is equivalent, is at their feet, along with
other nobles. Above all waves a furling banner. This banner is akin to the grey cloth of the
“Apparitions” scene, which Isabeau and Florence lower to reveal the Iron Duke, Death
triumphant over Joan.
In addition to these sources, oblique references point to two other influences on Egk. In
the 12-Uhr Blatt of 19 January 1940, an anonymous writer explained,
Egk discovered the decisive impetus for this work that relocates the Don Juan material to
the troubadour age of the 15th century in front of the picture of the Madonna by Fouquet
at a visiting exhibition in Antwerp. He traveled home to Munich, deeply influenced by
the vitality and shocking colorfulness of this painting. He found only two old codices
162
that were splendidly illustrated by Fouquet, one in the Breslau University library and the
Codex gallicus VI in the Munich Staatsbibliothek. The Staatsoper has just allowed the
release of a special publication in which the matter, contents, and origin of the Ballet
Joan von Zarissa will be reported in detail. 82
While the Breslau codex and the Staatsoper special publication might illuminate Egk’s
motivation for his reworking of the Don Juan story, neither has been located at this time.
Werner Egk’s Die Historie vom Ritter Don Juan aus Barcelona
One other precursor to Joan von Zarissa bears examination as an influence on the
ballet—Egk’s own earlier setting of the Don Juan saga, his 1932 Ritter Don Juan aus
Barcelona. 83 The Dies irae features prominently in the final scene of Ritter Don Juan, just as it
does in the final scene of the revised version of Joan von Zarissa, the revised version. In Ritter
Don Juan, the choir sings the chant to comment on the action as Don Pedro announces to Don
Juan, “Prepare to die!” An excerpt is provided in Example 3.1:
82
Das 12 Uhr-Blatt, Berlin 17, 19 January 1940. “Den entscheidenden Anstoß zu dieser Arbeit, die den Don-Juan-
Stoff in die Troubadourzeit des 15. Jahrhunderts verlegt, empfing Egk bei einem Gastspiel in Antwerpen vor dem
Bilde einer Madonna von Fouquet. Er fuhr heim nach München, von der Lebenskraft und prallen Farbigkeit dieses
Bildes tief beeindruckt, und forschte nach weiteren Bildern Fouquets. Er fand nur zwei alte Codices, die von
Fouquet prachtvoll illustriert waren: einen in der Breslauer Universitätsbibliothek und den Codex Gallicus VI in der
Münchener Staatsbibliothek. Die Staatsoper hat soeben ein illustriertes Sonderheft erscheinen lassen, in dem über
Stoff, Inhalt und Entstehung des Balletts „Joan von Zarissa“ eingehend berichtet wird.”
Breslau is present-day Wrocław, Poland; then, part of the German Reich.
83
For a discussion of the plot of this work, please see Chapter 2.
163
Example 3.1. Die Historie vom Ritter Don Juan Aus Barcelona (1932), Finale. (Bayerische
Staatsbibliothek, Trésor Mus. Mss. 11907.)
164
The outside-observer perspective of the choir is the same in Joan von Zarissa. The text it sings
is not part of the libretto, but it offers insight into and interpretation of the action, as does the
chorus in Greek tragedy.
Egk did not leave Ritter Don Juan a total tragedy. He included a sort of epilogue, though
not as developed as the one that concludes Joan von Zarissa. As the Spirit of Don Pedro drags
Don Juan off to Hell, Kaspar is elated to realize,
Slow down a bit! Is today already looking up? Ah! Aha, this wasn’t bad! Such a
catastrophe! Now the demons have left with my lord, and I didn’t go with the corpse.
But this is not a total tragedy, because now I’ve profited. I now have all the money!
Now I can properly wet my dry gullet! Musicians, strike up! 84
Kaspar and the choir join together for a finale that is accompanied by English horn, brass,
timpani, and organ. Like the Triumph of True Love finale in Joan von Zarissa, this finale also
dispels the somber mood of what just preceded it. Kaspar and the choir alternate, singing the
following text four times:
Jetz is aus, jetz is aus, jetz is aus,
Now it’s done, now it’s done, now it’s done,
Der Kasperl geht nach Haus.
Kasperl is going home.
Das Bett is a scho gmacht,
The bed is already made,
Gutnacht, Gutnacht, Gutnacht!
Good night, good night, good night! 85
The tragedy of his master’s fate is forgotten as Kaspar settles into a warm bed, at least a little bit
inebriated.
When composing Joan von Zarissa, Egk returned to his earlier iteration of the Don Juan
saga, Die Historie vom Ritter Don Juan aus Barcelona for inspiration. Or at least, some of the
elements introduced in the earlier work find their way into the later one. Ritter Don Juan is an
adaptation of the story to a foreign setting and culture, from cultured Seville to a rustic south
84
Ibid. Text portion, 7. “Langsam a wengerl! Ist heut schon der Aufwärtstag? Ah! Aha, des war nit schlecht! A
so a Malör! Jetzt sind die Teufel mit meinem Herrn abgefahren und i bin net amal mit der Leich gangn. Aber das
ist noch alleweil einen Hetz, weil i jetzt profitiert hab. Das ganze Geld hab jetzt i! Jetzt kann ich meine trockene
Gurgel ordentlich nass machen. Musikanten, spielts auf!”
85
BSB, Trésor Mus. Mss. 11907, 22 ff.
165
German forest. In Joan von Zarissa, the Don Juan figure is transported to a fifteenth-century
Burgundian court. Die Historie vom Ritter Don Juan aus Barcelona ends with an jaunty choral
finale that dissolves the foregoing tragedy, as does the original Joan von Zarissa. Like the
revised Joan von Zarissa, the Dies irae features prominently in the finale. These are elements of
the earlier work that are clearly identifiable in the later Joan von Zarissa. The only necessary
qualification concerns the use of the Dies irae. In Die Zeit wartet nicht Egk identifies the chant
as an important element in the dichotomous nature of the ballet:
Joan’s undoing, the end of an insatiable anarchic existence by the sardonically contritionimbued visions, with the sound of the Dies irae and bell peals is Christian, just as his
origins are heathen. 86
The Dies irae does not appear in the original version, but rather only in the revised version.
86
Egk, DZ, 323. “Joans Untergang, das Ende einer unersättlich zügellosen Existenz mit den von Reue bitter
getränkten Vision, mit DIES IRAE-Klängen und Glockengeläute ist christlich, wie sein Ursprung heidnisch ist.”
166
CHAPTER FOUR
THE GENRE OF JOAN VON ZARISSA
While knowing the genesis of Joan von Zarissa helps to explain Werner Egk’s
inspiration and models for the work, it does not clarify exactly what kind of work Joan von
Zarissa is. Despite the predominance of dance, the work is not a ballet; instead, Joan von
Zarissa is an example of New German Dance, a species of modern dance that increasingly grew
in importance from the Weimar Era through the National Socialist period. New German Dance
as championed by Rudolf von Laban was itself an extension of the Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk,
and Joan von Zarissa can likewise be viewed as such. In creating a work of New German
Dance, Werner Egk invoked historical German models, thereby currying favor with those in
power and practically ensuring the success of Joan von Zarissa, despite the tumultuous milieu in
which dance found itself in the New Germany.
Joan von Zarissa as New German Dance
Egk labeled Joan von Zarissa a dramatische Tanzdichtung, a “dramatic dance-poem.”
The work comprises dance, spoken and sung texts, and music. Joan von Zarissa was not
conceived of as a classical ballet, nor was it received as such at its performances within the
Reich. In his review for the Berliner Zeitung am Mittag, Josef Rufer distinguished Joan von
Zarissa from the works with which it premiered, a Ballet-Suite to the music of Max Reger and F.
H. Heddenhausen’s Tanz ums Dorf (Dance around the Village). In the Reger work, “classical
dance reigned,” with its point-work, pirouettes, and “historical armory of devices.” Tanz ums
Dorf was, on the other hand, a rustic grotesque dance characterized by a “bawdy coquettish play”
of two waitresses and the innkeeper. Egk’s Joan von Zarissa was different. Rufer explained,
Egk’s dramatic dance poem absolutely required the employment of all registers of
ultimate theater-dance: ceremonial exhibition dances with their pictorial unity, closed
soloist-type dance numbers of distinct character and (analogous to the function of arioso
and recitative in opera) broadly played-out pantomimic scenes—resulting in contrasts, in
167
which Tietjen, as producer and director of the whole, coordinated and dramatically
interpreted the plastically carved atmosphere of the work. 1
The dance of Joan von Zarissa, then, was different from classical ballet. Rufer clearly
distinguished between the Reger work where “classical dance reigned” and Joan von Zarissa, the
ultimate in “theater dance.” It was instead representative of New German Dance, alternately
known as Ausdruckstanz, or modern “expressive dance.” 2 New German Dance was an attempt
to develop a dance that exemplified the Weltanschauung of the New Germany and was capable
of fostering Volksgemeinschaft. Rufer’s other reference, to a rustic dance, marks the third wellknown dance type in National Socialist Germany, folkdance. In the realm of art dance, or dance
for the theater, folkdance played little part. Ballet and New German Dance were the polar types,
and the latter had sought to supplant the former for some time.
New German Dance and ballet had been competing with one another since the early
twentieth century. The work of the Ballets russes and Ballet suédois reinvigorated ballet from
within in the 1910s. From the eighteenth century, France had dominated ballet. This did not
prevent its dissemination to Germany. In fact, Germany was quite a logical place for ballet to
1
Berliner Zeitung am Mittag 19, 22 January 1940. “Zuerst, in Regers „Ballett-Suite“, regierte der klassische
Ballett-Tanz. Ob Reger mit seiner Bezeichnung wirklich an Fußspitzentriller, Pirouetten und das übrige artistische
Rüstzeug dieser Tanzgattung gedacht hat, bleibe dahingestellt. Jedenfalls versuchte Lizzie Maudrik die historisch
gegebenen choreographische Ballettformeln dem vielfältig wechselnden Charakter dieser – wohl tänzerischen, aber
nicht eigentlich tanzbaren – Musik soweit als nur möglich anzupassen. Die Damen Michaelis, Schink, die Herren
Jahnke und Blank waren ihr dabei, neben dem übrigen Ensemble, wesentliche Helfer.
Der „Tanz ums Dorf“ führte dann in die völlig andersartige Sphäre des hier vom bäuerlichen Milieu
bestimmten Grotesktanzes. Die via comica von Ilse Meudtner, das derbkokette Spiel zweier Kellnerinnen (Golli
Caspar, Manon Ehrfur) mit dem Wirt (Michael Piel) und das zärtliche Liebespaar (Regina Gallo, Rolf Jahnke)
seien als charakterische Beispiele herausgegriffen.
Egks dramatische Tanzdichtung schließlich verlangte den Einsaß aller Register des Theatertanzes
schlechthin: feierlich schreitende Schautänze mit ihrer bildhaften Gebundenheit, geschlossene Tänze solistischer
Art von ausgeprägtem Charakter und (der Funktion von Arioso und Rezitativo in der Oper entsprechend) breit
ausgespielte pantomimische Szenen – das ergab Kontraste, die Tietjen als Inszenierender und Spielleiter des Ganzen
plastisch herausarbeitete Atmosphäre des Werkes abstimmte und dramatisch auswertete.” Emphasis in original.
2
This should not be confused with anything expressionistic, exemplified in a National Socialistic context by the
work of Arnold Schönberg in music and art, Wassily Kandinsky in art. The National Socialist regime found such
works distasteful and condemned them as entartete, “degenerate.” See Chapter 2.
168
find an audience. In the eighteenth century, French court culture invaded Prussia. Frederick the
Great’s plans for Sanssoucci include notes in French, and French was the language of the
Prussian court. The concept of a unified German identity did not emerge until 1871, after the
defeat of the French by a unified German force in the Franco-Prussian war. By the early
twentieth century, German ballet had organized itself into a network of schools founded on
systematic training according to classic movements and principles.
Enter modern dance. At the turn of the twentieth century, American Isadora Duncan had
moved to Europe and declared the liberation of the human body, with its natural groundedness,
contrary to the balletic illusion of lightness. In Weimar Era Germany, Rudolf von Laban and his
pupil Mary Wigman had done the same. Laban and Wigman would become the two contenders
for leadership of the German modern dance movement, and their primary foci would serve as the
labels of their dance schools: “New German” versus “Absolute.” Because modern dance did not
enjoy the educational infrastructure that ballet did, initial attempts to organize modern dance
were fruitless.
Egk’s associations with modern dance date from 1935 and 1936 and his work for the
Berlin Olympics. In tracing the trajectory of dance in Germany from 1933 through 1936,
numerous persons arise who would come to have close associations not only with Werner Egk
but more specifically with Joan von Zarissa itself. Chief among them, at least for a while, was
Rudolf von Laban, who through the skillful negotiation of National Socialist bureaucracy readied
himself to usher New German Dance onto the global stage of the 1936 Olympics. Before he
could do this, however, the caprice of Hitler himself ended Laban’s career in Germany. Egk’s
Joan von Zarissa is rooted in this tumultuous time, when Egk made the acquaintance of various
persons associated with New German Dance.
Joan von Zarissa appeared after New German Dance had in essence danced its last. By
1941 the work of Laban would be all but undone and dramatic dance outlawed completely by
Reich Minister for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda Josef Goebbels. Despite this tumult,
or perhaps thanks to it, Joan von Zarissa triumphed inside and outside Germany. The tangle of
competing dance movements, National Socialist bureaucracy, and the caprice of key National
Socialists, from desk clerks to the Führer himself, created a framework that initially supported
Egk’s efforts, later nearly undid them completely, and ultimately anointed Joan von Zarissa as a
quintessential German dance work.
169
Modern Dance in National Socialist Germany
Historical Antecedents
Rudolf von Laban and Mary Wigman were not the only German proponents of the
revolution in dance proclaimed by Isadora Duncan. In Weimar era Germany, numerous
experiments in modern dance took place. The Russian-born dancer Lilian Karina, a student of
Victor Gsovsky, the Ballet Master of the Berliner Staatsoper, enumerates various different
schools. Among the first was the early twentieth-century System of Applied Aesthetics of
Frenchman François Delsarte. This system became immensely popular in America and returned
to Europe via Delsarte’s protégé Steele McKaye and dancer Ted Shawn. There, it influenced
Isadora Duncan. Also important were Rudolf Steiner’s artistic movement system, Eurhythmie
and Emile-Jaques Dalcroze’s similarly-named system of translating music into movement,
Eurhythmics. 3 These systems sought a liberation of the artistic movement of the body outside
the carefully prescribed system of ballet. Similar efforts were made by the schools of Bess
Mensendieck, Hedwig Kallmayer, Gustav Joachim Fischer, and Jutta Klamt, as well as the noted
schools of Carl Orff and Dorothea Günther in Berlin and Munich. 4
In the liberal atmosphere of 1920s Germany, the New German Dance movement asserted
itself as the “true ‘art-dance’” free from the “drill or acrobatic exercise” of ballet. During a 1928
Dancer-Congress (Tänzerkongress) in Essen, three representatives of New German Dance,
Rudolf von Laban, Mary Wigman, and Kurt Jooss, the founder of the Folkwang School in Essen,
comprised a radical triumvirate of dance. Wigman’s exposition on “absolute dance,” that
governed by movement only and not intended for the theater, was the most radical. Laban put
forward the “choric artwork” (das chorische Kunstwerk), a Wagnerian concept based on
community dance wherein the dance celebrated the ideals and spirit of the community from
which the dancers came. This dance would come to bridge the gap between art and society and
ultimately occur in dance temples specially designed for to this communal activity. Both
Wigman and Laban sought the liberation of dance from professionals in the theater; dance was to
3
Lilian Karina and Marion Kant, Hitler’s Dancers, trans. Jonathan Steinberg (New York, Berghahn Books, 2003):
14. Dalcroze is described by Karina as an important school, but she gives credit for developing eurhythmics to
Steiner.
4
Ibid.
170
be a natural activity of everyman. Kurt Jooss advocated a via media, a Dance Theater
(Tanztheater) large enough to encompass Wigman’s absolute dance, but that retained the
institution of the theater, “a historically-grown organization” with, not against, which it was
necessary to work. 5
Dance under National Socialism
In the years after the Essen conference and during the rise of National Socialism, the
uniquely German aspects of New German Dance became the primary focus of the discussion of
the reinvention of dance in Germany. 6 Ballet displayed an international character, an amalgam
of a century of French, Italian, and Russian contributions to the art. From 1929, Mary Wigman
attacked ballet in a volley of articles culminating in her book The German Art of Dance
(Deutsche Tanzkunst), an opening charge that Gustav Joachim Fischer Klamt and others later
joined. Ballet, they argued, emerged from “the Latin and romance cultural traditions and was
therefore un-German and antithetical to the German character.” 7 When the New Germany
awoke on 30 January 1933, it required its own dance, not that of France, nor of an international
conglomeration. 8 In 1934, Dorothee Günther called for greater unity of music and dance in the
pages of Die Musik, a publication of the National Socialist Cultural Community (NationalSozialistische Kulturgemeinde), headed by Alfred Rosenberg. Rosenberg jockeyed with Josef
Goebbels for position as cultural leader of the New Germany in the early days of the regime. In
the course of her article, Günther contextualized French dance in Germany, both culturally and
chronologically, pointing out that
With the invasion of French forms [in the eighteenth century], the German dance
convention, along with the German language, disappeared from society and peasant
5
Ibid., 89–90.
6
Ibid.
7
Ibid., 95.
8
The term “New Germany” refers to the Germany of 30 January 1933, when Adolf Hitler was elected chancellor,
paving the way for the National Socialist takeover of power. The verb in this statement comes from the slogan
Deutschland erwache!, “Germany, awake!” The slogan originated as a refrain in Dietrich Eckhart’s poem
“Feuerjo,” later known as the “Sturmlied,” made public during the first Reichsparteitag (annual party-day for the
NSDAP) on January 26, 1923. This slogan was also emblazoned on SA standards. For additional information, see
Cornelia Schmitz-Berning, Vokabular des Nationalsozialismus, s.v. “Deutschland erwache!”
171
circles. The stage cultivated only ballet; old German exhibition dance was discounted as
old-fashioned or even unrefined and coarse. So the German dance became ever rarer;
today it is to be found only in very specific forms as a folkdance in a few districts. A few
trade guild dances preserve themselves only like a reliquary, and the societal dance forms
or exhibition dance forms are altogether forgotten and lost.
The French dance style will never live in the proper sense in German people. In
the eyes of the creators [(Urhebervolkes)] of these dances, these forms will always be
danced poorly by us in society as on stage. Great art-dancers of this style have not arisen
from the Germans.
But when a people [(Volk)] for 150 years have cultivated an art of dance that
contravenes its character, that does not lie within its type, it is no wonder that that people
act in an un-dance-like manner and the capability for dance as well as the natural sense of
movement expires.
When we wish to find the dance-like person among the Germans, we must seek
him in an epoch in which he danced in a style appropriate to him. 9
Günther makes a clear delineation between “the French dance style,” more properly international
ballet, and German folkdance, a dance innate to the German people. New German Dance would
be the new incarnation of a truly German dance.
9
Dorothee Günther, “Brauchen wir eine stärkere Einheit von Musik und Tanz?” Die Musik 27, no. 2 (November
1934): 95–100. “Mit dem Einbruch französischer Formen schwand mit der deutschen Sprache auch die deutsche
Tanzsitte aus Gesellschafts- und Bürgerkreisen. Die Bühne pflegte nur Ballett, alter deutscher Schautanz galt als
altmodisch oder gar für unfein und grob. So wurde der deutsche Tanz immer seltener; er ist heute nur noch in ganz
bestimmten Formen in einigen Landstrichen als Volkstanz zu finden. Wenige Zunfttänze erheilten sich nur wie eine
Reliquie, und die Gesellschaftstanzformen oder Schautanzformen sind gänzlich vergessen und untergegangen.
Der französische Tanzstil wurde nie im eigentlichen Sinne lebendig im deutschen Menschen. Diese
Formen wurden in der Gesellschaft wie auf der Bühne, in den Augen des Urhebervolkes dieser Tänze, von uns
immer schlecht getanzt. Große Kunsttänzer dieses Stils sind aus den Deutschen nicht hervorgegangen.
Wenn ein Volk aber etwa 150 Jahre eine Tanzkunst pflegt, die seinem Wesen widerspricht, die seinem Typ
nicht liegt, ist es kein Wunder, wenn das Volk untänzerisch wirkt und das Tanzvermögen sowie das natürliche
Bewegungsgefühl erlischt.
Wenn wir den tänzerischen Menschen im Deutschen wiederfinden wollen, müssen wir ihn in einer Epoche
suchen, da er noch in einer ihm entsprechenden Art tanzte.”
172
After the National Socialist assumption of power, the discussion of dance as German
underwent a tectonic shift. As opposed to the German-International dichotomy Günther argued,
the distinction became one of German versus Jewish. With the promulgation of the
Arierparagraph (“Aryan Paragraph’) of 7 April 1933, just over two months after Hitler was
elected Chancellor, the exclusion of Jews from all arenas of work and public life began. All
persons were required to submit Ariernachweise or Nachweise arischer Abstammung, proof of
their Aryan lineage. Many within the dance community embraced New German Dance, making
places for themselves within the cultural life of the nation, often enjoying the positions recently
vacated by Jewish and part-Jewish dancers.
In a celebration of the sudden importance of New German Dance as a vehicle of racial
and national pride, many dance schools in Germany rushed to embrace the racist philosophy of
National Socialism. Dance historian Marion Kant refers to this behavior as “self-Nazification,”
where the dance community, though not required to do so by the state or Reich Culture Chamber
“fell over themselves in proving what enthusiastic Nazis they had all become.” 10 Whether or not
the dancers had indeed embraced the tenets of National Socialism is a moot point. In ostensibly
doing so, or professing to have done so, they could make places for their art within the strictures
of National Socialism.
Gustav-Joachim Fischer-Klamt is exemplary of this self-Nazification. Writing in 1939,
he stated,
The exclusion of foreign-race [(fremdrassig)] elements (of Jewish dancers as well as
Jewish “critics”) is to be regarded as one of the substantive successes [of National
Socialist cultural politics]. In the process, the elimination of Jewish critics, who
influenced the whole of public opinion, was by far of greater import. He [the Jewish
critic] controlled, that is to say, the entire German dance; exercised influence in
association leadership; set up measures of value and took care to put down that which is
characteristic of the German Volk as substandard; against which the foreign-race rejoiced
in a more-than-benevolent care.
The second fundamental success, Fischer-Klamt explained, was the “rescue of the whole dance
movement from the hegemony of individualistic trends.” He continued,
10
Karina and Kant, Hitler’s Dancers, 91.
173
These two counterfoils—abolition of the Jewish domination in the area of dance,
elimination of the liberal dynasties with their claims to power—are the two forward
engagements of the National Socialistic order.
As long as each holds to his own ideology, no uniformity of dance activity is to be
accomplished.
Those who do not persist in the old ideology must be won over for the challenge
of the großdeutsche dance concept! We do not wish to battle against the people, but the
ideology. This is the third great challenge of the newly-gained platform. It is a concern
of the National Socialist cultural leadership to win over the proponents of foreign
ideologies to the großdeutsch dance concept. We do not wish to quash this or that dance
form. That is not possible. We wish to see, however, that the representatives of the
separate forms recognize that they themselves are tied in old historical bonds, formed in
foreign ideology; that they must see it their duty to develop a German dance proceeding
from the National Socialist Weltanschauung and give to their dance this order, this face,
this efficacy that expresses the Weltanschauung. 11
11
[Gustav-Joachim] Fischer-Klamt. “Die großdeutsche Tanzidee.” Die Musik XXXI, no. 10 (July 1939): 649–53.
“Als einer der wesentlichen Erfolge ist die Ausschaltung des fremdrassigen Elementes (sowohl der jüdischen Tänzer
als auch der jüdischen „Kritiker“) anzusehen. Dabei war die Beseitigung des jüdische Kritikers, der die ganze
öffentliche Meinung prägte, von weitaus größerer Bedeutung. Er kontrollierte nämlich das gesamte deutsche
Tanzwesen, nahm in die Verbandführungen Einfluß, stellte Wertmaßstäbe auf und trug dafür Sorge, dem deutschen
Volk Arteigenes als minderwertig hinzustellen, wogegen Fremdrassiges sich einer mehr als wohlwollenden Pflege
erfreute.
Diese Maßnahme war nun die erste Voraussetzung zu einer arteigenen Tanzentwicklung.
Der zweite große Erfolg nationalsozialistischer Kulturpolitik war die Befreiung der gesamten
Tanzbewegung von der Vormachtstellung der individualistischen Richtungen.
Diese zwei Abschnitte – Beseitigung der jüdischen Vorherrschaft auf dem Gebiet des Tanzes, Beseitigung
der liberalen Dynastien mit ihren Machtansprüchen – sind die beiden großen Vorpostensgefechte
nationalsozialistischer Ordnung.
Solange jeder in seine Ideologie denkt, ist keine Einheitlichkeit des Tanzgeschehens zu erreichen.
Diejenigen, die in der alten Ideologie nicht verharren, müssen für die Aufgabe des großdeutschen
Tanzgedankens gewonnen werden! Wir wollen ja nicht den Menschen bekämpfen, sondern die Ideologie. Dies ist
die dritte große Aufgabe von der neugewonnenen Plattform aus. Es handelt sich für die nationalsozialistische
Kulturführung darum, die Träger der fremden Ideologien für die großdeutsche Tanzidee zu gewinnen. Wir wollen
nicht diese oder jene Tanzart vernichten. Das ist nicht möglich. Wir wollen aber erreichen, daß die Vertreter der
174
In order to understand Fischer-Klamt’s appeal to German unity, it is helpful to bear several
things in mind. The German dance world in 1939 was a tempestuous one. From the time of the
Weimar Republic, various dance schools had been vying for control, those of Wigman and
Laban primary among them. To these must be added the schools netted by the annexation of
Austria in 1938, which explains Fischer-Klamt’s repeated reference to großdeutsch, “greaterGerman.” The word Großdeutschland (Greater Germany) would come to represent not only
Germany but all the land acquired through the nation’s ascent in the first years of World War II.
Leaders of Modern Dance in National Socialist Germany
Hans Niedecken-Gebhardt and Otto von Keudell
From August 1933 Dr. Hans Niedecken-Gebhardt, the future dramaturge of the Olympic
pageant Olympische Jugend, served as advisor to the Promi in matters of dance, owing to his
“great expertise,” and was asked to “contribute to the urgent and necessary clarification of
outstanding dance questions.” 12 Niedecken-Gebhardt was also a friend of Mary Wigman,
placing his expertise firmly in the camp of Wigman’s absolute dance variant of New German
Dance. Though Niedecken-Gebhardt was involved in the early stages of designing German
Dance, Reich Ministry of Interior Ministerial Councilor Otto von Keudell was more responsible
for calculating the future trajectory of New German Dance.
Otto Von Keudell was born in Rome in 1887 and made his way to Germany by 1925,
when he joined the right-wing Deutschnationale Volkspartei (the German National People’s
Party). Von Keudell belonged to the group known as “Those Fallen in March”
(Märzgefallenen), opportunists that joined the NSDAP after the Reichstag fire of 27 February
1933 and election of 5 March 1933, in which the NSDAP garnered enough power to pave their
way for takeover. 13 Two weeks after his conversion to Nazism, Von Keudell was transferred to
einzelnen Arten anerkennen, daß sie selbst als in alter geschichtlicher Bindung verankert, in fremder Ideologie
entwickelt, zur Aufgabe der Entwicklung eines deutschen Tanzes aus der nationalsozialistischen Weltanschauung
heraus hinfinden müssen und daraus ihrem Tanz diese Ordnung, dieses Gesicht, diese Wirksamkeit geben, die der
Weltanschauung entspricht.”
12
13
Cornelia Schmitz-Berning, Vokabular des Nationalsozialismus, s.v. “Märzgefallenen”. The term stems from the
March Revolution of 1848 in which Berlin citizens, in an effort to have a more democratic Prussia join a united
Germany, engaged in street battles with Prussian troops, leading to the death of many of their number.
175
the Promi “at the express and urgent request of the minister himself, Dr. Joseph Goebbels.” 14
Von Keudell embraced his new position as well as New German Dance, “accepting without
reservation the superiority of Ausdruckstanz and Laban’s theories and the practices of Laban and
Wigman.” 15
On 9 January 1934 Von Keudell made a case for the support and development of German
art dance in a departmental note. In his argument, Von Keudell pointed to Rudolf von Laban as
the founder of a “modern form of artistic dance in Germany, which has grown out of German
preconditions.” The dance consisted of individual, group, and choral (another nod to Laban)
activities of the Nietzschean “‘moving and dancing German man.’” According to Keudell, this
man
uses the medium of his body trained to be his instrument and draws such works from the
depths of German emotional and spiritual life, and which can stand side-by-side with
most of the worthiest works of art of other artistic areas and in the shaping of the festive
and ceremonial in the life rhythms of the Third Reich which have an especially
comprehensive role to play. 16
Keudell outlined the struggle of New German Dance, “just at this moment being rejected
unjustly and not by the public but by some members of the clique of theater dance enthusiasts
(ballet).” Von Keudell rejoiced that “slowly but surely the dance creations of German art dance
are beginning to overcome the all-too-stylized and soulless figures of ballet dancing in the great
and culturally important dance groups in theaters,” but lamented that because of its opposition by
ballet, New German Dance faced ruin. He exhorted the Ministry to aid “the four model schools
of German art dance (Wigman, Palucca, Laban, and Günther).” 17
The more important impact of this statement is that Von Keudell, a senior representative
of the Promi chosen by Dr. Joseph Goebbels himself, here defined German art dance as
14
15
Ibid.
16
Ibid., 199–203. In Karina and Kant’s book, source documents (translated into English) are included, largely
complete, in the Documentary Appendix. The primary note to which I refer is included as a supporting document to
Document 5, housed in the Bundesarchiv, 50.01, 237. The larger document pertains to the establishment of a Reich
Dance Week from 9 to 16 December 1934. Because of the centrality of the 9 January 1934 note, it is included in its
entirety in Appendix B.
17
Ibid.
176
embodying the German spirit; as antithetical to ballet; as embodied by the work of Mary
Wigman, Gret Palucca, Rudolf von Laban, and Dorothea Günther; and as that New German
Dance specifically founded and championed by Rudolf von Laban since 1900. In a supplement
to this note, Von Keudell added the names of dancers Harald Kreutzberg, Alice Uhlen, and her
partner Freiherr Alexander von Swaine to the list of important people in New German Dance.
Further, Von Keudell credited New German Dance with conquering “all European and extra
European culturally advanced states (e.g., America and Japan)” and posited that “German art
dance, which has advertised German culture in triumphal march abroad (e.g., America and
Japan) could make German cultural propaganda à la Furtwängler with corresponding support.”
He then outlined various measures by which that could be made possible. With subsidy by the
Promi, Von Keudell envisioned New German Dance culminating in “propaganda for Germany’s
cultural mission and development in Germany, in tours abroad, and above all at the Olympic
Games in 1936.” 18
In his 1934 survey Von Keudell delineated the camps of New German Dance, but he
favored Rudolf von Laban. He neglected the American antecedents of New German Dance,
namely Isadora Duncan and Martha Graham, in favor of declaring Laban its founder since
“about 1900.” Von Keudell was fond of Laban and his work, so the latter became the primary
beneficiary of that bureaucratic benevolence. The relationship between Von Keudell and Laban
is exemplary of the tangle of National Socialist bureaucracy and those who worked within it and
under it: the arbitrariness and personal clout involved in elevating a leader; the reliance on
individuals within the National Socialist regime for support, funding, and protection; and the
caprice of higher-ranking individuals through which careers could be created or destroyed.
These factors all contributed to the meteoric career of Rudolf von Laban, the “Father of New
German Dance.” 19
Rudolf von Laban
Rudolf von Laban was born Rudolf Laban in 1879 in Bratislava, then a provincial capital
in declining Austria-Hungary. His father was an Austro-Hungarian general and acquired the
aristocratic “von” in 1897. Laban’s early life is difficult to recount, as Laban often sought to
18
Ibid.
19
Ibid., 97.
177
obscure his family lineage. As “Father of New German Dance,” it is remarkable that Laban
himself was simply not German. His mother, she claimed, was born in Vienna, and Laban
claimed that his father was descended from French Huguenots. Rudolf von Laban was trained at
the Vienna Theresianische Militärakademie from 1898 to 1900, fulfilling his father’s wish that
he become an officer. Laban refused to report for duty in the Great War. After the collapse of
the Hapsburg Monarchy, he was stateless. Laban could have claimed himself Czecho-Slovak or
Hungarian; however, Laban made the decision to be German. His military background may have
engendered his love for mass-movement choirs, armies of dancers on parade. Germany gave
him cultural and physical space to carry out his work within a new atmosphere that embraced
New German Dance as innately German, though its champion was anything but. 20
From 1931 to 1934 Rudolf von Laban was Director of Ballet at the Berliner Staatsoper.
His tenure was not successful. Laban had a poor relationship with Generalintendant Heinz
Tietjen and was unpopular as a result of the sweeping changes he made in the ballet program.
Laban dismissed Balletmaster Victor Gsovsky because he was more inclined to ballet than to
New German Dance. 21 He dismissed soloists, and the management repealed their contractual
status. Finally, Laban favored barefoot dancing, which is incompatible with point technique.
Luckily, Lizzie Maudrik, the future choreographer of Joan von Zarissa, had “given traditional
point dancing a new modern actuality” at the Staatsoper and was allowed to stay. 22 Her
connection with ballet would be an asset to the Staatsoper after Laban left to direct his own
dance organizations and activities.
In 1934 and 1935 Laban directed two successful German Dance Festivals, the first of
which was apparently the one identified by von Keudell in his 1934 memorandum. The festivals
featured soloists selected by Laban on his various tours throughout Germany. They included
Mary Wigman, Dorothee Günther, Gret Palucca, and Laban himself. They also included Ilse
Meudtner, who danced in the premiere of Joan von Zarissa. By 1936, Laban had created the
20
Ibid., 98–100. Though Rudolf von Laban’s last name is properly “von Laban,” he is more commonly referred to
simply as “Laban,” as is the case in the English translation of his 1935 autobiography, A Life for the Dance, trans.
Lisa Ullmann (New York: Macdonald and Evans Limited, 1975).
21
Victor Gsovsky was husband to Tatiana (Tatjana) Gsovsky, who choreographed Joan von Zarissa in Munich in
1944, and in Munich and Buenos Aires in 1950.
22
Karina and Kant, Hitler’s Dancers, 14–15.
178
German Dance Theater, formulated and implemented national standards for dance competence,
and established his Master Workshops as the central institution for training in and the
development of dance. 23 The German Dance theater was founded in 1934 and was modeled on
Bayreuth and the cozy relationship it had enjoyed with the political leadership of the Wilhelmine
Germany. Dance Examinations integrated both ballet and New German Dance, though the
former was relegated to the position of historical dance, while Laban’s dance theories formed the
core curriculum. As a marker of this asymmetrical relationship, all French ballet terms were
replaced by the equivalent German, of course, the default language for New German Dance. 24 In
August 1935 Reichsminister Dr. Goebbels visited one of Laban’s summer dance courses. The
operation met with his approval, and he wrote in his diaries, “Afternoon, Rangsdorf Dance
School. Very entertaining. Laban does his thing well.” 25 It is telling that Goebbels refers to the
dance as entertaining as opposed to enlightening or something more substantive.
The following year, Goebbels used the descriptor “intellectual” and trumpeted the end of
Laban’s career. The Master Workshops opened in May 1936, with Laban as their Director. The
workshops comprised two working groups, one for German dance and one for ballet. Lizzie
Maudrik agreed to direct the ballet section for Laban, and Gret Palucca was placed in charge of
the dance section. Through the creation and direction of these institutions, Rudolf von Laban
established himself as the undisputed leader of modern dance in Germany. Mary Wigman,
Laban’s former pupil, had been vying for leadership alongside Laban in these years; however,
once Laban had consolidated his control, Wigman was relegated to second-tier institutions. 26
The appointment of Gret Palucca as head of the ballet section of the Master Workshops is
rather surprising, because Palucca was half Jewish. According to an early 1937 memorandum
regarding the removal of Jewish personnel from the Reich Theater Chamber (Entjudung, lit. “deJewification”), Palucca had been given special dispensation to dance publicly despite her lineage,
though she was forbidden to accept new pupils after 1936. Palucca’s fate appears to have been
sealed by a terse parenthetical comment in the memorandum: “On the 31st of March 1939, the
23
Ibid., 105, 117.
24
Ibid., 116–17.
25
Goebbels, Tagebücher, I, 3/I, 281 (23 August 1935). “Nachm. Rangsdorf Tanzschule. Sehr unterhaltend. Laban
macht seine Sache gut.”
26
179
closure of the school will be effected, since pupils who will still be in dance instruction, will take
their final examinations in that month.” 27 Regardless of special dispensation, Palucca’s career
had a terminal date of 31 March 1939. At this time, it was questionable whether or not she
would last even that long. In the autumn of 1935 Palucca and her pupil Marianne Vogelsang
danced for Hitler, Goebbels, Hermann Göring, and a small group of Schutzstaffel (SS) officers.
In November 1935, Hitler, Goebbels, and Göring viewed a documentary film featuring Palucca
and Vogelsang. Hitler found Palucca’s work too intellectual, which he disliked in dance, either
ballet or New German Dance. 28 This does not mean that Hitler disliked New German Dance: he
was a fan of Leni Riefenstahl’s dance by the sea in the film Der heilige Berg (The Sacred
Mountain, 1926). 29 A transcription of a 1942 conversation elucidates Hitler’s view of Palucca’s
work, along with that of Lizzie Maudrik, the Balletmaster of the Berliner Staatsoper and the
director of the ballet division of Laban’s Master Workshops:
Thank God [Hitler] had inspected the State Opera beforehand— that was danced
philosophy; the ballet mistress [Maudrik] was a highly intellectual woman. Even more
than her Ausdrucks (expressive) art the stuff Palucca did offended him. That was truly
awful hopping around with distorted jumps, no aesthetic dance at all. Goebbels had
dumped it on him, he had insisted so energetically and eventually persuaded him with all
sorts of lively hand-waving to see the performance. 30
Given the earlier comment concerning Palucca, Hitler’s dislike of the intellectual and
philosophical in dance appears to have remained consistent in the seven years from 1935 to
1942.
27
Berlin Document Center, RKK:0002/03 trans. in Karina and Kant, Hitler’s Dancers, 262. The memorandum is
undated and is written in response to a letter dated 27 February 1937.
28
Karina and Kant, 120.
29
Riefenstahl’s own account in the documentary The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl, dir. Ray Müller,
Omegafilm GmbH and Nomadfilms S.P.R.I., 1993. Riefenstahl, the director of Triumph des Willens (Triumph of
the Will) and Olympia, began her career as a dancer and actress in the mid-1920s, with guest engagements as a
dancer by 1924.
30
Hitlers Tischgespräche im Führerhauptquartier 1941–1942, notated by Henry Picker, 25 March 1942. Quoted in
Lilian Karina and Marion Kant, Hitler’s Dancers, 120. This material is absent in the German second edition of the
book, Tanz unterm Hakenkreuz: eine Dokumentation, 2. Auflage (Berlin: Henschel Verlag, 1999).
180
The case of Gret Palucca is indicative of the caprice and the selective applicability of
laws under the Nazi regime. Ostensibly, if the Führer did not care for Palucca, the National
Socialists did not care for Palucca, in accordance with the Führerprinzip, the pyramidal system
of organization with Hitler at the apex. As Germany’s dictator, Hitler’s personal decisions, and
not only these, but his asides, murmurings, banter, and even jokes carried some weight of law.
In the lower ranks of the organization, leaders of same rank but differing opinions or goals could
emerge, such as Josef Goebbels and Alfred von Rosenberg in the struggle for control of Reich
culture. Such battles could continue until they caught the attention of a bureaucrat at a higher
level, either by a direct request for clarification or by roundabout hearsay. The supervisor would
then intercede and decide the outcome and future direction of the matter in question. If the
matter was not resolved, or if it went unnoticed by higher-ranking officials, conflict and
confusion could continue indefinitely.
While the Führerprinzip appeared to embody the Wilhelmine German value of Disziplin,
the resulting bureaucracy was at best cumbersome and could be utterly ineffective. So long as
artists had support, advocacy, and protection within the bureaucracy, they were allowed space to
work. Without a bureaucratic support network, however, as was the case of Gret Palucca and the
later career of Rudolf von Laban, an artist was subject to the whims of those in power. The
displeasure of one powerful person could end that artist’s career.
In the summer of 1936 Rudolf von Laban was at the zenith of his career and was poised
to take the world stage: He was responsible for the organization of the dance program for the
1936 Olympics, Hitler’s platform from which to exhibit the strengths of the New Germany to the
world. Additionally, Laban was designer and choreographer of the opening ceremony of the
Nazi-classical Dietrich Eckart Theater. 31 For what was to be the artistic pinnacle of the opening
ceremonies, Laban created a “great ‘dedicatory act,’” Vom Tauwind und der neuen Freude (Of
the Warm Wind and the New Joy). A preliminary iteration of the work titled The German
Destiny had been approved through Otto von Keudell in the Promi in October 1935.
Arrangements were made for some one thousand dancers to take part. 32
On 21 June 1936 Goebbels attended a rehearsal of Vom Tauwind und der neuen Freude
and noted in his diary,
31
The term “Nazi-classical” refers to the style of neo-classic architecture Hitler favored for state buildings.
32
Ibid., 118–19.
181
Dietrich Eckart Stage. Dance-piece rehearsal: freely adapted from Nietzsche, a poor,
affected, contrived thing. I am prohibiting much of it. Everything is so intellectual. I
don’t like it. Goes around in our clothes and has nothing to do with us. 33
Goebbels, having miscalculated Hitler’s reaction to Palucca in 1935, may have sought to avoid
disappointing the Führer a second time. Since the 1936 Olympics were to be the showcase of the
New Germany and its Führer, no such risk could be taken. Goebbels excised portions, and then
the whole, of Laban’s magnum opus. 34
Goebbels objected to the perceived “intellectualism” of Vom Tauwind und neuen Freude.
“Intellectualism” was keyword and favorite target of National Socialists and dated from the
National Socialist takeover of power in January 1933. In a celebratory speech for the occasion,
Josef Goebbels pronounced, “German men and women, the age of pettifogging Jewish
intellectualism has come to an end. The breakthrough of the German Revolution has also cleared
the path for the German way.” 35 The word “intellectual” emerged as a pejorative among the
right prior to the advent of National Socialism and was used to attack rational analysis, the
educated, and liberal and democratic attitudes. During the National Socialist period, the term
was applied to “critically-thinking people (Kritikaster), insinuating lack of character and lacking
‘instinct,’ a ‘racially’-defined natural quality; as well as ‘decadent’ function of mind.” 36
Alternately, the National Socialists held intellectuals to be “one-sided, mentally-stamped, overly
critical, rootless [wurzellos], uncreative” people incapable of generating their own opinions but
regurgitating what was told them by the Jewish upper class. 37 “Intellectual” in National Socialist
Germany was a negative adjective practically inseparable from “Jewish.”
The people around Adolf Hitler were an immiscible suspension of the elitist, the
intellectual, and the common. According to Albert Speer, Hitler’s upper-class intellectual
33
Goebbels, Tagebücher, I, 3/II, 113 (22 June 1936). “Dietrich Eckart-Bühne. Tanzspiele Probe: frei nach
Nietzsche, eine schlechte, gemachte und erkünstelte Sache. Ich inhibiere vieles. Das ist alles so intellektuell. Ich
mag das nicht. Geht in unserem Gewande daher und hat garnichts mit uns zu tuen.”
34
35
The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl. Speech by Josef Goebbels.
Deutsche Männer und Frauen, das Zeitalter eines überspitzenden jüdischen Intellektualismus ist nun zu Ende. Der
Durchbruch der deutschen Revolution hat auch den deutschen Weg wieder die Gasse frei gemacht.
36
Benz et al., Enzyklopädie des Nationalsozialismus, s.v. “Intellektueller.”
37
Schmitz-Berning, Vokabular des Nationalsozialismus, s.v. “Intellektueller.”
182
architect and later Minister of Armaments, Hitler’s cronies from the early party days in Munich
were looked down upon by the intellectual Dr. Josef Goebbels. Hermann Goering, an aristocrat
and fawning Hitler aspirant, looked down on Goebbels and the old guard. Heinrich Himmler, the
zealous SS elitist looked down on them all. 38 In Speer’s newly built chancellery, however, the
party elites were seldom in attendance. Hitler surrounded himself with “people of the same
origins as himself,” feeling at ease among those who often lacked higher education and had
never traveled outside Germany. Speer recollected that “virtually none” of them “had
distinguished himself by any notable achievement in any field whatsoever.” 39 Hitler’s coterie
were not intellectual in either the pejorative or literal sense. No wonder the intellectual or
philosophical in dance, that which required effort to understand, was ill-received.
Rudolf von Laban, who had embraced National Socialism, the promotion of
Volksgemeinschaft, and New German Dance, faced the end of his meteoric career. So did
Ministerial Councilor Otto von Keudell. On 9 July 1936, Keudell was transferred to the post of
District Presiding Officer in Marienwerder in present-day Poland. He was replaced by Rolf
Cunz, an “Old Fighter,” and member of the NSDAP since the early days of brawls in the streets
and beer halls of 1920s Munich. 40 With the removal of von Keudell, Laban lost his advocate in
the Promi.
New German Dance after Laban
Rolf Cunz was no advocate of Rudolf von Laban, yet Cunz did not completely undo
Laban’s work. From August 1936 Cunz began a systematic review of Laban’s Master
Workshops, denying various of Laban’s propositions, terminating the contracts of Laban’s
assistants, and calling the Promi to examine Laban’s employment contract. Around this time,
just when he needed most crucially to defend himself, Laban was admitted to the hospital for
intestinal ulcers. At the end of August, Laban asked to be relieved of his duties as Director of
the Master Workshops, and Cunz began to shape them according to his own ideals. Laban’s
pupil Wigman was hindered by Cunz, who argued a flimsy case against her based upon his
discovery that Wigman used several costumes that were not hers. The costumes belonged to the
38
Speer, Inside the Third Reich, 45.
39
Ibid., 121.
40
183
State, and Wigman had neglected to report such on her tax return. She would never again enjoy
a position of authority within New German Dance.
At the beginning of 1937 Rolf Cunz was hospitalized for a detached retina, leading to a
brief hiatus in his work of de-Labanizing Laban’s programs. The programs remained intact
because Laban had constructed them in accordance with National Socialist ideals. Cunz merely
assimilated them into the net of bureaucracy, an infinitesimally small sector of which he
controlled from his desk. Cunz returned to work and, under pressure to show results, quickly
ousted Wigman by July. 41 Laban was out by October, for several reasons. Laban had taken up
direction of his League for Community Dance after his hospitalization and organized events
without the approval of the Promi. Citing financial mismanagement, Cunz took over direction of
the organization and renamed it the German Dance Community. Further, Laban was denounced
as a homosexual, a charge that was untrue; and as a Mason, which wasn’t. Without von Keudell
in the Promi, Laban had no advocate to defend himself against the denunciations. More
correctly, he had no “acceptance by the bureaucrats, which made defense unnecessary.” Rudolf
von Laban was longer useful to National Socialism. 42
Rolf Cunz, now the self-declared Reich Stage Organizer of Dance, took over direction of
the Master Workshops as well, running them just as Laban and von Keudell had. Under the
pretense of scouring the Reich Theater Chamber of Laban adherents, Cunz began a review of all
its personnel, invoking the ire of its professionals, who were malcontent to let a Promi desk
clerk, whatever his title, assess their personnel decisions. Meanwhile, Josef Goebbels began to
tire of Cunz’s lack of progress in the renewal of dance in Germany, and he began to doubt that
renewal was embodied in the intellectual New German Dance. Unaware, Cunz set his sights on
reining in ballet, the stubborn theater dance that had to be brought under state control.
Unfortunately for Cunz, Goebbels had turned to ballet. For the Minister, ballet was an
alternative to the New German Dance, showing not “activity, but grace, harmony, buoyancy,
color, no intellectual games, please!” Cunz irrevocably transgressed against Goebbels in
December 1937, when he revealed that his research showed that dancing en pointe descended
from a Russian form of torture and should therefore be banned as “un-German.” Through 1938,
Cunz dissolved to a non-entity, and Goebbels assumed control of the Master Classes. In
41
Ibid., 127–30.
42
Ibid., 134–35.
184
December 1939 Goebbels appointed Hanns Niedecken-Gebhardt, the proponent of formerlypromising dancer Mary Wigman, as director of the Master Classes. In February 1941
Niedecken-Gebhardt was replaced by Rudolf Kölling, who restored the primacy of ballet. Ballet,
unlike New German Dance, was never “danced philosophy,” something recognizable only by
Goebbels’s adverse reaction to it. 43 But even non-philosophical, non-intellectual, solely
beautiful ballet, which Goebbels himself liked, was not immune to Goebbels’s own vacillations.
Egk’s Association with Modern Dance
Werner Egk was, from before 1936, at least circumstantially associated with the greatest
names in New German Dance. In March 1936 Egk was present at the planning meeting for the
opening ceremonies for the 1936 Olympics. 44 The event brought together the most important
figures in the New German Dance world, along with two of its foremost young composers,
Werner Egk and Carl Orff. Hans Niedecken-Gebhardt, associated with dance in the Promi since
1933, was responsible for the general organization of the pageant Olympische Jugend. Gret
Palucca danced in the second tableau, “Grace of Girls,” choreographed by Dorothea Günther. In
the fourth tableau, “Heroic Struggle and Death Lament,” Harald Kreutzberg, with Werner
Stammer and a chorus of sixty, danced a sword dance ending in the deaths of the two
combatants. After, Mary Wigman danced her death-lament. 45 As part of the extensive
preparations for such a spectacle, Egk would at some point have collaborated with the dancers
involved in the opening ceremony. The one name obviously absent is that of Rudolf von Laban,
but it is reasonable to assume that he, too, would have been involved in the early preparations for
the ceremonies, since Vom Tauwind und neuen Freude was removed from the program only five
weeks prior to the 1 August opening ceremonies. The New German Dance representative with
whom Egk was most closely allied was the choreographer of Joan von Zarissa, Lizzie Maudrik,
the Ballet Mistress of the Berliner Staatsoper. Valued by Laban for her ties to ballet and its
German reinvigoration, Maudrik was disliked by Hitler and Goebbels for the philosophical and
intellectual qualities of her dance.
43
Ibid., 136–40.
44
Bundesarchiv, R8077/196. Dorothea Günther, who was responsible for choreography of those sections to music
by Carl Orff, was also present at the meeting.
45
Carl Diem, et al., Olympische Jugend Festspiel, (Berlin: Reichsportverlag G.m.b.H.),
185
Egk’s associations with the New German Dance movement, beyond his association with
Lizzie Maudrik, were not entirely circumstantial, however. Egk took an active role in the
development of New German Dance in late 1942, after Joan von Zarissa had enjoyed successes
in Berlin, Halle, Hamburg, Stuttgart, Chemnitz, Essen, Zurich, Vienna, Düsseldorf, and Paris.
Early that year the Theater of Essen and Municipal Opera of Düsseldorf each performed a
choreographed version of Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony by Sonja Korty, a former member of
Diaghilev’s Ballets russes. 46 In February, the Generalintendant of the Theater of Essen received
notice from Josef Goebbels himself that such performances, by composers of enemy states, were
forbidden. 47
The exclusion was not an isolated event. As World War II progressed, musical works by
composers of the states against whom Germany was warring were systematically excluded from
concert programs. Codified in the Amtliche Mitteilungen der Reichsmusikkammer (Official
Memoranda of the Reich Music Chamber), the acceptable repertoire of German musicians, both
in theater and opera and in dancehalls, perpetually shrank. In August 1939, Dr. Peter Raabe, the
President of the Reich Chamber of Music had reminded its members that works by Jewish
composers were designated unerwünscht (undesirable). 48 The earlier pronouncement apparently
did not preclude musical groups from playing them, and the promulgation of National Socialist
laws did not ensure their enforcement. Such was also the case with the German national anthem,
Das Deutschlandlied. In early February 1939, Adolf Hitler decided that, as a “hallowed song,”
the Deutschlandlied should be sung at a tempo of eighty beats-per-minute to the quarter note.49
46
Korty was the choreographer for the 1941 Essen performances of Joan von Zarissa.
47
Karina and Kant, Hitler’s Dancers, 141–42. Germany attacked Soviet Russia on 22 June 1941, making a
substantial ballet repertoire immediately forbidden as music of an enemy state.
48
Amtliche Mitteilungen der Reichsmusikkammer 6, no. 14/15, 47. “’Keine jüdische Unterhaltungs- und Tanzmusik’
Nach meinen Feststellungen spielen Unterhaltungs- und Tanzkapellen vielfach noch Werke jüdischer
Autoren. Ich weise darauf hin, daß das Spielen von Werken jüdischer Autoren unerwünscht ist.”
49
Amtliche Mitteilungen der Reichsmusikkammer 6, no. 4 (15 February 1939), 9. “’Zeitmaß der Nationalhymnen’
Der Führer hat entscheiden, daß das Deutschlandlied als Weihelied im Zeitmaß 1/4 = M 80 zu spielen ist,
während das Horst-Wessel-Lied als revolutionäres Kampflied schneller gespielt werden soll.
Ich gebe diese Anordnung des Führers hiermit allen Mitgliedern der Reichsmusikkammer bekannt.
Berlin, den 6. Februar 1939
Der Präsident der Reichmusikkammer
Dr. Peter Raabe
186
Unless local police officers and Gestapo agents were to run from event to event with
metronomes in hand, this rule, albeit an edict from the Führer himself, would have been difficult
to enforce.
In the 1 September 1939 issue of the Amtliche Mitteilungen, the “First List of
Undesirable Music,” including both scores and recordings, was published. This list included the
broad-spectrum exclusion of the collected works of Irving Berlin and Fritz Kreisler; specific jazz
numbers including Ellington’s recording of “Caravan,” Gaillard and Green’s “The Flat Foot
Floogee,” and Sholom Secunda’s “Bei mir bist du schön”; the more comical “Meine Tante, die
schwimmt wie ‘ne Flunder” (“My aunt, she swims like a flounder”) by Willy Bild-Sartory; the
kitschy “Adolf Hitlers Lieblingsblume ist das schlichte Edelweiß” (“Adolf Hitler’s favorite
flower is the simple Edelweiß”); “Swing low, sweet chariot”; and ostensibly nationalistic songs
such as “Deutschland erwache, ‘s ist Frühling am Rhein” (“Germany awake, it’s spring on the
Rhine”) by Otto Höser. 50 On 2 September 1939, the day after the German invasion of Poland,
the start of World War II, and the publication of the above list, Josef Goebbels issued the
following dictum:
Today more than ever, music has the great mission to uplift our people and to
strengthen its emotional fortitude. For this reason, the programming of German musical
life is to be adapted to the gravity of the present and the people’s sensibility. Cheerful
music is in no way to be cut out; however, it is to remain free from disgracefulness and
hyperbole in performance.
I therefore order that works in opposition to the national sensibility, be it via the
land of origin, the composer or in outward appearance, are no longer to be performed, but
are to be substituted with others.
Further, it must be ensured that a restriction of public musical activity, as is
possible, does not occur to any great extent or that concerts are not cancelled without
reason. 51
50
Amtliche Mitteilungen der Reichsmusikkammer 6, no. 16/17 (1 September 1939), insert n.p.
51
Amtliche Mitteilungen der Reichsmusikkammer 6, no. 18 (15 September 1939), 55. “Der Reichsminister für
Volksaufklärung und Propaganda hat am 2.9.1939 durch Fernschreiber folgenden Runderlaß an die Reichstatthalter,
an alle Gauleiter und Gaupropagandaleiter (auch zur Weitergabe an die Städtischen Musikbeauftragten) gerichtet:
187
The edict simultaneously promoted and restricted musical activity. In November 1941, an article
titled “Works of Enemy (feindländische) Composers” reminded Reich Chamber of Music
members that the “performance of works of English, Polish, French, and Russian composers,
with the exception of Chopin and Bizet (opera Carmen) is still forbidden, as before.” 52 In
February 1942, the list was expanded to include the newly declared enemy composers of the
United States of America. 53 In a surprising announcement in June 1943, the Promi relaxed the
outright ban on French composers:
As the Reich Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda conveys, no
objections exist against the performance of works by the early French masters of baroque
music, including Lully, Couperin, Rameau and others. In contrast, the public
‚Die Musik hat heute mehr denn je die große Aufgabe, unser Volk zu erheben und seine seelischen Kräfte
zu stärken. Deswegen ist die Programmgestaltung des deutschen Musiklebens dem Ernst der Zeit und dem
nationalen Volksempfinden anzupassen. Damit soll keineswegs die heitere Musik ausgeschaltet werden; sie ist
jedoch freizuhalten von Würdelosigkeit und Übertreibung in der Wiedergabe.
Ich ordne deshalb an, daß Werke, die dem nationalen Empfinden entgegenstehen, sei es durch das
Ursprungsland, den Komponisten oder ihre äußere Aufmachung, nicht mehr aufzuführen, sondern durch andere zu
ersetzen sind.
Weiter ist dafür Sorge zu tragen, daß eine Einschränkung der öffentlichen musikalischen Betätigung nach
Möglichkeit in nennenswertem Umfang nicht eintritt oder daß Konzerte nicht grundlos abgesagt werden.
gez. Dr. Goebbels’”
Emphasis in original.
52
Amtliche Mitteilungen der Reichsmusikkammer 8, no. 11 (15 November 1941), 42. “’Werke feindländischer
Komponisten’
Aus gegebener Veranlassung weise ich darauf hin, daß die Aufführung von Werken polnischer, englischer,
französischer und russischer Komponisten mit Ausnahme von Chopin und Bizet (Oper „Carmen“) nach wie vor
verboten ist. Der Runderlaß des Reichsministers für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda vom 2. 9. 1939 betreffend
„Programmgestaltung des deutsche Musiklebens“ (Amtl. Mitt. 1939, S. 55) wird in diesem Zusammenfang allen
Mitgliedern und Dienststellen der Kammer nachdrücklich in Erinnerung gebracht.
Berlin, den 4. November 1941
Der Präsident der Reichsmusikkammer”
53
Amtliche Mitteilungen der Reichsmusikkammer 9, no. 2 (15 February 1942), 5.
188
performance of works of later French composers such as Berlioz, Debussy, and Ravel is
still forbidden as before.… 54
In November, the admission of French works to German programs was limited to one-quarter of
the program. 55
After Goebbels’s reprimand of the City Theater of Essen, Reich Dramaturge Rainer
Schlösser drafted an edict dated 8 December 1941, subsequently approved by State Secretary
Leopold Gutterer, pertaining to artistic dance. In it, he declares the end of New German Dance
as an independent entity:
In recent times efforts have once again come to the surface that attempt to
proclaim that the so-called modern expressive dance, as it is practiced by certain
individual dancers or groups (chamber dance), is the one true “German” form of dance in
contrast to classical ballet or stage dance in general. Such a view, in which the dying
remnants of an individualistic mode of dance and a specialized aestheticism still make
themselves felt, are to be resisted.
The healthy development of ballet in the new Germany has already absorbed the
useful element of the new dance movements and is based on the three fundamental
aspects and training subjects: classical (point), national dance forms, and new artistic
dance (expressive movement). These should not exclude each other as contradictory but
grow closer in mutual augmentation. Without restricting the physical possibilities, that
nature creates for dance (which also includes pantomime), the emphasis and main task of
dance must lie in the presentation of cheerful, buoyant bodily feelings. Burdens of
philosophical abstractions, interpretation of heavy symphonic music not originally
written for dance or presentation of dramatic complexes, which without the spoken word
54
Amtliche Mitteilungen der Reichsmusikkammer 10, no. 6 (15 June 1943), 26 ff “’Werke französischer
Komponisten’ (vgl. Amtl. Mitt. 1941, S. 42)
Wie das Reichsministerium für Volksaufklärung und Propaganda mitteilt, bestehen gegen die Aufführung
von Werken der Alten französischen Meister der Barockmusik wie Lully, Couperin, Rameau, u. A. keine Bedenken.
Dagegen ist die öffentliche Wiedergabe der Werke späterer französischer Komponisten wie zum Beispiel Berlioz,
Debussy, und Ravel nach wie vor untersagt.…”
Berlin, den 10. Juni 1943
Der Präsident der Reichsmusikkammer”
55
Amtliche Mitteilungen der Reichsmusikkammer 10, no. 11 (15 November 1943), 46.
189
or thorough study remain incomprehensible in every case, lead away from the road of a
healthy development and can at best, insofar as strong cultural powers are behind them,
be seen as limiting cases or transition forms but not as the real meaning and purpose of
the cultivation of the art. 56
The edict was an outright ban on dramatic ballet, anything with a plot, and was met with
immediate disbelief and anger by the managements of various important theaters. On 15
September 1942 Werner Egk chimed in, writing to Reich Dramaturge Schlösser,
I am receiving letters from all sides, which inform me that a prohibition has been issued
not by the management of the German Opera House but by the intervention of the
Ministry, which covers all more or less narrative-based dance works. Contracts already
signed have been nullified as a result and an extension of the prohibition to all German
theaters is in principle apparently being planned. I am extremely disquieted by these
reports. Such a prohibition has no precedent and would amount to the extinguishing of
an entire branch of art by administrative decree. It would further mean the appropriation
without compensation of the work of German composers in a manner that cannot claim
the most minimal justification by wartime need or other military necessities. I should be
most exceptionally grateful if you would be good enough to let me know as soon as
possible if the reports reaching me are true or not, or whether they are simply groundless
rumors. It would of course be just as unfortunate if prevention of performances of works
in the above mentioned category were to occur by other measures, however imposed, not
necessarily involving a ministerial decree.… 57
Egk had cause to chime in. Joan von Zarissa fell into the category of narrative-based dance
work, and it was enjoying immense success within the Reich.
The debate surrounding acceptable ballet continued, and by September 1942, even the
Chancellery had heard the rumors of the ban on dramatic dance in Germany and demanded
clarification. The Promi responded that there was still plenty of repertoire available, including
Egk’s own Joan von Zarissa. In September, a certain Desk Office Lange addressed the “Ballet
Problem” in a memo to Minister Gutterer, finally stating that “stopping ballets with dramatic
plots would constitute a grievous interference in the program plans of theaters and publishers,
56
Bundesarchiv 50.01 238/1 in Karina and Kant, Hitler’s Dancers, 294–95.
57
190
quite apart from damage done to several renowned composers, such as Richard Strauss (Joseph
Legend), Werner Egk (Joan of Zarissa), Casella (The Big Jug), etc.” 58 In an isolated document
in the files of the Bundesarchiv, with the heading Promi Department Theater and dated 18
December 1942, there is an inventory in two sections. The first section is titled “Ballets of the
Russian Ballet” and includes works by Berlioz, Bizet, Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky, and
Tchaikovsky. Since at least some of these composers were specifically forbidden in RMK
documents, these ballets would fall into the “not acceptable” category. The second section, titled
“Well Known Repertory Ballets of the German Theaters” includes works of numerous
composers, with Werner Egk’s Joan von Zarissa among them. 59 Joan von Zarissa had by 1942
been canonized in National Socialist German theater repertoire. The “Ballet Problem” remained
unresolved until the 1944 Decree of Total War by the recently-elevated Reich Plenipotentiary for
Total War Dr. Josef Goebbels. 60 Goebbels declared that all theaters, the majority of all
orchestras, and art and book publishers were to be closed in order for Germany to concentrate all
efforts on winning the war. 61 The development of New German Dance under National Socialism
had come to an end.
New German Dance and the Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk
Given Egk’s proximity to the New German Dance community, the presence of various of
its most notable personalities in the works of Egk, the admission of Joan von Zarissa into the
canon of dance acceptable to National Socialism, and the reception of Joan von Zarissa by
contemporaries as something beyond ballet, Egk’s dramatische Tanzdichtung Joan von Zarissa
may be regarded as an example New German Dance. 62 But this label does not cover the curious
presence of spoken and sung texts within the work. Joan von Zarissa is more than a dance work:
it is a Gesamtkunstwerk, a synthesis of gesture, poetry, music, set, and lighting. Rudolf von
Laban expanded the boundaries of gesture to include New German Dance and viewed his own
work as an extension of Richard Wagner’s concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk.
58
59
60
Goebbels was named Generalbevollmächtigter für den totalen Kriegseinsatz on 25 July 1944.
61
Bundesarchiv 50.01 252 in Karina and Kant, Hitler’s Dancers, 307–08.
62
The reception of Joan von Zarissa makes it clear that the work was something beyond ballet, as do Serge Lifar’s
descriptions of his production of the work. See Chapter 6.
191
According to Laban, Wagner had “a decisive influence on the art of movement,” in
addition to being a “renewer and prophet of the arts of poetry and music.” 63 Laban’s association
with Wagner’s works began around 1921, when he choreographed the Tannhäuser Baccanale in
Mannheim. Laban based his production on Wagner’s early writings on the “Nordic fantasies,”
which had “nothing to do with the classical Roman dance-poem that Wagner later created
expressly for Paris.” In the sketches,
there were no Bacchantes or fauns, no images of Leda and Jupiter or any other figure of
the Graeco-Roman world of gods. It was a witches-Sabbath with Nordic sacrificial rites
and with Strömkarl, the demon of music, as the inciter dominating the whole scene. In
this sketch of Wagner’s the passions were not stirred up by beautiful goddesses, but were
represented as innate drives. 64
In 1930 Laban produced the scene with seventy dancers on the stage of Bayreuth, confirming his
opinion that “the new stage art must be rooted in the movement expression of the performer,” for
only then did the “inner qualities of the characters become apparent in their full strength and
beauty; only then do both the horrifying and the lovely stir the emotions and also become the
symbol of deeper values.” At the same time, Laban rethought his “excessive rejection of a
representational scene theatre,” when he saw the splendid productions of Bayreuth. 65
Laban’s ascription of Wagner as a model may not have been wholly artistically
motivated. By 1921 Laban had lost his homeland and declared himself German, but citizenship
was not granted him until 1935. By declaring his art to be descended from that of Wagner, a
parallel to Laban’s declaring himself to be German, he made another claim to the Germanness of
his art. He made a place for New German dance in the New Germany, which prided itself on the
German, and he made a place for himself as leader of the New German Dance movement, a
leader descended from Richard Wagner. Even if Egk had not furnished the textual elements in
Joan von Zarissa, the work may nonetheless be considered a later-generation Gesamtkunstwerk
by its nature as New German Dance.
63
Rudolf Laban, A Life for Dance, 174.
64
Ibid.
65
Ibid., 172–73.
192
Wagner’s Gesamtkunstwerk
The Gesamtkunstwerk as outlined in Richard Wagner’s Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft
(1849) and expanded in Oper und Drama (1851) emerges from the Gemeingeist, the communal
spirit, of das Volk, the people. This fundamental concept is congruent with the National Socialist
goal of art to cultivate Volksgemeinschaft. Laban’s work, focusing on mass-movement choirs, is
likewise congruent with the National Socialist goal of fostering Volksgemeinschaft, literally
moving bodies of people in order to move the people, das Volk. 66
The model of Gesamtkunstwerk is Greek tragedy; in Wagner’s work, the orchestra
replaces the chorus. Gesamtkunstwerk is the synthesis of dance (gesture), music, poetry, and
visual art in the form of set design. For Wagner, dance was the “most realistic of all arts” whose
“artistic stuff is the actual living person; and no single portion of the same, but the whole from
heel to crown, just as he presents himself to the eye.” 67 Dance unifies music, the heart of the
“wholly artistic being,” with poetry, the head; and is brought to the level of art through rhythm,
the “natural, unbreakable bond between the arts of dance and music.” 68 Dance is categorically
not ballet—ballet emphasizes only the lower portion of the body and is “merely art and not
reality.” 69
In Wagner’s view of opera, which should be the equal intersection of the three arts, music
assumes a dominant role, forcing out dance. Ballets occurring within opera disrupt the drama
instead of being integral to it. Ballet takes advantage of a pause for breath by the “songstress
who makes the rules” to “splay her legs across the entire stage; dances sister music off the scene,
down to the solitary confinement of the orchestra; and spins, swings, and whirls around so long,
until the audience can no longer see the forest for the trees, i.e., the opera for the sea of legs.”70
66
Works for mass-movement choirs, including Egk’s Job der Deutsche (1933) are discussed in greater detail in
Chapter 2.
67
Richard Wagner, Kunstwerk der Zukunft in Gesammelte Schriften und Dichtungen (n.p.: Adamant Media, 2005),
III, 71. Facsimile of 1871 edition (Leipzig: C.F.W. Siegel). “Die realste aller Kunstarten ist die Tanzkunst. Ihr
künstlerischer Stoff ist der wirklich leibliche Mensch, und zwar nicht ein Theil desselben, sondern der ganze, von
der Fußsolhe bis zum Scheitel, wie er dem Auge sich darstellt.”
68
Wagner, Kunstwerk der Zukunft, 74.
69
Ibid., 78.
70
Ibid., 120. “Die Tanzkunst hingegen darf nur irgend welche Lücke im Athemholen der Gesetzgebenden Sängerin
ersehen, irgend welches Erkalten des Lavastromes musikalischen Gefühlsergusses,—sogleich schwingt sie ihre
193
The orchestra comments on the action with its vocabulary of Grundthemen (fundamental themes)
or leitmotivs. Poetry is the stuff of the drama itself, and the redemption of knowledge into
poetry is “consummation of the knowledge of mankind.” 71 To the three sisters, poetry, music
and dance, Wagner added the role of the landscape painter. The painter’s “drawing, use of color,
and warm, vivifying employment of light press Nature into service of the highest artistic
purpose.” The spectator, through senses of sight and hearing, transports himself onto the stage,
into the world of the consummate drama. 72
According to Wagner, the communal work of the dancer, the poet, the musician, and the
landscape painter yield the Gesamtkunstwerk. The requirement is more than the work of the
three happening simultaneously: Wagner gives the example of Goethe being read aloud among
statues in a gallery while a Beethoven symphony is performed. This does not constitute a
cohesive artwork; it is, rather, an uncohesive mix. Similarly, a dramatic dance poem is more
than choreography to a soundtrack—the music is inherently dramatic and unified with the dance;
it is not incidental to either. The arts must also remain pure; that is, each art must remain the
work of its dedicated artist. If an absolute musician, Wagner posits, attempts to paint, he creates
neither a painting nor music. 73
Joan von Zarissa as Gesamtkunstwerk
Joan von Zarissa was a collaboration of poet-composer Werner Egk, choreographer
Lizzie Maudrik, and set designer Josef Fenneker, yet a contemporary critic remarked that
“music, scene and choreography were bound in a unity of dramatic events in such cohesiveness
as one has never before experienced.” 74 The critic Elsi Jänecke expanded, “dance, pantomime,
tableau and dramatic event form, with spoken word and the choruses, a unity that explodes the
Beine bis zu ihrer Ausdehnung über die ganze Bühne, tanzt die Schwester Musik von der Scene hinweg in das
einzige Orchester noch hinunter, dreht, schwenkt und wirbelt sich so lange, bis das Publikum den Wald vor lauter
Bäumen, d. h. die Oper vor lauter Beinen gar nicht mehr sieht.”
71
Ibid., 108.
72
Ibid., 152–3.
73
Richard Wagner, Oper und Drama, in Gesammelte Schriften und Dichtungen (n.p.: Adamant Media, 2005), III,
71. Facsimile of 1871 edition (Leipzig: C.F.W. Siegel).
74
Nachrichten aus dem deutschen Kulturleben (Berlin) 13, 22 January 1940. “Musik, Szene und Choreographie
waren zu einer Einheit dramatischen Geschehens verbunden, wie man sie in dieser Geschlossenheit noch nicht erlebt
hat.”
194
boundaries of conventional ballet and approaches opera.” 75 More correctly, Joan von Zarissa
approached Wagner’s Gesamtkunstwerk.
Of the Wagnerian roles enumerated above, Werner Egk was most obviously a musician.
Earlier in his career as an accompanist to silent film, Egk likely became familiar with creating
incidental music, soundtracks to film. His music for Joan von Zarissa was not incidental but
instead represented a musician fulfilling his collaborative role in creating the inherently dramatic
music necessary to achieve Gesamtkunstwerk. Critics of Joan von Zarissa were quick to
observe this quality. Johannes Jacobi pointed out:
The very theatrically effective music supports the dance setting wonderfully. The strict
formal composition of the whole in four scenes framed by middle-French a cappella
choruses and the musically cohesive composition of the individual dance numbers
effectively bear the striking impact. The dramatic qualities of Egk’s music, perhaps
lagging somewhat behind the opera Peer Gynt in pure substance, are startling not only in
their dance rhythms; they lie just as much in the almost demonic tone, his suspenseful
instrumentation and the keen, often oppressive forcefulness of melodic arabesques. 76
Fred Hamel noted that, in the music, Egk
intensifies the dramatic to concentrated effects, the theatrical to tonal illustrations. When
the booming steps of the approaching men-at-arms thunderously interrupt the tender flute
arabesques of Joan’s love-dance with the girl Florence—then that is such a musicaltheatrical vision of uncanny power. And so that the purely musical incursion might not
always be of the same intensity, he always submits himself to the lapidary construction of
75
Hannoverscher Kurier 26, 27 January 1940. “Tanz, Pantomime, Bild und dramatisches Geschehen bilden mit dem
gesprochenen Wort und den Chören eine Einheit, die die Grenzen des herkömmlichen Balletts sprengt und in die
Nähe der Oper weist.”
76
Warschauer Zeitung 22, 27 January 1940. “stützt der sehr theaterwirksame Musik die tänzerische Handlung
ausgezeichnet. Die strenge formale Komposition des Ganzen in vier von mittelfranzösischen a-capella-Chöre
gerahmte Bilder und die musikalisch geschlossene Anlage der einzelnen Tanznummern tragen wesentlich zu der
straffen Wirkung bei. Die dramatischen Qualitäten der Egk’schen Musik, die an reiner Substanz hinter der PeerGynt-Oper vielleicht etwas zurücksteht, erschrecken sich nicht allein auf die Tanzrhythmen, sie liegen ebensosehr in
dem fast dämonisch anmutenden Klang, seiner spannungsreichen Instrumentation und der kühlen, oft
beklemmenden Eindringlichkeit melodischer Arabesken.” Also printed in the Jenäische Zeitung 23, 27 January
1940, with attribution.
195
dramatic scenes such as the Lament, Rage, and Seduction of Isabeau in the second
tableau or the downfall and death of Joan through wine, dice, and demonic hallucinations.
And all of this against a background of dance-like rhythm, not grafted on by the
percussion, rather fundamental to the character of the melody and its accompaniment. 77
Unlike the incidental music that Egk had composed at the beginning of his career, this music is
inherently dramatic and intimately tied to the drama of the dance-poem. It is fully integrated
with the other art forms.
In Joan von Zarissa, Werner Egk is also quite literally a poet. While he did not compose
a libretto on the scale of Wagner, he did create ex nihilo the Prologue and Epilog of Joan von
Zarissa. As a dramatist, Egk includes the “Homage” scene (No. 9 Die Huldigung) in the original
version, to be danced without music, but integral to the plot, as it reflects the indignation of the
rest of the court who must pay homage to Joan, the usurper. Additionally, Egk selected those
texts by Charles d’Orléans that serve as the choral interludes in the work. In the Rondeau “Vous
y fiez vous?” Egk does more than select a poem: he inserts his own voice through the addition
of three hundred thirty “la-la-las.” Finally, Egk provides copious stage directions in Joan von
Zarissa. These detail the dramatic narrative by indicating its action and movements. In this
way, the stage directions function as does the libretto in an opera; however, the drama is carried
by movement instead of speech. It is not surprising that Egk would embrace the role of poet in
Joan von Zarissa. Egk already had various literary works to his credit: the radio plays Zeit im
Funk (1929, with Robert Seitz), Einundneunzig Tage (1930, with Robert Seitz), Furchtlosigkeit
und Wohlwollen (1931), Der Fuchs und der Rabe (1932), Der Löwe und die Maus (1932), Die
Historie vom Ritter Don Juan aus Barcelona (1932), and Columbus (1933); and the adaptations
of libretti for the operas Die Zaubergeige (after Pocci, with Heinz Tietjen, 1935) and Peer Gynt
(after Ibsen, 1938).
77
Deutsche Zukunft (Berlin) 4, 28 January 1940. “In ihr [die Musik] verdichtet sich das Dramatische zu geballten
Affekten, das Theatralische zu tonmalerischen Illustrationen. Wenn in die zartern Flötenarabesken des Liebestanzes
Joans mit dem Mädchen Florence dröhnend die Schritte der nahenden Gewappneten hereindröhnen – dann ist das so
eine musikalisch-theatralische Vision von unheimlicher Schlagkraft. Und mag der rein musikalische Einfall nicht
immer gleich stark sein: stets fügt er sich zum lapidaren Aufbau dramatischer Szenen wie im Zweiten Bild mit
Klage, Zorn und Verführung Isabeaus oder im vierten mit dem Untergang und Tod Joans bei Wein, Würfeln und
dämonischen Wahnbildern. Und das alles auf dem Hintergrund eines tänzerischen Rhythmus, der nicht durch
Schlagzeug aufgepfropft ist, sonder elementar im Wesen der Melodik und ihrer Begleitung liegt.”
196
Egk also functioned in the Wagnerian role of visual artist, though to a limited extent in
Joan von Zarissa. From 1921 to 1928 Egk created thirty-one artworks, mostly drawings. These
include Augsburg Maximilianstraße, featuring a figure reminiscent of the work of Marc Chagall
(see Figure 4.1). 78
Figure 4.1. Werner Egk, Augsburg, Maximilianstraße, undated (1924 or 25).
Werner Egk, Musik–Wort–Bild (Munich: Albert Langen Georg Müller, 1960), opposite 48.
Scheidungsprozeß (Ehescheidung) (Divorce Proceedings (Divorce)) of 1928 similarlyfeatures
similar disproportionate two-dimensional figures with rigid limbs (see Figure 4.2).
78
Franz Roh, “Werner Egk als Zeichner” in Werner Egk, Musik–Wort–Bild. (Munich: Albert Langen Georg Müller,
1960), 310.
197
Figure 4.2. Werner Egk, Scheidungsprozeß (Ehescheidung), 1928.
Another of Egk’s works, a self-portrait from 1925, is reminiscent of the early works of Paul Klee
(see Figure 4.3). 79
79
Ibid.
198
Figure 4.3. Werner Egk, Selbstbildnis, Spring 1925.
Since Egk’s artworks date from the time of the Weimar Republic, it is not surprising that they
reflect attributes of well-known artists of that period. But the nature of Egk’s work also begs the
question of whether or not that association could have landed Egk’s work in the Entartete Kunst
exhibition.
In 1935 Jean Fouquet’s La Vierge et l’Enfant entourés de Séraphins et de Chérubins
made a great impression on Egk and served as inspiration for the visual aspects of Joan von
Zarissa, as did Fouquet’s miniatures in the Codex gallicus VI in the Bayerische Staatsbiliothek in
199
Munich. 80 Egk did not attempt to use these as inspiration to fashion the set design for Joan von
Zarissa himself, but instead referred a professional artist, Josef Fenneker, to them. In so doing,
Egk obeyed Wagner’s guidelines. Were Egk, the absolute musician, to try to take on the task of
the absolute artist, he would create neither music nor art. Egk guides Fenneker, but he himself
does not paint.
At the end of No. 7, “Isabeau’s Rage,” as Isabeau first gives in to the advances of Joan,
Egk specifies the exact moment at which a great “light-crescendo” should occur.81 Here, Egk is
the artist, not of the plastic stuff of scenery, but of the “warm, vivifying employment of light”
that Wagner mentions in Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft. Egk again specifies the nature of lighting
to be used at the beginning of the fourth tableau. No. 14, “Wine and Dice Game” opens with
light concentrated on a small table, the location of the games that cost Florence’s life, while all
else remains in darkness. 82 Light is also the primary image in Chanson II, “D’ont vient ce souleil
de plaisance,” an interplay of light, sun, and eclipse.
Light becomes an important point of intersection between the world of the
Gesamtkunstwerk and National Socialist Germany. The National Socialists often featured light at
important events, such as Albert Speer’s “Cathedral of Light,” at the 1934 Nuremberg rally. To
the chagrin of Goering, Speer requested and was granted the use of one-hundred thirty aircraft
searchlights, placed at forty-foot intervals around Nuremberg’s Zeppelin Field. According to
Speer, the sharply-defined beams of light were visible to “a height of twenty- to twenty-five
thousand feet, after which they merged into a general glow,” giving the impression of “a vast
room, with the beams serving as mighty pillars of infinitely high outer walls.” Speer cited the
design as “not only my most beautiful architectural concept but, after its fashion, the only one
which has survived the passage of time.” 83
Light and flame were again emphasized at the 1936 Olympic games. The Olympia flame
was kindled by sunlight focused and controlled by highly refined German optical tools, including
80
Egk, Die Zeit wartet nicht, 320–1.
81
Egk, JvZ, orig. version, 104. “Das große Lichtcrescendo soll erst auf die zweite Fermate treffen.”
82
Ibid., 182. “Auf den unteren Spielfläche steht ein kleiner Tisch, auf den sich das Licht konzentriert, während alles
Übrige im Dämmer bleibt.”
83
Albert Speer, Inside the Third Reich, 58–59.
200
a reflector made by Germany’s Zeiss Optics. 84 The Olympische Jugend pageant featured both
pyrotechnics and a prominent “Fire Hymn.” 85 After 1 September 1939, though, the light images
perhaps foremost in the minds many Europeans were that of Blitzkrieg, “lightning war,” and the
defensive blackout.
More proximate to art is an interesting incident recounted by Egk in his memoirs. Egk
related that on the eve of the opening of the grand exhibition of German art at the Haus der
deutschen Kunst, Adolf Hitler came across a painting of Munich’s Ludwigstraße by night, with
its “plaster wet with rain, matte reflections of streetlights, house facades that faded into the
darkness above.” Hitler, the painter and ideologue, ripped the picture from the wall and threw it
into the corner, exclaiming, “‘With us there is no dark, rather only the radiant, brilliant day.’”
Egk observed: “The light, the elevated, the lofty, the uplifting, that was correct.” 86 Hitler’s
affinity for light also applied to the theater. Hitler was a fan of Alfred Roller’s work for the 1903
production of Tristan und Isolde under the baton of Gustav Mahler at the Vienna Court Opera.
In fact, Hitler had sought a meeting with Roller in order to gain advice for his art career. Roller
agreed; however, the two never met because Hitler could not summon the courage to make it to
Roller’s office. In his 1925 sketchbook, Hitler includes sketches for Acts II and III of Tristan
und Isolde, basing his designs on those of Alfred Roller’s 1903 production. 87
Of the Wagnerian roles available to the artist of the future, the only one that Egk did not
avail himself to some degree was that of choreographer. Egk did not specify the movements of
his dancers, though he did, as Wagner, specify important gestures and movements generally.
84
Large, Nazi Games, 3.
85
Olympische Jugend Festspiel, 10, 21.
86
Egk, Die Zeit wartet nicht, 306. “Der Künstler Adolf Hitler hatte dort [im „Haus der deutschen Kunst“ in
München] am Vorabend der Eröffnung der großen deutschen Kunstschau ein Bild von der Wand gerissen und in die
Ecke gefeuert, weil es die Ludwigstraße bei Nacht zeigte: Regennasses Pflaster, matte Reflexe der Straßenlaternen,
Häuserfassaden, die sich nach oben im Dunkel verlieren. Warum um Gottes willen? Er sagte es selbst: „Bei uns
gibt es dein Dunkel, sondern nur den strahlenden, hellen Tag.“ Das Lichte, Höhere, Erhabene, Erhebende, das war
richtig.” Egk does not give the name of the artist.
87
Frederic Spotts, Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics, with a new introduction by the author (Woodstock and New
York: The Overlook Press, 2002 and 2009), 223–24. For a detailed discussion of Roller’s work, see Steven
Thursby, “Gustav Mahler, Alfred Roller, and the Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk: Tristan and Affinities between the
Arts at the Vienna Court Opera,” PhD dissertation, Florida State University, 2009.
201
The choreography of Joan von Zarissa was left to Lizzie Maudrik. While Egk was involved
with New German Dance to a considerable, if at times circumstantial, degree, he left the
choreography of his dramatic dance-poem to a professional dancer.
In creating a twentieth-century Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk, Werner Egk tapped into
contemporary attitudes and nationalism. Hitler’s personal like of Wagner was known,
promulgated, or assumed throughout the Reich. While this is true from the early days of the
regime through the premiere of Joan von Zarissa in early 1940, the Führer’s tastes changed in
late 1942. From the time of the German defeat at Stalingrad, Hitler abandoned his beloved
Wagner, unable to endure the music he associated with a triumphant Germany. He preferred
instead the distraction of the operetta Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow) by Franz Lehár.
Ironically, Hitler had denounced that work as “a pre-eminent example of artistic kitsch” in
speeches in 1920 and 1922. 88 But in 1940, Hitler still loved Wagner, as he did Bruckner, and,
since some time in the 1930s, Franz Lehár. By invoking Wagner, Egk could have appealed to
the one person who could fix Joan von Zarissa in the eternal canon of German art. Unlike
Rudolf von Laban, Mary Wigman, Gret Palucca, or Lizzie Maudrik, as long as Adolf Hitler was
a fan, Werner Egk would not have to worry about the capricious vacillations of bureaucrats who
might declare Joan von Zarissa undesirable. By invoking Wagner and his ideals of
Gesamtkunstwerk and by utilizing New German Dance, Egk grafted Joan von Zarissa onto the
most German artistic rootstock, practically ensuring its success in the New Germany.
88
Ibid., 263, 233.
202
CHAPTER FIVE
MUSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF JOAN VON ZARISSA
Egk’s music is an extension of common-practice-period tonal music. It employs a large
orchestra with a substantial percussion battery, but the orchestration is generally conventional.
He employs various sound effects, vestiges of his earlier career in film and radio, to highlight the
drama. The power and dance-like quality of Egk’s music are carried in its rhythm, the most
primary of Stravinsky’s influences on the composer. Melody is fundamental to Joan von
Zarissa, serving both to delineate form and to unify the drama. Egk’s forms tend toward the
simple, a reflection of his rather informal music education. While Egk expands his chordal
vocabulary beyond conventional triads and seventh chords, he very often retains functional
harmonic progression. The music of Joan von Zarissa was accessible to contemporary audiences
and so bound to the drama that it was inseparable from it.
In Joan von Zarissa Egk favors the low-pitched instruments of the orchestra, especially
bassoons and low strings. Additionally, Egk favors wind instruments in melodic roles, not the
violins, which he often utilizes for accompaniment. Egk’s expanded use of winds was
recognized by music critic Edwin von der Nüll, who confirmed that “whoever knows [Egk’s]
music, recognizes his signature at every turn by the sound, the iridescent usage of the orchestra,
the equipoise between winds and strings.” 1 Egk’s predisposition toward winds is likely another
vestige of his work in radio. Winds were often prominent in radio ensembles because their
overtone-rich timbre was more easily broadcast than that of the less powerful strings.
The inherent dramatic qualities of Egk’s music assert themselves most strongly in the
battles scenes of Joan von Zarissa. For such scenes, Egk utilized a specific orchestration that
features juxtaposed chords. The individual elements are often distinguished by timbre and
tessitura and therefore reflect the engagement of two combatants or groups. In No. 4, “The
1
Berliner Zeitung am Mittag 19, 22 January 1940. “Wer seine Musik kennt, spürt auf Schritt und Tritt am Klang, an
der irisierenden Behandlung des Orchesters, dem Gleichgewicht von Bläsern und Streichern seine Handschrift.”
203
Duel,” Egk pits the flutes, oboes, trumpets, and trombones against the bassoons, timpani, and
strings; a difference in both timbre and tessitura (see Example 5.1). 2
Example 5.1. Battle orchestration in No. 4, “The Duel,” meas. 23–26.
In movement No. 7, “Isabeau’s Rage,” the struggle between the Joan and Isabeau features
two aggressive dogfights marked by contrasts in tessitura. Isabeau is represented by series of
three chords played by flutes, clarinets, bass clarinets, horns, trumpets, violins, violas and cellos
(see Example 5.2).
2
Unless otherwise specified, movement numbers cited in this discussion are those of the original version. See
Figure 3.10 for a comparison of the movement numbers between the original and revised versions. The latter are the
same as revised piano score.
204
Example 5.2. Battle orchestration in No. 7, “Isabeau’s Rage,” meas. 70–81.
Though the group includes bass clarinets and cellos, it has generally a higher tessitura than its
opponent. The difference in tessituras may be compared to the different tessituras of male and
female voices, the voices of Joan and Isabeau. Joan is initially depicted by just the timpani and
double basses, later augmented by oboe, English horn, bassoon, contrabassoon, trombone, tuba,
and bass drum. The lower-pitched group ejaculates coarse, heavy tonic-dominant figures
between the more dissonant gestures of the higher Isabeau group. 3 The more functional
stereotypes (V–I) of the lower voice reinforce the determination of Joan to seduce Isabeau,
whose more dissonant line remains reluctant to conform to the tonal assertion.
Unlike altercations between single figures, No. 12, “The Love-Dance,” limns a largescale imbroglio. Here, the oppositional forces are substantial, as are the orchestrations that paint
them. The horns, orchestral trumpets, trombones, tuba, and strings represent Isabeau’s men-atarms. The clarinets, bass clarinet, bassoons, contrabassoon, horns, and eight backstage trumpets
represent those of Joan. Here, the assignment of labels is based on the plot. Joan emerges
3
The assignment of the groups to the two characters is not specified in the score. This author bases his labeling on
the tessituras of the two groups: the higher, female; the lower, male.
205
victorious from the melée—more correctly, he absconds with his new love Florence under the
protection of his troops—while Isabeau commits suicide. A fanfare that becomes associated
with Joan accompanies the victors. 4
The rhythmic elements of Joan von Zarissa were often highlighted by contemporary
critics. Music critic Johannes Jacobi wrote,
[Egk’s music] is dance-like to a high degree, twitching throughout from the incisive
rhythms which have always been Egk’s strong suit. [Rhythm] reveals its countenance
principally in the theatrics and through the orchestral tone. It is imprinted less in the
thematic substance—and in this regard perhaps lags behind Egk’s Peer Gynt—more
meaningful are rhythm and tone. 5
Critic John W. R. Hellmann provided a more detailed description in the Hamburg Mittagsblatt:
For this [Don Juan] material, which stands closer to Mozart’s opera than to the Gluck
ballet and in part infringes on the realm of Shakespearean demonic possession, Werner
Egk (as the composer of the unfortunately too-little performed Zaubergeige of which we
still have fond memories) wrote a music that obviously receives its strongest impetus
from the early works of Stravinsky and nonetheless often hints at the Bavarian parentage
of its creator, especially in the refined application of all instrumental media,
fundamentally tänzerisch from beginning to end, in its elemental, not to mention
primitive, display of rhythmic strength. 6
4
The fanfare is further discussed later in this chapter.
5
Neuköllner Tageblatt 19, 23 January 1940. “Sie [Egks Musik] ist in hohem Grade tänzerisch, durch zuckt von den
prägnanten Rhythmen, die stets die Stärke Werner Egks gewesen sind. Erst auf dem Theater und durch den
Orchesterklang entschleiert sie ihr Gesicht. Es ist weniger durch die thematische Substanz geprägt – und steht in
dieser Hinsicht vielleicht hinter Egks „Peer Gynt“ zurück –, bedeutungsvoller sind Rhythmus und Klang.”
6
John W. R. Hellmann, Mittagsblatt (Hamburg), Dec. 6, 1940. “Zu diesem [Don-Juan] Stoff, der eher der Oper
Mozarts näher steht als dem Gluckschen Ballett und teilweise in die Bezirke Shakespearescher Dämonie verstoßt,
schrieb Werner Egk (als Komponist der leider so wenig gespielten „Zaubergeige“ uns noch in bester Erinnerung)
eine Musik, die von den früheren Arbeiten Strawinskis her offenbar die stärksten Impulse empfangen hat, besonders
auch hinsichtlich der raffinierten Anwendung aller instrumentalen Mittel, die, vom Anfang bis zum Ende tänzerisch
empfunden, in der elementaren, um nicht zu sagen primitiven Kraftentfaltung ihrer Rhythmik jedoch die
bajuvarische Abkunft ihres Schöpfers oftmals durchblicken läßt.” N.B. The term bajuvarisch refers to the peoples
populating present-day southern Bavaria south and east through Austria identified by their dialect. The term here
connotes the quintessentially Bavarian.
206
By placing the dance-poem in the company of Stravinsky’s ballets, Hellmann conjures the
specters of cultural bolshevism and degenerate music. By mentioning Die Zaubergeige, he does
the exact opposite—he invokes Volkstümlichkeit and paints Egk as a model New German
composer. Interestingly, mixed or obfuscated meters are common to both these disparate styles.
Many movements of Joan von Zarissa feature mixed meters. In most cases, Egk
juxtaposes groups of two and three pulses, either at the metric, e.g., the 2/4 and 3/4 of the
Prelude; or at the sub-metric level, e.g., the division of sixteenth notes in the 3/8 section of No. 1,
“Procession.” The latter excerpt merits further discussion. As the procession of the captured
Moors begins (meas. 21), the 3/8 meter is broken into divisions of three and two sixteenth-note
units (see Example 5.3).
Example 5.3. Joan von Zarissa, No. 1, “Procession,” meas. 21–28.
This is again the Bavarian Zwiefacher dance rhythm, an important element of Egk’s 1935
opera Die Zaubergeige. In Joan von Zarissa the rhythm appears in conjunction with the
captured Moors, led by their prince and princess, “deplorable despite their barbaric finery,” in
the company of a “chained and beastly hairy savage.” Here, the rhythm signifies not so much the
folk character of the captives, but rather their savage status compared to the refined nature of the
207
court. The characterization continues into No. 2, “Entrance and Dance of the Captured Moorish
Women,” emphasizing the idea that even the Most Beautiful among the Moors is still savage.
Melody is a crucial element of Joan von Zarissa. Through juxtaposition, repetition, and
variations of various melodies, Egk delineates the structural forms of individual movements and
unifies the drama as a whole. The forms of individual movements of Joan von Zarissa are
usually constructed of clearly-defined sections featuring particular themes. Many movements
present and alternate one or more themes, resulting in rondo-like structures. For example, No. 7,
“Isabeau’s Rage,” features the presentation of two themes of four and six bars, respectively. The
first of these is an open-ended melody-countermelody pair treated as a single unit and furnished
with a variety of closing formulas. The second is a closed unit spanning a descending octave.
These are interspersed with the sequential palindromic dogfights described earlier (see Figure
5.1).
1
e: ii V
19
31
35
A
A
B
i
i
/\/\/ III
39
/\/\/
43
59
65
A
B
Dogfight
(top parts)
i
i
a–b¨–C–d,
d–C–b¨–a;
E–B–E in bass
81
84
92
100
116
119
135
151
Fluttertongue
A
B
Dogfight
(top parts)
Fluttertongue
A (Closing)
B
Closing
a: N + V
i
d–C–b¨–a,
a–b¨–C–d;
e: N + V
V–i
i
E–B–E in
bass
Figure 5.1. Form of No. 7, “Isabeau’s Rage.”
This movement also features a curious formal element that Egk employs elsewhere in Joan von
Zarissa: a sonic event as a form delineator. After each of the dogfights in the above movement,
Egk orchestrates a fortissimo flutter-tongued stinger across the winds. These sound effects
elevate the tension of the movement at the same time that they serve as half cadences. Such
chords, along with tuckets and other illustrative sound effects, are remnants from Egk’s career as
208
a film accompanist and radio composer. 7 Melody-driven forms such as that of No. 7, “Isabeau’s
Rage” are quite prevalent in Joan von Zarissa. Egk constructs nine other movements along these
lines. 8
Movement No. 6, “Isabeau’s Lament,” exhibits a similar melody-driven character.
Against an ostinato background in the low strings, violins, horns, celesta, and harp, the clarinets
(chalumeau register), the bass clarinet, bassoons, violas, and cellos present the melody. A solo
flute presents the second phrase of the melody against another ostinato pattern in the same
accompanimental voices; the third phrase is taken by the English horn; the last, by the bass
clarinet, accompanied by sighing violins. Movement No. 3, “Dance of the Fool,” is a recitativeand-aria-based form. The movement opens with a rhythmically free recitative by the clarinet.
The melody is derived from a theme of the preceding movement and punctuated by muted
strings. The aria is a triadic Puppet theme. After the Puppet, with whom Lefou has fallen in
love, is again hoisted upward, Lefou mourns to a second recitative based on new material. The
metered Puppet theme returns with the puppet at the end of the movement.
No. 11, “Pantomime,” is a variation-based form (see Figure 5.2). After an opening theme
associated with the Beast (U, Ungeheuer), the Townsfolk theme (B, Bürger) is presented in three
variants. 9 A restatement of the Beast theme and the appearance of the Hero mark the end of the
movement, rounded out by material based on the Townsfolk theme.
7
A stinger is a common dramatic element of film scores and consists of a strongly articulated note or chord that
accompanies a violent or significant action. A tucket is a short fanfare figure that announces an important figure or
event.
8
Movements No. 1, “Procession”; No. 2, “Entrance and Dance of the Captured Moorish Women”; No. 8, “The
Seduction of Isabeau”; Chanson II, “D’ont vient ce souleil de plaisance”; No. 12, “The Love-Dance”; Rondeau,
“Vous y fiez vous?”; No. 14, “Wine and Dice Game”; No. 15 “Appartitions”; and the Rondeau-Finale.
9
The labels of the themes are taken from the German stage directions to facilitate their location in the score. For
example, the “Beast” (Ger., Ungeheuer) theme is labeled “U,” not “B”; the “Townsfolk” (Ger., Bürger) theme, “B,”
not “T.”
209
1
14
20
26
28
32
38
40
46
58
70
U
Drum
Roll
B1
ext.
Drum
Roll
B2
ext.
B3
U
Hero
Tucket
B Motive
(Parallel triads)
Closing function
e:
[1–5–1]
i
V7
[5–1]
b:
II
i
(e: v)
e:
E:
e: V I
Figure 5.2. Form of No. 11, “Pantomime.”
In this movement, as in No. 7, “Isabeau’s Rage,” Egk uses a sound effect to help delineate form.
Instead of a flutter-tongue stinger, he uses a drum roll.
Four movements of Joan von Zarissa are combinations of melody-driven sectionalized
form and variation form. 10 In these movements, themes are juxtaposed with one another and
may appear in their prime or in varied forms. No. 2, “Entrance and Dance of the Captured
Moorish Women,” provides the best example of Egk’s combination of the two forms (see Figure
5.3). After an introduction featuring the theme associated with the hairy savage (BW, behaarter
Wilder) from No. 1, “Entrance,” and an effect to accompany the opening of the large on-stage
peacock, out of which the Most Beautiful steps, the Most Beautiful (S, Die Schönste der
gefangenen Maurinnen) theme is presented, followed by a simpler variant, making this a themeand-variation form up to this point. After a flutter-tongued chord marks a formal stop, the
Voluptuous theme (W, wollüstig) marks the beginning of the transformative dance of the Most
Beautiful. Here, the flutter-tongued chord may be considered part of the Voluptuous theme: its
jarring brashness marks the entrance of the theme associated with, as the people of the court see
it, the degradation of the Most Beautiful. The distance between high court culture and the low
estate of the naked Most Beautiful is reinforced by the musical movement from E minor through
E Major to B-flat major, the most remote key, a tritone away.
10
Movements No. 2, “Entrance and Dance of the Captured Moorish Women”; No. 4, “The Duel”; No. 5, “Honor
Dance”; and No. 10, “Opening Dance.”
210
1
BW
(from No. 1)
e:
34
Peacock
Effect
F pentatonic
42
S1
149
S3
159
S4
E LydianMixolydian
E:
186
Fluttertongue†
E11
56
S2
83
Fluttertongue
F-9/+5/5
F:
89
W
Bb: I add 6–
IV6/9–ii–V9
112
Fluttertongue†
F-9
192
W
215
S5
230
Naked
233
Coda
Bb: I add 6–
IV6/9–ii
E:
I
IM7
126
W
Bb: I add 6–
IV6/9–ii
† The flutter-tongued chords in meas. 112 and 186 do not appear as such in the revised piano score. In the original and revised versions,
however, they are clearly marked “Flutterzunge.”
Figure 5.3. Form of No. 2, “Entrance and Dance of the Captured Moorish Women.”
Various themes corresponding to characters or actions serve as unifiers of the drama and
encourage recollections at pertinent points. That is, they function similarly to Wagner’s
leitmotivs. For example, No. 13, “Perette’s Wrath,” contains no new melodic material but rather
continues the set of variations begun in No. 10, “Opening Dance.” In the earlier movement, the
court dance, headed by the usurper Joan, is marked by a stately melody and countermelody pair,
the Court “theme” (H, Hof). As Lefou enters, his dance is musically interrupted by variations on
two themes (LA & LB, Lefou A & B), in D major and in E minor (see Figure 5.4).
1
17
25
33
41
49
57
66
69
81
91
Introduction
H
Interlude 1
H
Interlude 2
H
Interlude
3
Ext.
LA1
LB1
LA2
F
--
--
--
--
--
--
--
D
Ee
D
180
185
195
201
209
H
Interlude 2
H
Coda
Bb
--
--
--
105
119
133
147
165
LB2
LA3
LB3
LA4
Ext.
e
D
e
D
/\/\/\/
V/Bb
Figure 5.4. Form of No. 10, “Opening Dance.”
No. 13, “Perette’s Wrath,” resumes the dramatic interplay between Lefou and Perette
begun in the “Opening Dance” movement. Musically, the variations on Lefou’s two melodies
continue, in their original keys (see Figure 5.5).
211
1
17
31
45
59
72
LA5
LB4
LA6
LB5
LA7
(Closing)
Cadence and
Extension
D
e
D
e
D: I–V–I
V9–I
Figure 5.5. Themes and keys in No. 13, “Perette’s Wrath.”
In addition to unification by melodic variation, Egk utilizes melodic quotation to unify
the entirety of Joan von Zarissa. In the revised “Apparitions” scene (No. 14), the specters of
Isabeau and Florence, both dead, confront Joan with his past deeds: Joan’s battle with and
murder of the Iron Duke; his usurpation of the Duke’s throne and seduction of Isabeau; and his
abduction of Florence. 11 Egk brings together melodies from earlier in the dance-poem together
in a musical illustration of those misdeeds (see Figure 5.6).
1
4
19
29
57
Introduction
Court Theme (No. 10)
Flutist Theme
(No. 12)
Battle Theme
(Nos. 4 and 5)
New Mateiral
Bb: V-9
Bb
B
B (Mixolydian)
B (Lydian-Mixolydian)
--
Joan’s usurpation
of throne;
Enticement of Isabeau
Abduction of Florence
Isabeau’s suicide
Murder of the Iron Duke
--
81
89
106
120
“Vous y fiez vous?”
Theme (Rondeau) &
Dies irae
“La-la-la” Theme
(Rondeau)
“Vous y fiez vous?” Theme
g#
Cb: ii7–I add 2
Db
Db: vi7–V add 2–I M7
--
--
--
--
Figure 5.6. Themes and keys in No. 14, “Apparitions,” the final movement of the revised
version of Joan von Zarissa.
11
The “Apparitions” movement of the original Joan von Zarissa and the revised Joan von Zarissa vary
considerably. In the original version, “Apparitions” (No. 15) includes a reminiscence of Joan’s first attempt to
seduce Isabeau from No. 5, “The Honor-Dance,” the Dies irae, and the themes from the Rondeau. It does not recall
the murder of the Iron Duke (No. 5) through the use of the Battle Theme, nor does it recall the Court Theme of No.
10, “Opening Dance”; nor does it recollect the Flutist Theme from No. 12, “The Love-Dance.” In the revised
version, “Apparitions” (No. 14) is the final movement, a tragic close with a moral in music. In the original, the
resolution of the entire drama relied on a moralizing spoken Epilog, followed by the ebullient Rondo-Finale that
effectively dissolved any remnants of tragedy.
212
Egk also includes both the “Vous y fiez vous?” and “La-la-la” themes of the Rondeau between
the third and fourth tableaus. These appear simultaneously with the Dies irae at the point at
which Joan collapses, the victim of the specter of the Iron Duke. While these do not bring
distinct dramatic actions to mind, they do remind the audience of the moral expounded by the
choir and intoned by the Dies irae: that blindly trusting in the world leads to death.
Egk employs various sound effects to depict characters and actions within Joan von
Zarissa as well. That is, Egk composes short, non-functional snippets that illustrate the action of
the drama. These gestures emanate from the illustrative side of Egk’s writing, the effective side,
the non-inherently-dramatic side. The first instance of sound effect writing appears in No. 4,
“The Duel.” Three effects follow in quick succession as the duel between the knight and Joan
comes to an end (see Example 5.4). In measure 77, Joan hoists a large two-hander sword, to the
accompaniment of a disjunct ascending line that parallels the ascent of the sword. The zenith of
both the sword and the musical line are capped with a D# + E + F stinger as Joan attacks. As the
knight’s sword falls, so does the musical line, chromatically from E¨4 to E¨2. After the Battle
theme reappears one final time, an A¨2 tremolo announces the preparation of the coup de grâce,
a single eighth note on the same pitch.
213
Example 5.4. Joan von Zarissa, No. 4, “The Duel,” meas. 77–89.
Stingers and other alarms highlight some of the most dramatic moments in the work. The
most illustrative of these occurs at the end of No. 8, “The Seduction of Isabeau.” The triptych of
214
the third tableau begins with No. 6, “Isabeau’s Lament,” during which Joan encounters the
Duchess and initiates his seduction. Things go awry for Joan in No. 7, “Isabeau’s Rage,” but he
persists. In No. 8, he finally wins over Isabeau. Egk foreshadows the unhappy ending of this
seduction near the end of the movement. As Joan encircles Isabeau with his arms, the horns
sound a fortissimo minor third high in the instrument’s range, an alarm alerting all but Isabeau of
the moral–and mortal–jeopardy in which she places herself.
According to critic Alfred Burgatz, Egk was a “Don Juan who makes eyes at the tonal
and the ‘atonal.’” 12 Critic Walter Abendroth remarked that Egk’s music “wallows in grating
tones of audacious recklessness,” and critic Heinz Joachim disparaged the “travestied undertone”
he heard in Egk’s music for Joan von Zarissa. 13 While hyperbolic, these comments pointed to
several harmonic traits of Joan von Zarissa. Egk works within an essentially tonal framework,
but makes various forays into a wilder musical landscape.
Egk grafts seconds, sevenths, and fourths onto functional harmonies for color and
interest. The added sonorities also contribute to the dramatic character of Joan von Zarissa. An
example of conventional functional stereotypes, No. 4, “The Duel,” opens in A-flat with dorian
inflection, progressing i | IV | i in its first measures. Egk expands conventional progressions
such as these in No. 2, “Entrance and Dance of the Captured Moorish Women.” The variations
of the Most Beautiful of the Captured Moorish Women begin in F major. The accompaniment of
the next twenty-seven bars appears to oscillate between the tonic and dominant; however, the
harmonies themselves are not as straightforward as the ear makes them seem. Egk flavors the
tonic with an added second, and the dominant sonority is built of the pitches C + E + F + G + B¨
+ D, a V9 with an added fourth. Listeners likely interpret the latter as a first-inversion dominant
seventh chord with an added second, since E is consistently used in the bass. The added pitches
color the dominant sonority but do not obscure its perceived function.
12
Berlin Illustrierte Nachtausgabe 18, 22 January 1940.
“Musikalisch – hochinteressant – ist Egk bei den Jungrussen, der Gruppe um Rimsky-Korssakow (und seiner
„Scheherezade“) angelangt, plus dem heutigen, modernen Einschlag. Er ist ein Don Juan, der mit dem Tonalen und
dem „Atonalen“ liebäugelt.”
13
Berliner Lokal-Anzeiger 19, 23 January 1940.
“… schwelgt in Klangreibungen von kühnster Rücksichtslosigkeit.”
Frankfurter Zeitung (Reichsausgabe) 39/40, Jan. 23, 1940. “… travestierende Unterton der Musik …”
215
Egk also expands common-practice harmonic convention through the obfuscation of key.
Measures 17–25 of No. 10, “Opening Dance,” present the Court theme discussed above. While
the melody is diatonic in F major and accompanied by inner voices in F major, the bass seems to
assert D minor (see Figure 5.7).
17
18
F: I or vi7
IV add 6
Bass: D
19
V add 4
vi7
iii7
20
21
22
23
24
I9/-7
--
--
I6
ii6/5
D
G
(passing)
V7
25
26
27
28
29
I add 7 or vi9
--
IV7 add 4
V9 add 4
IM7
D
D
Figure 5.7. Obfuscation of key in No. 10, “Opening Dance”
Egk avoids closure until the cadence in measure 29 and asserts D in the bass in measures 17, 21,
25, and 26.
While Egk usually relies on conventional major and minor modes, he occasionally uses
other modes, sometimes mixing them. For example, No. 2, “Entrance and Dance of the Captured
Moorish Women,” discussed earlier is in Lydian-Mixolydian mode at measure 149 ff. In No. 3,
“Dance of the Fool,” Egk relies on mode mixture: the scale on which the movement is based
comprises the pitches E¨–F–G–A¨–B¨–C¨–D¨–E¨; ambiguously either A¨ melodic minor or E¨
natural minor with a raised mediant (or E¨ mixolydian with a lowered submediant). Additionally,
in No. 1, “Procession” measures 55 ff. are in the “Arabic” minor scale: C–D–E¨–F©–G–A¨–B–
C.
Egk does more in Joan von Zarissa than expand a functional system through added tones,
false-bass harmonies, and mode mixture. At several points in the dance-poem, Egk abandons
functional harmony in favor of successions of static blocks of tone. This style is most
conspicuous in the choral interludes in Joan von Zarissa. The two chansons and rondeau feature
the juxtaposition of different key areas or sonorities, without substantial harmonic progression
within them. The first chanson, “C’est grant paine,” oscillates between G major and E-flat
major, each profusely decorated with added tones. The second chanson, “D’ont vient ce souleil
de plaisance” alternates units of G minor and D major. Unlike the chansons, the rondeau “Vous
y fiez vous?” relies on the juxtaposition of the individual sonorities b¨7, A¨ add 2, and A¨7 (at the
“la-la-la” sections) rather than key areas.
216
No. 6, “Isabeau’s Lament,” is the first of several movements in which an ostinato
accompaniment supports a melody. Here, the phrases of the melody are separated and separately
orchestrated: the first phrase, for an ensemble comprising clarinet, bass clarinet, bassoon, viola,
and cello (m. 8); the second, for flute (m. 28); the third, for English horn (m. 44); and the fourth,
for bass clarinet (m. 50). For the first phrases, Egk provides an ostinato of two alternating
sonorities, e¨ add 2 and C¨ add 4. The second is accompanied by an ostinato alternating E¨–B¨–F
and E¨–C¨–F simultaneities. The third phrase is accompanied by yet another ostinato of
alternating fØ7 and B¨9. The ostinati of the first three phrases are absent in the fourth, presented
over a pedal point on E¨. Soft B¨s are furnished by the pianissimo tubular bells, piano timpani,
and celesta. Sighing figures in the strings introduce slowly undulating E¨–F triplets in the horns.
The most conspicuous element of Egk’s harmonic language in Joan von Zarissa is his
sparing use of major mode. Egk composes in forthright major mode rarely within the dancepoem: at the nakedness of the Most Beautiful in No. 2, “Entrance and Dance of the Captured
Moorish Women”; at the arrival of the Hero in No. 11, “Pantomime”; and in the concluding
“Rondeau-Finale,” No. 15 in the original Joan von Zarissa. In the first instance, the Most
Beautiful dances to four variations of her theme, becoming ever more feral, and finally casts off
the veils draped on her by the other Moorish Women. Her former innocence is lost in her “fullytransformed salacious nakedness,” as Egk indicates. At the end of her dance, she is accompanied
by a radiant fortissimo E-major chord. This is not perversion; rather, the E-major chord
represents honesty, purity, and truth. At this moment, the true nature of the Most Beautiful is
revealed: her natural unshrouded beauty. She is true to her body and does not cover it. Egk’s
interpretation of “salacious nakedness” is not objective. Rather, it represents the view of the
court that disregards the mean estate of the Most Beautiful. In contrast, the ladies of the court
are attired in period couture that reveals very little of their true bodies, and they are not
accompanied in the major mode.
E major functions similarly in No. 11, “Pantomime.” The Hero who saves Florence from
the Beast is heralded by a twelve-measure fanfare in E major in measures 58–69, an excerpt of
which is included as Example 5.5.
217
Example 5.5. Hero’s tucket in No. 11, “Pantomime,” meas. 58–64.
The harmonic progression of the fanfare is fundamentally functional (see Figure 5.8).
58
59–62
62
63
64
65–66
67
68
69
E: I
(1–5–1)
I–IV
IV–I–IV
V–IV–I–V (no 3rd)–I
(1–5–1)
V–IV–I–V–I
IV–V7 (no 3rd)–IV–V–I
I
Figure 5.8. Harmonic analysis of the Hero’s fanfare, No. 11, “Pantomime.” meas. 58–69.
The use of major here is also pure and honest—this Hero is the only true hero of Joan von
Zarissa; that is, he is the only morally pure hero.
In measures 107–34 of the following movement, No. 12, “The Love-Dance,” another
fanfare appears, this time played by the backstage trumpets. At this point in the drama, Joan has
been smitten with Florence and dances with her. Isabeau attempts to break up the couple, and
the spat escalates to a melée in which Joan absconds with Florence; Isabeau commits suicide;
218
and Joan’s men rout those loyal to Isabeau. This fanfare signifies the victory of Joan and, though
similar, is not the same as that of the Hero in the previous movement (see Example 5.6).
Example 5.6. Joan’s fanfare in No. 12, “Love-Dance,” meas. 105–11.
The earlier fanfare provides a foil by which to judge this one. Joan’s fanfare is orchestrated for
eight trumpets, a more regal–and pompous–accompaniment for the usurper Joan. Instead of E
major, the fanfare is in D major, and the tonic is colored with an added second. That is, this
tucket is “corrupted” by the added tone. The fanfare is not pure. It is a Schreckenfanfare that
reflects the tragic hero whom it announces. Joan is an immoral man and cannot be characterized
by the E major that denotes purity, honesty, and truth. Further, the fanfare is accompanied by a
dramatic stinger, a B-flat major chord with an added fourth and sixth. The B-flat chord is a
deceptive resolution of the A dominant seventh chord before, a frustration of the expected arrival
of the tonic as foreshadowed by the earlier Hero’s fanfare. Again, this represents the deceptive
nature of Joan. Further in the first twenty-eight bars of the fanfare passage (meas. 107–34), the
fanfare does not progress—it simply asserts itself, again separating Joan’s stagnated immorality
from the morality of the Hero, which is represented by stereotypical functional progression
without deception.
Egk also employs major mode in the Rondeau-Finale at the end of Joan von Zarissa.
This coda is a dazzling spectacle: the formerly backstage choir and trumpeters join the dancers
onstage in a dance “symbolizing the most exuberant joy of life and the triumph of love.” Happy
sections in E major (progressing II–vi–V–I) serve dominant functions to others outlining I–V–I
in A major. At this point, the drama is over, and Joan is dead. This happy coda simply dispels
219
any lingering tragic sentiment and harmonic discomfort. Egk’s extended harmonies are
sublimated into diatonic major mode.
In using an essentially tonal framework, Egk made the music of Joan von Zarissa
accessible to his audiences and was able to engage them in the drama. That drama is variously
punctuated and articulated by Egk’s music, especially by his juxtaposition, repetition, and
variation of melodies. Egk’s use of extended diatonicism adds to the dramatic expressiveness of
his music at the same time it sets his music apart from the chromaticism of the Romantic era.
The fundamental rhythms of Joan von Zarissa make Egk’s music tänzerisch, and his use of
sound effects make it illustrativ. Ultimately, though, Egk’s music is dramatisch, inseparable
from the drama for which it was composed.
220
CHAPTER SIX
THE RECEPTION OF JOAN VON ZARISSA
Joan von Zarissa premiered to a sold-out Berliner Staatsoper on Saturday, 20 January
1940. Between 1940 and the close of all German theaters on 1 September 1944, Egk’s work was
produced in fifteen cities across six European countries. After substantial delay, Joan von
Zarissa was danced twenty times in Occupied Paris between 1942 and 1944 as part of a German
cultural propaganda campaign directed toward France. While components of the work were
modified to accommodate the circumstances presented by various venues, the cohesive nature of
Joan von Zarissa and Egk’s recreation of the atmosphere of fifteenth-century Burgundian court
culture were universally admired. Both inside and outside the Reich, Joan von Zarissa met with
excitement and success.
Premieres of Joan von Zarissa, 1940–1942
From the outset, Joan von Zarissa was perceived as something new in the history of
German dance. H.M. Cremer declared the work a “landmark in the history of German ballet,”
citing how Tietjen valued the art of dance, how all involved worked together, and how the
Staatsoper orchestra played to the fullest of its excellent reputation. 1 Joan von Zarissa left a
distinct impression. It was something more than ballet—a Gesamtkunstwerk of music, dance,
and scenery. In the Nachrichten aus dem deutschen Kulturleben, the premiere was extolled,
since
… For the first time the ideal demands of dance were consummately satisfied, that a
ballet might not be just a story line, but above all be dance. Music, scenery, and
1
Das 12 Uhr-Blatt 19, 22 January 1940. “Weil Tietjen selbst durch seine Regieführung kundtat, wie hoch er die
Tanzkunst einschätzt, weil alle Kräfte des Ballettes in wundervoller Ausgeglichenheit fanatisch an den Aufgaben
arbeiteten, weil das Orchester in bekannter prächtiger Form musizierte, deshalb wird dieser Abend ein Markstein in
der Geschichte des deutschen Ballettes sein.”
“Kurz, es fehlt der Ausdruck, um all das zu deuten, was hier geschaffen wurde.”
221
choreography were linked in a unity of dramatic events, in such closeness as one has
never experienced them. 2
Critic Elsi Jänecke added more elements to the Gesamtkunstwerk, including pantomime. More
importantly, spoken word and choruses helped to advance Joan von Zarissa beyond the
boundaries of ballet and into the realm of opera. 3 The importance of language to the overall
work was echoed by Fred Hamel, who reported that Egk “very nearly returned to the musicdrama [the Wagnerian Musikdrama], directly to the border at which word meets music.” Hamel
pointed to the importance of prologue, epilogue, and choruses in amplifying the setting of the
drama. Disavowing the choruses as solely utilitarian music, he noted that they were
“universalized reflections” that took up the style of Flemish chanson, allowing the “temporal and
regional atmosphere of the setting to resonate further.”4 While text was extra-generic to ballet, it
was integral to Egk’s dramatic dance-poem.
Dr. Andreas Liess drew a direct artistic genealogy between Wagner and Egk in the pages
of the Neues Musikblatt. In an article titled “The Future of Dance-Dramas,” Liess pointed out
that the traditional fields of opera, oratorio, and ballet had proven sufficiently fruitful, and that
2
Nachrichten aus dem deutschen Kulturleben 13, 22 January 1940. “… zum ersten Male war in Vollendung die
ideale Forderung der Tanzkunst erfüllt, ein Ballett möge nicht nur eine Handlung, sondern vor allem Tanz sein.
Musik, Szene und Choreographie waren zu einer Einheit dramatischen Geschehens verbunden, wie man sie in dieser
Geschlossenheit noch nicht erlebt hat.”
3
Hannoverscher Kurier 26, 27 January 1940. “Tanz, Pantomime, Bild und dramatisches Geschehen bilden mit dem
gesprochenen Wort und den Chören eine Einheit, die die Grenzen des herkömmlichen Balletts sprengt und in die
Nähe der Oper weist.”
4
Deutsche Zukunft 4, 28 January 1940. “Er rückt ganz nahe an das Musikdrama heran, bis unmittelbar an die
Grenze, an der zur Musik das Wort hinzukommt, das Egk auch tatsächlich – gesprochen als Prolog und Epilog,
gesungen in Chorsätzen während der Zwischenakte – zu Hilfe nimmt. Nur daß eben diese Verwendung des Wortes
keinen dramatische Funktion hat. Die Chöre sind keine Verwandlungsmusiken, sondern, fast im Sinne der antiken
Tragödie, verallgemeinernde Betrachtungen; Prolog und Epilog geben einen epischen und ethischen Rahmen, der in
einem angehängten Finale szenisch-symbolisch ausgebaut wird. Aber eben darum wirkt dieses Finale noch der
dramatischen Tanzdichtung nicht zwingend, zumal die Musik hier auch zwischen heiterer Diesseitigkeit und
hymnischer Ueberhöhung in der Schwebe bleibt und nicht die Stärke der übrigen Partitur erreicht. Um so schöner
sind die unbegleiteten Zwischenchöre, die kunstvoll den Stil der altniederländischen Chanson aufgreifen und damit
die zeitliche und örtliche Atmosphäre der Handlung in der Musik weiter schwingen lassen.”
222
contemporary dance composition was itself evolving. While the elements of a dance-drama were
in place, the field lacked a champion to unify them. Liess declared,
… Only the Great One was missing, who wrests the baton from the hand of opera,
already grown slack, and sets about the new construction of a great German dance drama
in the spirit of the Gesamtkunstwerk—and his time appears to have come—a Great One,
who knows how, as Wagner once did lavishly and with fantasy, to take the building
blocks from here and there; and with sure instinct of genius and a clear head, is at the
same time master of the execution and master of the truth. 5
Without artistic execution, however, Egk’s efforts remained fruitless. The dancers of Joan von
Zarissa were likewise lauded as part of the overall work. They provided a human link between
the stage and the audience and, as Wagner would have had it, transported the audience into the
drama. They understood “artistic cooperation”:
subsumption and subordination to a great, collective idea given by the composer;
experienced by all participants; dramatically accentuated by the director through the
artful arrangement of positions, exits, and entrances, with color and light; and completely
dissolved in the dance by the choreographer; and bound into an organic whole. 6
5
Andreas Liess, “Die Zukunft des Tanzdramas,” Neues Musikblatt 51 (February 1940). “Die Geschichte der
Formen der Oper, des Oratoriums, des Balletts gibt Befruchtung genug. Manchen Zug haben zeitgenössische
Tanzkompositionen bereits angedeutet. Mittel und Versuche sind als da; es fehlt nur der ganz Große, welcher der
schon schlaff gewordenen Hand der Oper den Führerstab entreißt und den neuen Bau eines großen deutschen
Tanzdramas im Sinne des Gesamtkunstwerkes türmt – denn seine Zeit scheint gekommen –, ein Großer, der wie
einst Wagner großzügig und mit Phantasie die Baustein hierher und dorther zu nehmen weiß und mit sicherem
Genieinstinkt und klarem Kopf Meister der Wirkung und Meisterer [sic] der Wahrheit zugleich ist.”
6
Nachrichten aus dem deutschen Kulturleben 13, 22 January 1940. “Die Leistungen dieses Abends (Ilse Meudtner
als Isabeau und Bernhard Wosien als Joan müssen besonders herausgehoben und als dramatische
Tanzcharakteristiker von grossem Format vor allen genannt werden) haben bewiesen, was künstlerische
Gemeinschaftsarbeit heisst: Ein- und Unterordnung unter eine grosse, gemeinsame Idee, die vom Autor gegeben,
von allen Mitwirkenden erlebt, vom Regisseur mit geschicktem Arrangement der Stellungen, Abgänge und
Aufzüge, mit Farbe und Licht dramatisch akzentuiert, und von der choreographischen Leitung ganz in Tänzerische
aufgelöst und zum organischen Ganzen gebunden ist. Der Eindruck ist darum so gross und einmalig, weil ein tiefes
menschliches Problem nach unendlich mühe- und liebevoller Arbeit, die ohne Rast überwunden wurde, aufgegangen
ist in das Erlebnis des Werkes durch all Beteiligten, seien sie nun Zuschauer oder Ausführende.”
223
Accordingly, Joan von Zarissa was a true Gesamtkunstwerk, a unity of drama, dance, scenery,
light, and spoken word. It was also a Gesamtkunstwerk in its execution, with its producer,
choreographer, scenic designer, and dancers working together to bring the work to life. And the
whole was driven by Egk’s distinctly dramatic score.
Three German descriptors were commonly applied to Egk’s music for Joan von Zarissa:
tänzerisch, illustrativ, and dramatisch. His music is often evaluated against the standard of
being tänzerisch, a word difficult to translate. The connotation of tänzerisch is that the music is
inherently dance music, to a degree beyond that conveyed by the word “danceable.” According
to Karl H. Ruppel of the Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung Egk’s music was tänzerisch because of
Egk’s use of “persistent elemental rhythm,” manifested not so much in Egk’s prevalent use of
percussion, but more fundamentally in the nature of Egk’s melodies and their accompaniments.
By recalling the words of Egk’s own Lochhamer Opernbrief, Ruppel made Joan von Zarissa a
member of the same volkstümliche family as Die Zaubergeige, though without the explicitly
völkische rhetoric. For others, the “Bajuware” Egk was completely absent, and Joan von Zarissa
was the latest product of an artistic evolution well beyond the music of Die Zaubergeige. 7
Illustrativ, or “illustrative” music would run alongside the dramatic action without being part of
it. The dramatisch, “dramatic,” nature of Egk’s music repeatedly cited by critics referred to the
expressive qualities of the music itself. Instead of merely running alongside the action, Egk’s
dramatic music was part of the drama of Joan von Zarissa, sometimes diegetic, sometimes
illustrative, and always inherently dance-like.
The dramatic aspect of Egk’s music, Ruppel continued, was manifest in its expressive
and illustrative qualities that buttressed dramatic actions and in Egk’s unusually precise stage
directions. 8 Joan von Zarissa was a “great dramatic ballet” that did not just present “a suite-like
7
Signale (Berlin) 34, 24 January 1940. “Der „Bajuware“ in Egk ist ganz vergessen.”
8
Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung 38, 22 January 1940. “Was liegt näher, als beides in der Phantasie zu einer eigenen
Handlung zu verbinden, in der das Optische des Milieus und das Dynamische der Gestalten zu einer dramatischen
Einheit zusammenfließen?
Aus dieser Einheit erwächst Egk die musikalische Konzeption, eine Musik, die tänzerisch und dramatisch
zugleich ist: tänzerisch in der durchgehenden elementaren Rhythmik, die weniger durch das sekundäre Mittel des
Schlagzeugs als durch das Wesen der Melodie und der Begleitung gegeben ist; dramatisch in der ausdrucksmäßigen
und illustrativen Haltung, die noch den Schwertstoß, das Fallen der Würfel tonmalerisch wiedergibt und mit
ungewöhnlich genauen szenischen Anweisungen zum Teil bis auf die einzelne Achtelnote fixiert.”
224
succession of compatible dance works, but a dramatic as well as musical and choreographic
through-composed plot.” Ruppel explained that this was a form of musical theater that
contemporary German composers hardly considered, though almost all other European countries
had already contributed similar dance works to the genre. For Germany, there was but one
example before Egk, Richard Strauss’s 1914 ballet Josephslegende (Legend of Joseph). Strauss
had reawakened interest in German ballet, diverging from Romanticism and turning instead to
rhythm. Egk’s Joan von Zarissa, with its strong rhythm and unity of the Sister Arts, was the
successor to Strauss’s work. 9
Strauss’s ballet was written for Diaghilev’s Ballets russes, augmented by Léonide
Massine as Joseph. Its librettists, Friedrich Wilhelm Graf von Keller and Hugo von
Hoffmannsthal, relocated the story from Biblical Egypt to Venice. Strauss himself conducted the
premiere of the Josephslegende at the Palais Garnier on 14 May 1914. 10 According to a review
cabled to The New York Times, the music was “rather melodious, though filed [sic] with strange
harmonies” in an orchestration that ranged from violent to gentle. The reviewer reported,
“Some of the pantomimic scenes were highly symbolic and hardly comprehensible, though
throughout they were picturesque beyond description.” The dramatic elements of the
Josephslegende were such that the reviewer subtitled it “an opera without words.” 11 Such a
Ruppel’s last reference is to an indication in No. 4, The Duel, where Egk specifies that Joan draws Isabeau to
himself “on the fourth eighth note” of a given measure.
9
Hamburger Fremdenblatt 21, 22 January 1940. “Das große dramatische Ballett, das nicht nur eine suitenartig
aneinandergerechte Folge von Tanzstücken, sondern eine dramaturgisch ebenso wie musikalisch und
choreographisch durchkomponierte Handlung darstellt, ist eine von den deutschen Komponisten noch immer
verhältnismäßig wenig beachtete Form des musikalische Theaters. Fast alle musikschöpferischen europäischen
Länder haben zu dieser Form wichtige, zum Teil schon klassisch gewordene Beiträge gestiftet: Frankreich mit
Werken von Debussy und Ravel, Spanien mit de Falla, Italien mit Casella, Malipiero und Riete, Ungarn mir Kodaly
und Bartok, Rußland mit Tschaikowskij, Rimskij-Korsakoff, Strawinskij – um nur einige zu nennen. In
Deutschland blieb die für das Russische Ballett geschriebene „Josefslegende“ von Richard Strauß so lange eine
Einzelerscheinung, bis mit der Abkehr vom romantische Ausdrucksprinzip und der Neuwertung der rhythmischen
und motorischen Eigenkräfte der Musik auch das Interesse am Ballett wieder erwachte.”
10
Hoffmannsthal was Strauss’s librettist for Elektra (1909), Der Rosenkavalier (1911), and Ariadne auf Naxos
(1912, rev. 1916)
11
The New York Times, 15 May 1914. < http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-
free/pdf?res=F10E13FB3C5E13738DDDAC0994DD405B848DF1D3> (Accessed 7 July 2011).
225
review could very well have been written for Joan von Zarissa, which Berliner Börsenzeitung
critic Frank Köppen similarly epitheted a “danced opera about Don Juan.” 12
Critics praised Joan von Zarissa for its atmosphere, its scenery, and its music, especially
its choruses. Others expounded on the work’s negative aspects: its dark tragedy, its
unsuccessful finale, and the incomprehensibility of its choruses. Stravinsky was still there, as he
had been in Egk’s earlier works, peeking over the composer’s shoulder. In his company were
various other composers from Rimsky-Korsakov to Ravel.
One aspect of Joan von Zarissa that especially resonated with contemporary critics was
the recreation of the atmosphere of fifteenth-century Burgundian court culture. Egk’s
inspirational sources shone through in the work. According to the Berliner Zeitung am Mittag,
Joan von Zarissa displayed the “last blossoms of old-French culture and joie de vivre.” 13 Such
an idealization of historic culture was congruent with the New Germany returning to its roots as
a source of pride. Heddenhausen’s Tanz ums Dorf, with which Joan von Zarissa premiered, is
another example: its Bavarian milieu was one of little drama but pervasive joyfulness. Such
works were the domain of German organizations such as Kraft durch Freude (Strength through
Joy), which offered a multi-faceted free-time program of theater and musical performances,
lectures, and tours of Germany, cruises, and exercise programs open to all. These events
showcased the wonders of Germany, broke down the perception of culture as available only to
the affluent, and fostered Volksgemeinschaft. Through the joy found in the appreciation of the
German, Germans garnered strength. 14
While Egk successfully recreated an historical time and place, Joan von Zarissa was not
an historical document. In it, the composer of Die Zaubergeige and Peer Gynt trod new ground.
Egk created a milieu that, according to critic Edwin von der Nüll, was “un-romantic, bereft of
everything arbitrary-personal, everything romantic-subjective” as had never been shown on the
German stage. This was possible only as “a result of the prodigious historical understanding”
specific to the New German era. Egk recreated an historic epic, whose vibrancy and perceived
12
Berliner Börsenzeitung 36, 22 January 1940.
13
Berliner Zeitung am Mittag 17, 19 January 1940.
14
Marie-Luise Recker, “Kraft durch Freude (KdF)” in Benz, Graml, and Weiß, Enzyklopädie des
Nationalsozialismus, 550–51.
226
objectivity were meaningful to contemporary Germans. 15 The class structure and perceived selfcenteredness of Weimar culture, latter-day embodiments of elements captured in Egk’s historical
drama, had been dissolved by egalitarian and utopian National Socialism. Sensuality and
eroticism, indulgences of both Burgundy and Weimar, were relegated to a historical context, and
by Nüll’s standards, could be evaluated objectively by the modern German, now divorced from
such baseness. In its historicism, therefore, Joan von Zarissa showed the progress of National
Socialist German culture, at least in Nüll’s estimation.
Critic Fritz Brust saw quite the opposite of Nüll’s objective history. He claimed that in
Fouquet and the Feast of the Pheasant, Egk saw in his fifteenth-century Burgundian sources “a
courtly atmosphere of rampant sensuality, mistress-influence [Mätressenwirtschaft],
skullduggery, and murder.” 16 Such qualities were anything but progressive; similar depravity
had just been the catalyst for the controversy surrounding Egk’s earlier work Peer Gynt. Werner
Oehlmann echoed this opinion in the Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung. He reported,
A Madonna of Jean Fouquet, not so much Mother-of-God as entirely secular beautiful
woman, allowed a remote epoch to come alive to him [Egk] as if she had slapped him:
fifteenth-century Burgundy, in its fusion of the most powerful vitality and over-refined
culture, was as if made to be the backdrop for this [Don Juan] subject matter; a tense
aesthetic-erotic sphere, a local color of time and environment, for which the theater offers
wonderful, as yet completely unutilized possibilities of costuming and scenery. 17
15
Berliner Zeitung am Mittag 19, 22 January 1940. “Nach den Opern „Zaubergeige“ und „Peer Gynt“ betritt
Werner Egk im „Joan“ neuen Boden. Nicht nur versucht er sich zum ersten Male in der Sphäre des Ballett, sondern
er wählt auch hierfür ein Milieu, das Mittelalter, das so unromantisch, so bar alles Beliebig-Persönlichen, alles
Romantisch-Subjektiven, noch nicht auf der Musikbühne gezeigt wurde. Das muß eine Folge des ungeheuren
geschichtlichen Verständnisses sein, welches unserer Zeit eigentümlich ist. Während des ganzen Stückes wird man
die Erinnerung an die Phantasiebilder mittelalterlicher Helden-Epen nicht los, deren wunderbare Buntheit und
Objektivität uns so groß und bedeutend erscheint, weil aus ihr das Alltägliche, das Ich-Bezogene verbannt ist. So
bleibt dem geschichtlich Fernen die Starre und Fremdheit des Erotische, das es für uns in Wahrheit hat.”
16
Der Neue Tag (Prague) 22, 23 January 1940. “Angeregt durch Bilder des 15. Jahrhunderts, sah er eine höfische
Atmosphäre zügelloser Sinnenlust, Mätressenwirtschaft, Betrügereien und Mord vor sich.”
Brust’s review was also published in the Fränkischer Kurier (Nuremberg) 23, 24 January 1940.
17
Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung 32, 18 January 1940. “Ein Bild gab, so erzählt er, die Anregung, auf jene
geheimnisvolle und zentral bestimmende Art, die oft das Werden von Kunstwerken regiert. Eine Madonna des Jean
Fouquet, wenig Gottesmutter, ganz weltlich schöne Frau, ließ ihm eine entlegene Epoche wie mit einem Schläge
227
Given the murder, seduction, and revenge exacted within the drama, it is difficult to divorce the
emotional and erotic from the courtly atmosphere of Joan von Zarissa. For Oehlmann, these
were drives that remained innate to contemporary culture, despite the advent of National
Socialism, and as such made the drama tangible. Given such a reading, historical objectivity
would serve only to diminish the impact of Egk’s Gesamtkunstwerk.
Central to the fifteenth-century Burgundian atmosphere were Josef Fenneker’s scenic
designs and Kurt Palm’s costumes. Nüll’s description of Fenneker’s work is practically poetic:
When, after the prolog, light falls through the painted veil on which one sees Odysseus
bound at the mast and the sirens, one is overcome at the outset by the image, of which the
eyes cannot drink their fill. For depth, Josef Fenneker expanded the space with graceful
late-Gothic columns, a peaceful open hall with expansive views of the city and river with
wind-swelled sails, an equal to the illuminations of van Eyck, full of sparkling colors, and
a poem of the living, of such beauty that one has never seen onstage. 18
Alfred Burgatz likened Egk’s libretto to Fenneker’s backdrop. The libretto was “a fantastic,
heavily-colored medieval tapestry with a central character that initially tremendously ignites the
audience, then admittedly dismisses them a bit coolly.” 19 Burgatz’s comparison reflected the
integral part Fenneker’s design played in the drama. The drama’s visual aspects were reinforced
by the words of the narrator, and Burgatz used the design as a metaphor for Egk’s libretto.
lebendig werden: das Burgund des fünfzehnten Jahrhunderts, im seiner Verbindung von kraftvollster Vitalität und
überfeinerter Kultur wie geschaffen zur Kulisse dieses Stoffes; eine gespannte ästhetisch-erotische Sphäre, ein
Kolorit von Zeit und Umwelt, das dem Theater wundervolle, noch ganz ungenutzte Möglichkeiten des Kostüms und
des Bildes bietet.”
18
Berliner Zeitung am Mittag 19, 22 January 1940. “Wenn nach dem Prolog das Licht durch den bemalten Schleier
fällt, auf dem man Odysseus an den Mast gebunden und die Sirenen sieht, ist man zunächst einmal überwältigt von
dem Bild, an dem sich das Auge nicht satt schauen kann. Als tiefe, auf zierlich spätgotischen Säulen ruhende offene
Halle mit weiten Durchblicken auf Stadt und Fluß mit vom Winde geschwellten Segeln, hat Josef Fenneker den
Raum ausgebaut, so wie die Buchmalereien eines von Eyck [sic] voll sprühender Farben, einem Gewachsensein
und einer Dichte des Lebendigen, das man in dieser Schönheit auf der Bühne noch nicht gesehen hat.”
19
Berlin Illustrierte Nachtausgabe 18, 22 January 1940. “Vielmehr ist sein Tanz-Libretto, das er selbst verfaßte, ein
phantastischer, farbenschwerer mittelalterlicher Gobelin mit einer Hauptfigur, die zuerst ungeheuer zündet, dann
freilich ein wenig die Zuschauer kühl entläßt. Die Steigerung des Charakters wird nicht bis zum grandiosen Gipfel
geführt.”
228
Kurt Palm’s period costumes were likewise integral to the atmosphere of Joan von
Zarissa and were similarly commended by Nüll. He was captivated by Palm’s “Burgundian
luxury costumes, whose richness of color and form ceaselessly elicited gaze.” 20 While Palm
manufactured the costumes for Joan von Zarissa, various costume designs were sketched by
Fenneker. Similarities between photographs of the premiere and Fenneker’s sketches indicate
that Palm appears to have used them as a guide. In so doing, he further reinforced the artistic
unity of the work. Fenneker’s extant sketches include the following costumes, shown in Figures
6.1–6.10, among others.
Figure 6.1. Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: The Most Beautiful
of the Captured Moorish Women.
Bocholt, Stadtarchiv Bocholt, Fenneker-Nachlaß. Reproduced by permission.
20
Berliner Zeitung am Mittag 19, 22 January 1940. “Mit ihn wetteifert Kurt Palm in burgundischen
Prachtkostümen, deren Farben- und Formen-Reichtum unausgesetzt zum Betrachten herausfordert.”
229
Figure 6.2. Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: the Iron Duke.
Figure 6.3. Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: Joan.
230
Figure 6.4. Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: Isabeau.
Figure 6.5. Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: Isabeau in
mourning. Bocholt, Stadtarchiv Bocholt, Fenneker-Nachlaß. Reproduced by permission.
231
Figure 6.6. Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: Florence.
Figure 6.7. Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: Lefou.
232
Figure 6.8. Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: Perette.
Figure 6.9. Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: Standard Bearer.
233
Figure 6.10. Josef Fenneker’s sketches for the costumes of Joan von Zarissa: Monster.
As Nüll likened Egk’s libretto to Fenneker’s set design, Hans Jenker, critic for Berlin’s
Der Angriff, likened Egk’s music to Palm’s costumes. He observed,
Egk’s score shrouds itself in the brass of the time of Don Juan: tubas, trombones,
trumpets and timpani define the dramatic sequence. The melody exhibits part old-French
style, part Landsknecht motives, part influence of opera literature. The strongly motoric
course of the scenes and phrases gives free course to the dance movement. Ostinato
basses parallel the rigidity of court and knightly costumes. 21
Egk’s orchestration was celebrated by critics. Among specific aspects mentioned were the
sixteen percussion instruments of the modern orchestra that strikingly contrasted the sounds of
21
Der Angriff 18, 22 January 1940. “Egks Vertonung hüllt sich in das Blech der Don-Juan-Zeit: Tuben, Posaunen,
Trompeten und Pauken bestimmen in kurzen, scharf rhythmischen Perioden den Handlungsablauf. Die Melodik
zeigt teils altfranzösischen Stil, teils Landsknechtmotive, teils Einflüsse der Opernliteratur. Der stark motorische
Verlauf der Szenen und Sätze gibt der Tanzbewegung freien Raum ostinate Bässe [sic] entsprechen der Starrheit des
höfischen und ritterlichen Kostüms.” Jenker takes a bit of license in describing the instrumental armory. A
Landsknecht is a 15th–17th-century mercenary foot soldier, especially a German pikeman.
234
violins played with plectra, whereby Egk sought to “bring to life the spirit of the Gothic.” 22
Critic Kurt Westphal saw in Joan von Zarissa a mitigation, or better a “clarification” of the
aggressive music of Peer Gynt. He adulated Egk’s novel orchestral juxtapositions, particularly
the solo flute arabesques accompanying the love-dance of Joan and Florence, interrupted by
timpani and trumpets as the men-at-arms of Joan and Isabeau advance on each other. 23 The
same was mentioned by critic Fritz Stege in Berlin’s Der Westen, who described the same lovedance as one of the most effective of the work and marveled that it was accompanied by a single
flute. 24
By far, the musical elements of Joan von Zarissa that received most attention in the press
were the choral interludes. Stege pointed out the contributions of the choral interludes to the
overall atmosphere of Joan von Zarissa. He wrote,
Werner Egk’s goal is the Netherlands-style Renaissance of the age of Dufay in the 15th
century, and the vocal “chansons” and “rondeaus” inserted between the individual
tableaus are artful polyphonic creations, especially masterful [are] the close of the second
Chanson and the third [chorus]. 25
By modeling the choruses on Renaissance polyphony, Egk ensured their cohesion with the
drama, much as he did by inserting period texts into his radio play Columbus. 26 Hans Jenker
went so far as to designate the choruses “the key to Egk’s music,” observing their didactic
22
Hamburger Tageblatt 21, 22 January 1940. “Der Komponist versucht mit den Mitteln des großen modernen
Orchesters, darunter allein 16 verschiedene Schlagzeugeffekte, in interessanten klanglichen Kombinationen (Geigen
mit Plektron), den Geist der Gotik lebendig zu machen.”
23
Rheinisch Westfälische Zeitung 41, 23 January 1940. “Die aggressive Klangkraft seines „Peer“ ist im „Joan“
wesentlich gemildert, fast möchte man sagen abgeklärt. Das gibt an einigen Stellen eine völlig neue Art der
Weichen Klangschönheit. Doch auch so, als die Herzogen Joan in die Arme sinkt, und völlig neue Mischungen, so
etwa die in Melismen schweifende Soloflöte, die von harten Paukenschlägen durchbrochen wird (ähnlich an anderer
Stelle Trompeten und Pauken), ferner das ungemein fein ausgesparte erste Zwischenspiel, prachtvoll zudem der
Schlußtanz.”
24
Der Westen (Berlin) 21, 22 January 1940. “Eine der stärksten Szenen wird allein von einer Soloflöte begleitet.”
25
Ibid. “Werner Egks Ziel ist die Renaissance des niederländischen Stils, des Dufay-Zeitalters im 15. Jahrhundert,
und die zwischen den einzelnen Bildern eingelegten vokal ausgeführten „Chansons“ und „Rondeaus“ sind kunstvoll
polyphone Gebilde, meisterhaft besonders der Schluß der zweiten Chanson und die dritte.”
26
In Columbus, the inserted texts were only approximately contemporary, but the motivation is the same.
235
function of moralizing at the end of each tableau. 27 Adolf Diesterweg also noticed the function
of the chorus as similar to those in Greek tragedy, pointing out simply that “they comment
(something like the Greek choir) on the course of the story line.” 28
While various critics observed that the choir functioned as does a Greek chorus, few
stated how effective their commentary was. Alfred Burgatz apparently found them ineffective,
since he likened them instead to a “musical ‘act curtain.’” 29 Herbert Gerigk explained further,
Between the tableaus choruses on middle-French texts of Charles d’Orléans (15th
century) sound, but they may better constitute a sound-coulisse, since one could neither
understand anything from the text nor could one follow the voice-leading. 30
In addition to whatever acoustical challenges were created by positioning a choir behind a drop,
Gerigk’s initial comment could be explained by the fact that the choruses were sung in the
original French. Das 12 Uhr-Blatt, though, touted the French choruses as a “good sign for the
impartiality and chivalry of German art even in times of war.” 31
The description of the choral interludes as musical curtains is not surprising to those
familiar with Egk’s earlier works, especially Job, der deutsche. In such mystery plays, the openair theaters in which they were performed necessitated a musical cue to show the end of a scene,
27
Der Angriff 18, 22 January 1940. “Hier liegt der Schlüssel zu Egks Musik. Sie schließt, dem Lehrstückcharakter
treu, jede Szene mit einem unsichtbaren und begleiteten [sic] Madrigalchor ab, der moralisierende Songs anstimmt.”
Jenker is the only critic who states that the choruses were accompanied. This could be a typographical error, since
“[un]-begleiteten” would match other accounts.
28
Königsberger Allgemeine Zeitung 26, 27 January 1940. “Diesem altertümlichen, melodischen Zug begegnen wir
in den von einem unsichtbaren Chor gesungenen, kunstvoll gefügten a-cappella-Chorsätzen nach altfranzösischen
Dichtungen, die in den Zwischenakten erklingen, wieder. Sie kommentieren (etwas nach Art des griechischen
Chors) der Verlauf der Handlung.”
29
Berlin Illustrierte Zeitung 18, 22 January 1940. “Neu im Ballett sind altfranzösische (unsichtbare) Chöre: ein
musikalischer „Zwischenvorhang“ gleichsam.”
30
Herbert Gerigk, “Aus den Berliner Opernhäusern,” Die Musik 5 (February 1940): 173–74. “Zwischen den
Bildern erklingen Chöre auf mittelfranzösische Texte des Charles d’Orléans (15. Jahrhundert), die aber wohl mehr
eine Klangkulisse bilden sollen, denn weder konnte man vom Text etwas verstehen noch vermochte man die
Stimmführung zu verfolgen.”
31
Das 12 Uhr-Blatt (Berlin) 17, 19 January 1940. “Die vier eingestreuten Chansons (vier A-Capella-Chöre) werden
in Staatsoper in französischer Sprache gesungen, gewiß ein schönes Zeichen für die Unvoreingenommenheit und
Ritterlichkeit der deutschen Kunst auch in Kriegszeiten.”
236
entrances of characters, and the like. The choral interludes in Joan von Zarissa do the same.
That said, the curtain choruses are not merely utilitarian filler, but are, like the Odyssean tapestry
of Josef Fenneker, very intricately woven into the drama. Another parallel can be drawn
between the two works: both end with spectacular finales. Job, der deutsche ends with a
grandiose chorale and procession of flags, while Joan von Zarissa concludes in a grand dance
celebrating true love and joie de vivre. 32
The spectacular finale of Joan von Zarissa did not fare well in the press. Though Karl H.
Ruppel applauded the finale as a “dance of victory and joy in which the decorative-symbolic
form play of late-Medieval allegory and early-Renaissance trionfi is manifestly renewed in the
spirit of modern dance theater,” most critics found the rondeau-finale unsuccessful. 33 Critic
Herbert Gerigk simply did not know what to make of the banality of the abrupt finale. 34 Fred
Hamel anticipated that the atmosphere germinated in the prologue and epilogue was to be more
fully developed in the finale; however, that culmination never occurred. Hamel judged that the
finale was not compelling. It vacillated between “cheerful worldliness and hymnic elevation,
remained in limbo and did not attain the strengths of the rest of the score.” 35 Friedrich Herzfeld
reported that Egk, who had otherwise proven himself one of the most promising of contemporary
German stage composers, spoke “his own style least of all” in the finale. Herzfeld assessed Joan
32
As discussed previously, the finale also has a part for the choir, which would bring the entirety of the musical
forces to bear. For the premiere, however, the choral parts were taken by the orchestra, and Joan von Zarissa closed
with a wordless dance spectacle.
33
Kölnische Zeitung (Reichsausgabe) 44, 25 January 1940. “Die Kraft der wahren Liebe ist dadurch aber nicht
gebrochen. Mit einem Sieges- und Freudentanz zu ihrem Preis schließt das Werk mit einem Rondo-Finale, in dem
das dekorativ-symbolische Formenspiel spätmittelalterlicher Allegorien und früh-renaissancistischer „trionfi“ aus
dem Geist des modernen Tanztheaters sinnfällig erneuert wird.”
34
Gerigk, “Aus den Berliner Opernhäusern,” 173. “Die Melodik ist einfach und im Finale sogar bewußt banal….
Ein turbulentes Final der Lebensfreude gibt dann den recht abrupten Ausklang, mit dem man eigentlich wenig
anzufangen weiß.”
35
Deutsche Zukunft (Berlin), 28 January 1940. “Prolog und Epilog geben einen epischen und ethischen Rahmen,
der in einem angehängten Finale szenisch-symbolisch ausgebaut wird. Aber eben darum wirkt dieses Finale noch
der dramatischen Tanzdichtung nicht zwingend, zumal die Musik hier auch zwischen heiterer Diesseitigkeit und
hymnischer Ueberhöhung in der Schwebe bleibt und nicht die Stärke der übrigen Partitur erreicht.”
237
von Zarissa as merely a stepping stone between Egk’s great works. 36 Johannes Jacobi concluded
that the “shortened” finale simply did not provide convincing resolution to the tragedy that
proceeded it. 37 Similarly, critic Adolf Diesterweg found those scenes showcasing Joan’s base
drives especially compelling. “Unfortunately,” he reported, “the music of the essentially
lackluster finale of the work, an ‘Epilog’ [sic], that, as an antipode to Joan’s sensuality, limns the
triumph of pure love, does not reach these musical zeniths.” Diesterweg further observed that
“Here, Egk is, as in the similar task in his Peer Gynt, less in his element.” 38 In Peer Gynt, Egk
had focused too keenly on the turpitude of troll culture.
Some critics found that Egk focused too intensely on Joan’s libertinism. Writing for the
Allgemeine Musikzeitung, Wolfgang Sachse found that in Joan von Zarissa, Egk “felt even more
strongly that he had to adopt an attitude toward the negative and its dangerous power” than he
had in Peer Gynt. Egk had not sufficiently balanced the negative aspects of his “inferno of
sensual addiction” with his “foxtrot-like” finale. 39 In complete contrast, Kurt Westphal found
36
Kölnische Volkszeitung 30, 30 January 1940. “Am Schluß wird in einem gesprochenen Nachwort die reine,
unschuldige Liebe gepriesen. Es ist für Egk und seine musikalische Art durchaus bezeichnend, daß er sie nicht in
Musik zu fassen versuchte, denn in dem Schlußtanz spricht am wenigsten seine eigene Art. In allem hat sich Egk
wiederum als eine der hoffnungsvollsten Kräfte unter unseren jüngeren Bühnenmusikern erwiesen, wenn auch diese
Tanzdichtung wohl nur ein Zwischenglied zwischen seinen großen Arbeiten bleiben wird.”
37
Danziger Neueste Nachrichten 22, 26 January 1940. “Lediglich das Finale der Lebensfreude hat in der gekürzten
Bearbeitung der Aufführung nach nicht die überzeugende Lösung gefunden.”
Herzfeld’s reference to the “shortened” finale is ambiguous and is not corroborated elsewhere. The substantial
change to the finale was the subsumption of the choral parts by the orchestra.
38
Königsberger Allgemeine Zeitung 26, 27 January 1940. “Daß Egk alles Tänzerische mit Ueberlegenheit
beherrscht, nimmt bei dem Komponisten des „Peer Gynt“ nicht Wunder. Darüber hinaus gelange er, besonders in
den Szenen, die der dämonische Trieb Joans beherrscht, zu packenden dramatischen Wirkungen. Diese Gipfelungen
erreicht die Musik im wesentlich matteren Ausklang des Werkes, einem „Epilog“, der, im Gegensatz zu der
Sinnlichkeit Jvans [sic], den Triumph reiner Lieben schildert, leider nicht. Hier ist Egk, wie in ähnlicher Aufgabe in
seinem „Peer Gynt“, weniger in seinem Element.” Critique of the music of the epilogue indicates that Diesterweg is
referring to the musical finale as opposed to the spoken epilogue.
39
Allgemeine Musikzeitung 4, 26 January 1940. “Ein Inferno sinnlicher Süchte wird hier ausgemalt mit letzter
Deutlichkeit wie im „Peer Gynt“; die Fäden zum vorhergehenden Werk sind offenbar. Dennoch hat Egk offenbar
hier stärker gefühlt, daß er Stellung nehmen müsse zum Negativen und seiner gefährlichen Macht…. Wenn aber
Egk nun in einem tänzerischen Finale bildhaft und klangreal den Triumph der „himmlischen“, lebenstärkenden
Liebe als Gegenpol zur Triebwelt zeigen will, dann müßte er musikalisch andere Mittel einsetzen. Dem Bereich des
238
Joan von Zarissa too much a dramma giocoso. Westphal observed that Egk tacked on a finale to
show the downfall of corrupt love, just as Mozart had provided a buffo-sextet at his Don Juan’s
demise. He concluded that the work as a whole consisted of loosely connected scenes of “too
little momentum, too little inner vehemence,” out of which to construct a gestalt of the “allconsuming-intensive power” of the hero. Egk’s Don Juan saga was, in short, “nothing
special.” 40 Other critics found Joan von Zarissa unimpressive after the spectacle of Peer Gynt
and, no doubt, the controversy surrounding that opera.
The insertion of texts within a ballet remained a novel trait of Joan von Zarissa, albeit not
without detractors. While the choruses were acclaimed for their dramatic or utilitarian functions
in Joan von Zarissa, their execution was faulted. They were difficult to understand. Critic
Alexander Runge commented,
… The choruses between the tableaus (unfortunately not easy to hear), singing of the
transience of earthly fortune, of the refulgence of unforeseen serendipity, and of the hope
that one should not allow himself to be misled in life, possess a musical direction and
unity, leave behind a lasting impression. 41
Positiven gehört jedoch diesen an Foxtrottweisen gemahnende Rondeau nicht an, es wird nicht als auflichtender und
ethisch befreiender Gegensatz empfunden.” The reference to a foxtrot-like finale is discussed later in this chapter.
40
Rheinisch Westfälische Zeitung 41, 23 January 1940. “Egk wollte jedoch nicht die „Tragödie der Liebe
schlechthin“ zeige, sonder nur den Untergang der zerstörenden Liebe. Und so hängt er – hierin wohl nicht
unbeeinflußt von Mozart, bei dem Don Juans Ende ein Buffosextett folgt – ein Finale an, das den Sieg der guten,
echten, großen Liebe verherrlicht. Und der Fabel, wie Egk sie dichtet, ist nichts besonderes zu vermerken, inhaltlich
hat sie keine neuen Züge. Denn daß Egk das Geschehen von Spanien nach Burgund verlegt, betrifft eigentlich nur
ihr, übrigens sehr schönes, bildliches Gepräge, nicht ihren Kern, nicht ihre Substanz. Die einzelnen Tanzszenen
stehen viel zu locker nebeneinander, um eine Gestalt von so verzehrend-intensiver Kraft wie die des Helden aus sich
heraus aufbauen zu können und als Gestalt durchscheinen zu lassen. Wir wissen wohl: das soll Don Juan sein.
Aber wir spüren es nicht genügend. Die einzelnen Tanzszenen habe inhaltlich zu wenig Triebkraft, zu wenig innere
Vehemenz.”
“Und der Fabel, wie Egk sie dichtet, ist nichts besonderes zu vermerken, inhaltlich hat sie keine neuen Züge.”
41
Nachrichten aus dem deutschen Kulturleben 23, 22 January 1940. “… die (leider nicht gut zu hörenden) Chöre in
den Zwischenakten, die von der vergänglichkeit [sic] irdischen Glücks, von dem Leuchten ungeahnten Glücks und
von der Hoffnung singen, durch die man sich im Leben nicht verleiten lassen soll weisen eine musikalische Führung
und Geschlossenheit auf, die bleibende Eindrücke hinterlassen.” The German verb hören can mean either “to hear”
or “to understand.”
239
Though they were difficult to understand, it appears that Runge did catch the primary themes of
the choruses he found difficult to hear. In fact, he quoted nearly verbatim the descriptions of the
choruses found in the concert program. 42 Wolfgang Sachse commented that understanding the
texts was difficult because the choruses were sung from backstage. 43 The other texted portions
of Joan von Zarissa also received some negative press. Kurt Westphal wrote that “the speaker,
who in the prologue and epilogue delivered something like a ‘moral of the story,’ appeared to us
altogether amiss and instead only well and truly bored us.” 44 Considering the location of the
epilogue between Joan’s demise and the effervescent finale, Westphal’s critique is
understandable, at least for the epilogue, which may well have seemed a static insertion.
As with Die Zaubergeige and Peer Gynt, critics heard in Joan von Zarissa a variety of
musical influences upon Egk. While none were quite so scandalous as the presence of Ernst
Krenek’s Johnny spielt auf as a forbear to Peer Gynt, several problematic influences were
associated with Joan von Zarissa. One of these was Carl Orff. Critic Walter Abendroth credited
both the fundamental traits and entire vision of Joan von Zarissa to inspiration from Orff’s
Carmina burana.” 45 The premiere of Carmina burana predated Joan von Zarissa by three years,
but Orff’s work did not receive wide critical acclaim until its repeated performance alongside
Joan von Zarissa in the early 1940s. 46 The connection between the two is unspecified but may
arise out of the antiquarian aspects the works share. Alfred Burgatz noted that Egk
musically—most interestingly—is related to the Young Russians, the group surrounding
Rimsky-Korsakov (and his Scheherazade) together with the contemporary, modern
42
Program Joan von Zarissa, Staats-Theater Berlin & Staats-Oper, 20 January 1940, f. 13r. BSB Ana 410.
“Musikalisches Zwischenspiel: Ein Chanson, von einem unsichtbaren Chor gesungen, kündet von der
Vergänglichkeit irdischen Glückes.”
“Musikalisches Zwischenspiel: Ein Chanson kündet von dem Leuchten ungeahnten Glückes.”
“Musikalisches Zwischenspiel: Ein Rondeau warnt, sich im leben durch Hoffnung verleiten zu lassen.”
43
Allgemeine Musikzeitung 4, 26 January 1940. “Da die Chöre hinter den Szenen gesungen wurden, blieb das
Verständnis der Texte der Lektüre vorbehalten.”
44
Rheinsche Westfälische Zeitung 41, 23 January 1940. “Völlig verfehlt scheint uns aber der Sprecher, der uns mit
Prolog und Epilog so etwas wie eine „Moral von der Geschichte“ verkündet, uns aber lediglich gehörig langweilt.”
45
Berliner Lokal-Anzeiger 19, 23 January 1940. “Die Gesamtvision des Werkes weist aber auch in wesentlichen
Zügen auf eine zeitgenössische Anregung hin: Orffs ‚Carmina burana’.”
46
Orff’s Carmina burana has since totally eclipsed Egk’s Joan von Zarissa.
240
wallop. He is a Don Juan who makes eyes at the tonalists and the atonalists. His music
is splendidly “barbaric”—the theme material not always sharply stamped. 47
Burgatz placed Egk in Russian company. As one of the Moguchaya kuchka, Rimsky-Korsakov
is a quintessential Russian, and obviously non-German, composer. The presence of RimskyKorsakov is “interesting,” instead of negative, as would have been expected had such a
comparison been cited in an review of an earlier Egk work. Burgatz’s tone is neutral.
This reversal is striking, but it may have a reasonable explanation. Burgatz was writing
in January 1940. The war was on. German troops had invaded Poland on 1 September 1939;
Soviet troops did the same on 17 September. On 23 August 1940 Hitler’s Foreign Minister
Joachim von Ribbentrop and Joseph Stalin’s protégé Vyacheslav Molotov had signed the farcical
Hitler-Stalin Non-Aggression Pact. The Soviet Union benefited by increasing its territory: parts
of Poland, Finland, the Baltic states, and the Balkans were absorbed. In return, Nazi Germany
avoided a two-front war. Hitler, however, had no intention of honoring the agreement; German
plans to invade the Soviet Union had already been formulated in November 1939, formally
announced by Hitler in July 1940, and were implemented in Operation Barbarossa of 22 June
1941. 48 But for the time being, the Germans and the Soviets were allies. Since they were no
longer foes, the war against cultural Bolshevism, declared by the glow of the burning Reichstag
on 27 February 1933, enjoyed a logical armistice. The proximity of Egk to Rimsky-Korsakov
therefore posed few problems.
Such amnesty also extended to Igor Stravinsky, Burgatz’s splendid barbarian. It is not
difficult to imagine the Puppet with whom Lefou falls in love is a reincarnation of Stravinsky’s
Petrushka. Nor had Egk sworn off the use of propulsive rhythm, another Stravinskian trait, in
Joan von Zarissa. Wilhelm Matthes, in an article titled “Is Werner Egk a Problem?” noticed the
“late Rimsky-Korsakov and the early Stravinsky, and the middle [Richard] Strauss as well”
47
Berlin Illustrierte Nachtausgabe 18, 22 January 1940. “Musikalisch – hochinteressant – ist Egk bei den
Jungrussen, der Gruppe um Rimsky-Korssakow (und seiner „Scheherezade“) angelangt, plus dem heutigen,
modernen Einschlag. Er ist ein Don Juan, der mit dem Tonalen und dem „Atonalen“ liebäugelt. Seine Musik ist
herrlich „barbarisch“ – die Thematik nicht immer scharf geprägt.”
48
Schirer, Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, 513–544, 793–852.
241
standing as godfathers over Joan. 49 Matthes’s primary issue with Joan von Zarissa was not this
lineage, but rather Egk’s questionable ethical notions and the use of sonic effects and expanded
diatonicism rather than post-Romantic chromaticism. Fritz Stege, in the Zeitschrift für Musik,
pointed to Egk’s magnum opus of dance as the continuation of the synthesis of drama and dance
by composers associated with Diaghilev’s Ballets russes and “especially realized by
Stravinsky.” 50 Compared with reviews for Die Zaubergeige or Peer Gynt, the attitudes of critics
who heard foreign influences in Joan von Zarissa were surprisingly neutral, a reflection of recent
German-Soviet political nonaggression in the cultural theater.
Regardless, by July 1941 war with the USSR was imminent. The Official Memoranda of
the Reich Music Chamber of 15 July 1941 carried a proclamation by Reich Music Chamber
President Peter Raabe forbidding the performance of works by Russian composers and the
performance of Russian folksongs. 51 The cultural armistice was over.
This political-cultural reflection does not explain one curious description of Joan von
Zarissa’s rondeau-finale. As did Wolfgang Sachse above, critic Hermann Wanderscheck
pointed out that Egk employed a “foxtrot-like march melody” to capture joie de vivre in the
finale. 52 In National Socialist dance and music journals, the tango, foxtrot, and slow fox were
often mentioned in conjunction with debates about Germanness in music, and the outcomes were
variable. Here, though, reaction to the foreign dance element of the finale was neutral. Unlike
Egk’s clear label of “Tango” in the third tableau of Peer Gynt, and to which the reaction was
anything but neutral, Egk did not declare the finale of Joan von Zarissa to be foreign, nor was
49
Signale der Musikalische Welt (Berlin) 98, no. 5/6 (7 February 1940). “Der späte Rimskij-Korssakow und der
frühe Strawinskij, aber auch der mittlere Strauß standen hierbei Pate, wenn man diese Musik auf ihre eigentliche
Erbmasse untersucht.”
50
Fritz Stege, “Werner Egk und der dramatisch Kunsttanz: zur Uraufführung seines „Joan von Zarissa,“” Zeitschrift
für Musik no. 3 (March 1940): 143–146. “Soviele Bilder – soviele Tote. „Dramatische Tanzdichtung“. Aber die
Synthese von „Drama“ und „Tanz“ ist zweifellos eines der schwersten Probleme, die die Tanzkunst kennt, da die
beiden Begriffe eigentlich in ihrer ursprünglichen Bedeutung einen Selbstwiderspruch darstellen. In dem
Komponistenkreis um das Russische Ballett Serge Diaghilew, das der Einheit von Tanz, Musik und Szene einen
neuen Wert verlieh, ist der dramatische Tanz besonders von Strawinsky verwirklicht worden.”
51
Amtliche Mitteilungen der Reichsmusikkammer 8, no. 7 (15 July 1941).
52
National Zeitung (Essen) 24, 24 January 1940. “In der Schlußapotheose setzt Egk eine foxtrottartige
Marschmelodie für die Ekstase überschäumender Lebensfreude ein.”
242
that reinforced by its setting. Its perception as such is limited, and, apart from being mentioned,
kindled little debate in contemporary press.
After the successful premiere of Joan von Zarissa, the City Theaters of Halle (Städtische
Bühnen Halle) and the Hamburg State Opera (Hamburgische Staatsoper) produced the work
within the year, in April and December, respectively. 53 At the 30 April premiere in Halle, Joan
von Zarissa was performed as it was in Berlin. Reception of the dramatic dance poem was
similar to that at its premiere, though critic Dr. Wolfgang Bülau added Debussy to the list of
Joan’s godfathers. 54 As does Bülau, other critics also made references to Debussy or Ravel in
conjunction with the Halle premiere of Joan von Zarissa. These references are not problematic
because Germany had not yet invaded France. That would happen ten days later.
In December 1940 Joan von Zarissa was produced in Hamburg, but unlike the Berlin
premiere and Halle performances, the work was performed in its entirety with choral
participation in the rondeau-finale. The full rondeau-finale was a success in Hamburg, and the
atmosphere and the unity of the whole Gesamtkunstwerk were acclaimed as at the premiere. 55
But for the first time, critic Max Broesike-Schoen asked,
Why doesn’t someone print the old-French texts (with German translation) sung by the
offstage choir in the program? All the more, since the listeners in a completely darkened
orchestra and auditorium surely have the feeling that something important to the story
line is presented, about which one would also like to know something. 56
53
For a listing of performance cities, dates, and programmed works, please see Appendix C.
54
Hamburger Neueste Zeitung, 6 December 1940. “Werner Egk ist kein musikalisches Geheimnis fremd; er kennt
die Instrumentationskunst eines Berlioz so genau wie die Strawinskys, die Linienführung in gotischen Madrigalen so
gut wie die in Debussys Tondichtungen; nur einen einzigen Meister kennt er anscheinend nicht: Werner Egk
selber.”
55
Stuttgarter Neues Tagblatt 342, 13 December 1940. “Werner Egks „Joan von Zarissa“ ist in Berlin uraufgeführt
worden – doch mit wesentlichen Streichungen. Erst in der Hamburger Uraufführung hat man jetzt gewagt, den
Epilog, ein Rondeau, tanzen und singen zu lassen: mit durchschlagendem Erfolg. So kommt der Hamburger
Wiedergabe der Charakter einer zweiten Uraufführung zu, in der die musikalisch-orchestrale Pracht des Balletts, die
wunderbar übertragene, geschichtliche Atmosphäre, die bildhaft Zusammenschau der burgundischen Spätepoche
durch den Komponisten zum einmaligen Erlebnis wurde.”
56
Hamburger Fremdenblatt 29, 29 January 1941. “Eine Frage: Warum bringt man nicht im Programm-Heft einen
Abdruck der altfranzösischen Texte (mit deutscher Übersetzung), die hinter der Szene vom Chor gesungen werden?
243
While Berlin critics may have complained about the inaudibility or incomprehensibility of the
choruses, Broesike-Schoen appears to be the first to posit that a German translation would be
helpful to fully understanding their part in the drama. The perceptive Broesike-Schoen, who
referred to the Janus-faced Joan von Zarissa, asked another question that had not yet been posed,
“Why does Odysseus on the Mast look like an ascetic Christ-gestalt, if anything, instead of a
voluptuous hero?” 57 Unfortunately, he left his question unanswered.
Another Hamburg performance was scheduled for 6 January 1941 as part of a New Year
celebration. In addition to Joan von Zarissa, the concert was to feature “songs of the nation,”
selections from Richard Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and “Ah, perfido!” and the
finale of the Ninth Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. The program, a very German one,
reminiscent of the 1936 Olympics, never made it to the stage. As Egk wrote on the front cover
of the program, the performance was “canceled due to the major offensive of the English air
force on neighboring Wilhelmshaven on 2 January 1941.” 58 The remainder of 1941 saw Joan
von Zarissa performed in Stuttgart (February), Chemnitz (April), Essen (May and November),
and Zurich (December). For the Stuttgart performance of 27 February 1941, there appeared in
the program what Broesike-Schoen requested in Hamburg: reproductions of the d’Orléans
chanson texts with German translations prepared by the Managing Director of the Württemberg
State Theater, Dr. Fritz Schröder. 59 The program does not contain the texts of the rondeaus,
though both were sung. 60 Despite the program’s boast that the choruses would be sung in
Um so mehr, als die Hörer bei völlig verdunkeltem Orchester- und Zuschauerraum sicher das Gefühl haben, daß da
irgend etwas bedeutungsvoll zur Handlung Gehöriges gebracht wird, von dem man auch etwas wissen möchte.”
57
Hamburger Fremdenblatt, Abend-Ausgabe, 6 December 1940. “(Noch eine Bemerkung zum Bühnenbild:
Warum gleicht der Odysseus am Mast eher einer asketischen Christus-Gestalt als einem sinnenfrohen Helden?)”
58
Program, Festveranstaltung, 6 January 1941. BSB Ana 410. “abgesagt wegen Grossangriff der englischen
Luftwaffe auf das benachbarte Wilhelmshaven am 2.1.41” Wilhelmshaven was an important German North Sea
port.
59
Das Programm der Württembergische Staatstheater 6, 27 February 1941, 89. BSB Ana 410.
60
Neue Augsburger Zeitung [7 March 1941, dated from advertisements on the reverse]. BSB Ana 410. Schröder’s
translation for the rondeau “Vous y fiez vous?” is included in Werner Egk, Drei französische Chöre aus dem Ballet
“Joan von Zarissa” (Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1940).
244
Schroeder’s German version at all German performances, it remains unclear whether or not this
was the case. 61
On St. Nicholas’s Day, 6 December 1941, Joan von Zarissa premiered at the Zurich City
Theater. As had been the case in Essen, the ballet was paired with Orff’s Carmina burana.
According to the Neuer Züricher Zeitung, Egk’s godfathers Strauss, Mussorgsky, and Stravinsky
were there in spirit. The unnamed critic noted that the “scenes of the comic confrontation
(Harlequin [Lefou] and Perette) are certainly unthinkable without Petrushka; however, the
imitation is so deftly done that it hardly bothers one.” 62 Stravinsky was once again a decisive
influence on the work, and the tone of reviews resembled those of Egk’s earlier works. Then,
Stravinsky was un-German; in December 1941, he was the enemy, the German Wehrmacht
having launched Operation Barbarossa in June.
In December 1941, Joan von Zarissa returned to the Berlin State Opera, which had
relocated from Unter den Linden to Königsplatz. 63 In the night of 9–10 April 1941, the
“Lindenoper” edifice had been destroyed to its foundations in a bombing raid. 64 The 20
December 1941 performance of Joan von Zarissa also featured the Berlin premiere of Orff’s
Carmina burana, and the latter received rather more press than did Egk’s work. These Berlin
performances of Joan von Zarissa were advertised as a Neueinstudierung, a “new production.”
Though the work remained largely unchanged, a testament to its previous success, some
significant changes that addressed objections critics had previously raised. Joan von Zarissa was
outfitted with a new conclusion. The epilogue was excised, and the Apparitions scene was
changed to the version of the revised score. The rondeau-finale, at best moderately successful,
was likewise lopped off. 65 The scenery and costumes were still those of Fenneker and Palm;
61
Das Programm der Württembergische Staatstheater 6, 27 February 1941, 89. BSB Ana 410. “Die beiden
folgende altfranzösischen Chansons von Charles d’Orléans die Egk in sein Werk aufgenommen hat, wurden von
Oberspielleiter Dr. Fritz Schröder übersetzt und werden in dieser Fassung in allen deutschen Aufführungen
gesungen.”
62
Neuer Züricher Zeitung 6 December 1941. “Die Szenen des komische Widerspiels (Harlekin und Perette) sind
allerdings ohne „Petruschka“ nicht denkbar, doch ist die Imitation so geschickt gemacht, daß es kaum stört.”
63
Program, Staatstheater Berlin, 20 December 1941. BSB Ana 410.
64
Werner Otto, Die Lindenoper: Ein Streifzug durch ihre Geschichte (Berlin: Henschel Verlag, 1985): 306–07.
65
Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung 610, 22 December 1941. “Der deutschen Gotik der „carmina Burana“ tritt im „Joan
von Zarissa“ das Burgund der Renaissance gegenüber. Die Großartige Aufführung, die vor zweit Jahren in der
245
they had not been destroyed in the bombing raid that obliterated the Lindenoper. 66 By 18 May
1942 Joan von Zarissa celebrated its twenty-fifth performance at the Berlin State Opera. 67 The
premiere run comprised eleven performances; that of the 1941 new production, fourteen. 68
In early 1942 Joan von Zarissa boasted successes in Düsseldorf (February), Vienna
(February and March) and Prague (March and April). Of these, the performances at the Vienna
Staatsoper were the most important. For these performances, Josef Fenneker adapted his Berlin
scenic design to the Vienna stage. He also served as costume designer. Not only was Fenneker
imported from Berlin, so was Harald Kreuzberg, the dancer of the Waffentanz for the 1936
Olympische Jugend pageant. Kreuzberg danced the part of Lefou for several performances.
Rudolf Moralt conducted the 5 February 1942 Vienna premiere, and Egk conducted the 4 March
performance. In Vienna, Joan von Zarissa was performed in its entirety, with prologue,
epilogue, and rondeau-finale. In another significant change from the Berlin premiere, the choir,
whose deployment in the finale was ever-problematic, was dispatched in two large stalls above
the stage. Fenneker’s sketch of the stage design for Vienna clearly shows the choir stalls (see
Figure 6.11).
Inszenierung Heinz Tietjens und der Ausstattung Josef Fennekers herauskam, ist in neuer Einstudierung fast
unverändert nach dem Königsplatz übergesiedelt: das bezeugt deutlich genug, daß Werner Ecks [sic] Schöpfung der
dramatischen Tanzdichtung ein voller Erfolg war. man ist auch hetzt wieder gepackt von dem theatralischen
Instinkt, der diese Ballettmusik vom ersten bis zum letzten Takt erfüllt, und von der dramatischen Kraft, die an den
entscheidenden Stellen großartig durchbricht. Geändert ist nur der Schluß; der Epilog und das große Rondo-Finale
sind fortgefallen, die Visionen Joans in der Sterbeszene sind vereinfacht.”
66
Program, Staatstheater Berlin, 20 December 1941. BSB Ana 410.
67
Berlin Illustrierte Nachtausgabe 115, 19 May 1942.
68
246
Figure 6.11. Fenneker’s sketch of the stage design for the Vienna Staatsoper performances of
Joan von Zarissa.
The choir’s location is confirmed by the Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung coverage of the Vienna
premiere: “the choir was positioned on tribunes on both sides one story higher, engrossed in the
action.” 69 Karl H. Ruppel, a fan of the Berlin finale, noted that
for the first time the intervening choruses on old-French texts by Charles d’Orléans
traced the extraordinarily artful direction of style to every detail because they were sung
onstage instead of behind.
69
Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung 66, 7 February 1942. “Auf Tribünen zu beiden Seiten ein Stockwerk höher, dem
Geschehen also entrückt, war der Chor postiert.”
247
Ruppel pointed out that the “fatal effect of a nowhere-to-be-found mood music issuing forth
from ‘mystic’ darkness that must come about with an unseen choir is precluded here.” 70 A
similar solution would be used for the Paris performances of Joan von Zarissa as well.
Despite Fenneker’s solution of how to deploy the choir for the closing rondeau-finale, the
finale again failed to impress critics. Critic Franz Gräflinger thought the postlude an “almost
extraneous ‘appendage’.” 71 And to the critic of the Straßburger Neueste Nachrichten, the finale
“seemed a mitigation instead of an intensification of the foregoing arresting stage activity.” 72
Among those who attended the Vienna performance of Joan von Zarissa was Richard Strauss,
who sat with German author Gerhart Hauptmann in the box of Gauleiter and Reichstatthalter of
Vienna Baldur von Schirach, who was also Reich Youth Leader (Reichsjugendführer) and head
of the Hitler Jugend.
In June 1942 Joan von Zarissa was an important element of the Berlin Weeks of Art, a
“People’s Festival of Consciousness” under the patronage of Gauleiter Dr. Joseph Goebbels. 73
During the course of the festival, which ran from 31 May until 22 June, Joan von Zarissa was
performed twice at the State Opera, on 2 and 15 June. 74 The critic of the Dresdner Neueste
Nachrichten explained,
Weeks of art are not intended as a representation of or gift to art enthusiasts, but as an
affirmation of the entire Folk for art. They provide a sense of solace and edification for
every individual who must face the grim realities of everyday life. The fact that even
Berlin, where since the time of Frederick the Great, the primacy of politics has prevailed,
70
Kölnische Zeitung 81/82, 14 February 1942. “Zum erstenmal sind die Zwischenaktchöre auf die altfranzösischen
Texte des Charles d’Orleans, da sie nicht hinter, sondern auf der Szene gesungen werden, bis in jede Einzelheit der
ungemein kunstvollen Stillführung zu verfolgen. Die fatale Wirkung einer nirgends lokalisierbaren, aus
„mystischem“ Dunkel hervorquellenden Stimmungsmusik, die sich bei unsichtbarem Chor einstellen muß, ist hier
ausgeschlossen.”
71
Düsseldorfer Nachrichten 75, 10 February 1942. “Das Nachspiel empfand ich als fast fremdes „Anhängsel“.”
72
Straßburger Neueste Nachrichten 45, 14 February 1942. “Der »Nachspruche« des Balletts und das abschließende
Chor-Rondo, welches nach dem Tode Joans durch eine Verherrlichung der ewig sich erneuernden Kraft des Lebens
dem Stück einen versöhnlichen Abschluß geben will, dünkt uns eher eine Abschwächung als Steigerung des
vorangegangenen, fesselnden Bühnengeschehens.”
73
Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten 116, 20 May 1942. A Gauleiter is the leader of an NSDAP district, or Gau.
Goebbels had served as Gauleiter of Berlin since 1928.
74
248
should be the arena for a musical festival in this eventful time has its own particular
inward justification and, naturally, its own outward face. 75
That inward justification was the mollification of a people cowering under a hail of bombs; its
outward face, an unconcerned countenance in the midst of war. Among the musical highlights of
the festival were performances of the Berlin Philharmonic under the batons of Wilhelm
Furtwängler, Hans Pfitzner, and Karl Böhm; performances of Richard Strauss’s Salome and his
early opera Guntram; Orff’s Carmina burana under Clemens Krauß; and the premiere of a
Pfitzner violin sonata. There were no complimentary tickets for the festival, nor were there
subscriptions, and half of all seats were reserved for military and armament workers. 76 The
festival also featured art exhibitions, theater performances, film presentations, poetry readings,
and music theater performances, all headed by the motto “The Art of the People.” 77 Berlin’s
Deutsche Wochenschau newspaper reported on Joan von Zarissa and Carmina burana. Critic
Gerner-Beuerle stated that “despite their peculiar choice of themes, to some extent difficult for
universal understanding, these modern music-poems met with approval by wide circles of our
nation.” 78 The tragedy Joan von Zarissa was a rather odd inclusion for a festival whose
purposes were distraction and putting on a brave face. The lighter fare of music theater or
comedy would have likely served as better diversions. Perhaps the festival organizers were
beginning to see the looming national tragedy of an unwinnable war, signaled by the failure of
Germany’s Russian offensive and the air raids destroying Berlin, and were showing the “Art of
the [defeated] People.”
75
Dresdner Neueste Nachrichten 116, 20 May 1942. “Kunstwochen seien nicht als Repräsentation oder als ein
Geschenk an die Kunstenthusiasten gedacht, sondern als ein Bekenntnis des ganzen Volkes zur Kunst. Ihr Sinn sei
Trost und Erbauung für jeden einzelnen, der die harten Forderungen des Alltags erfüllt. Die Tatsache, daß gerade
Berlin, wo seit den Zeiten Friedrichs des Großen das Primat der Politik geherrscht habe, inmitten dieser bewegten
Zeit Schauplatz eines musischen Festes werde, habe ihre besondere innere Berechtigung und natürlich nach außen
ihr eigenes Gesicht.”
76
Ibid.
77
Ibid. and Film-Kurier (Berlin) 123, 29 May 1942. In German, the slogan reads, “Die Kunst dem Volke.” This
could also be translated as “Art for the People.”
78
Deutsche Wochenschau (Berlin) 25, 24 June 1942. “Neben anerkannten Werken deutscher und europäischer
Musik bewiesen die Aufführungen von Carl Orffs „Carmina Burana“ und Werner Egks „Joan von Zarissa“, daß
diese modernen Musikdichtungen trotz ihrer besonderen und teilweise das allgemeine Verständnis erschwerenden
Themenwahl auf Anerkennung breiter Kreise unseres Volkes stoßen.”
249
At least four additional Berlin performances of Joan von Zarissa took place before 15
May 1943, bringing the total performances of the work in Berlin to at least twenty-nine. 79 There
would be no further Berlin performances until that by the Deutsche Oper in 1970. 80 The
enlarged Staatsoper Unter den Linden reopened on 12 December 1942, but was essentially shut
down once again in August 1944 as part of the all-out mobilization for Total War. 81 Air raid
sirens sang the Opera’s death knell on 3 February 1945. The stage area of the Opera suffered
three direct hits, and the auditorium burned to ruin. 82
Joan von Zarissa in Paris, 1942–1944
At 6:50 p.m. on 22 June 1940, in the same railway car in which Germany had had to sign
the bitter armistice of 11 November 1918, French General Charles Huntziger and German
General Wilhelm Keitel signed another armistice: this one between France and a victorious
Germany. 83 The battle for France had begun on 10 May 1940, six weeks before, though German
troops had much earlier made an opening westward gesture, the remilitarization of the
Rhineland, on 7 March 1936. German troops had entered Paris on 14 June 1940. 84 Hitler
himself would tour the Opéra, the Église de la Madeleine, the Arc de Triomphe, the Trocadéro,
and the Invalides the day after the armistice, 23 August 1940. 85
Werner Egk arrived in Paris on 3 June 1942. 86 A notification was sent by the Berlin
Foreign Affairs Office (Auswärtiges Amt) to the German Embassy Paris on 3 June that
“composer Werner Egk is traveling to Paris on behalf of the Reich Music Chamber through 14
June for the purposes of producing his ballet Joan von Zarissa at the Opéra.” 87 Egk remained
79
80
Royalty records of B. Schott’s Söhne, Stadtarchiv Donauwörth.
81
Goebbels first mentioned mobilization for Total War in a speech of 23 February 1942. All theaters and cultural
institutions were closed completely by 1 September 1944.
82
Otto, Die Lindenoper, 307.
83
Schirer, Rise and Fall of the Third Reich, 745.
84
John Plimlott, The Atlas of World War II (Philadelphia and London: Courage Books, 2006), 54.
85
Serge Lifar, Ma Vie: From Kiev to Kiev, trans. James Holman Mason (New York and Cleveland: The World
Publishing Company, 1965.), 180.
86
87
AA Paris 1215 “Komponist WERNER EGK reist im Auftrage Reichsmusikkammer bis 14. Juni Paris zum
Zwecke der Einstudierung seines Balletts „Joan von Zarissa“ an Grosser Oper.”
250
through 10 June. 88 The Stadtblatt der Frankfurter Zeitung of 7 June reported that German music
had gained a following in France, that Hans Pfitzner’s Palestrina had already met with
acceptance, and that Egk’s Joan von Zarissa would soon follow suit. 89
Plans for bringing Joan von Zarissa to Paris substantially predated Egk’s first trip,
however. According to a July 1942 report by Propaganda Staff of Paris (Propaganda-Staffel
Paris) Lieutenant Lucht,
In late Summer 1941 the Culture Detachment of the Propaganda Staff of Paris initiated
meetings with the administration of the Paris Opéra targeted toward presenting newer
German works yet unknown in France to the French public and where possible, to
achieve their inclusion in the Paris repertoire. In these discussions, for tactical reasons, a
point was made to create the impression with the administration of the Opéra that it could
make a choice largely independently and free from influence [of the Propaganda Staff]
from a selection of scores placed at their disposal. During collective deliberations, the
musical legend Palestrina by Hans Pfitzner and the ballet Joan von Zarissa by Werner
Egk were decided upon for the upcoming season. 90
88
89
Stadtblatt der Frankfurter Zeitung 131, 7 June 1942. “Die deutsche Musik findet in Frankreich jetzt ein starkes
Interesse. Pfitzners „Palestrina“ hat sich durchgesetzt, die Goldberg-Variationen Bachs haben in Kempffs
Interpretation Eindruck gemacht, selbstverständlich hatten die Berliner Philharmoniker unter Clemens Krauß große
Erfolge, Egk wird in diesen Tagen „Joan von Zarissa“ inszenieren, im nächsten Jahr werden Werke der Frankfurter
Hessenberg, Höller und Reutter (das Klavierkonzert, vom Komponisten gespielt) in Paris zu hören sein….”
90
Lucht, Bericht über die französischer Erstaufführung des Ballettes “Joan von Zarissa” von Werner Egk, 28 July
1942. AA Paris 1215. The Propaganda Staff was an arm of the German Wehrmacht. “Im Spätsommer 1941 hatte
die Gruppe Kultur der Propaganda-Staffel Paris Besprechungen mit der Administration der Pariser Grossen Oper
aufgenommen, die darauf abzielten, neuere, in Frankreich noch unbekannte deutsche Werke der französischen
Oeffentlichkeit vorzustellen und womöglich ihren Einbau in den Pariser Spielplan zu erreichen. In diesen
Unterhaltungen wurde aus taktischen Gründen Wert darauf gelegt, dass bei der Leitung der Oper der Eindruck
bestehen blieb, dass sie die Auswahl aus einer Reihe ihr zur Verfügung gestellter Partituren weitgehend selbständig
und unbeeinflusst treffen konnte. In den gemeinsamen Erwägungen wurde für die bevorstehende Saison zugunsten
der musikalischen Legend „Palestrina“ von Hans Pfitzner und des Ballettes „Joan von Zarissa“ von Werner Egk
entschieden.” Lucht’s report is included in its entirety in Appendix F.
251
In a letter of 24 April 1942 musicologist Fritz Piersig, recently dispatched to the Propaganda
Staffel, wrote to Egk that Pfitzner’s Palestrina was launched, after a great deal of work, on 30
March, and he decided that
for the next newer German work, your Juan [sic] is to be put on here. In the meantime, at
least, I have not heard anything otherwise from the leadership of the Opéra. If anything,
only the premiere originally planned for the second half of May will be postponed
somewhat. 91
In a letter of 4 May 1942 Lucht, on behalf of his superiors, wrote to Egk,
I am pleased to be able to inform you that the premiere of your ballet Juan di Zarissa
[sic] was announced to me by the Opéra administration for the period between 15 and 25
June. My music consultant Dr. Piersig reported to me that you are prepared and happy,
in principle, to assume the musical leadership of the preparations and first performances.
I must express my delight, because the experiences of the productions of Palestrina just
done here show how essential it is to have a leading and strong German hand in the
performance of newer German works in French theaters.
Lucht then set to procuring a three-month travel visa effective 16 May for Egk, so that he might
have “every possible freedom of movement.” 92 Piersig wrote a marginal apology to Egk for
missing him in Vienna, apparently for the February performances of Joan von Zarissa there.
91
Fritz Piersig to Werner Egk, 24 April 1942. BSB Ana 410. “Als naechstes neueres deutsche Werk soll hier dann
Ihr „Juan“ herauskommen. Ich habe inzwischen wenigstens nichts Gegenteiliges von der Leitung der Oper gehoert.
Nur wird sich womoeglich der urspruenglich fuer die zweite Maihaelfte vorgesehene Premierentermin etwas
verschieben.”
92
Lucht to Egk, 4 May 1942. BSB Ana 410. “Ich freue mich, Ihnen mitteilen zu koennen, dass mir die
Erstauffuehrung Ihres Balletts „Juan di Zarissa“ seitens der Administration der Oper in der Zeit zwischen dem 15.
bis 25. Juni in Aussicht gestellt wird. Mein Musikreferent Dr. Piersig berichtete mir, dass Sie im Prinzip und gern
bereit sind, die musikalische Leitung der Vorbereitung und ersten Auffuehrungen zu uebernehmen. Ich darf auch
darueber meiner Freude Ausdruck geben, denn gerade die jetzt hier mit der Inscenierung [sic] des „Palestrina“
gemachten Erfahrungen haben gezeigt, wie notwendig fuer die Darbietung neuerer deutscher Werke auf
franzoesischen Buehnen die fuehrende und straffende deutsche Hand ist. Da ich noch nicht weiss, wie Sie
bezueglich Ihres Aufenthaltes in Paris disponieren, werde ich auf jeden Fall bei den zustaendigen Stellen fuer Sie
die Ausstellung eines Einreisevisums bezw. eines Passierscheines ab 16. Mai auf 3 Monate beantragen, damit Sie
jede moegliche Bewegungsfreiheit haben. Fuer die Behandlung aller Einzelfragen bleibt mein Musikreferent Dr.
Piersig mit Ihnen in Verbindung.”
252
Judging by Lucht’s letter, the Paris production Pfitzner’s Palestrina had not met German, or at
least his, expectations. Unlike Joan von Zarissa, Palestrina was an opera and had more trouble
negotiating the language barrier. Joan von Zarissa would experience no such issues, since the
German texts were to be omitted in Parisian performances. 93 Egk received a travel permit dated
16 June 1942, reflecting another month’s postponement of Joan von Zarissa’s French
premiere. 94 Egk returned to Paris on 25 June and remained through 1 July, when he took a short
trip to Salzburg, Austria. On 5 July 1942 Egk made his third trip to Paris, and his wife Elizabeth
joined him the following day.
On 10 July 1942 Joan von Zarissa premiered in Occupied Paris. 95 Werner Egk himself
conducted the premiere of Joan von Zarissa. Paris Opéra conductor Louis Fourestier directed
the other two works on the program: Carl Maria von Weber’s La spectre de la rose, its ninetieth
performance; and Beethoven’s Creatures of Prometheus, its fifty-sixth performance. 96
Lieutenant Lucht would later lament that the postponed premiere of Joan von Zarissa in Paris
left time for only two performances before the end of its inaugural season. 97
For the Paris performances, Egk’s ballet underwent a number of substantial changes
including new choreography by Serge Lifar, who danced the part of Joan. The Ukranian-born
Lifar was a student of Sergei Diaghilev and a dancer in the Ballets russes and had been
appointed balletmaster of the Paris National Ballet in 1930. 98 Egk respected Lifar’s work, and
commented glowingly on his artistry:
93
Program, Théatre National de L’Opéra, 10 July 1942. BSB Ana 410.
94
Bewilligung zur Einreise in besetzten Gebiete Frankreich und Belgien for Werner Egk, 16 June 1942. BSB Ana
410. Egk’s wife Elizabeth received a similar permit one week later, on 23 June.
95
An entry in Egk’s appointment book indicates that the Paris premiere was to occur on 8 July, with a second
performance on 10 July. It may be that the premiere of Joan von Zarissa was postponed by two days. A
postponement is not supported elsewhere.
96
Program, Théatre National de L’Opéra, 10 July 1942. BSB Ana 410.
97
Lucht Bericht, AA 1215. “Es bleibt an sich zu bedauern, dass sich infolge des Schlusses der Opernspielzeit
vorerst nicht mehr als zwei „Joan“-Aufführungen ermöglichen liessen.”
98
Helga-Maria Palm-Beulich, “Erotische Trilogie: Werner Egk und seine Ballette” in Komponisten in Bayern:
Dokumente Musicalischen Schaffens in 20. Jahrhundert. Volume 29: Werner Egk. (Tutzing: Hans Schneider
Verlag, 1997), 150.
Serge Lifar, Ma Vie: From Kiev to Kiev, trans. James Homal Mason (New York and Cleveland: The World
Publishing Company, 1965), 107.
253
One of the greatest strokes of luck in art happens when the faculty of knowledge unites
itself to the faculty of execution, and in dance today, this stroke of luck is named Serge
Lifar. As often as I could, I attended not only ballet performances, but also ballet
rehearsals high atop the Opéra, under its roof. Here sits Lifar, with his back against the
great mirror in which the dancers regulate their movements, the inevitable stick in hand,
with which he pounds out meter and shapes his dancers and his works. At work, he is of
a fierce concentration, relentless with himself and with others. As if possessed by a
demon, he demands absolute perfection, and the power he exudes appears to stir
everyone, beginning with the “élèves,” this tenderly lovely school of youth and grace, up
to the “étoiles,” these perfectly thoroughly trained virtuosic individualities. 99
Given that Egk’s music was provided entirely new choreography by Serge Lifar, and its entire
troupe comprised dancers of the Paris Opéra, Joan von Zarissa suffered something of an identity
crisis. Lizzie Maudrik’s Ausdruckstanz choreography was absent, and with it, the Germanness
that dance expressed. But this does not mean that the work became ballet. Joan von Zarissa was
of a different type from that genre whose stupendous leaps had made Lifar famous.
In Die Zeit wartet nicht, Egk quoted Pierre Michaut’s Le Ballet contemporain, 1920–
1950, to an unnamed musicologist interested in the Paris performances. Regarding Lifar’s
choreography, Egk related,
For the solemn, poetic, and demanding work, Lifar developed his own choreography:
few elevations, little reliance on the solely decorative classic [ballet]. The character of
Joan, ensnared in murder, passion, conflict of conscience and diabolic vengeance, does
not admit to the dance the signs of airiness and spirituality. And yet in this ballet there
99
Werner Egk, Musik–Wort–Bild (Munich, Albert Langen Georg Müller Verlag, 1960), 213–214. “Es bedeutet
einen der großen Glücksfälle in der Kunst, wenn sich die Fähigkeit der Erkenntnis mit der Fähigkeit der
Formgebung verbindet, und für die Tanzkunst heißt heute dieser Glücksfall Serge Lifar. So oft ich konnte, habe ich
nicht nur die Ballettabende besucht, sondern auch die Arbeitsproben des Balletts in der Rotunde hoch oben unter
dem Dach der Großen Oper. Mit dem Rücken gegen den großen Spiegel, in dem die Tänzer ihre Bewegungen
kontrollieren, sitzt hier Lifar, den unvermeidlichen Stock in der Hand, mit dem er den Takt angibt, und formt seine
Tänzer und seine Werke. Er ist dabei von einer wilden Konzentriertheit, unerbittlich gegen sich und gegen die
andern. Wie von einem Dämon besessen, fordert er das schlechthin vollkommene, und die Kraft, die von ihm
ausgeht, scheint sie alle zu bewegen, von den »élèves« angefangen, diesem zärtlich holden Schwarm von Jugend
und Grazie, bis zu den »étoiles«, diesen vollkommen durchgebildeten virtuosen Individualitäten.”
254
were eloquent contrasts in the expression of purity and in the yearning for good. These
antitheses reinforced the expressive power of the tragedy. 100
That Lifar constrained himself to earth was something special for the dancer, who prided himself
on his leaps. In his fanciful autobiography, Lifar boasted that at the 22 May 1931 premiere of his
Bacchus et Ariane, a memorial to the late Diaghilev with music by Albert Roussel, the audience
disliked the abandonment of the principles of classicism or romanticism and, above all,
they disapproved of my famous leap, a gigantic bound of some eighteen feet high [sic (!)]
into the wings where I was caught in the arms of the stage-hand, but it did cause the
audience to shiver with surprise and utter cries of stupefaction. 101
While remaining earthbound was a concession, diverging from classical ballet was nothing new
for Lifar, who had come from the Ballets russes. Lifar expanded that reinvigoration of classic
ballet by his own invention.
In the pages of Comœdia of 4 July 1942 Lifar explained himself and his choreography.
although his account sometimes runs askew of Michaut’s observations above. Lifar neither
disavowed balletic classicism in order to accommodate Egk’s German work, nor did he
unequivocally embrace the German product. Instead, Lifar sought a hybrid of the two national
styles. He explained,
My intention in composing the ballet was not to create a German ballet, strictly
speaking. Above all, I wanted to make a synthesis of German choreographic aspirations
and our own. I wanted to reveal the enrichment, for both countries, that could be the
result of a reciprocal and sound interpenetration.
There is no doubt that German choreographers achieved great results in the
domain of expressionism and the use of the masses of the ensemble, but with their
insatiable desire for novelty, they disregard the secular traditions of academic dance.
100
Egk, Die Zeit, 355. “Für das pathetische, dichte und strenge Werk hatte Lifar eine eigene Choreographie
entwickelt: Wenig Elevationen, wenig Anleihen bei der nur dekorativen Klassik. Der Charakter des Joan, verstrickt
in Mord, Leidenschaft, Gewissensbisse und infernalische Rache gestattet dem Tanz nicht die Symbole der
Leichtigkeit und der Spiritualität. Und doch gab es in diesem Ballett beredte Kontraste durch den Ausdruck der
Reinheit und durch die Sehnsucht nach dem Guten. Diese Gegensätze verstärkten die expressive Kraft der
Tragödie.”
101
Alexander Schouvaloff, The Art of the Ballets Russes: The Serge Lifar Collection of Theater Designs, Costumes,
and Paintings at the Wadsworth Atheneum (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998): 172. Lifar, Ma Vie, 111.
255
Hence, a tragic pathos is present in their dance that sometimes leads to convulsion and an
overly cerebral mathematics, as we have already noticed. Disregarding the technique and
the precepts of the academy, they developed in the domain of the mundane instead of
looking for harmony and elevation, as we have done, the rest of us “classiques.” In my
version of Joan de Zarissa, I wanted precisely to show how German ballet could be
enriched and enhanced by the contact with the academicism it ignores; I wanted to marry
plastic expressionism and pure dance. Joan de Zarissa differs from ballets of pure
German tendency, which are essentially tragic pantomimes, in that it comprises a
succession of expressive dances interpreted by academic dancers. I tried to give to these
dances a strong, massive, powerful, and dynamic expression, evoking the triumphal
constructivism of present-day Germany. 102
Lifar went on to explain that the choreography was very stylized, suggesting Dürer or Fouquet,
the latter perhaps reflecting a close working association with Egk, or at least a knowledge of
Egk’s inspirational sources. Lifar concluded that
The essential objective of the diverse methods that I was able to use in Joan de Zarissa is
to contribute to reinforcing the expressionism of dance, to help us achieve this synthesis
102
Comœdia, 4 July 1942. “Mon dessein, en composant ce ballet, n’était pas de créer un ballet allemand, à
proprement parler. J’ai voulu surtout réaliser une synthèse des aspirations chorégraphiques de l’Allemagne et des
notres. J’ai voulu montrer l’enrichissement qui pouvait résulter, pour les deux, d’une interpénétration réciproque et
judicieuse.
Il est hors de doute que le choréauteurs allemands sont parvenus à de très grands résultats dans le domaine de
l’expressionnisme et de l’utilisation des masses d’ensemble, mais ils ont dédaigné, dans leur désir insatiable de
nouveauté, les traditions séculaires de la danse académique. De là sont venus dans leurs danses un pathos tragique
qui tourne parfois à la convulsion et un mathématisme trop cérébral, comme nous avons pu le constater. Dédaignant
la technique et les préceptes de l’académie, ils se sont développés dans le domaine du terre à terre au lieu de
chercher une harmonie et de l’élévation, comme nous le faisons, nous autres « classiques ». Dans ma version de
« Joan de Zarissa » j’ai précisément voulu montrer à quel point le ballet allemand pouvait s’enrichir et se développer
au contact de l’académisme dédaigné par lui, j’ai voulu marier l’expressionnisme plastique et la danse pure. « Joan
de Zarissa » diffère des ballets de pure tendance allemande qui sont essentiellement des pantomimes tragiques,
tandis que lui, il constitue une succession de danses expressives interprétées par des danseurs académiques. Et j’ai
tâché de communiquer à ces danses une expression forte, massive, puissante, dynamique, évoquant le
constructivisme triomphant de l’Allemagne d’aujourd’hui.”
Kindest thanks to Ms. Jena Whitaker for her translations from the French.
256
of two schools that I have wanted for a long time and in which I want to see a precursory
symbol of the return to artistic free exchange, which is so favorable to cultural
progress. 103
Lifar’s tone was a confident, optimistic—even pandering—one. He mapped out not only a
collaborative and reciprocal cultural exchange between France and Germany, but pointed toward
the cultural “progress” of the nations in tandem. His goal was confirmed in his article in Le
Matin on the day of the premiere. Lifar wanted to see, in Joan von Zarissa, “the beginnings of
an artistic collaboration, emotional and fecund, between two neighboring countries, representing
an age-old culture.” 104 After the war, as he himself was facing charges of a different
collaboration, he would not view Joan von Zarissa in the same light.
Yves Brayer created the scenic design for the Paris production. In his own, he preserved
the primary elements of Fenneker’s set design, including the tapestry with Odysseus on the mast,
the two-tiered stage, and the lion. In addition, Brayer designed the Paris costumes, again
congruent with the ideas of Fenneker. 105 And as did Fenneker in Vienna, Brayer placed the
choir onstage (see Figure 6.12).
103
Ibid. “Mais le but essentiel des divers procédés que j’ai pu utiliser dans « Joan de Zarissa » est de contribuer à
renforcer l’expressionnisme de la danse, de nous aider à réaliser cette synthèse de deux écoles que j’ai souhaitée
depuis longtemps déjà et dans laquelle je veux voir un symbole précurseur du retour au libre-échange artistique, si
favorable au progrès de la culture.”
104
Le Matin, 10 July 1942. “Etoiles et premiers danseurs, grand suets et coryphées, tous ont mis le meilleur d’eux-
mêmes au service de cette œuvre en qui je veux voir les prémices [sic] d’une collaboration artistique, affective et
féconde, entre deus grands pays voisins, représentants d’une culture multiséculaire.”
105
This statement is based on an examination of photographs of the Paris production in BSB Ana 410.
257
Figure 6.12. Model of Brayer’s stage design for the Paris performances of Joan von Zarissa.
Beaux-Arts, 10 July 1942. BSB Ana 410. Reproduced by permission.
According to Lifar, the choir numbered eighty choristers who played, sang, and served as “living
decor” to the developments surrounding the primary roles. Essential for dramatic success, lead
dancers and choir were united in a desire for perfection. 106 Again quoting Michaut, Egk
recollected that
the choir, as it sang the Intermezzi on the wonderful texts—magical conjuration
formulas—of Charles d’Orléans, was arranged in two tiered risers positioned right and
left on the stage. It represented the people and expressed the collective and elementary
reaction of the assembly through stylized movements: it rose at the entrance of the
important figures; it rejoiced with them; mourned with them; and averted its glance from
the ominous shrouded head. 107
106
Le Matin, 10 July 1942. “En plus du corps du ballet, il y a 80 choristes qui jouent, chantent et servent de décor
vivant aux évolutions de tous not premiers rôles, fraternellement unis dans un même désir de perfection.”
107
Egk, Die Zeit, 355–356. “Der Chor, der während der Intermezzi die wunderbaren Texts – magische
Beschwörungsformeln – von Charles d’Orléans sang, war auf der Bühne in zwei stufenweise ansteigenden, rechts
und links postierten Blöcken aufgebaut. Er repräsentierte das Volk und drückte durch stilisierte Bewegungen die
258
Unlike previous performances of Joan von Zarissa, the choir was accompanied. Egk had
“himself furnished an instrumental accompaniment for the choruses inserted in the ballet.” 108
Choreography and choral accompaniment were not the only emendations made to Joan
von Zarissa in Paris. Critic and Egk champion Heinrich Strobel reported in the Pariser Zeitung
of 12 July 1942 that “following the custom of most German stages, Serge Lifar unfortunately cut
the great closing chorus that lends the ballet a cheerful conclusion in the sense of dance-drama
and formal rounding.” 109 Lucht confirmed the omissions:
Various modifications resulted from circumstances particular to Paris. The prologue was
dispensed with because its translation encountered linguistic difficulties. That made it
easier for the composer to fulfill Lifar’s wish to cut the jovial postlude and close the
performance with the death of Joan. The a cappella choral movements in the original
were orchestrated by Werner Egk for the Paris performance. The incidentally expanded
orchestral support not only worked positively for the intonation of the choruses, but also
enhanced the cohesive cumulative effect. 110
kollektiven und einfachen Reaktionen der Menge aus_ Er erhob sich beim Auftritt der Großen, er freute sich mit
ihnen, trauerte mit ihnen und wandte den Blick verhüllten Hauptes vom Unheil ab.”
108
Pariser Zeitung 183, 6 July 1942. “Werner Egk hat eigens für die Pariser Aufführung die in das Ballett
eingelegten Chöre mit einer instrumentalen Begleitung versehen.”
109
Pariser Zeitung 189, 12 July 1942. “Leider strich Serge Lifar, dem Brauch der meisten deutschen Bühnen
folgend, den grossen Schlusschor, der dem Ballett einen fröhlichen Ausklang im Sinne des Tanzspiels und die
formale Rundung verleiht.”
110
Bericht über die französische Erstaufführung des Ballettes „Joan von Zarissa“ von Werner Egk. AA Paris 1215.
“Verschiedene Aenderungen hatten sich aus Berücksichtigung der gegebenen Pariser Verhältnisse ergeben. Auf den
Prolog wurde verzichtet, da seine Uebersetzung auf sprachliche Schwierigkeiten stiess. Das erleichterte dem
Komponisten die Erfüllung von Lifars Wunsch, das heitere Nachspiel zu streichen und die Aufführung mit dem
Tode des Joan abzuschliessen. Die im Original a capella gehaltenen Chorsätze, die die einzelnen Bilder des Werkes
verbinden, wurden von Werner Egk für die Pariser Aufführung instrumentiert. Die gelegentlich weiter ausladende
orchestral Stütze wirkte sich nicht nur für die Intonation der Chöre positiv aus, sondern steigerte auch die
geschlossene Gesamtwirkung.”
259
Despite the loss of the finale, Strobel concluded that the premiere “was more than a great ballet
success. It was a victory in forward-striving German music.” 111 And readers were reminded that
Egk had been the first German composer to conduct a Parisian premiere of his own work since
Richard Strauss conducted the premiere of his Josephslegende in the Palais Garnier in 1914. 112
In a surprisingly self-deprecating account, Lifar agreed that the Paris performances of
Joan von Zarissa were triumphant:
But, no doubt, the most brilliant success was that of Werner Egk’s ballet Joan de Zarizza
created on 10th July. The décors were by Yves Brayer and Louis Fourestier conducted.
The work was ample, lyrical and powerful. The success was so overwhelming that even
those who had held aloof had to admit it. Critics and public were unanimous. The
French—and I do not mean the musicians whose talents were well displayed on every
occasion—wanted to emulate and play their part worthily. Les Animaux modèles, a most
charming ballet by Poulenc—with décors by Brianchon—was created on 8th August, thus
shortly after Joan de Zarizza. Poulenc’s ballet, though highly appreciated, was somewhat
thrown in the shade by the enduring success of the dazzling German work, just as Egk’s
ballet had relegated to a second place my ballet by Gaubert Le Chevalier et la Demoiselle
which, however, up to then had been considered as a masterpiece. 113
The German sources reporting the success of Joan von Zarissa are to be taken with a grain of
salt, since, according to the German press, not a single German cultural event in France was
unsuccessful. Inflated reports included one that Notre Dame de Paris held 6,000 people for an
April 1941 performance by the Choir of Regensburg Cathedral, a physical improbability. 114
Lifar’s accounts are likewise exaggerated. He seems never to have had any unsuccessful
productions, with the exception of the above triumph of one of Lifar’s masterpieces over another.
111
Pariser Zeitung [189], 12 July 1942. “Leider strich Serge Lifar, dem Brauch der meisten deutschen Bühnen
folgend, den grossen Schlusschor, der dem Ballett einen fröhlichen Ausklang im Sinne des Tanzspiels und die
formale Rundung verleiht.”
“Es war mehr als ein grosser Balletterfolg. Es war ein Sieg der vorwärts strebenden deutschen Musik.”
112
Völkischer Beobachter 194, 13 July 1942.
113
Lifar, Ma Vie, 231. Lifar mistakenly recollects that Fourestier conducted Joan von Zarissa. Both the program
and Egk’s accounts credit Egk as conductor.
114
Allan Mitchell, Nazi Paris: The History of an Occupation 1940–1944 (New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books,
2008), 29.
260
Among the critics who reviewed the Parisian premiere of Joan von Zarissa was French
composer Arthur Honegger, a member of Les Six. Honegger viewed Egk as “at last a true
contemporary” German composer in the file paraded before the French public: Bach,
Beethoven, Mozart, Wagner, and Brahms, all prudently interpreted; and Pfitzner, “a respectable
ancestor.” Honegger acknowledged the “unprompted success” of Joan von Zarissa, “a paradigm
of young music” that had already made the rounds of the German theater circuit. Honegger
remarked,
Werner Egk’s music is above all firm, spirited, and colorful. It is nourished by the novel
sources of the productions of the century’s masters, and it is not contented with a return
to neo-classical expressions, of which we so often have disappointing examples. It is also
free from that “mandarinism” which, by dint of sterile complications, made of certain
works amusement for specialists with nothing for simple listeners attached to musical art
by links too strongly tied to the Romantic period. His direct language, occasionally
harsh, often full of charm, often touches [the listener] directly and can be understood
immediately. 115
What Honegger appeared to be describing was a long-term goal Egk set for his music back in the
days of Die Zaubergeige: Volkstümlichkeit and the accessibility of the work to a large segment
of the public. Karl H. Ruppels’s assessment of Joan von Zarissa’s Berlin premiere was similar.
Egk would likely disagree with the link Honegger made to the Romantic period. That period
was replete with chromaticism, but Egk championed his own expanded diatonicism. Honegger
regarded Joan and Isabeau’s dances at the beginning of the second tableau as “one of Lifar’s
most beautiful accomplishments.” 116
Like many German critics, Serge Moreaux of La Herbe heard Debussy and Stravinsky in
Egk’s music. Moreaux even heard Honegger. In them, he perceived the influence of the West:
115
Comœdia, 18 July 1942. “La musique de Werner Egk est avant tout robuste, vivant et colorée. Elle s’est nourrie
aux sources fraîches des productions des maîtres du siècle et ne s’est pas contentée d’un retour vers des formules «
néo-classiques » dont nous avons si souvent le décevant exemple. Elle est dégagée aussi de ce « mandarinisme »
qui, à force de complications stériles, avait fait de certaines œuvres des amusements pour spécialistes sans aucune
portée sur l’auditeur simple et attaché à l’art musical par des liens souvent trop fortement noués à l’époque
romantique. Son langage direct, quelquefois rude, souvent plein de charme, touche directement et peut être compris
d’emblée.”
116
Ibid., “L’important danse entre Joan et Ysabeau me semble une des plus belles réalisations de Lifar.”
261
His art remains Germanic in spirit but abandons the structures and forms of the musical
philosophy so dear to his fellow countrymen, to attack mankind head-on, mankind of
flesh and blood. In addition, his sonic material, although dense, has very little sensuality,
truly delightful for us other Latins: Debussy, Stravinsky, Honegger push veins of
discrete color in this racial granite.
And as critics had noticed in Egk’s earliest works, Moreaux found the percussion battery of Joan
von Zarissa “indispensable,” a criterion he had never before used, and that Egk used that battery
in an “impressionist manner,” congruent with his reference to Debussy above. Unfortunately,
Moreaux didn’t elaborate, but his comment indicates a usage distinctly French, likely in Egk’s
choruses. 117
On 16 July 1942 Egk conducted a Radio Paris performance of the Suite from Joan von
Zarissa, and on 22 July a recording was made. 118 Moreaux heard Joan von Zarissa “three times
in a row” prior to his 1 August review, according to which he heard practically nothing German
in the work. Troping on his detection of French forbears, he disavowed the Bavarian part of the
“Bavarian Stravinsky”:
Despite its German origin, there is no trace of Wagnerism, no philosophy in this score; its
vibrant polychromy is not borrowed from the brilliant colorist Richard Strauss; its writing
owes nothing to neoclassicism. In summary, it doesn’t have any signs of what we
believed up until now to be German music.
And in a convoluted paragraph, Moreaux fawned:
The surprise that musicographers feel comes from the fact that they are unfamiliar with
the clan of young composers beyond the Rhine. Certainly, they are given notice that this
future, by the strong confluence of two currents, one neoclassical in its form and
language, the other constructivist as well, but with free forms that express themselves
through an evolved spelling and syntax (“Some Handel with its wrong notes!” they said,
117
La Herbe, 23 July 1942. “Son art reste germanique en esprit, mais abandonne les plans et les formes de la
philosophie musicale, si chers à certains de ses compatriotes, pour attaquer de front l’Homme, l’Homme de chair et
de sang. Aussi son matériau sonore, quoique dense, dégage-t-il quelque peu de sensualité ce qui est bien réjouissant
pour nous autres Latins : Debussy, Stravinsky, Honegger poussent des veines de couleur discrète dans ce granit
racial.”
118
262
… but hush!), but they lack recent information about the ostracism that “Nazi music”
faced before the war, at least that which could be ousted without outraging the many
French musicians who are liberated from political prejudice. It was not a question of
blocking the way to the young, pure music school coming from the Hindemithian
revolution: Fortner, Pepping, Hessenberg and some others, without having citizen status
were strongly supported by the “pure,” but Carl Orff and Werner Egk, to list only the
most important, clearly oriented towards a collectivist and therefore dynamic art,
remained in the shadow. 119
Moreaux was obviously a strong supporter of Egk’s music and did not perceive it as a National
Socialist threat to France. If Joan von Zarissa was meant as a cultural Trojan horse, the
propaganda worked perfectly.
Egk was engaged to conduct the eighth performance of Joan von Zarissa at the Paris
Opéra on 30 September 1942. 120 The performance had to be postponed, however, until the
119
Revolution Nationale, 1 August 1942. “Trois fois ? Pourquoi ? d’abord parce que la chorégraphie de S. Lifar,
dans les sombres décors de Y. Brayer, est magnifique : c’est une synthèse de la pantomime germanique et de la
danse latine, de la discipline de masse et du spontané individuel ; ensuit, parce que l’ensemble de la conception
musicale et les conséquences esthétiques qui s’en dégagent bouleversent toutes les idées reçues au cours d’une
fréquentation assidue de la musique allemande.”
“Malgré son germanisme, pas une trace de wagnérisme, dans cette partition, nulle philosophie ; sa vive polychromie
n’est pas empruntée au génial coloriste Richard Strauss ; son écriture ne doit rien au néoclassicisme. En résumé, elle
n’offre aucune des apparences de ce que nous avons cru jusqu’alors être l’art musical allemand.”
“L’étonnement qu’en éprouvèrent les musicographes vient de ce qu’ils connaissent mal le clan des jeunes
compositeurs d’outre-Rhin. Certes, ils sont avertis dans cet avenir en puissance de la concomitance de deux
courants, l’un néoclassique par la forme et la langue, l’autre constructiviste aussi, mais aux formes libres et
s’exprimant au travers d’une orthographe et dune syntaxe évoluées (« Du Hændel avec de fausses notes ! » disait …
mais chut !), mais il manquent d’informations récentes du fait de l’ostracisme dont fur frappée avant la guerre la
« musique nazi », tout au moins celle qui pouvait être évincée sans scandaliser les multiples musiciens français
libérés des préjuges politiques. Il n’était pas question de barrer la route à la jeune école de musique pure issue de la
révolution hindemithienne ; Fortner, Pepping, Hessenberg et quelques autres, sans avoir droit de cité, étaient
fortement soutenus par les « purs », mais Carl Orff et Werner Egk, pour ne citer que les plus importants, nettement
orientés vers un art collectiviste donc dynamique, étaient tenus dans l’ombre.”
120
Memorandum to the German Embassy Paris, 6 August 1942. AA Paris 1205. The memorandum bears many
pencil notations and emendations. Next to a typed entry specifying “Aufführung Juan di Zarissa” [sic] unter Leitung
263
second half of October, because two of the lead danseuses fell ill.121 At some point, the Paris
premiere of Peer Gynt appears to have been scheduled for this date, but, by another in a string of
postponements, that would not happen until October 1943. Egk again journeyed Paris on 14
October 1942 for two more performances of Joan von Zarissa. He conducted at least one of the
performances himself, that of 28 October. According to Egk, this was the fourth performance of
the work in Paris. The third took place the previous day, and Egk does not indicate that he
himself conducted. On 29 October Egk conducted another radio broadcast featuring selections
from his Olympische Festmusik, the tango from Peer Gynt, and the “Coronation Dance,” that is,
No. 10, the Opening Dance, of Joan von Zarissa. 122 But Egk’s trip was not all business. On the
evening of 22 October 1942 Egk was fêted at the Club de Pointus. At the soirée, dancer
Marianne Ivanoff, who danced the part of Perette, pangyrized the composer in an ode whose
stanzas closed with plays on Egk’s name. 123 La Semaine reported that the “dancing poet made
him drink champagne from a dance slipper. A brand new slipper, of course.” 124 Hans Pfitzner
had been similarly celebrated on 17 October 1942, when he was in Paris to conduct a
performance of Palestrina. 125
In November 1942 Egk received a letter from Dr. Fritz Piersig of the German Embassy in
Paris requesting his presence at the 27 January 1943 performance of Joan von Zarissa. The
dramatic dance poem was to be the highlight of a twenty-minute cultural newsreel by Actualités
françaises, akin to the German newsreel Die deutsche Wochenschau. The feature was to include
“excerpts of planning meetings, rehearsals, set construction, and if possible, the performance.”
Piersig also hoped that Egk could “tighten up the tempi and rhythms Fourestier had somewhat
des Komponisten Werner Egk” scheduled for October 1942, “30.9.” is written, along with “8. Auff” in Sütterlin.
“Auff” is an abbreviation for Aufführung (performance).
121
Piersig to Knothe, 21 September 1942. AA Paris 1215.
122
123
Ivanoff manuscript, “Déja le grand rideau palpité.” BSB Ana 410.
124
La Semaine 3, no. 117, [23 October 1942.] “…la jeune danseuse-poète lui fit sabler le champagne dans un
chausson de danse. Un chausson tout neuf, bien entendu.”
125
Extrait de l’ANNUAIRE GÉNÉRAL DU SPECTACLE EN FRANCE, Édition 1942–1943. BSB Ana 410.
264
mucked up.” 126 Paris Opéra conductor Louis Fourestier, then, conducted performances of Joan
von Zarissa at the opera when Egk did not do so himself. On 12 January 1943, Dr. Alfred
Morgenroth, the deputy to Reich Music Chamber President Peter Raabe, confirmed that Egk had
permission to travel to Paris from 20 January to 20 February 1943 for the filming of Joan von
Zarissa and for preparations for the upcoming production of Peer Gynt. For the trip, Egk was
promised the equivalent of RM 2,000 in French francs. 127 Egk left for Paris on 24 January 1943
and remained there until 6 February, and he directed the 27 January 1943 performance. 128
In his memoir, Egk states that Joan von Zarissa was danced a total of “approximately 30
times” in Paris between 1942 and 1944. 129 Paris opera historian Stéphane Wolff puts the number
of performances at twenty. 130 Considering the wartime occupation context in which the
performances took place, either of these numbers counts as success for the composer.
Premieres of Joan von Zarissa, 1943–1944
In 1943 Joan von Zarissa premiered in three cities: Rome (March), Leipzig (May), and
Weimar (November). In Rome, Giovanni di Zarissa did not receive as much attention as did its
program partner, Stravinsky’s L’Usignuolo (Le Rossignol); however, the critic of Il Popolo di
Roma did acknowledge the spectacular Joan von Zarissa as a new form of theater. 131 The work
was performed three times, on 21, 24, and 27 March. 132 In Leipzig, the choir was again moved
backstage, to the detriment of its dramatic agency. 133 In Weimar, Dr. Otto Reuter found the
dramatic dance-poem a bit graphic:
126
Piersig to Egk, 13 November 1942. BSB Ana 410. “Dass Sie wieder einmal eine Aufführung dirigieren, halte
ich – nebenbei gesagt – auch deswegen für wünschenswert, damit unter Ihrer Leitung die bei Fourestier doch etwas
verschlampten Tempi und Rythmen [sic] wieder zurechtgestrafft werden.”
Though Piersig refers to Actualités françaises, it appears that the correct name for the production was France
Actualités.
127
Morgenroth (on behalf of the President of the RMK) to Egk, 12 January 1943. BSB Ana 410.
128
Egk, Terminkalender. BSB Ana 410. Egk does not indicate whether or not the work was filmed.
129
Egk, Die Zeit, 349. “1942 bis 1944 wurde mein Ballett „Joan von Zarissa“ an der Pariser Oper etwa dreißigmal
gegeben.”
130
Stéphane Wolff, L’Opéra au Palais Garnier (1875–1962) (Paris and Geneva: Slatkine Ressources, 1983), 291.
131
Il popolo di Roma 21, no. 83, 24 March 1943.
132
133
Neue Leipziger Zeitung 137, 17 May 1943.
265
Four dead: four tableaus! This “mass die-off” gets a conciliatory explanation in a
spoken Epilog: things are not intended to be so dire, only corrupt love is to be damned,
not the great, real love that triumphs in a turbulent rondeau by the choir at the conclusion.
A prologue introduces the “hero” with a wink toward Odysseus and the Sirens. 134
In an attempt to reconcile the effervescence of the rondeau-finale with the rest of Joan von
Zarissa, the German National Theater (Das Deutsche Nationaltheater) in Weimar completely
recast the finale. Instead of a disjunct dance of joy at the end of an otherwise tragic tale, the
Weimar performance featured a fifth tableau, a finale in which “the royal household, lordless and
led by the fool, frolics, singing and drinking in the ducal palace.” 135 Instead of serving to dispel
the foregoing tragedy, the Weimar finale made the tragedy of Joan von Zarissa complete in the
dissolution of refined culture.
Joan von Zarissa finally arrived in Munich, Egk’s home, in July of 1944. The work was
performed in its entirety, with prologue, epilogue, and rondeau-finale. 136 Similar to productions
in Vienna and Paris, the choir was positioned onstage, but not in accessory stalls in the wings,
rather on the platform above the stage proper, that designated in Egk’s stage directions for Lefou,
Perette, and the imbedded pantomime. Dr. Otto Hödel, Chief Dramaturge of the Bavarian State
Opera (Bayerische Staatsoper), revealed a very surprising change to Joan von Zarissa in his
article for the Völkischer Beobachter. He wrote that the ensemble dances belong to the genre of
Ausdruckstanz,
but the primary figures, that is the actual bearers of the drama, avail themselves of the
classic dance form, of point technique, indeed not in a purely motoric or even acrobatic
sense, but symbolically, to rise above the earth, to become greater, and there, where the
134
Thüringer Gauzeitung, 27 November [1943]. “Vier Tote: vier Bilder! Diese „Massensterben“ erfährt eine
versöhnende Erklärung in einem gesprochenen Epilog: Die Sache sei nicht so schlimm gemeint, nur der zerstörende
Liebestrieb solle verdammt werden, nicht die große, echte Liebe, die in einem turbulenten Rondeau des Chores am
Schluß triumphiert. Ein Prolog führt den „Helden“ ein mit einem Augenblinzeln nach Odysseus und den Sirenen.”
135
Program, Das Deutsche Nationaltheater, 13 December 1943. BSB Ana 410. “5. Finale: Herrenlos tollt die
Hofstaat, angeführt von dem narren, singend u. trinkend im herzoglichen Schloß.”
136
Münchner Neueste Nachrichten 176, 26 June 1944.
266
atmosphere of the erotic could explode the boundaries of the material involved, to bring
the setting into extraordinary domains. 137
The Munich productions of Joan von Zarissa were distinctly more ballet-oriented than the
heretofore Ausdruckstanz-oriented productions in Germany. This reorientation coincided with
the bureaucratic shift away from Ausdruckstanz and back toward ballet in 1942.
Joan von Zarissa premiered in Munich on 2 July 1944. The Bavarian State Opera was
performing, for the time being, in the Convention Hall of the German Museum on its island in
Munich’s Isar River. The Opera’s home on the Max-Joseph-Platz had been destroyed, not in the
air attack Egk recorded in his appointment book on the night of 8–9 March 1943, nor that of 6
September 1943, but in a raid of 3 October 1943. Egk was then in Paris conducting a Radio
Paris performance of his Peer Gynt. 138 The second Munich performance of Joan von Zarissa
took place on 5 July; the third, on 8 July 1944. An extensive Allied air offensive on Munich
began on 11 July 1944, the day of the fourth Munich performance of Joan von Zarissa. Two
days later, on 13 July 1944, the German Museum Conventional Hall was destroyed. The
bombardment of Munich and its environs continued through 21 July 1944. The successive
destruction of venues and Goebbels’s 1 September 1944 proclamation that all theaters and
cultural institutions be closed through the end of the war brought the drama of Joan von Zarissa
under National Socialism to an end.
137
Völkischer Beobachter 176, 24 June 1944. “Die Hauptfiguren aber, die eigentlichen Handlungsträger also,
bedienen sich der klassischen Tanzform, des Spitzentanzes, freilich nicht in rein motorischem oder gar
akrobatischem Sinne, sondern symbolhaft, um sich über die Erde zu erheben, größer zu werden und dort, wo die
Atmosphäre des Erotischen dem Stoffe zur Folge Grenzen sprengen könnten, die Situation in Außerrealistische
Bezirke zu stellen.”
138
Egk, Terminkalender. BSB Ana 410
267
CHAPTER SEVEN
JOAN VON ZARISSA AS PROPAGANDA
On 24 August 1940, the day after Hitler’s visit to Paris, the Palais Garnier reopened
under French control. It was “life-as-though-nothing-had-changed,” although everything had. 1
The administration of Germany’s new western territory was marred by disorganization and a
lack of preparation. 2 Within a year, German artists had begun to arrive in Paris and its environs.
They brought with them propaganda by which to introduce National Socialist German culture to
the recently conquered French. The simultaneous French and German elements of Joan von
Zarissa made it inherently different from other German propaganda, and the advocate that Egk
found in Serge Lifar guaranteed the work’s artistic success. As propaganda, Joan von Zarissa
was part of an ultimately unsuccessful campaign that began shortly after the German occupation
of Paris in June 1940.
German Cultural Propaganda in France
A battle for control of culture in France, analogous to that between Goebbels and von
Rosenberg in Germany, ensued among the German occupiers of Paris. After the invasion of the
capital, the army’s Propaganda Staff of Paris took control of cultural propaganda. In August
1940, however, Hitler decided that all such duties fell to the German Embassy in Paris. The
Head of the Propaganda Staff, Major Heinz Schmidtke went to Berlin to appeal this decision, but
his protest went unheard. German Ambassador Otto Abetz would become the premiere director
of cultural propaganda in Occupied France, and his flagship would be the Paris Opéra. 3
The repertoire of the Paris Opéra was theoretically determined by its director, seventyeight-year-old Jacques Rouché. Rouché was an able administrator who had devoted twenty-five
years and substantial private fortune to the institution’s success. With the outbreak of war,
Rouché purged the Opéra repertoire of German works and nullified a contract with German
conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler, one of Hitler’s favorites. When the Germans were closing in
1
Frederic Spotts, The Shameful Peace: How French Artists and Intellectuals Survived the Nazi Occupation (New
Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2008): 20, 205.
2
Mitchell, Nazi Paris, 3.
3
Mitchell, Nazi Paris, 29.
268
on Paris, Rouché, along with much of the Opéra administration, fled to Cahors. In his wake,
Serge Lifar unsuccessfully vied for the helm of the Palais Garnier. Unable to find a politically
suitable replacement for the eminently qualified and devoted director, the Propaganda Staff
awarded Rouché a two-year appointment. Rouché returned to his post as Director of the Paris
Opéra, which, aside from his excursion to Cahors, he had held since 1914. 4 During the
Occupation, Rouché made his own decisions only part of the time, and these were often based on
the priorities set forth by the puppet Vichy government. At other times, the Occupational
authorities made demands on Rouché directly, or they made their demands known to the Vichy
government, who then transmitted the orders to Rouché. 5
An example from April 1941 encapsulates the tangle of control and non-control,
communication and non-communication typical of early propaganda efforts in France. Serge
Lifar approached the German Institute in Paris (Das deutsche Institut in Paris), and asked them
to recommend the production of Richard Strauss’s Josephslegende to Jacques Rouché. 6 The
German Institute was directed by Dr. Karl Epting and was associated with the German Embassy.
The goal of the Institute was the production of cultural events and the dissemination of German
propaganda in France. 7 Though the German Institute took no action, Abetz’s assistant Rudolf
Schleier had to defend the Institute against a Head of Staff named Paltzo at the Propaganda Staff,
who reported that Epting’s actions were
conceived more spontaneously and more with momentary propaganda success than
bothering to align itself in a goal-oriented way with a program in which due consideration
is given to definitive standpoints pertaining to the cultural propaganda of the New
Germany. 8
4
Spotts, The Shameful Peace, 204–5.
5
Jane Fulcher, “French Identity in Flux: Vichy’s Collaboration, and Antigone’s Operatic Triumph,” Proceedings
of the American Philosophical Society 150, no. 2 (June 2006): 270.
6
AA, Paris 1368.
7
Mitchell, Nazi Paris, 27–28.
8
Schleier to Paltzo, 18 (Draft) & 19 April 1941. AA Paris 1368. “Die Behauptung des Herrn Staffelführers
Paltzow, „dass die kulturelle Aktivität des Leiters des Deutschen Instituts mehr spontan und mehr auf
propagandistische Augenblickserfolge bedacht ist, als dass sie zielbewusst sich um eine Linie bemüht, in der die für
die Kulturpropaganda des neuen Deutschlands massgeblichen Gesichtspunkte berücksichtigt sind“, weise ich
269
Schleier countered that the opposite was true, that the activities of the Embassy and its agencies
were well aligned with National Socialist standpoints but took into account the particularities of
the French mindset and were part of a long-term plan, not capricious individual events. He adds
a biting epithet: “the collaboration desired by you as well as by us is not supported when …
unwarranted allegations are raised based only on the suppositions, that is, the comments of a
foreigner.” 9 That foreigner was Russian-French Lifar. But it was not Lifar who instigated the
vitriol. Lifar had received a “no” from the Institute and dropped the matter, but Epting had not
informed the Propaganda Staff, headed by Schmidtke, in the meantime. Epting’s noncommunication was the real issue. On 13 April 1941 Goebbels confided to his diary,
In Paris, meanwhile, our Embassy is putting on ballet-evenings with the new blood of the
Paris Opéra. I stopped the pictures of them altogether, sent them to the Führer with an
introductory complaint, and struck up a hell of a din. Paris has become a veritably evil
stage. The greatest failure in the affair is our Major Schmidtke. A consummate lame
duck. 10
Goebbels, as Reich Minister for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda, should have had ex
officio control of National Socialist propaganda in France. However, Hitler had specified that
the duties fell to the German Embassy. To complicate matters, the Propaganda Staff was an arm
of neither the Promi nor the Embassy, but of the Wehrmacht, the German Armed Forces.
eindeutig zurück und bitte, Herrn Staffelführer Paltzow zu Beweisen für seine diskriminierenden Behauptungen zu
veranlassen.” (18 April)
“Die Deutsche Botschaft und die ihr angeschlossenen Dienststellen führen ihre Aufgaben ausschliesslich nach
nationalsozialistischen Gesichtspunkten, unter Berücksichtigung der besonderen Mentalität der Franzosen und auf
lange Sicht geplant durch.” (19 April)
9
Ibid. (19 April) “Die von Ihnen ebenso wie von uns gewünschte Zusammenarbeit wird nicht gefördert, wenn auf
Grund eines technischen Missverständnisses unberechtigte Vorwürfe erhoben werden, die sich nur auf Vermutungen
bezw. Aeusserungen eines Ausländers stützen.” Schleier is responding to Paltzo, whom he addesses with the formal
“Ihnen,” about the foreigner Lifar, whose name peppers Paltzo’s original complaint and Schleier’s response.
10
Goebbels, Tagebücher, I, 9, 245. “In Paris macht unsere Botschaft unterdeß Ballettabende mit dem Nachwuchs
der Pariser Oper. Ich lasse die Bilder davon allesamt sperren, schicke sie beschwerdeführend dem Führer und
schlage einen Mordslärm. Paris ist so eine richtige übel Etappe geworden. Der größte Versager dabei ist unser
Major Schmidtke. Eine vollkommene Niete!” Because of the nature of Goebbels’s diaries, there is little
information about the pictures to which he refers. They were likely press photographs.
270
The confusion over direction of German propaganda in Paris did not impede its
importation. On 8 March 1941 the boy choir of the Regensburg Cathedral gave a concert at
Notre Dame in Bordeaux; on 5 April, at Notre Dame in Paris. The program featured works by
Lassus, Palestrina, Bruckner, Brahms, Mozart, and Reger. 11 In May, Herbert von Karajan
conducted the Berliner Staatsoper in a performance of Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, with scenery
by German Emil Preetorius and Germaine Lubin reprising her Bayreuth Isolde. In July 1941, a
Mozart Week showcasing the Hans von Benda ensemble was held. 12 Schleier received a certain
amount of flak for one of these concerts because a concert program was printed in French only.
Graf Siegfried von Roedern wrote on behalf of the NSDAP Foreign Organization that it was
inconceivable that the booklet be printed only in French at the concert of a German master.13
In February 1942 Goebbels met with German sculptor Arno Breker, who impressed on
the Reichsminister what was a fundamental obstacle to German propaganda in Paris:
I discussed the situation in Paris with Breker. He returned from a visit of several weeks
in France and believes that at the moment there is very much for us to do there. It is
obvious that our military agencies are hardly adequate to have a lasting effect on the
French mindset. He enumerated hair-raising details to me. And Schmidtke cannot
accomplish it in the long-run, as a military man, to settle into psychological problems of
national leadership. The disposition in Paris itself is not negative toward us. However,
the critical food situation stands between us and the French people. Were we in a
position today to provide sufficient foodstuffs to the occupied territories, we could
achieve moral successes without end. Cultural propaganda is still the best propaganda for
the French. Therefore I shall strengthen it even more than heretofore. 14
11
AA Paris 1380. Regensburger Domspatzen translates literally as “Regensburg Cathedral Sparrows.” Reports
boasted an attendance of 6,000 for the Paris concert.
12
Extrait de l’Annuaire général du spectacle en France, Édition 1942–1943. BSB Ana 410.
13
AA Paris 1142Y.
14
Goebbels, Tagebücher, II, 3, 317. 15 February 1942. “Mit Breker bespreche ich die Lage in Paris. Er kommt
von einem mehrwöchigen Besuch in Frankreich zurück und glaubt, daß im Augenblick dort für uns sehr viel zu
machen sei. Allerdings sind unsere Militärdienststellen zu einer dauernden Einwirkung auf die französische
Mentalität kaum geeignet. Er erzählt mir Einzelheiten darüber, die haarstäubend sind. Auch Schmidtke kann es auf
die Dauer nicht fertigbringen, sich als Militär in psychologische Volksführungsprobleme einzuleben. Die Stimmung
in Paris selbst ist uns gegenüber nicht negativ. Allerdings steht die krisenhafte Lebensmittellage zwischen uns und
271
And it appears that Goebbels did just that. Throughout 1942 National Socialist propaganda
events in France became systematically organized by members of the Promi and grew in scale.
Arno Breker was the center of one of the most touted cultural exhibitions in Paris. On 15
May 1942, an exhibition of Breker’s works opened in the Orangerie of the Place de la Concorde.
Breker had taken the silver medal at the 1936 Olympics for his statue Decathlon Athlete. 15 This
sculpture and his Discus Thrower caught the attention of Adolf Hitler, who later chose Breker to
sculpt the friezes for the Berlin Triumphal Arch sketched by the Führer himself and designed by
Alber Speer. 16 Vichy Minister without Portfolio Jacques Benoist-Méchin inaugurated the
exhibition, and governmental officials, artists, military personnel, and press attended. These
included Serge Lifar, Jean Cocteau, and actor and writer Sacha Guitry. Breker was described as
a “representative of German monumental sculpturing” whose works adorned many party
buildings, and the exhibition was the “first large display of works of a German sculptor” ever
shown in France. 17
Breker was an appropriate choice for France, since he had lived there in the 1920s. At
the time, he was lover to writer Jean Cocteau, who published a “Salute to Breker” in the French
newspaper Comoedia in conjunction with the opening. Cocteau’s ode began, “I salute you from
the lofty realm of poets, a realm where nations exist only to the extent that they contribute to the
artistic treasure of the nation.” Some viewed the “Salute” as embarrassing as Breker’s
homoerotic sculptures, such as Comradeship, reproduced in Figure 7.1. 18
dem französischen Volke. Wären wir heute in der Lage, den besetzten Gebieten ausreichend Nahrungsmittel zu
geben, so könnten wir moralische Erfolge ohne Ende erreichen. Die Kulturpropaganda ist den Franzosen gegenüber
immer noch die beste Propaganda. Ich werde sie deshalb noch mehr als bisher verstärken.”
15
Stanton, Forgotten Olympic Art Competitions, 180.
16
Frederic Spotts, Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics (Woodstock and New York: The Overlook Press, 2009), 108.
17
German Art and Culture 5, May 1942. AA Paris 1219.
18
Spotts, The Shameful Peace, 44–45.
272
Figure 7.1. Arno Breker, Comradeship.
http://www.hitler.org/art/breker/comradeship.jpg. Public domain.
As Frederic Spotts has pointed out, Breker’s sculptures “owed everything to size and
exaggeration—shoulders too broad, hips too narrow, muscles too pronounced, stance too
mannered. Such torsos, crowned with faces that were grim, arrogant and ruthless, were icons of
273
brutality.…” The images were also laden with a potential sexual fantasy, not innocent, but
pushing sensuality to sadomasochism. 19 This sentiment was echoed by Sacha Guitry, who told
Cocteau at the opening, “if they all have erections, we won’t be able to move around.” 20 Breker
did have a penchant for grand scale, as this photograph of the artist in his studio reflects (see
Figure 7.2).
Figure 7.2. Sculptor Arno Breker in his studio.
Source: http://www.meaus.com/1940-breker-atelier.JPEG. Public domain.
During a visit to Breker’s home and workshops in August 1943, the artist confided in Serge
Lifar. Breker did sculpt according to a monumental style, and this style became more
pronounced as the sculptures passed from Breker’s workshops to the factory, where they were
reproduced on physically monumental scale for decoration of official buildings. In return for a
house, a gift from the Führer, Breker gave the New Germany his art. Breker commented to
Lifar, “This is the ransom. They’ve stolen the soul of my works from me.…” On the same trip,
19
Spotts, Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics, 185–6.
20
Alan Riding, And the Show Went On: Cultural Life in Nazi-Occupied Paris (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011),
177.
274
Lifar enlisted Breker to create his bust. 21 Werner Egk would do the same thirty-five years
later. 22
The Breker exhibition closed with a concert. Pianists Wilhelm Kempff and Alfred Cortot
played the Mozart Sonata in D Major, K. 448, and the Andante and Variations, op. 46 of
Schumann, both for two pianos; Germaine Lubin sang French folksongs accompanied by the
German Kempff and German folksongs accompanied by Frenchman Cortot.23 After a run of two
and a half months, the exhibition had drawn 60,000 visitors and an additional 45,000 German
military. 24
The May 1942 Berlin Philharmonic tour of Unoccupied France did not enjoy such a
congenial reception. The orchestra concertized in Marseille on 17 May and in Lyon on 18 May.
After the intermission in Marseille, a tear-gas device was deployed. The audience refused to
leave their places and instead applauded their reprobation for the act and their support of the
orchestra. For the Lyon performance, much stricter security measures were taken. After a few
individuals purchased a majority of the tickets, the ticket sale was annulled. A second ticket sale
yielded a rapidly sold-out house, and many were turned away. Police cordoned off the vicinity
of the hall one and a half hours before the concert start. Despite the perimeter, people in passing
cars shouted, “Down with the Krauts!” Others distributed flyers calling for a stop to the concert.
The French police were rather unconcerned, some even pleased. Despite the demonstration, the
concert was a success. 25 The demonstrations were blamed on the usual suspects, Communists
and Jews who wanted to sabotage the concert by boycott or disruption. 26
By late 1942 German cultural propaganda underwent more systematic organization. In a
German Embassy memorandum of 6 August 1942, the German Institute planned four
performances of Hans Pfitzner’s opera Palestrina starting September 1942; eight performances
of Joan von Zarissa under Egk’s direction starting in October; and a performance of Strauss’s
21
Lifar, Ma Vie, 250.
22
Breker created a bust of Egk in August 1978; the bust was cast in January 1979. The bust is housed at the Werner
Egk Begegnungsstätte in Donauwörth, Germany.
23
Report to Abetz, 15 July 1942. AA Paris 1380.
24
Spotts, The Shameful Peace, 45. Spotts regards these figures as “derisory” and notes that the military were “no
doubt encouraged to visit.”
25
Rabuse to Epting, 19 May 1942. AA Paris 1215. The French cry was “A bas les Boches!”
26
Abschrift, Konzert des Berliner Philharmonischen Orchesters. AA Paris 1216.
275
Der Rosenkavalier under Wetzelsberger with German soloists for January 1943. Concerts
featuring the Heidelberg Chamber Orchestra under Wolfgang Fortner, the Cologne Chamber
Trio for Early Music under professor K. M. Schwammberger, and pianist Elly Ney were planned
for November and December 1942. An “Evening of Song” featuring Lore Fischer and Hermann
Reutter was planned for Paris in late January or early February 1943, with plans to extend the
tour to the Vichy France. Apparently there were few concerns regarding a repeat of the Lyon
demonstration of the previous May. The Cologne Chamber Orchestra under Erich Kraack was
scheduled for Paris in late March; the Peter-Quartet, for May. This group, too, was to concertize
in Unoccupied France, with a Bruckner program. Unlike the German-centric concerts of the
German Institute, the Propaganda Staff of Paris scheduled its own series of ten “Master
Concerts” featuring both French and German conductors. In addition to these music and theater
performances, numerous lectures were planned on topics including, art, literature, law, history,
journalism, medicine, and economics. 27
From at least March 1943 large-scale calendars of German cultural propaganda events in
Italy, Switzerland, and France were published for German use, all marked “Streng Vertraulich!”
strictly confidential. Extant broadsides from 5 September 1942 list events planned through
November 1942; those from 15 March 1943, events planned through June 1943; those from 25
March, 25 April, and 25 May 1944, events planned through June 1944. In these broadsides, two
works that enjoyed great success in Paris are conspicuously absent: Hans Pfitzner’s Palestrina
and Werner Egk’s Joan von Zarissa. 28
The two are included on only one broadside, that of 5 September 1942. Unlike the neatly
printed broadsides above that contain many finalized engagements, this sheet is a working copy,
typed and replete with tentative events. Joan von Zarissa is listed in only one other place among
extant German Embassy materials. Among the broadsides, there is a report titled “Compilation
of the cultural propaganda events that have been carried out since the arrival of specialists of the
Reich Propaganda Ministry at the German Embassy Paris.” The document details events through
27
AA Paris 1205. Memorandum to the German Embassy Paris, 6 August 1942. The memorandum bears many
pencil notations and emendations: for the Pfitzner, “September” is overwritten with “Okt;” for the Egk, “Oktober”
is scratched out and “30.9.” is noted; and for the Strauss, “Januar 1943” is crossed out and “1 Dez. Hälfte” (1st half
of December [1942]) is written beneath. The numbers of performances are written in pencil.
28
AA Paris 1115X.
276
the end of July 1943, and it reveals that the majority of events planned above were carried out.
The entry for 10 July 1942 reads “French premiere of the ballet Joan von Zarissa by Werner Egk
under the leadership of the composer at the Paris Opéra. The ballet has had fifteen performances
to date.” So, in the year from July 1942 to July 1943, Joan von Zarissa was performed fifteen
times in Occupied Paris. The entry directly below this, for 17 October 1942, reads “Repeat
performance of Palestrina by Hans Pfitzner at the Paris Opéra with the composer in attendance.
Palestrina has had twelve performances in Paris to date.” 29
The series of concerts given by Berlin Cathedral organist Fritz Heitmann in July 1943
deserves closer attention. Between 3 July and 17 July, Heitmann gave recitals in Nancy, Dijon,
Paris, Amiens, Tours, Poitiers, and Bordeaux. 30 The programs included the Prelude and Fugue
in B Minor of Nicholas Bruhns; the Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue of J. S. Bach; the Chorale in A
Minor of César Franck, and the Variations on Weinen, Klagen, Sorgen, Sagen of Franz Liszt. 31
The last work is based on “the basso-continuo of the first movement of the cantata ‘Weinen,
Klagen, Sorgen, Zagen, Angst und Not sind des Christen Tränenbrot’ and the ‘Crucifixus’ of the
B-Minor Mass by Sebastian Bach.” 32 A report made to Dr. Fritz Piersig of the German Embassy
in Paris indicated that the tour was an “extraordinarily great success.” According to the report,
Heitmann played for approximately 2,000 in Nancy; 1,200 in Dijon; 4,000 at Notre Dame de
Paris; 2,000 in Amiens; 1,500 in Tours; 1,500 in Poitiers; and 200 in Bordeaux; for an
astounding total of approximately 12,400 people. The report explained:
All concerts were given free of admission charge. They were very substantially attended
by ecclesiastical and less affluent circles, who as an audience were not otherwise very
29
AA Paris 1115X. “10. VIII. Franz. Erstaufführung des Ballettes „Joan von Zarissa“ von Werner Egk unter
Leitung des Komponisten an der Pariser Grossen Oper. Das Ballett hat bisher 15 Aufführungen erlebt.
17. Oktober: Wiederaufnahme des „Palestrina“ von Hans Pfitzner an der Pariser Oper in Anwesenheit des
Komponisten. Der „Palestrina“ hat bisher 12 Aufführungen in Paris erlebt.” This document is included in its
entirety in Appendix D.
30
Ibid.
31
AA Paris 1142Y. Clippings from Soldat im Westen, 11 July 1943; Echo de Nancy, 5 July 1943; and Le Matin 11
July 1943.
32
Franz Liszt, Organ Works, Vol. 1 (New York: Edwin F. Kalmus, n.d.), 4.
277
effectively reached by our cultural propaganda. Thus, the numbers cited above carry
special weight. 33
True, the audience numbers were large, but the impact of the recitals was not likely so great.
Heitmann was carrying coals to Newcastle. The most obvious example was playing
Franck before a French audience, though one could argue that Heitmann took advantage of the
chance to play the work on organs for which it was intended. The German composers seem to
better fit a typical propaganda mold: a German artist performing German before a French public.
However, Bruhns, Liszt, and even Bach were so many coals. At the time, the French Organ
School had long been world-renowned, culminating in the artistry of Marcel Dupré, then
Professor of Organ at the Conservatory, which had remained in Paris. The School and Dupré
could trace a pedagogical lineage back to Bach himself. 34 Dupré had also created a transcription
of the Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue for organ and orchestra. Liszt was well known to French
organists, and Dupré had made an organ-and-orchestra transcription of the Liszt work, as well.
As for Bruhns, Dupré likely heard his teacher Guilmant play Bruhns’s works during the elder’s
twenty-year-long organ series at the Trocadero. Early music featured prominently in Guilmant’s
series. 35 Given the renown of the French Organ School, German organ music propaganda was
likely to elicit little effect on the French consciousness.
Organ music was also a requisite feature of a “German Week” scheduled for the second
half of November 1943 in Unoccupied Marseilles. A reflection of the Entartete Kunst or
Entartete Musik exhibitions, this event was to be headlined as the “Défense et richesse de la
33
Report to Dr. Piersig, 20 July 1943. AA Paris 1142Y. “Saemtliche Konzerte fanden bei freiem Eintritt statt. [Sie]
waren sehr wesentlich von kirchlichen und weniger bemittel[ten] Kreisen besucht, die als Publikum von unserer
kulturpropa[gan]distischen Arbeit sonst nicht allzu stark erfasst werden. [Die] oben angefuehrten Zahlen
bekommen damit besonderes Gewich[t.]”
34
Marcel Dupré (1886–1971) was a pupil of Louis Victor Jules Vierne (1830–1937) in organ (improvisation) and a
pupil of Charles-Marie Widor (1844–1937) in fugue (composition) at the Paris Conservatory. Vierne himself was
pupil of Widor (organ) at Paris Conservatory. The Frenchman Widor was a pupil of Jaak Nikolaas Lemmens
(Belgian, 1823–1881) in Brussels. Lemmens was a pupil of Adolf Friedrich Hesse (1809–1863) in Breslau. Hesse
was a pupil of Johann Christian Heinrich Rinck (German, 1770–1846) for six months in 1828–29. Rinck was a
pupil of Johann Christian Kittel (1732–1809) in Erfurt, 1786–89. Kittel was a pupil of Johann Sebastian Bach in
Leipzig, 1748–50.
35
Michael Murray, Marcel Dupré:: The Work of a Master Organist (Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1985),
39, 131. Dupré also created a transcription of the Bach work for organ and orchestra.
278
culture européenne contre la barbarie bolchevique,” the defense and richness of European
culture against Bolshevist barbarity. Among the cultural events planned for the German Week
were a concert of a German symphony orchestra or singer; an organ concert in a large Marseilles
church; an economic presentation by the anti-Communist Professor Seraphim from Breslau; and
a literary presentation. In addition, a troupe from the Paris Opéra was to perform Wagner’s
Lohengrin. 36 The opening night of an October 1943 Anti-Bolshevist Exhibition in Marseille had
been wildly successful, according to a report to the German Embassy. 37 Here again, German
artists were to bring the National Socialist Weltanschauung to the French.
In addition, various concerts were planned solely for German military personnel. The
choir of Holy Cross Church, Dresden (Dresdner Kreuzchor), attempted to make such a tour of
the Netherlands, Belgium, and France in September 1943, claiming that morale-building concerts
of leading German choirs for the Wehrmacht had been desired for a great while. In January
1944, the choir was given permission to do so. 38
The institution of Wehrmacht concerts begs the questions of for what audience
propaganda events in Paris were intended and of just who was attending them. The Paris Opéra
was a favorite destination of both Germans and French. In the early days of the Occupation,
twenty percent of the Opéra seats were reserved for German military personnel, and remaining
tickets were available to them for half-price. Estimates put German attendance at fifty percent of
available seats. By November 1943 the Wehrmacht reserved 639 Opéra seats, one-third of the
house. Certain events were limited to Wehrmacht-only crowds. 39
Paris Opéra Director Jacques Rouché saw not only an increase in German uniforms in the
Opéra’s seats but also an increase of German costumes on the Opéra’s stage. He was pressed to
increase the number of German works in the Opéra repertoire, so after the Palais Garnier
reopened with a gala performance of Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust on 24 August 1940, its
next work would be Beethoven’s Fidelio, not Rouché’s choice. As the Occupation continued,
Rouché sought to derail the admission of German works to the repertoire, mostly by perpetual
delay. In the end, Rouché was rather successful, admitting only four new German works:
36
AA Paris 1142Z.
37
AA Paris 1138.
38
Gerlach to Piersig, 13 Spetember 1943; Piersig to Dresdner Kreuzchor, 15 January 1944. AA Paris 1215.
39
Spotts, The Shameful Peace, 205.
279
Ariadne auf Naxos by Richard Strauss, Palestrina by Hans Pfitzner, and Peer Gynt and Joan von
Zarissa by Werner Egk. Rouché’s was one of the first trials of artistic personae after the
liberation of France. For his work with the Germans, and no thanks to his wife’s indiscretions
with the same, he was dismissed from the Paris Opéra in April 1945. 40
According to two reports from the Security Service of the SS, German propaganda had
failed to make clear progress in France by late 1943. According to the report from 18 October
1943 a great majority of the French had become hostile to the Germans and reacted negatively
toward any German propaganda efforts. Through a series of mistakes, German propaganda had
failed to establish a successful connection with the average French citizen. The Germans had
essentially missed their opportunity to win over the French public, and few possibilities
remained. Among the issues enumerated was that German propaganda was proceeding too much
according to German concepts and methods and did not take into account particular conditions
for success in France. The primary condition was the intellectual independence on which
Parisians prided themselves and against which the German campaign of “clamant posters,
buzzword-type slogans, and ready-made propaganda statements” had the opposite of the
intended effect. German propaganda lacked a clear goal and had failed to educate the French
populace on the New Germany and National Socialism. Instead of a positive introduction to
National Socialism, the French were confronted by a mysterious specter against which it was
easy to rally. Further, the Germans were losing a radio propaganda war to Britain, the adopted
home of Charles de Gaulle. Pro-French broadcasts provided a further catalyst for anti-German
sentiment. Even such a gesture as surrendering power in spheres of limited influence in an effort
to foster a sense of French autonomy had not improved the situation. Instead, French opposition
was growing bold and launching terrorist attacks and acts of sabotage. 41
The Security Service report of 25 October 1943 was dedicated to the “resistance to the
performance of German works on the French stage.” The primary complaint was simply that
fewer German works were being performed on the French stage than before the war began. The
blame for the decline was placed squarely on “hostile attitude of the director of the Opéra, J.
40
Ibid., 205–07.
41
“SD-Berichte zu Inlandsfragen vom 18 Oktober 1943 (Rote Serie),” Meldungen aus dem Reich, ed. Heinz
Boberach, vol. 15 (Herrsching: Pawlak Verlag, 1984), 5887–5889. These two reports are included in Appendix E.
280
Rouché.” 42 Others held that German activities at the Opéra should proceed first from a
propaganda agenda and only subordinately from an artistic one. That is, it was not the job of the
Germans to “raise the artistic niveau” of the Opéra but rather to place before the Parisian public a
series of German works in which the French could glimpse the “greatness and perfection of
German art” and be impressed. Unfortunately for the Germans, the looming prospect of an
Anglo-American landing in France simultaneously kindled a hope of liberation and an utter
aversion to German propaganda. Theater directors were reluctant to endorse German works and
prevented such a German cultural parade. Under the “guise of personnel, technical, and sundry
difficulties,” directors sought to postpone interminably the production of German works.
Rouché was primary among them. The Paris Opéra’s production of Egk’s Peer Gynt was cited
as an example, its premiere delayed by almost a year from the original schedule. 43 The same had
happened with Joan von Zarissa.
Joan von Zarissa as Cultural Propaganda
Lucht reported that plans to bring the work to the Paris Opéra stage had begun in late
summer 1941, but the work did not premiere until almost a year later, July 1942, and then it was
given only two performances before the end of the season.44 Rouché’s stall tactics seem to have
worked: after the substantial preparatory period, the premiere was postponed incrementally from
April to July 1944, and later performances were likewise delayed. Based on this protraction, it
appears that Rouché’s opinion of Joan von Zarissa was that it was another product of cultural
propaganda aimed at the French.
The Propaganda Staff of Paris likewise regarded Joan von Zarissa as a propaganda tool,
allowing the Opéra to choose the work from those placed at its disposal. In contrast to Pfitzner’s
Palestrina, a model of the culmination of romantic German masterworks, Joan von Zarissa was,
in its “fundamental theatricality and genuine dynamism, a testimony for contemporary solidarity,
propensity for progress and the health of the New German cultural will in the arena of music
drama compositions.” Joan von Zarissa was successful beyond other propaganda attempts, and
42
Even so, Rouché was among the first tried and punished (by dismissal) for his collaboration with the Nazis.
43
SD-Berichte zu Inlandsfragen vom 25 Oktober 1943 (Rote Serie),” Meldungen aus dem Reich, ed. Heinz
Boberach, vol. 15 (Herrsching: Pawlak Verlag, 1984), 5922–5925.
44
Lucht, Bericht, 28 July 1942. AA Paris 1215.
281
reviews were positive. Egk had become a household name in Paris, something that he could not
accomplish within the Reich, Lucht claims, citing the fact that Joan von Zarissa had yet to be
performed in Munich, Egk’s hometown. 45 And although Joan von Zarissa is often absent from
German propaganda calendars, it does make at least two important appearances, confirming that
it was part of an overall propaganda campaign.
Werner Egk himself was rather quiet on the point of whether or not Joan von Zarissa
constituted cultural propaganda. The unnamed musicologist of Die Zeit wartet nicht asked Egk a
leading question on the topic: “Paris? For some time, it was said that the Propaganda Ministry
turned the Paris Opéra on to you. This appears untrue to me. Instead, if I’m not mistaken, Dr.
Piersig did that. What role did he play?” Egk answered that Dr. Fritz Piersig created his own
Music Department within the Propaganda Staff of Paris and operated of his own volition. For
example, Piersig wanted to perform Arthur Honegger’s Pacific 231 in observance of the
composer’s fiftieth birthday, but the piece was designated “unerwünscht” in Germany. Piersig
reportedly told Honegger that the work could present difficulties as it was “machine music.”
Honegger offered an out: print “Theme and Variations” in the program and play Pacific 231
under this title. By relating the account, Egk attempted to separate himself from the activities of
the Reich Propaganda Ministry. He aligned the Paris performance of Joan von Zarissa with the
more independent Music Department of Piersig that had clandestinely performed the risqué
Pacific 231.
Egk continued that Piersig requested scores of new ballets from German publishers and
forwarded them to the Paris Opéra. These included Der Kirmes von Delft by Hermann Reutter,
Das Fest im Süden by Boris Blacher, and the Josephslegende of Richard Strauss, along with
Joan von Zarissa. From these, Rouché and Lifar chose Joan von Zarissa. The Propaganda
Ministry only learned of the selection later. 46 This course had already been plotted in late
45
Ibid.
46
Egk, Die Zeit, 349–350. “Frage: Paris? Vor einiger Zeit wurde darüber geredet, daß das Propagandaministerium
Sie der Pariser Oper aufgedreht habe. Das scheint mir nicht wahr zu sein. Das hat doch, wenn ich nicht irre, Herr
Dr. Piersig gemacht. Was für eine Rolle hat er gespielt?
Antwort: Dr. Fritz Piersig war Organist und Musikwissenschaftler, hatte den Westfeldzug mitgemacht und wurde
als Leutnant in Paris auf Empfehlung von Hans Joachim Moser in die Propagandastaffel, eine militärische
Einrichtung, abkommandiert. Er baute ein Musikreferat auf und arbeitete auf seine Weise. Als Arthur Honegger
seinen fünfzigsten Geburtstag feierte, sollte auch „Pacific 231“ gespielt werden. Das Stück war in Deutschland
282
Summer 1941 by the Propaganda Staff of Paris, as recounted in Lieutenant Lucht’s report.
Though Hitler had decided in August 1940 that propaganda duties fell to the German Embassy in
Paris, the Wehrmacht Propaganda Staff did not cease its activities. Egk’s account confirms that
the Propaganda Staff’s original goal of giving the impression that the Paris Opéra was acting
autonomously was accomplished.
Other evidence indicates that Egk had knowledge of the propaganda goals of his sojourn
to Paris. A party operative identified only as Krüger met with Egk after his arrival in Paris.
During the course of their conversation, it came to light that most artists sent abroad by the Reich
Propaganda Ministry sent reports back to the Propaganda Ministry detailing their propagandistic
efficacy. Compliance was voluntary, and no mechanisms ensured the artists’ cooperation. 47
That Egk entered into conversation on such a topic indicates that he was aware of the connection
of himself and other artists to the Reich Propaganda Ministry. This does not necessarily mean
that Egk fulfilled the request. On 27 August 1942, Krüger again wrote to the Berlin Foreign
„unerwünscht“. Piersig: „Hören Sie, Herr Honegger, mit diesem Stück könnte es vielleicht Schwierigkeiten geben.
Es gilt as ‚Maschinenmusik’. Spielen Sie doch etwas anderes.“ Honegger: „Ich weiß einen besseren Ausweg: Wir
schreiben einfach, ‚Thema mit Variationen’ in das Programm und spielen unter diesem Titel ‚Pacific 231’.“ So
wurde es auch gemacht.—Die Geschichte der Annahme des „Zarissa“ an der Pariser Oper ist geklärt. Piersig ließ
sich „in eigener Verantwortung“, wie er sich ausdrückte, von den deutschen Verlagen Partituren neuerer Ballette
schicke und gab vier davon an die Pariser Oper weiter: „Zarissa“ von Egk, „Die Kirmes von Delft“ von Reutter,
„Das Fest im Süden“ von Blacher und „Josephslegende“ von Strauss. Der Administrator der Oper, Jacques Rouché,
ein prachtvoller alter Herr, wählte mit seinem Ballettmeister Serge Lifar „Joan von Zarissa“ zur Aufführung aus.
Das Propagandaministerium erfuhr erst später davon.” Egk does not mentions Pfitzner’s Palestrina, ostensibly
because the work was not a ballet.
47
Krüger to Berlin Foreign Office, 15 July 1942. “Aus einem Gespräch mit Komponisten Egk anlässlich seines
Aufenthalts in Paris ergab sich, dass die Mehrzahl der massgebenden vom Reichpropagandaministerium ins Ausland
entsandten Künstler an das Propagandaministerium Reiseberichte mit stark kulturpolitischem Einschlag einsenden.
Würde es grundsätzlich für wünschenswert halten, wenn mit Propagandaministerium eine ähnliche Regelung
getroffen werden könnte, wie sie mit Reichserziehungsministerium besteht, das bei Wissenschaftlern derartige
Berichte dem Auswärtigen Amt und über dieses den jeweils interessierten Reichvertretungen zur Verfügung stellt.
Krüger”
283
Office inquiring whether or not Egk had filed such a report, as he indicated he would at their
meeting. 48 No further mention of the report exists.
Financial records provide another link between the Promi and Egk’s activities in Paris.
Egk received a letter of 14 August 1942 informing him that the Promi had directed the Foreign
Office for Theater to pay him the remainder of the RM 2,500 owed him for rehearsing and
conducting two performances of Joan von Zarissa in Paris. Egk earned no pay from his position
as Head of the Composers Section of the Reich Chamber of Music, and his income as a
Kapellmeister was paid to him by the Staatsoper Berlin, under the direction of Prussian MinisterPresident Hermann Göring. 49 It was the Promi who paid Egk’s bills in France. It is naive to
think that Egk, the Leader of the Composers Section of the Reich Chamber of Music, whose
supervisor was Reich Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels, would be unaware of the Reich
Propaganda Ministry’s hand in such affairs.
An element critical to the success of Egk’s Joan von Zarissa as propaganda was that
Germany found a zealous collaborator in Serge Lifar. Lifar enthusiastically embraced Egk’s
work, not least for the dance and dramatic possibilities its production afforded, especially to
Lifar himself, as its lead dancer. Lucht reports that the Culture Department of the Propaganda
Staff of Paris could “not have wished for a more intensive advocate” for the ballet, and that
Lifar’s advocacy removed virtually all obstacles to the orchestra’s cooperation with Egk. The
German propaganda establishment did little to propagate Joan von Zarissa other than providing
for press coverage of rehearsals and allowing contact with the composer. 50 It did not need to.
Lifar enjoyed celebrity status and represented the historical institutions of the Paris Opéra and
French Ballet—there was no better champion nor Judas goat. Lifar’s promotion of Joan von
Zarissa may explain its large-scale absence from the records of the Germans, who needed only
allow Lifar to disseminate their propaganda for them.
Lifar’s own account of his part in Joan von Zarissa, at least before the summer of 1944,
is one of artistic triumph. At the post-premiere party at the Hotel Ritz, Lifar counted himself, as
48
Krüger to Berlin Foreign Office, 27 August 1942. “Es wird um Mitteilung gebeten, ob der Reisebericht, den
seinerzeit der Komponist EGK über seinen Aufenthalt in Frankreich beim Reichspropagandaministerium einreichen
wollte, inzwischen erstattet worden ist. Krüger”
49
StAM, Ka 339.
50
Lucht, Bericht, AA Paris 1215.
284
Egk’s artistic interpreter “to some degree, and with the author [composer], the hero of the
evening.” 51 While producing Joan von Zarissa, Lifar also produced Le Jour by composer
Maurice Jaubert, who died defending France in June 1940. Lifar procured the necessary
authorization to have the words “died for France” printed under the composer’s name in the
program. Lifar counted this permission as a concession by the Germans to the man who had
assured the triumph of Joan von Zarissa. According to Lifar, Rouché redacted the epithet out of
fear of an adverse German reaction. 52 That might have upset the careful balancing act Rouché
had accomplished.
Lifar also provides a foil by which to evaluate the Security Service’s assessment that the
failure of German propaganda in Paris was due to perpetual delay on the part of Rouché.
Perhaps this was not always the case. While Joan von Zarissa was in production, the stagehands
of the Paris Opéra presented to its administration a list of grievances that had not been addressed
in a timely fashion. In response, the stagehands struck, delaying a Joan von Zarissa performance
for half an hour. According to Lifar, the furious Germans mistook the strike for a politicallymotivated one and threatened to close the Opéra and deport its staff, administration, dancers, and
stagehands alike. Lifar, in his messianic manner, had to intervene. He told the Germans that “it
was all a terrible misunderstanding, that it would be most tactless [for the Germans] to make
claims against the French authorities on an evening when the performance was devoted to the
work of a German author [composer].” The intercession worked, and the production
continued. 53 It would likely have continued regardless, since interrupting the most successful
tool of National Socialist propaganda in France would have been grossly counterproductive to an
already failing effort. Regardless of Lifar’s motivation in its production, Joan von Zarissa would
not have been as successful in France were it not for his involvement.
According to German reports, Joan von Zarissa continued to elicit excitement from the
French public throughout 1942. Reports from the German Embassy from October and
November were transmitted to both the Foreign Office and the Reich Propaganda Ministry, who
51
Lifar, Ma Vie, 232.
52
Ibid., 239. In Lifar’s words, “This was a reward from the Germans in whose eyes I had the great merit of putting
on Joan de Zarizza and assuring its triumph.”
53
Ibid., 266–67.
285
saw additional propaganda potential in Lifar. On 16 August 1943, Lifar was summoned to the
Reich Chancellery for a meeting with Adolf Hitler. Lifar relates that Hitler
spoke in a familiar, almost paternal, manner, with a slight smile and in the least official
way possible. I had not time to reply before he went on to tell me how highly he
appreciated the work I was doing at the Paris Opéra which he considered was of a nature
greatly to aid in furthering Franco-German understanding.
“I have learned,” he went on, “of the great success Herbert von Karajan, Arno
Breker and Werner Egk have had in France … the privileges of Art,” he murmured in a
musing tone. 54
The Führer proceeded to inform Lifar that he would accompany him to Moscow on 20 August,
the day on which the city would fall, Stalin already having left the capital. Lifar was to be
witness to Hitler’s “triumphant entry into Moscow” and his guide around the city. That entry did
not occur, and Lifar was spared, as was Hitler, whom Lifar had resolved to assassinate before he
set foot in the city. 55
German Ambassador Abetz also had further plans for Lifar and Joan von Zarissa. In a
21 April 1944 telegram to the German Embassy in Madrid, Abetz suggested a guest appearance
of the Paris Opéra Ballet to “counter Anglo-American rhetoric regarding the suppression of
French culture under German occupation.” Works on the program were to include various
French works and the “Spanish premiere of the ballet Joan von Zarissa by German composer
Werner Egk.” 56 Egk was also to be present. A few days earlier, on 17 April 1944, an operative
named Bargen reported to Piersig that a tour had been arranged for Serge Lifar and sixty-two
others to travel to Spain from 6 May to 5 June 1944 and that Egk was to be “pressed for personal
54
Ibid., 247.
55
Ibid., 247–48.
56
Abetz to German Embassy in Madrid, 21 April 1944. AA Paris 1215. “Auf Drahtbericht ^erlass^ Nr. 1986 ^vom
A.A.^ vom 18.4. wird mitgeteilt, daß es sich bei in Aussicht genommenen Ballettgastspiel nicht um russisches,
sondern um Ballett der Pariser Oper handelt. Durch Gastspiel würde anglo-amerikanischer Propagandaparole
bezüglich Unterdrückung französischer Kultur unter deutscher Besatzung entgegengewirkt. Ballett der Pariser Oper
vorsieht im übrigen neben Darbietung französischer Werke spanische Erstaufführung des Ballettes „Joan von
Zarissa“ des deutschen Komponisten Werner Egk. Abetz.” The foregoing diplomatic transcription (and that which
follows) reflects amendments written in blue ink in the original.
286
involvement.” 57 Egk had already been solicited, in a telegram two days earlier. He was also
asked to recommend what to do with the interstitial choruses for the Spanish productions. 58
Apparently, these would be translated into Spanish. Lifar had also worked to make the Spanish
tour come to fruition. In return for the tour, Lifar accepted a Vichy engagement for the Ballet to
perform in Berlin for the tenth anniversary of the Strength through Joy organization. Before the
November 1943 performance, Lifar recalled, “the first large-scale bombardment of the Reich
capital took place. The performance was called off. The honour of the Opéra was safe.” 59 One
could argue that Rouché had compromised the honor of the Opéra in late Summer 1941, when he
decided on Joan von Zarissa. Lifar had already done so in September 1940. At the German
embassy, Lifar danced to commemorate the successful German campaign in France.
On 29 April 1944 the Berlin Foreign Office was informed that the embassy in Madrid
declined the Paris Opéra Ballet tour “for political reasons.” 60 According to an operative named
Six, innumerable Spanish officials had allied themselves with the de Gaulle movement, and only
a marginal remnant remained faithful to Vichy. The Embassy warned of dangers that the work
of the ensemble would be interrupted and that the de Gaullists would attempt to get the lot to
defect, in which case, the entire tour would have been effective enemy propaganda. The
57
Bargen to Piersig, 17 April 1944. AA Paris 1215. “Ballett Pariser Oper beabsichtigt mit Serge Lifar und 62
Personen 6. Mai–5. Juni Spanien-Gastspiel. Neben französischen Werken soll Werner Egks „Zarissa“ möglichst mit
Dirigent am Pult mehrmals in Barcelona und Madrid aufgeführt werden.|| Französischerseits wird zugunsten
Genehmigung geltend gemacht, dass Durchführung des Gastspiels wertvoll gegen angloamerikanisches PropagandaArgument ^[illegible, “bisher” (?)]^ französisches Kulturleben sei unter Deutscher Besetzung geknebelt.|| Botschaft
befürwortet Genehmigung angesichts Zusage massgeblicher Berücksichtugung des Egkschen Werkes im
Gastspielplan, ^und^ bittet jedoch bei Komponisten auf ^persönliche^ Mitwirkung zu dringen. Drahtentscheidung
erbeten. Bargen.”
58
Bargen to Egk, 15 April 1944. AA Paris 1215. “Pariser Opernballet [sic] rechnet für geplantes Spanien-Gastspiel
auf Ihre Mitwirkung als „Zarissa“-Dirigent ab 16. Mai Barcelona, anschließend etwa ab 25. Mai Madrid. Eintreffen
Barcelona wäre spätestens 14. Mai notwendig. Erbitten umgehende Drahtstellungnahme auch bezüglich
besprochener Zwischenspieländerungen. Bargen”
59
Lifar, Ma Vie, 272.
60
Six to Foreign Office, 29 April 1944. AA Paris 1215. “Botschaft Madrid ablehnt aus politischen Gründen.”
287
practical issue was the large size of the group, and Six instead recommended visits by French
soloists or small troupes of up to five or eight persons. 61
The Madrid refusal did not diminish the German desire to show the world that cultural
life in Occupied Paris was alive and well. On 26 May 1944 Bargen arranged for Lifar and
twenty-five dancers to travel to Zurich instead. The goal was the same, “an argument against
Anglo-American propaganda that French cultural life is being suppressed under the German
occupation.” 62 The Zurich tour was confirmed on 2 June 1944. 63 Four days later, the Allies
invaded Normandy. Understanding the implications of the landing, Zurich inquired on 12 June
whether the tour was still viable. Eight days later, German Ambassador Abetz informed the
Foreign Office that the tour had to be postponed. 64 The postponement was indefinite and
terminal. On 25 August 1944 the German garrison in Paris surrendered, and Paris was liberated.
61
Six to Foreign Office, 28 April 1944. AA Paris 1215. “Die Deutsche Botschaft in Madrid teilt auf Rückfrage
hinsichtlich des Einsatzes des Balletts der Grand Opera Paris folgendes mit:
Zahlreiche Mitglieder der in Spanien tätigen amtlichen Vertretungen, darunter auch der französischen Kulturinstitute
und der französischen Kolonie haben sich der de-Gaulle-Bewegung angeschlossen. Vichy-treue Anhänger sind nur
im geringen Prozentsatz vorhanden. Die Botschaft hält es deshalb für notwendig, auf die Gefahren hinzuweisen,
denen ein so grosses Ensemble in politischer Hinsicht in Spanien ausgesetzt sein wird. Es ist anzunehmen, daß die
de-Gaullisten alles daran setzen werden, möglichst das ganze Ensemble in das andere Lager zu ziehen, womit die
propagandistische Wirkung zu Gunsten der Vichy-Regierung zunichte gemacht würde. Sollte das Ensemble in das
gaullistische Lager übertreten, würde die Feindpropaganda dieses als Erfolg für sich buchen.
Das Auswärtige Amt schliesst sich dieser Auffassung an und hält den Einsatz des Balletts der Grand Opera
Paris nicht für zweckmässig und schlägt statt dessen vorläufig den Einsatz von französischen Solisten und kleineren
Ensembles bis zu 5 bis 8 Personen vor.”
62
Bargen to Piersig, 26 May 1944. AA Paris 1215. “Ballet Pariser Oper erbittet für Serge Lifar und etwa 25
Mitglieder Ausreisegenehmigung nach Zürich zu Teilnahme an Züricher Festspielen zwischen 20. und 28. Juni.
Botschaft befürwortet Genehmigung unter Hinwies auf Bedeutung des Gastspiels als wirksames Argument gegen
angloamerikanische Propaganda, daß französisches Kulturleben durch deutsche Besatzung bedrückt wird. Botschaft
verweist jedoch auf hiesige augenblickliche Verkehrslage, die deutsche kulturpropagandistische Aktivität bereits
stark einengt und bittet gegebenenfalls um Anweisung, bei Militärbefehlshaber für Genehmigung der Gastspielreise
nachdrücklich einzutreten. Bargen.”
63
Schattenfroh to Berlin Foreign Office, 2 June 1944. AA Paris 1215. “Mit Gastspiel Pariser Opernballetts Zürich
einverstanden. Bitte alles zur Durchführung der Reise veranlassen.”
64
Schattenfroh (via courier due to power outage), 12 June 1944; Abetz to Berlin Foreign Office, 20 June 1944. AA
Paris 1215.
288
After the liberation, Lifar’s attitude toward Joan von Zarissa changed. In September
1944 Russian Ambassador Gousovsky invited Lifar to a party to celebrate the liberation and to
honor several Soviet generals then in Paris. Lifar recollected the merry, music-filled evening
curiously:
Sometimes from out of the bottom of my glass a strange little voice would squeak and
this is what it said to me: “The evening of Joan de Zarizza … Goebbels on the steps of
the Opéra … the British chasing your plane … Hitler, Hitler …” How far off that voice
seemed! There had never been any war. Stalin had never met Ribbentrop. 65
Before, Lifar had embraced Joan von Zarissa in a spirit of collaboration, seeking to merge the
French and German schools of dance in a celebration of ages-old culture and new progress. At
the end of the occupation, Lifar disavowed Joan von Zarissa. Not only did Lifar lump the work
with the German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact, the war, Goebbels, and Hitler—he placed Joan
von Zarissa at the head of that list. Joan von Zarissa had become, again, distinctly German.
Like Egk, Lifar knew what he was doing. He collaborated with the Germans for the betterment
of his career. Both collaboration and career were over. 66
While Joan von Zarissa functioned as cultural propaganda in Occupied France, it did not
do so in the more usual way of the Berlin Philharmonic’s tour, of Breker’s exhibition of
sculpture, or of Heitmann’s organ recitals. In these cases, German artists were bringing German
works before a French audience. In the case of Joan von Zarissa, the Frenchman Lifar had a
hand in its production. This surely mitigated the impact of the work as propaganda, since
perhaps its most German element, that of Ausdruckstanz, was itself attenuated. Joan von
Zarissa’s Burgundian setting and choruses did the same. This does not mean that Joan von
Zarissa was not successful—the contrary is true. However, it is difficult to pinpoint the origin of
that success. It lay perhaps in Egk’s music, with its various French influences; perhaps in the
Burgundian setting of the work, reinforced by Brayer’s set designs and costumes; perhaps in the
wunderkind Lifar’s choreography and reputation; perhaps in that it was a production of the
65
Lifar, Ma Vie, 288–290. During a previous trip to Berlin, Lifar’s German plane had been pursued by an English
fighter.
66
On 13 November 1944, Lifar was excluded from the Opéra and all State theaters for life. The ban was short-
lived, and Lifar returned to the Opéra in January 1949. In the end, he had been found a collaborator, but not a Nazi.
289
iconic Paris Opéra and offered a diversion from daily life; or perhaps in that the character Joan
von Zarissa, as usurper, found some resonance among the French.
The hybrid German-French nature of Joan von Zarissa created a perfect propaganda
work. In Germany, the work’s Ausdrucktanz, performed by German dancers, asserted the
work’s German identity. While elements of the work were French, its composer, though
pleasantly disposed toward the French, remained German. The National Socialists used Joan
von Zarissa in a propaganda campaign in Occupied France that was ultimately unsuccessful in
winning over the French. While Joan von Zarissa enjoyed success in the particular
circumstances of the Occupation, the work remained one of appeasement. In producing Joan
von Zarissa, Jacques Rouché satisfied the German occupiers. Further, he kept the stage occupied
with a palatable work, thereby preventing production of some perhaps more insidious
propaganda. Ultimately, Joan von Zarissa never gained true acceptance into the French canon
and after the war, was never again performed in France.
290
CHAPTER EIGHT
A READING OF JOAN VON ZARISSA AS SUBVERSION
Various incongruities in the physical and dramatic structures and the choruses of Joan
von Zarissa beg the question of whether there was a potential subtext in the work, especially
considering the wartime context in which it premiered. Egk’s experience of Weimar-Era Berlin
and his association with the Gellhorn Circle afforded the composer access to cabaret, whose
productions were consistently laced with social commentary. Knowing Egk’s experience with
cabaret culture, it is plausible to consider whether Joan von Zarissa might function as social
commentary, as well.
German occupiers in Paris were aware of and often prosecuted cases in which cabarettists
had offended authorities through the demonstration of anti-German or overtly pro-French
sentiment. For example, Cabaret Eve came under scrutiny in May 1941 because two songs had
been well received by its audiences, but not by German officials. An operative named Schleier
had received reports that two songs sung in a May program were objectionable: “Je suis swing”
was “a chanson with a purported pro-English leaning,” while “L’oiseau de Paris” had a
“purported Gaulistic leaning.” 1 After an investigation almost one month later, Schleier’s
complaint was dismissed, not based on the actual message of the songs, but on their general
nature. L. R. Buscher, who ruled on the matter, found the two songs in question to be “dull and
kitschy and above all, absolutely inconsequential from a political regard.” 2 Someone had found
subversive messages in them and notified Schleier, but Buscher simply dismissed those
allegations, apparently because the songs were not high-brow art music. An off-hand dismissal
was an arrogant move, considering that Josef Goebbels thought U-Music to be more effective for
propaganda than E-music, and cabaret belonged to the former category. Not only did Egk’s
association with Weimar theater and music culture allow for a similar social commentary within
1
Memo, Schleier 16 May 1942. AAPA 1215.
2
Buscher to Rahn, 11 June 1942. AAPA 1215. “Eine gelegentlich in geeigneter Form durchgeführte Überprüfung
hat ergeben, dass die betreffenden Lieder stumpfsinnig und kitschig und vor allem absolut belanglos in politischer
Hinsicht waren.”
291
Joan von Zarissa, but both the set and drama allowed physical and artistic space to be considered
a vessel for containing such a subtext as well.
Joan von Zarissa is a physically and dramatically bifurcated work. The most obvious
physical interstice is created by Egk’s initial stage directions. A secondary dramatic plane, the
platform, hovers above the stage, the primary dramatic plane. In scenes such as the Pantomime,
this presents no problem: the eyes of the cast are fixed on the pantomime unfolding on the
platform above, and the gaze of the cast directs that of the audience. No. 5, “The Honor Dance”
is a different case. Here, two dramas unfold simultaneously: Joan and Isabeau on the main
stage; and Lefou and Perette on the platform above. The dramas are of two different degrees.
The serious drama below will lead to the death of the Iron Duke, while the lovers’ spat above
will end in an ultimately harmless slap.
Additionally, the characters of the work allow for concurrent plots. Joan is perpetually
accompanied by Lefou, his comic relief. This pairing allows simultaneous dramas to unfold, an
attribute not lost on French critics. The critic of Paris-Midi wrote:
The character of the buffoon allowed Lifar to create a plot that is parallel to the principal
plot. At the end of the ballet, these two plots, the dramatic one and the farcical one, join
in a way that is full of meaning. 3
The parallel plots converge in the Wine and Dice Game scene, when Florence is transferred from
Joan’s hands to Lefou’s; and in the final Apparitions scene of the work, when Lefou takes his
lord’s rapier. Early in the drama, however, the plots had diverged and a subtext was created at
the point where an initial conflict of the work was introduced, the murder of the Iron Duke.
Between the two planes of the stage, a physical gulf exists; between the simultaneous
plots and characterizations, an intellectual one emerges. Because of these interstices, the
audience is cued not to take the primary dramatic plot at face value. Only through intellectual
effort are the physical and intellectual gulfs in the drama bridged, and as they are, the two plots
of the drama coalesce into one in the mind of the audience. The interstices in Joan von Zarissa
provide a vehicle for subtext. Since the audience must perpetually traverse the gaps in order to
assemble the drama, it must also decipher whatever subtextual messages lie in them.
3
Paris-Midi, 16 July 1942. “Le personnage du bouffon a permis à Lifar de mener une action parallèle à l’action
principale ; à la fin du ballet ces deux actions, la dramatique et la bouffonne, se rejoignant d’une manière chargée de
sens.”
292
Further, Joan von Zarissa is dominated by an icon of deception. As noted earlier, Egk
describes the drop against which the work opens: “Odysseus lashed to the mast and surrounded
by the Sirens in the form of great birds in the manner of an Old French tapestry.” Against this
backdrop, the narrator expounds on the indulgent nature of Joan, the incarnate decline of noble
culture. Then, in a separate stanza, the audience receives the following imperative:
Consider that only the strongest fetter of bondage
Spared Ulysses a wicked fate. 4
The prologue continues with another stanza admonishing the audience to have compassion for
Joan and reflect on their own sins before flatly condemning Joan for his.
In the epilogue, after the drama has run its course, the narrator reveals that “impetuous
lust” is the evil magic of the sirens. Its holy antipode is true love. The audience receives Egk’s
benediction via the Speaker:
Thus shun always impetuous lust,
The blessing-bestowing, of love! 5
But in Homer’s Odyssey, the Sirens’ magic has nothing to do with lust or love. As Circe warns
Odysseus about the upcoming trials along his homeward journey, she forewarns him,
First you will raise the island of the Sirens,
those creatures who spellbind any man alive,
whoever comes their way. Whoever draws too close,
Off guard, and catches the Sirens’ voices in the air–
no sailing home for him, no wife rising to meet him,
no happy children beaming up at their father’s face.
4
Egk, JvZ, orig. version, [13].
5
Ibid., [251].
293
The high, thrilling song of the Sirens will transfix him,
Lolling there in their meadow, round them heaps of corpses
rotting away, rags of skin shriveling on their bones …
Race straight past that coast! Soften some beeswax
and stop your shipmates’ ears so none can hear,
none of the crew, but if you are bent on hearing,
have them tie you hand and foot in the swift ship,
erect at the mast-block, lashed by ropes to the mast
so you can hear the Sirens’ song to your heart’s content.
But if you plead, commanding your men to set you free,
then they must lash you faster, rope on rope. 6
Circe mentions nothing of love. While wife and children are connected to the homeward-bound
sailor by love, the loss he would experience, should he fall victim to the Sirens, is not the loss of
that love for family. It is the loss of homecoming. The song is thrilling and transfixes those who
hear it, but there is no mention by Circe that it arouses lust.
When Odysseus recounts Circe’s prophecy to his men, he mentions only that they must
avoid the Sirens’ “enchanting song, their meadow starred with flowers.” The physical island of
the Sirens is also enticing. As the men approach the island, the Sirens sing to Odysseus:
“Come closer, famous Odysseus–Achaea’s pride and glory–
moor your ship on our coast so you can hear our song!
Never has any sailor passed our shores in his black craft
until he has heard the honeyed voices pouring from our lips,
and once he hears to his heart’s content sails on, a wiser man.
We know all the pains that the Greeks and Trojans once endured
on the spreading plain of Troy when the gods willed it so–
all that comes to pass on the fertile earth, we know it all!” 7
The sirens do not attempt to seduce Odysseus with their bodily sensuality. Instead they offer
their supremely sensuous song and knowledge. Lust and love are absent. Under the lure of
wisdom, the sailor listens to the song. Once enchanted, the sailor is never sated.
6
Homer, The Odyssey, trans. Robert Fagles (New York: Penguin Books, 1996) 12:44–60.
7
Ibid., 12:200–07.
294
Odysseus struggles to resist the song of the Sirens, not his own lust generated by their
bodily sensuality. It seems inappropriate therefore that he should be the central image before
which the battle between impetuous lust and true love in Joan von Zarissa is engaged. Further,
if the drama is only about love and lust, why didn’t Egk make that clear in the prologue instead
of writing an epiphany into the epilogue? And after the epiphany, the epilogue ends in a
deception of its own. Egk expounds several paradoxes in his “play of life”: he who loses wins;
demanding is called gifting; and taking is called giving. At its conclusion, Joan von Zarissa
itself is revealed to be a deception.
While the literal lesson of the work, as German audiences hearing the epilogue found out
after the fact, may deal with love and lust, the figure of Odysseus calls the audience to question
that message and look instead for what is behind it. In Paris, the audiences were even more at
sea. Lucht reported that Egk’s prologue was cut from the Paris performances of Joan von
Zarissa because of difficulties in translation. No narrator is listed in the program, so it follows
that the epilogue was likewise cut. Without the narrator to explain the image of Odysseus, the
Parisian audience was left only with the Oddysean drop, an icon of deception. The Sirens sang
and were heard before they were seen. The only voices to sing in the ballet are those of the
unseen choir. The audience does not know what to make of the song of the choir. And it is in
the song of the choir, particularly in the imagery and question posed in the rondeau “Vous y fiez
vous?” that the argument of subversion in Joan von Zarissa can be made.
Conversely, it could be argued that the choruses are examples of Egk merely mimicking
French composers. This reading stems from the perception of Werner Egk as Francophile, a
position adopted by the late Andrew McCredie, a respected Egk scholar. Egk modeled his
choruses on French songs and choral works, befitting the geographical and historical setting of
the Joan von Zarissa. McCredie points out that the cori spezzati alternation of high and low
voices in “C’est grant paine” is reminiscent of sixteenth-century French chansons such as those
of Clement Janequin, namely “Le chant des oiseaux.” The tonic-dominant alternation and leaps
of a fifth of the second chanson, “D’ont vient ce souleil de plaisance” are reminiscent of
Janequin’s La Guerre. 8 These elements are typical of battaille pieces, and the argument that Egk
took a depiction of war as inspiration for his own wartime work is a compelling one.
8
McCredie, Andrew D. “Werner Egks Frankophilia.” Werner Egk, eine universelle Begabung: Komponist,
Schriftsteller, Interpret und Zeichner: Beiträge zum 1. Werner-Egk-Symposium Donauwörth, 12.–14. November
295
In addition to the antiquarian elements congruent with the setting of the work, McCredie
points out that Egk’s choruses are reminiscent of choral music by Claude Debussy and Maurice
Ravel. Both composers set d’Orléans texts for choir. In “Quand j’ai ouï le tabourin,” of
Debussy’s Trois Chansons de Charles d’Orléans, drumbeat “la-la-las” accompany the contralto
solo. 9 Other models featuring prominent vocables include Ravel’s “Ronde” from Trois
Chansons; two separate songs, “Cancion Española” and “Chanson Espagnole”; “L’énigme
éternelle” from Deux mélodies hébraïques; and “Tripatos.” Dramatic music presents yet another,
albeit earlier, model: George Bizet’s opera Carmen, specifically Carmen’s arias “Tra-la-la,
coupe-moi, brûle-moi” and “Les triangle des sistres tintaient.” By using similar vocables and
harmonic language as Debussy and Ravel, Egk gives his choir a distinctly French accent.
In comparing Egk to these precursors, however, complication once again arises.
Vocables are used in one of two primary ways in the French models. In the Ravel examples and
in Bizet’s “Les triangle des sistres tintaient,” vocables portray an unfamiliar nation’s or people’s
music in the context of vernacular song. Egk’s choruses do not do this. Debussy’s “Quand j’ai
ouï le tabourin” and Bizet’s “Tra-la-la, coupe-moi, brûle-moi,” also employ vocables as markers
of folksong; however, these are sung in contexts of deception with later revelations of truth.
Debussy’s speaker remains abed amidst joyful maying activities, not because she is tired, as the
listener is told in the first stanza, but rather because, as the second stanza reveals, she has bedded
a neighbor in whose company she would rather remain. Under her breath, Carmen sings blatant
defiance of Lieutenant Zuniga, guarding her clandestine love for José. Such a juxtaposition of
vocables and ironic message points to another plausible reading of Egk’s choruses.
According to this reading, Egk took advantage of a language foreign to his German
audience to project a subversive, anti-Nazi message subsequently embraced by the French. The
gravity of the commentary contained in the first chanson, “C’est grant paine,” is surprising when
compared with the events immediately preceding it. Joan’s pursuit of Isabeau had been
mimicked in real time by the fool Lefou and Perette on the raised platform. Lefou’s advances
end with a relatively harmless slap and add a comic counterfoil to the tragic death of the Iron
Duke below. Since neither Joan nor Isabeau was especially virtuous prior to the chorus,
1999 (Donauwörth, Stadt Donauwörth, 2004). McCredie does not discuss the rondeau-finale of Joan von Zarissa,
referring to the rondeau “Vous y fiez vous?” as the “closing rondeau.”
9
The tabourin is a drum from Provence, similar to the tabor.
296
however, the choir’s moral seems askew. As opposed to being a direct commentary on the
action of the ballet, this chanson describes the joy and pain of living in the world, especially
poignant to an audience in Occupied France, but also to a German people and larger world
engulfed in war.
The second chanson, “D’ont vient ce souleil de plaisance,” is sung after Joan has
professed his fervent love and devotion and enveloped a reluctant, rigid Isabeau. The refulgence
to which the chanson refers emanates from Joan and dazzles Isabeau, who succumbs to Joan’s
advances. Why would Isabeau fall in love with the man who just killed her husband? She does,
but Joan’s love is later proven false, and Isabeau commits suicide. Joan’s love is false love, the
light emanating from him, false light. The chanson is deceptive.
The chanson revolves around two primary images, the sun and an eclipse. The second
appearance of the radiant sun is distinctly different from the first. The pedal points on which
many parts remain after presenting the descending solar motive give way to bass leaps of fifths.
As McCredie observed, these elements are reminiscent of battailles such as Janequin’s La
Guerre. The leaps are further emphasized by the parallel movement of the two bottom voices in
fifths. The Women II part presents a strong march-like rhythm, marked to be sung marcato:
| 6/8 | |… |. This reinforces the bellicose subtext of the chanson. The women
first present the eclipse, by means of an expanding cluster that grows as they sing “There is not
an eclipse, so help me God.” The men provide the rest of the text, “that has the power to obscure
it,” in a distinctly different character. Their succession of open fifths under an A pedal point
imparts an ominous organum-like character to the music, a striking contrast to the cascades of
notes descending from the upper voices through the lower voices at each instance of the A
section of the chanson.
What do these images of sun and eclipse represent? For Egk’s German audience, this
radiant sun may have been identified not only with love but also with the Third Reich and its
Führer, bringers of light to the world. Hitler had reminded those around him of this at the
opening of the House of German Art. Light and flame were central images at the 1934
Nuremberg Party Rally and the 1936 Olympic Games, and lightning was central to the German
Blitzkrieg that overran France. 10 Considering the work as German cultural propaganda, Joan von
10
These have been discussed more fully in Chapter 4.
297
Zarissa brings the light of German culture to France, dazzling the French before whom it was
paraded. Egk’s Parisian audience could easily have interpreted the subtext differently, though.
France is the sun—after all, French ballet had flourished under the “Sun King” Louis XIV.
Germany was the eclipse. The eclipse in the chanson may then represent the marching German
army, which, though it might occupy France, would never conquer France.
The final choral interlude, the rondeau “Vous y fiez vous?” is sung after Joan, the
insatiable lover, has turned his eyes from Isabeau toward Florence, a maid; and Lefou has
incurred Perette’s wrath by dancing with two other kitchen maids, for which he must endure a
hail of Perette’s slaps. The choral response is again ironic. Its interrogation of the larger world
may reflect Isabeau’s desperation and suicide of two scenes earlier, the dissolution of her entire
world. However, it certainly does not match the farcical reflection of that scene in the interaction
between Lefou and Perette that lies between Isabeau’s suicide and the choral rondeau. The
incongruity is compounded by the intervening comic relief.
In the rondeau, the choir repeatedly asks, “Do you put your trust in this world?” For
German audiences, the National Socialist regime was at the center of that world. Egk uses
d’Orléans’s poetry to call that regime into question. In addition, the image of a world that speaks
from both sides of its mouth asserts deception and fosters distrust of the National Socialist world,
of which France had just become part.
Egk’s two strings of one hundred sixty-five “la-la-las” add further ironic levity to the
commentary. They may represent the friendly side of the world’s mouth, but they also serve
another purpose. In their surprising joviality, Egk’s three hundred thirty la-la-las distract the
listener from the preceding subversion. They reveal a composer surreptitiously questioning the
power of the National Socialists, but afterward whistling as a guilty schoolboy might at the
approach of his teacher. Should that not be enough, a spectacular finale distracts any suspicious
members of the audience with a dazzling banishment of worry and care.
Egk’s potential subversion is mitigated by his setting of the text. The exhortation is
issued by an unseen choir singing in French, an ethereal moralizing voice craftily separated from
Egk’s own. Prior to the 5 February 1942 performance of Joan von Zarissa in Vienna, the choir
remained off-stage, and the choruses, according to critics, were unintelligible. No translations of
the choruses were provided until the Stuttgart premiere of 27 February 1941, and then only
translations of the first two chansons, the least overtly subversive, were provided. Summaries of
298
the choruses were included for the Weimar premiere of 13 December 1943, but these allowed for
no examination beyond the interpretation they imposed, and the audience members who could
not comprehend the French choruses were confined to that interpretation.
In the Paris performances Egk’s subtextual message was the same, but now easily
discernible by the French public, in whose own language the choir was singing. The
performance context was obviously different. The eyes of National Socialism were not so
omnipresent in Paris as in Berlin. Accordingly, Egk’s entr’actes did not need cloaking in France
as they had in Germany. Here, Egk could stand in close proximity to the choir as it sang,
acknowledging his voice in its own. True, the choir had been deployed onstage once before, for
the 1941 Vienna performance. But in Vienna, translations were again absent, and importantly,
Egk did not conduct the performance.
This subversive reading of Joan von Zarissa is complicated by the absence of the
description of the work as such during Egk’s denazification proceedings and in his
autobiography. If Egk had intended Joan von Zarissa as passive resistance, why did he not
proclaim the work as such in an attempt to exonerate himself? The answer lies in defensibility:
given that Nazi Germany was creating cultural propaganda for France and Egk went to France to
conduct Joan von Zarissa, it would have been impossible to win the argument that the work was,
in fact, resistance. German propaganda officers did not view the work as subversive. On the
contrary, it could be cited as one of the most successful of German cultural propaganda efforts.
But German cultural propaganda was simply ineffective in Occupied France, and Joan von
Zarissa certainly was not effective, since Lifar and Rouché were in control of its ultimate
production. Egk’s denazification instead focused on Peer Gynt, a much easier example by which
to show Egk’s refusal to adopt a Nazi Weltanschauung. Given the opera’s negative reviews in
the Nazi press and attempts to designate it as degenerate and Egk as culturally Bolshevistic, Peer
Gynt afforded Egk higher ground than Joan von Zarissa. The latter was a work that Egk himself
successfully conducted within the Reich, in Occupied Paris, and elsewhere outside the Reich,
thereby gaining international fame.
An examination of the structure of and models for Werner Egk’s Joan von Zarissa
provides the foundation for understanding how this ballet functioned both as National Socialist
propaganda in Occupied Paris and as a vehicle for subverting the National Socialist regime.
Joan von Zarissa is thoroughly French, though its music was composed by a German. The
299
influences of Jean Fouquet, Philip the Good, and Raimond van Marle are pervasive. Egk’s
models not only place the Don Juan saga in a distinctly French context, they also place it in a
context of war. Philip the Good and Charles d’Orléans were engulfed by war, as were Egk and
his audiences. Its French characteristics allowed Joan von Zarissa to function as cultural
propaganda when it was exported to Paris in July 1942. The “impartial and chivalrous” Joan von
Zarissa was anything but. The ballet became an ultimately unsuccessful tool with which
National Socialists attempted to curry favor among their newly conquered neighbors.
On the other hand, Egk created a framework for subtextual interpretation in the many
bifurcated elements of the ballet. These include the dual-platform stage with its physical
distances, on which different actions occurred simultaneously; the image of Odysseus and the
Sirens, which caused an observer to question what was being presented, especially by the choir
behind it; and the parallel nature of the drama of Joan von Zarissa itself. The presence of a
subversive subtext is confirmed in the use of effervescent elements that mitigate the problematic
material preceding them. These incongruous traits invite a reading of the ballet as subversion.
As Fouquet interrogates his observers by staring at them from out of the canvas, Egk
addresses his audience in the words of the choir. By employing an unseen choir singing in
French, Egk literally distances its voice from his own. Through it, he exhorts the audience to
“ask everyone” about the world, a world dominated by National Socialism and war. Egk asked
his contemporary audiences, “Do you put your trust in this [Nazi] world?” and then mitigates the
tension of the question with a few hundred cheerful la-la-las. At the end of Joan von Zarissa,
grandiose spectacle dissolves the tragedy of the drama and, along with it, any residual discomfort
left by Egk’s question. Joan von Zarissa becomes an analogy for a greater tragedy, that of a
Germany and Occupied France dominated by another Don Juan figure, a charismatic leader of
questionable genealogy and base motivation.
300
CHAPTER NINE
WERNER EGK’S DENAZIFICATION
After the end of World War II, Egk was called to account for his actions as an artist in the
Third Reich in three separate denazification proceedings. The first of these occurred in October
1945 under the American Military Government. The second and third trials were at the hands of
his fellow countrymen. The denazification process was an arduous one, marred by confusion,
competing jurisdictions, oppositional interpretations of the law, flimsy evidence, and weak
arguments on both sides. While a neighbor’s quip could become grounds for condemnation, a
casual affirmation could serve as cause for exoneration during the course of a denazification
investigation. Prosecutorial allegations were neutralized by defense refutations, and a flurry of
witness testimony and affidavits made for a paper blizzard that enveloped the truth. In the end,
Egk was blacklisted by the Americans; exonerated by the Germans; un-exonerated by a single
German prosecutor; retried; and re-exonerated, only to have a fourth round of proceedings
initiated against him.
During the proceedings, prosecutorial allegations centered on Egk’s Reich Music
Chamber post, his Olympic medal, his income, his exemption from military service, his political
connections, and his trips to Occupied Paris. The defense argued Egk’s inculpability under the
law, his antifascist attitude, and his resistance work. Numerous ancillary allegations also arose,
many of which were based on circumstantial evidence or hearsay. Of all Egk’s compositions,
Peer Gynt was most cited during his denazification. The controversy surrounding the opera was
often cited in Egk’s defense. Joan von Zarissa, however, was Janus-faced. The work served to
incriminate Egk in Nazi cultural propaganda activities at the same time that its international
nature reflected Egk’s antifascist attitudes. In the end, Egk prevailed, but not until he had
undergone two and a half years of proceedings, first initiated by the United States Military
Government of Germany (OMGUS)
Egk was first screened by the 6871st District Information Services Control Command
(DISCC) of the Information Control Division, OMGUS. OMGUS controlled the south German
states of Bavaria and Hesse and the northern portion of Baden-Württemberg after the war. The
American goals of denazification were the simultaneous eradication of Nazi culture and the
301
reinstitution of a German culture free from the racial and nationalistic trappings of National
Socialism. With this reinstitution came restitution: Germans whose careers flourished under
National Socialism were to be shunned, while quality artists driven out of National Socialist
culture were to be given new opportunities. 1 All Germans of note completed questionnaires, or
Fragebogen. Questionnaires were reviewed, interviews held, and decisions then made regarding
the acceptability of the artists in question. They were placed on lists: white, i.e., acceptable in
post-war Germany; grey; or black, i.e. unacceptable. The white list was subdivided into two
categories. Those with impeccable records qualified for licensing or employment in leading
positions in controlled information media: press, radio, theater, film, and music. Marginally
compromised artists qualified for licensing or employment except in press, publishing, or film
production. The grey list was likewise subdivided into two categories: acceptable for
employment “except policy-making, executive, or creative positions or as a personnel officer,”
but not suitable for licensing; and unacceptable for employment except for “ordinary labor.”2
Ordinary labor, whether skilled or unskilled, restricted persons to menial employment. 3 Those
on the black list were not suitable for employment in any controlled media. 4
The OMGUS questionnaire consisted of 131 questions in areas from biographical
information to education to employment. Fifty-five questions comprised a list of National
Socialist organizations for which the applicant had to specify membership, duration of
membership, and membership number. The first listed was the NSDAP, and the Reich Culture
Chamber and its member chambers were also included. Applicants were asked how they voted
in the November 1932 election, that before which Hitler assumed power, and what their party
1
See David Monod, Settling Scores: German Music, Denazification, and the Americans, 1945–1953 (Chapel Hill
and London: The University of North Carolina Press, 2005).
2
Intelligence Branch, Office of the Director of Information Control, Office of Military Government for Germany
(U.S.), White, Grey, and Black List for Information Control Purposes, 1 April 1946, [ii].
<http://www.docwarkentin.ca/BWG/Black%20List%20April%201946/> (Accessed 4 August 2011).
3
<http://www.archive.org/stream/Denazification/OfficeOfTheMilitaryGovernmentForGermany-
Denazificationen1948174P.Scan_djvu.txt> (Accessed 12 August 2011). “Ordinary Labor” was defined by Military
Government – United States Zone Law No. 8 as “work or service, whether skilled, unskilled or clerical, in an
inferior position in which the worker does not act in any supervisory, managerial or organizing capacity whatsoever,
or participate in hiring or discharging others, or in setting employment or other policies.”
4
White, Grey, and Black List, 1 April 1946, [ii].
302
affiliation was. Applicants were to account for their income and its sources for the years 1931
through 1945. In addition to the questionnaire, applicants submitted appendices of clarifications
and various affidavits (eidesstattliche Erklärungen) solicited from colleagues and friends who
vouched for the applicant’s character. 5
On 16 October 1945 Egk traveled to Frankfurt to face his first denazification
proceedings—and to bring the score of his new opera Circe to Schott publishers. 6 Egk
submitted his questionnaire and an eight-page appendix further detailing his responses. He
appears to have been forthcoming with his responses: Egk reported a run-in with the law from
about 1921. He was fined RM 300 for “swimming without swimming trunks” in Würzburg. In
the questionnaire, Egk described his career in three phases: from 1931 to 1936, as a freelance
composer; from 1936 to 1940, as a Kapellmeister at the Staatsoper Berlin, a position terminated
of Egk’s own accord; and from 1940 to 1945, again as a freelance composer.
Egk clearly stated that he was not a member of the NSDAP, though he was a member of
three other organizations enumerated in the questionnaire. From September 1936 through
September 1940, Egk was member number 60187 of the Reich Theater Chamber. Egk’s
membership in this chamber was required as part of his job as Kapellmeister at the Berlin State
Opera. Egk’s membership in the Theater Chamber ended in 1940, the last year of his contract
with the Opera. From 1938, Egk had been member number 11736856 of the National Socialist
People’s Welfare organization that provided help for the less fortunate. From 1939, Egk had
also been a member of the Reich Air Defense Organization. Reich Air Force Minister Hermann
Göring had declared that the “understanding cooperation of the entire population was a
prerequisite for success” from the start of the war. The entire German population was, therefore,
enlisted in this organization. 7
5
Military Government of Germany Fragebogen, 16 October 1945. StAM Ka 339. A copy of the Questionnaire and
its attachment are included in Appendix G. Egk’s file at the StAM is in microform format and is in exceptional
disarray. Various affidavits and portions of documents appear to have been lost, and numerous documents are
barely legible. The extensive attachments, replete with affidavits, are difficult to reconstruct, as is a precise
chronology of the submission of various documents to the courts.
6
Terminkalender. BSB Ana 410.
7
Cornelia Schmitz-Berning, Vokabular des National Sozialismus, s.vv. “NSV (Nationalsozialistische
Volkswohlfahrt),” “Reichsluftschutzbund (RLB).”
303
Egk was not a member of the Reich Music Chamber, though he noted that he was the
unpaid head of its Composers Section from 7 June 1941. Egk explained that his refusal to
become a member was based a “fundamentally practiced passive resistance to National Socialist
orders.” It was for this same reason that Egk refused to submit his Proof of Aryan Lineage
(Ariernachweis), required for membership in the Chamber. Despite his non-member status, Egk
was elected Head of the Composers Section. He accepted the position in order to work against
the Nazis on behalf of his colleagues. Egk clarified that the position brought with it neither
income nor power to make important decisions. Such Music Chamber duties, cultural
propaganda functions primary among them, had been transferred to the Promi prior to 1941. Egk
described his Music Chamber position as one of handling contracts, plagiarism issues, and
welfare activities such as administering help to widows and children of German composers or
sending manuscript paper to bombed-out composers. 8
According to his questionnaire, Egk was not a member of any political party at the time
of the November 1932 election, but voted for the Communist Party of Germany (KPD). Egk did
not cast a vote in the March 1933 election, the last free election in Germany until after the end of
National Socialism.
Egk claimed he was a member of the Austrian Resistance Movement from 1942 and also
explained his membership in the Gellhorn Circle. He pointed out that he had worked against the
National Socialists in the few cases that had presented themselves while he was at his Reich
8
Anlagen zum Fragebogen, 16 October 1945. StAM Ka 339. “Ich wurde nicht Mitglied der Reichsmusikkammer,
da ich im Zug eines grundsätzlich geübte passiven Widerstandes gegen nationalsozialistische Anordnungen auch
den Ariernachweis nicht erbrachte. Trotzdem wurde ich 1941 zum Fachschaftsleiter Komponisten ernannt. Dieser
Ernennung widersetzte ich mich nicht, in der [An]sicht im Interesse meiner Kollegen den Nazis entgegen zu
arbeiten.
Mit der Stellung des Fachschaftsleiters war weder ein Einkommen noch die Befugnis verbunden, wichtige
Entscheidungen zu treffen, nachdem sämtliche wesentliche Funktionen schon vor 1941 von der
Reichsmusikkammer an das Propagandaministerium übergegangen waren, vor allem auch die Kulturpolitischen.
Der Tätigkeitsbereich der Fachschaft umfasste die Erteilung berufliche Auskünftige über Autorenverträge,
Plagiatsangelegenheiten und ähnliches. Ferner die Verwaltung der Witwen- und Waisenkasse der
Versorgensstiftung deutscher Komponisten unter einem Kurat und verschiedene soziale Hilfseinrichtungen wie z.B.
die Bereitstellung von Notenpapier an ausgebombte Komponisten und dergleichen mehr, bis dann auch diese
letzteren Tätigkeiten von der Musikabteilung des Ministeriums übernommen wurden.” Egk’s description of his
duties parallels Graener’s description of the same. See Chapter 2.
304
Music Chamber post. The most important of these were Egk’s work to displace the Nazi Gau
personnel Dr. Sachsse of Munich and Dr. Bayer of Vienna, after which their positions remained
unfilled; and Egk’s work to prevent Goebbels’s removal of Stagma rules to benefit composers of
E-music.
Egk’s reported income was modest in the years 1931 through 1935, hovering around RM
4,000. Egk’s income spiked somewhat in 1935 and 1936, and reached a peak in 1942, when Egk
reported an income of RM 74,969 (see Table 9.1).
Table 9.1. Egk’s income, 1931–1944.
Year
Income
Income Source
1931
RM 3,000
Composition and Direction of Own Works
1932
RM 4,000
1933
RM 4,000
1934
RM 4,400
1935
RM 3,341
1936
RM 11,084
1937
RM 39,887
Kapellmeister, Berlin State Opera; Composition and Direction of Own Works
1938
RM 18,702
1939
RM 26,597
1940
RM 22,062
1941
RM 24,798
1942
RM 74,969
Guest Engagements; Berlin State Opera; Composition and Direction of Own Works
1943
RM 42,682
1944
RM 23,000
Source: OMGUS Questionnaire, 16 October 1945. StAM Ka 339.
Egk’s income increased after the success of Die Zaubergeige and again after his showing at the
1936 Olympics. It did not increase appreciably after the premiere of Peer Gynt. The increase of
over RM 50,000 between 1941 and 1942 is likely due to the number of Egk’s works in
performance, including Joan von Zarissa, and his domestic and foreign conducting engagements.
This growth would later be mistakenly credited to Egk’s appointment as Head of the Composers
Section of the Reich Chamber of Music, for which Egk actually received no pay. In an affidavit
305
of 10 March 1946, Egk testified that he “refused pay for his efforts on behalf of his colleagues.”
He pointed out that his predecessor, Paul Graener, received an annual salary of RM 12,000 for
the same position, under the title of Vice President of the Reich Music Chamber. 9
Understandably, Egk’s income shrank as Germany’s defeat drew near and its cultural activities
were restricted. 10
Regarding the performance of his works outside Germany, Egk stated that they were “in
no way proposed or effected by the Ministry, but only tolerated.” 11 This sentiment was echoed
in an affidavit by Theodor Seeger, Advisor to the Composers Section of the Reich Music
Chamber and staff member of the Music Department of the Promi. As an important cultural
figure, Egk was exempted from military service in 1941. An exemption from service, if on
account of National Socialist affiliation, however, could serve to classifying an applicant as an
offender. But Seeger reported that Promi officials came to regard Egk as “unusable for the ‘high
cultural goals of the Nazis’” and his exemption was to be revoked. 12
9
Werner Egk, Eidesstattliche Erklärung. StAM Ka 339. “Ich habe die Tätigkeit als Leiter der Fachschaft
Komponisten in der RMK nur unter dem ausdrücklichen Vorbehalt angenommen, dass mir für meine Bemühungen
im Interesse der Kollegen kein Entgelt bezahlt würde. Mein Vorgänger bezog für die gleiche Tätigkeit m.W. ein
Jahreseinkommen von 12000.-- Mark unter dem Titel eines Vizepräsidenten der RMK.”
10
Fragebogen and Anlagen zum Fragebogen, 16 October 1945. StAM Ka 339.
11
Anlagen zum Fragebogen, 16 October 1945. StAM Ka 339. “Die Aufführungen meiner Werke im Ausland
wurden in keinem Fall vom Ministerium vorgeschlagen oder bewirkt, sondern nur geduldet.” Here Egk runs counter
to the circumstances presented in Chapter 7 surrounding the use of Joan von Zarissa as propaganda in Occupied
Paris.
12
Bestätigung, Theodor Seeger, 7 April 1946. StAM Ka 339. “Ich habe als Referent der Fachschaft Komponisten
und durch meine Abkommandierung in die Musik-Abteilung des Propagandaministeriums Gelegenheit gehabt,
sowohl Werner Egk als auch die Einstellung des Propagandaministeriums zu ihm genau kennen zu lernen. Der
Abteilungsleiter Musik im Propagandaministerium wie auch seine Trabanten kannten die antifaschistische
Einstellung des Komponisten Egk genau und es genügte schon etwa in einer Referentenbesprechung den Namen
Egk zu nennen, um den Unwillen dieser Herrn zu erregen. Die UK-Stellung Egks als Komponist sollte wiederholt
aufgehoben werden, wahrscheinlich, weil es zu bekannt war, dass Egk für die „hohen Kulturziele der Nazis“
unbrauchbar war. Es war auch bekannt, dass Egk sowohl bei Stagma-Besprechungen als auch bei anderen
Gelegenheiten aus seiner antifaschistischen Gesinnung nie einen Hehl gemacht hatte. Egk ging in seiner Offenheit
häufig zu wert, dass ich oft Angst für ihn hatte.” UK-Stellung is an abbreviation for Unabkömmlichstellung,
“exemption from military service.” This was referred to in the 5 March 1946 Gesetz No. 104 Zur die Befreiung vom
306
On 19 November 1945 the American proceedings against Werner Egk concluded. Egk
reported in his appointment book that he was given an “o.k.” by the 6871st DISCC and that he
could do as he pleased: “compose, have works performed, conduct, write books, write
newspaper articles, and be played on the radio.” 13 Regardless, Egk was placed on the 1 April
1946 black list, category Film-Theater-Music, of the OMGUS White, Grey, and Black List for
Information Control Purposes. 14 As such, he was unsuitable for employment in press, radio, or
film, theater, or music. 15 Egk related in a letter to composer Theodor Mackeben that this was
done as a precautionary measure. 16 He remained on the U.S. black list through March 1947, the
last date on which such a list was published. 17
In January 1946 a general transition of denazification proceedings from U.S. jurisdiction
to German authorities had begun. 18 On 5 March 1946 German Law No. 104 for the Liberation
from National Socialism and Militarism was promulgated. Under the Law for Liberation, Trial
Courts first reviewed the questionnaire required of every German eighteen years or older;
exchanged correspondence with the defendant or his counsel; held public trials; and judged
complicity in the National Socialist machine. Defendants could be classified into one of five
Nationalsozialismus und Militarismus, discussed below, as Freistellung vom Wehrdienst, and, if on account of Nazi
bearing (Haltung), was criterion for classification as Offender – Activist (Gruppe II. Belastete, Aktivist).
13
Terminkalender. BSB Ana 410. Egk’s bequest contains no appointment book for 1945, since “there were no
appointment books to be found in 1945.” In the 1946 book, Egk reconstructs fourteen entries for important events in
1945. “In Frankfurt Beendigung des „screening“ bei der 6871. DiSCC mit dem [illegible] „o.k.“ „Sie können tun,
was Sie wollen: Musik schreiben, Musik aufführen lassen, dirigieren, Bücher schreiben, in Zeitungen schreiben, im
Rundfunk gespielt werden u.s.w.“”
14
White, Grey, and Black List for Information Control Purposes, 1 April 1946, 84. The entry reads as follows: Egk,
Werner; Munich Locham [sic]; Born c. 1901; Composer, Official of Reichsmusikkammer. The category of FilmTheater-Music is often referred to simply as “Theater.”
15
White, Grey, and Black List, 1 April 1946, [ii].
16
Egk to Mackeben, 8 February 1947. BSB Ana 410. “Bei den Amerikanern stehe ich vorsorglich solange auf der
schwarzen Liste, bis irgend jemand ernstlich etwas dagegen unternimmt.”
17
Intelligence Branch, Office of the Director of Information Control, Office of Military Government for Germany
(U.S.), White, Grey, and Black List for Information Control Purposes, 1 March 1947, 30.
<http://www.docwarkentin.ca/BWG/Black%20List%20March%201947/> (Accessed 4 August 2011). Egk was
included on the black lists published on 1 April, 1 June, and 1 August 1946; and on 1 March 1947. Egk was not
included on any of the lists published on 1 November 1946.
18
Monod, Settling Scores, 140–42.
307
categories: Primary Culprits; Offenders, further divided into Activists, Militarists, and
Profiteers; Minor Offenders, a probationary designation; Followers; or Exonerated. Disputed
cases proceeded to an Appellate Court for further review. 19
Several judgment criteria were especially germane to Egk’s case, and by these, Egk could
have conceivably been sentenced as either an Offender-Activist or Offender-Profiteer.
According to the inventory of organizations provided in the Appendix to the Law for Liberation,
holding a position of president, vice-president, or manager in one of the Reich Culture Chambers
was a Class I offense and grounds for classification as a Primary Culprit. Serving as an officer in
any of the Reich Culture Chambers was Class II offense and was grounds for classification as an
Offender. The law was written as follows (intervening text omitted):
H. Other Nazi Organizations
Class I
5. Reich Culture Chambers – All presidents, vice-presidents, and managers.
Class II
5. Reich Culture Chambers, etc. and Support and Local Branches (Reich Literature
Chamber, Reich Press Chamber, Reich Radio Chamber)—All public officers not falling
under Class I. 20
Egk, as Head of the Composers Section of the Reich Chamber of music, held a position as a
public officer and therefore was subject to the Law for Liberation. As Egk’s attorney would
argue later, however, the Reich Music Chamber was not specifically listed as were the Chambers
19
Gesetz Nr. 104 Zur Befreiung von Nationalsozialismus und Militarismus vom 5. März 1946.
<http://www.verfassungen.de/de/bw/wuerttemberg-baden/wuertt-b-befreiungsgesetz46.htm> (Accessed 2 August
2011). Hereafter, “Gesetz vom 5. März 1946.” The German titles for the five categories are: Hauptschuldige,
Belastete (Aktivisten, Militaristen, Nutznießer), Minderbelastete (Bewährungsgruppe), Mitläufer, Entlastete.
20
Ibid. Anlage.
“H. Andere Nazi-Organisationen
Klasse I
5. Reichskulturkammern – Alle Präsidenten, Vizepräsidenten und Geschäftsführer.
Klasse II
5. Reichskulturkammern usw. und Hilfs- und Zweigstellen (Reichsschrifttumskammer, Reichspressekammer,
Reichsrundfunkkammer) – Alle Amtsträger, soweit sie nicht unter Klasse I fallen.”
308
of Literature, Press, and Radio. According to this reading of the Law for Liberation, Egk was
not subject to it.
Exemption from military service, if based on National Socialist affiliation, was grounds
for classification as an Offender-Activist. 21 As a leading artist, Egk was exempt from military
service from 1941. In 1944 he had been conscripted for the Volkssturm, the last-ditch effort to
defend Germany, but he did not report for duty.
The portion of the law most often brought to bear in Egk’s case was that pertaining to
Offender-Profiteers. Article 9 of the Law for Liberation read:
Article 9.I. A Profiteer is:
Whoever gained, through his political position or his political connections, personal or
commercial advantages for himself or others from the tyranny of the NSDAP, from the
rearmament, or from the war in a self-serving manner.
II. A Profiteer is particularly, insofar as he is not a Primary Culprit:
1. Whoever, for reasons of this affiliation with the NSDAP, was appointed to an office or
a position or favorably promoted;
2. Whoever received material benefit from the NSDAP, its members or affiliated
organizations;
3. Whoever sought or secured excessive gains for himself or others at the expense of the
politically, religiously, or racially persecuted, indirectly or directly, particularly in
connections with expropriation, forced sales, and the like;
4. Whoever, from the rearmament or war transactions, realized gains conspicuously
disproportionate to his accomplishments;
5. Whoever unfairly gained wealth in connection with the administration of former
occupied territories;
21
Ibid. Artikel 7.II.11.
“Artikel 7.I. Aktivist ist:
11. wer die Freistellung vom Wehrdienst (UK-Stellung) oder vom Frontdienst wegen nationalsozialistischer
Haltung begünstigt oder die Einziehung zum Wehrdienst oder Versetzung zum Frontdienst wegen Gegnerschaft zum
Nationalsozialismus herbeigeführt oder dies versucht hat.”
309
6. Whoever, as an adherent of National Socialism, through the exploitation of personal
or political connections, or by admission to the NSDAP, extracted themselves from
military service or combat duty. 22
The Public Prosecutors of both the Trial and Appellate Courts, therefore, had various access
points through which to charge Egk as an Offender: his membership in the Reich Theater
Chamber, his position in the Reich Music Chamber, his exemption from military service, and the
increase in his income during the “Twelve-Year Period.” 23
If one was found guilty as an Offender, the punishments were severe. They included
incarceration in a labor camp for up to five years; community service; confiscation of assets;
prohibition from holding public office; loss of claim to a paid pension; loss of the right to vote or
to be member of any political party; prohibition of membership in a labor union or professional
organization; residence restrictions; and loss of all licensure and entitlements, including the right
to own a motor vehicle. Offenders were confronted with prohibitions on work as well. For a
minimum of five years, Offenders were forbidden from practicing an independent profession;
from taking part in any commercial business; and from exercising control of any commercial
22
Ibid., Artikel 9.
“Artikel 9. I. Nutznießer ist: Wer aus der Gewaltherrschaft der NSDAP, aus der Aufrüstung oder aus dem Kriege
durch seine politische Stellung oder seine politischen Beziehungen für sich oder andere persönliche oder
wirtschaftliche Vorteile in eigensüchtiger Weise herausgeschlagen hat.
II. Nutznießer ist insbesondere, soweit er nicht Hauptschuldiger ist:
1. Wer nur auf Grund seiner Zugehörigkeit zur NSDAP in ein Amt oder eine Stellung berufen oder bevorzugt
befördert wurde;
2. wer erhebliche Zuwendungen von der NSDAP, ihren Gliederungen oder angeschlossenen Verbänden erhielt;
3. wer auf Kosten der politisch, religiös oder rassisch Verfolgten unmittelbar oder mittelbar, insbesondere im
Zusammenhang mit Enteignungen, Zwangsverkäufen und dergleichen übermäßige Vorteile für sich oder andere
erlangte oder erstrebte;
4. wer bei der Aufrüstung oder bei Kriegsgeschäften Gewinne erzielte, die in einem auffallenden Mißverhältnis zu
seinen Leistungen standen;
5. wer sich im Zusammenhang mit der Verwaltung ehemals besetzter Gebiete unbillig bereicherte;
6. wer als Anhänger des Nationalsozialismus durch Ausnützung persönlicher oder politischer Beziehungen. oder
durch Eintritt in die NSDAP es erreichte, sich dem Wehrdienst oder dem Frontdienst zu entziehen.”
23
After the war, the National Socialist period was often referred to as the “Twelve-Year Period.” In this way,
Germans could avoid using words like “Nazi” or “National Socialism.”
310
business. They were also forbidden from serving as teachers, preachers, editors, writers, or radio
commentators. Finally, Offenders were not allowed to be employed in an independent post
outside ordinary labor. 24 This last sentence would effectively end a composer’s career.
Egk must have foreseen problems with the transfer of denazification proceedings to
German tribunals. In a letter of 10 March 1946, the composer expressed his confusion upon
reading the Appendix to the Law for the Liberation from National Socialism and Militarism and
explained,
It is not completely clear whether I, as former Head of the Composers Section of the
Reich Music Chamber (the Reich Music Chamber is not mentioned) am considered as an
Offender or not. As a precaution, I am submitting an exoneration application.…
Egk was likely confident of exoneration, since he had been, at least in his estimation, exculpated
by the OMGUS, and he listed his exoneration as the first of his reasons in his submission. He
24
Ibid., Artikel 16.
“Artikel 16. Sühnemaßnahmen gegen Belastete:
1. Sie können auf die Dauer bis zu 5 Jahren in ein Arbeitslager eingewiesen werden, um Wiedergutmachungs- und
Aufbauarbeiten zu verrichten. Politische Haft nach dem 8. Mai 1945 kann angerechnet werden;
2. sie sind zu Sonderarbeiten für die Allgemeinheit heranzuziehen, sofern sie nicht in ein Arbeitslager eingewiesen
werden;
3. ihr Vermögen ist als Beitrag zur Wiedergutmachung ganz oder teilweise einzuziehen. Bei vollständiger
Einziehung ist gemäß Artikel 15 Nr. 2 Satz 2 zu verfahren. Bei teilweiser Einziehung des Vermögens sind.
insbesondere die Sachwerte einzuziehen. Es sind ihnen die notwendigsten Gebrauchsgegenstände zu belassen;
4. sie sind dauernd unfähig, ein öffentliches Amt einschließlich des Notariats und der Anwaltschaft zu bekleiden;
5. sie verlieren ihre Rechtsansprüche auf eine aus öffentlichen Mitteln zahlbare Pension oder Rente;
6. sie verlieren das Wahlrecht, die Wählbarkeit und das Recht, sich irgendwie politisch zu betätigen und einer
politischen Partei als Mitglied anzugehören;
7. sie dürfen weder Mitglied einer Gewerkschaft noch einer wirtschaftlichen oder beruflichen Vereinigung sein;
8. es ist ihnen auf die Dauer von mindestens 5 Jahren untersagt,
a), in einem freien Beruf oder selbständig in einem Unternehmen oder gewerblichen Betrieb jeglicher Art
tätig zu sein, sich daran zu beteiligen oder die Aufsicht oder Kontrolle hierüber auszuüben;
b) in nicht selbständiger Stellung anders als in gewöhnlicher Arbeit beschäftigt zu sein;
c) als Lehrer, Prediger, Redakteur, Schriftsteller oder Rundfunk-Kommentator tätig zu sein.
9. sie unterliegen Wohnungs- und Aufenthaltsbeschränkungen; 10. sie verlieren alle ihnen erteilten Approbationen,
Konzessionen und Berechtigungen sowie das Recht, einen Kraftwagen zu halten.”
Regarding ordinary labor, see fn. 4.
311
added that in January 1946 his music had been broadcast by Radio Frankfurt. This is striking,
since Egk would appear on the 1 April Black List and broadcasts of his works would be
forbidden. Egk stated further that he was never a member of the NSDAP; that his
weltanschauung was contrary to that of National Socialism; and that he worked against the
regime to his own detriment. He closed his letter with a request for the cessation of proceedings
against him and confirmation of the same. 25
On 21 March 1946 Werner Egk was tried in absentia in a meeting of the Bavarian State
Ministry for Education and Culture Kommission für Kulturschaffende (Commission for Those
Engaged in the Cultural Sector). The Kommission was the first German governmental
organization to handle Egk’s case. It did so just over two weeks after the 5 March promulgation
of the Law No. 104 for the Liberation from National Socialism and Militarism and ostensibly
before Trial and Appellate Courts mandated by that law were organized in Bavaria. The Chair of
the six-person Committee was one Dr. Albert Stenzel, who wrote the eight-point charge.
As his leading argument, Stenzel cited Egk’s June 1941 appointment as Head of the
Composers Section of the RMK. He declared, “Everyone knows that the Propaganda Ministry
conferred such posts only on certain men who were politically unobjectionable according to the
Nazi Weltanschauung.” He continued that Egk, unlike countless of his colleagues, was exempted
from military service, a testament to his importance to the Promi. According to Stenzel, Egk had
utilized the Nazi press to publish his views and took part in a Cultural Conference of the Hitler
Youth in Salzburg, Austria. Egk had accepted the Olympic gold medal, an award orchestrated
by Josef Goebbels. Egk’s income had increased greatly during the course of National Socialism.
Egk had reported the success of Die Zaubergeige and Joan von Zarissa as causes for the
increase. These were, according to Egk, antithetical to the failure of Peer Gynt and the staged
Columbus, works incongruent with acceptable National Socialist ideals that were denigrated in
25
Egk to an unspecified recipient, 10.3.46. StAM Ka 339. “Aus dem Wortlaut der Anlage zum „Gesetz zur
Befreiung von Nationalsozialismus und Militarismus“ H, Klasse II, Ziffer 5 („Reichskulturkammern u.s.w. und
Hilfs und Zweigstellen (Reichsschrifttumskammer, Reichspressekammer, Reichrundfunkkammer): alle Amtsträger,
die nicht unter Klasse I fallen.“) geht nicht klar hervor ob ich als egemaliger Leiter der Fachschaft komponisten in
der Reichsmusikkammer (die Reichsmusikkammer ist nicht aufgeführt) als belastet gelte oder nicht.
Vorsorglich stelle ich daher Entlastungsantrag.…” Emphasis in original.
312
the Nazi press. Stenzel instead blamed the failures on the inferior quality of the works
themselves.
In his most developed argument, Stenzel seized upon Egk’s numerous trips to France
from 1941 to 1944. Stenzel pointed out:
Egk claims that these foreign trips were “at most tolerated” by the Propaganda Ministry.
But everyone knows, that during the war, such trips were never possible by mere
tolerance. Egk himself rehearsed and directed his Peer Gynt, Columbus, and Zarissa.
That the Propaganda Ministry raised no objection to this lies much more in the interest of
this Ministry to place contemporary German works before the French public. Egk should
have known that a German anti-fascist should refuse to impose his works on the people
of an occupied territory with the assistance of the Propaganda Ministry and should have
acted accordingly. A German anti-fascist would have waited for another time to present
his works to a non-German audience for free appraisal and not as a means of coercion. In
the years 1943 and 1944, Egk should have already heard of a French resistance
movement. Through its influence, his works would not have been performed under any
circumstances. The facts state the contrary, that Egk very easily imposed his works on
the French by exploiting the circumstances of German occupation. 26
26
Staatsministerium für Unterricht und Kultus Kommission für Kulturschaffende, Protokoll der Sitzung vom 21.
März 1946. StAM Ka 339. “Jedermann weiss, dass das Propagandaministerium derartige Posten nur solchen
Männern übertrug, die ihm genehm waren und die politisch im Sinne der Nazi-Weltanschauung einwandfrei waren.”
“Egk hat während des Krieges ausser in die Tschechoslowakei in den Jahren 1941–1944 besonders zahlreiche
Reisen nach Frankreich zur Vorbereitung und Aufführung seiner Werke “Zarissa” und “Peer Gynt”, sowie
“Columbus” unternommen. Egk behauptet, dass diese Auslandsreisen vom Propagandaministerium „höchstens
geduldet“ worden seien Aber jedermann weiss, das gerade während des Krieges mit einer blossen Duldung
derartige Reisen niemals möglich gewesen sind. Egk hat in Frankreich seinen „Peer Gynt“, Columbus“ und
„Zarissa“ selbst einstudiert und geleitet. Das Propagandaministerium hat dagegen keinen Einspruch erhoben, es lag
vielmehr im Interesse dieses Ministeriums, dem französischen Publikum deutsche Musik der Gegenwart
vorzusetzen. Egk hätte wissen und darnach [sic] handeln müssen, dass ein deutscher Antifaschist es ablehnen muss,
seine Werke unter Mithilfe des Propagandaministeriums der Bevölkerung eines besetzten Landes aufzuzwingen.
Ein deutscher Antifaschist hätte andere Zeiten abwarten müssen, bis er seine Werke einem nichtdeutschen Publikum
ohne Zwangsmittel zur freien Begutachtung vorlegen kann. In den Jahren 1943 und 1944 dürfte auch Egk schon
von einer französischer Widerstandsbewegung gehört haben. Durch deren Einfluss sind seine Werke jedenfalls
313
And in his final argument, Stenzel countered witness testimony that Egk thought the Nazis
would be defeated and instead cited other testimony that Egk took part in celebrations hosted by
Hermann Göring and Josef Goebbels. Stenzel concluded that “No doubt, Egk was inwardly no
devout National Socialist, but he understood very well how to exploit Nazi-favoritism to his own
ends.” Stenzel classified Egk as an Offender-Profiteer. 27
On 30 March 1946 Dr. Boris von Borresholm of the analogous Berlin Commission sent
Egk a letter stating that no reservations to his continued artistic work remained. On the contrary,
evidence had been presented that confirmed Egk’s anti-fascist attitude and activity. Borresholm
warmly welcomed Egk back into German cultural circles. 28 Borresholm wrote to Stenzel on 12
July 1946, testifying to Egk’s anti-Nazi position. Borresholm stated:
Egk was not the type of artist who believes that art has nothing to do with politics. His
artistic works were always an appeal to public conscience. Every one of his
performances, wherever they took place, had this sense and surely this effect as well.
Egk is the only musician who dared to practice the sharpest criticism of the Nazi
Weltanschauung from the stage, an activity that did not remain hidden from the leading
Nazis and that, in the case of Peer Gynt, for instance, would lead a hair’s breadth from
personal catastrophe, had Hitler not misunderstood this opera and therefore accepted it
out of sentimentality for Ibsen’s work. 29
nicht aufgeführt worden. Tatsache ist dagegen, dass Egk seine Musik den Franzosen unter Ausnützung der
deutschen Besetzungsverhältnisse ganz einfach aufgezwungen hat.”
27
Ibid., “Egk war wohl innerlich kein überzeugter Nationalsozialist, aber er hat es sehr gut verstanden, die Nazi-
Günstlingswirtschaft für seine eigenen Zwecke auszunutzen.”
28
Borresholm to Egk, 30 March 1946. StAM Ka 339. It is unclear how the Berlin Kommission für
Kulturschaffende became involved, though the Commission may have been notified by some non-extant
correspondence from Stenzel. Egk’s denazification proceedings were localized to Frankfurt and Munich.
29
Borresholm to Herrn Beauftragten des Ministers für Sonderaufgaben, 12 July 1946. “Egks Antinazismus ist
grundsätzlicher Natur und Ergebnis seiner hohen moralischen und künstlerischen Rechtschaffenheit. Egk ist nicht
der Typus des Künstlers, der glaubt, Kunst habe nichts mit Politik zu tun. Sein Kunstschaffen war immer ein Appel
an das öffentliche Gewissen. Jede seiner Aufführungen hatte, wo immer, diesen Sinn und sicher auch diese
Wirkung. Egk ist der einziger Musiker, der es gewagt hat, von der Bühne herab schärfste Kritik an der
Weltanschauung des Nazismus zu üben, eine Tatsache, die den führenden Nazis nicht verborgen blieb, und die z.B.
im Fall „Peer Gynt“ um Haaresbreite zu einer persönlichen Katastrophe geführt hätte, wenn nicht Hitler, as
Sentimentalität gegenüber dem Ibsenschen Stoff, diese Oper mißverstanden und darum akzeptiert hätte.”
314
Borresholm explained that much of Egk’s anti-Nazi activity consisted in helping those artists
who encountered trouble with the regime. 30
In the meantime, Stenzel had forwarded Egk’s file to the Public Prosecutor of the Trial
Court in Munich. He related that Egk had been declared a Profiteer by his Commission and that
he had been blacklisted by OMGUS. Nevertheless, Stenzel claimed, Egk had continued to
attempt to procure work permits for the American Zone from incompetent American and
German government officials. For this reason, Stenzel concluded that an expedient resolution of
the case lay in the public interest. 31
On 3 August 1946 Egk was called for questioning before the Trial Court of Munich.
Among the items Egk was asked to clarify was whether or not he received a monetary prize as
part of his Olympic laurels. Egk stated that he had not, but he had received an honorarium of
RM 2,000 to compose the music for Niedecken-Gebhardt’s pageant. Other questions pertained
to Egk’s name change; his contract with the Frankfurt Opera; his attendance at party rallies; and
his contributions to National Socialist journals and newspapers. Egk was further questioned
about his resistance activities. Egk replied that he participated in a resistance movement before
the war and one in 1942. Egk also claimed to have transmitted information about concentration
camps and crimes against humanity. When questioned about his purported “snowball
organization” and why five separate affidavits pertaining to it were worded practically
identically, Egk responded that “the facts pertaining to the sharply defined activities of the
organization were the same in every case.” The activities of this snowball organization consisted
of one primary effort. According to Egk, just after the American entry into his hometown of
Gräfelfing, he drew up and circulated a petition demanding that all Nazis in town be pressed into
public work and continue to be identified by the swastika. 32 Apparently Egk worked to make
sure that all the Nazis in Gräfelfing were branded with a swastika of some sort, an activity
30
Ibid.
31
Stenzel to Öffentlicher Ankläger, 27 June 1946. StAM Ka 339.
32
Minutes of the 3 August 1946 Questioning of Werner Egk. StAM Ka 339. “Sofort nach dem Einmarsch der
Amerikant entwarf ich ausserdem einen Schriftsatz, der unter anderem die umgehende Heranziehung aller Ortsnazis
zu öffentlichen Arbeiten und ihre andauernde Kennzeichnung durch das Hakenkreuz forderte. Ich und eine Reiche
von Helfern sammelten mehrere Hundert Unterschriften unter diese Petition und übergaben sie dem damaligen
Bürgermeisters. Ich war durchaus bereit auch weiterhin aktive gegen die Nazis vorzugehen. Durch die damals in
Gräfelfing herrschen den Verh’ltnisse aber wurden alle derartigen Bestrebungen schon im Keine erstickt.”
315
surprisingly reminiscent of Jews being forced to wear a prominent yellow Star of David to
disclose themselves under the National Socialist regime.
Egk’s assertions of resistance efforts were among the weakest arguments in his case.
Cited instances often contained no specific details concerning the nature of activities, names of
those involved, or dates. Pertaining to the snowball system, for example, at least four of the
affidavits submitted were, as the questioner had noted, worded identically, excepting only the
names of the persons submitting them. None of them contained details about what activities the
organization undertook. 33 Hubert Schonger, who had hidden Egk so that he could avoid
Volkssturm duty, testified that Egk “was tied to an anti-fascist group” and he himself joined the
same organization. Together, he and Egk “worked against the Nazi regime through active
propaganda and for the rapid end of the war.” 34 However, Schonger does not specify which
group, its location, or its activities.
The affidavit of Ignatz Deschauer, former neighbor to Egk, was presented as evidence of
Egk’s Nazi affiliation. A model of the various readings presented in just one affidavit, it
provides a case study in the flexibility with which Nazi laws were enforced and in what activities
could be counted as passive resistance to the National Socialist regime. Deschauer recounted,
On the occasion of Hitler’s birthday in 1942, I received the order from the NSDAP town
unit of Gräfelfing to see who on our block, from which I was ordered to collect dues, had
not put up a flag. In this way, I also came to the house of Mr. Werner Egk, Lochham,
Lindenstrasse 1. I asked Mr. Egk why he had not put up a flag; Mr. Egk said he would
have very well put up a flag, but he couldn’t find the flag. I then explained to Mr. Egk
that the town unit leader would want to report this to the Gauleiter, to which Egk
answered, “What do you think, I live off of the party; why would I have a reason not to
put up a flag? After the last flagging, my son put away the flag, and we don’t know
where to look for it.” At that, I refrained from making a report to the town unit.
33
Eidesstattliche Erklärungen. StAM Ka 339. The affidavits of Gertrud Orff, Hans Eckstein, Klaus Eckstein (who
lived at the same address as Hans), and Fritz Schultes are worded identically.
34
Eidesstattliche Erklärung, Hubert Schonger, 1 July 1946. StAM Ka 339. “Ich habe dann Egk in den Monaten
März-April 1945 bei mir aufgenommen und versteckt gehalten, da er sich weigerte dem Volkssturm beizutreten. Er
stand in Verbindung mit einer antifaschistischen Gruppe und ich chloss mich auf seine Aufforderung mit an. Wir
haben durch tätige Propaganda gegen das naziregime und für rasche Beendigung des Krieges gearbeitet.”
316
On another occasion, probably in 1941, while Mr. Egk was in Berlin, I asked Mrs. Egk if
her husband was a Party member. Mrs. Egk responded that, of course, her husband was a
member of the NSDAP, but paid his dues in Berlin, and said almost verbatim, “What do
you think? My husband is friends with Göring and Goebbels.” At that I was content.
Had Deschauer been a more fastidious enforcer, Egk might not have gotten by with the excuse of
not knowing where to look for his flag and might have suffered retribution for not displaying his
support of the Führer. Instead, this lack of flagging, while potentially truly because Egk could
not locate the flag, becomes elevated to an act of passive resistance in a de-Nazification case.
Deschauer was clearly a party operative, but he does not appear to have been an overly zealous
one. An alternate reading is that he may have been no real friend to the Party, forced instead to
do its work, and happy to find on his block someone brave enough to refuse a Nazi edict.
Elizabeth Egk’s statement is more problematic. On the one hand, she dodges
Deschauer’s question by saying that her husband paid his dues in Berlin. This was not true,
since Egk was not a member of the NSDAP and paid no dues. Elizabeth seems to have betted on
Deschauer not confirming her statement. Her comment that Werner was friend to Göring and
Goebbels would serve two purposes. Initially, it allayed Deschauer’s questions about Egk’s
membership. Later, it would serve as proof to the Public Prosecutor of the Munich Trial Court
that Egk indeed subscribed to a Nazi Weltanschauung, had political connections high in the
organization, and was a Profiteer. 35
35
Eidesstattliche Erklärung, Ignatz Deschauer, 4 August 1946. StAM Ka 339. “Anlässlich des Geburtstages
Hitlers im Jahre 1942 bekam ich von der ortsgruppe Gräfelfing die aufforderung nachzuschauen, wer in dem Block,
in dem ich die Beiträge befohlener zu kassieren hatte, nicht geflaggt hatte. Auf diesem Wege kam ich auch dem
Hause des Werner Egk, Lochham, Lindenstrasse 1. Ich fragte Herrn Egk warum er nicht geflaggt hätte, Herr Egk
antowrtete mir, dass er wohl flaggen würde, aber die Flagge nicht fände. Ich habe dann Hernn Egk erklärt, dass der
damalige Orgsgruppenleiter es dem damaligen Gauleiter melden wolle. Hierauf antwortete Egk: „Was denken Sie
denn, ich leben doch von der Partei, was hätte ich demnach für einen Grund, nicht zu flaggen. Mein Sohn hat bei
der letzten Flaggung die Flagge aufgehoben, und wir wissen nicht, wo wir sie suchen sollen.“ Ich habe daraufhin
von einer Meldung an die Ortsgruppe Abstand genommen.
Bei einer weiteren Gelegenheit, wahrscheinlich im Jahre 1941, als Herr Egk in Berlin war, fragte ich Frau Egk, ob
ihr Mann nicht Parteimitglied sei; Frau Egk hat mir erwidert, dass ihr Mann selbstverständlich Mitglied der
N.S.D.A.P. sei, aber seine Beiträge in Berlin entrichte, und sagte fast wörtlich: „Was denken Sie denn, Mein Mann
ist doch mit Göring und Goebbels gut befreundet.“ Hiermit gab ich mich zufrieden.”
317
In light of Stenzel’s verdict that he was an Offender-Profiteer, Egk enlisted the help of
attorney Dr. Karl Beisler. In a letter of 23 August 1946 Beisler responded to Stenzel’s charge.
Beisler asserted that Egk was not punishable under the Law for Liberation, since the officers
designated as Class II in the Appendix did not include the various Group Leaders of the Reich
Music Chamber. Beisler called for a cessation to the proceedings against Egk or at the least, that
the prosecution make the proceeding files public. Beisler countered Stenzel’s charge that Egk
had not reported the RM 2,000 honorarium for composing the music for Olympische Jugend on
his questionnaire. Beisler fired back,
In the questionnaire, only what was asked could be answered. Questions were asked
regarding orders and decorations by the Party or those in some of the associated
organizations. The Olympic Medal does not belong to these groups. 36
Beisler was correct that the Law for Liberation did not count medals from the 1936 Olympics as
Nazi decorations. 37
One month later, on 23 September 1946, Beisler again wrote to the Public Prosecutor in
Munich. Beisler cited Egk’s 10 March statement that he submitted his questionnaire as a
precautionary measure and immediately withdrew the application, filed under false premises, on
behalf of the composer. Beisler further called for an official statement that “the Law of 5 March
1946 is not applicable to Werner Egk.” Beisler also adjusted the income figures Egk submitted
for the years 1936 to 1944, citing that the composer sometimes quoted gross income, sometimes
net income. Table 9.2 shows the revised income figures. 38
36
Beisler to Öffentlicher Kläger der Spruchkammer München-Land, 23 August 1946. StAM Ka 339. “Im
Fragebogen war nut das zu beantworten, wonach gefragt war. Gefragt war nach orden und Ehrenzeichen der Partei
oder der im einzelnen dort angeführten Organisationen. Dazu gehörte die Olympische Medaille nicht. Die
obengenannte „Rang- und Organisationsliste“ ergibt klar und eindeutig, daß die Olympische Medaille nicht unter die
irgend belastenden Orden und Auszeichnungen fällt.” Emphasis Beisler’s.
37
Appendix to Gesetz vom 5. März, I. Die Naziparteiorden.
38
Beisler to Öffentlicher Kläger der Spruchkammer München-Land, 23 September 1946. “Den unter falscher
Voraussetzung gestellten Antrag nehme ich hiermit zurück. Gleichzeitig berichtige ich hiermit den eingereichten
Meldebogen Werner Egk dahin, dass es richtig heissen muss: „Das Gesetz vom 5. März 1946 findet auf Werner
Egk keine Anwendung.” Emphasis Beisler’s.
318
Table 9.2. Egk’s revised income report.
Year
Income Reported by Egk
Income Revised by Beisler
1931
RM 3,000
--
1932
RM 4,000
--
1933
RM 4,000
--
1934
RM 4,400
--
1935
RM 3,341
--
1936
RM 11,084
RM 11,084
1937
RM 39,887
RM 18,258
1938
RM 18,702
RM 18,702
1939
RM 26,597
RM 26,597
1940
RM 22,062
RM 22,062
1941
RM 24,798
RM 14,927
1942
RM 74,969
RM 59,125
1943
RM 42,682
RM 27,410
1944
RM 23,000
RM 16,039
Source: Beisler to Öffentlicher Kläger der Spruchkammer München-Land, 23 September 1946.
StAM Ka 339.
Though Beisler’s revision decreased Egk’s overall income, the trends described earlier were still
present.
On 25 September 1946 Public Prosecutor Micklei of the Trial Court in München
reviewed the proceedings against Egk thus far and identified three issues that required
investigation. Because of Deschauer’s affidavit, originally meant to help exonerate Egk, Micklei
was suspicious that Egk was in fact a member of the NSDAP and had paid his dues in Berlin,
though Egk had claimed he was not a Party member. Egk’s change of name and appointment to
his Reich Music Chamber post were also of concern. On 7 November Micklei developed his
argument in a report of inquiry. Among the prosecutor’s allegations were several that Stenzel
had expounded previously: that Egk gave a presentation to the Hitler Youth in Salzburg; that he
wrote National Socialist articles for newspapers; and that he was chosen for his RMK post
319
because he cooperated with the Promi. 39 Micklei presented new charges as well: that Egk’s
name change allowed for advantages provided by the Ministry of the Interior; that Egk received
a RM 20,000 [sic] prize as part of the 1936 Olympic gold medal award; that Egk attended
numerous Party rallies; that he received extra food allotments; and that he donated large sums to
the Winter Welfare Program and the Hitler Youth. Additionally, Micklei furnished excerpts
from Egk’s own affidavit that refuted his own charges, and accounts from witnesses that again
reaffirmed them. Micklei forwarded his statement to the Document Center of the Military
Government in Berlin in November. 40
On 6 March 1947 Beisler submitted copies of ten affidavits, letters, and excerpts from
journals testifying to Egk’s anti-fascist attitude to the Trial Court of Munich. Egk himself wrote
a letter to one Weidinger of the Trial Court. Facing a two-year work prohibition, Egk appealed
to Weidinger in the name of anti-fascist solidarity and pleaded his case once more. 41 On 2 May
1947 the same Weidinger signed a Decision of Cessation of Egk’s case. He concluded that
after exhaustive inquiry and after review of the files, nothing incriminating can be
established to that effect. Numerous affidavits confirm that the concerned party in no
way avowed Nazi ideology. 42
Egk had been exonerated.
On 16 May 1947 Chairman Becher of the Kommission für Kulturschaffende forwarded
Stenzel’s original 21 March 1946 findings to Public Prosecutor Herf of the Appellate Court of
39
In his appointment book for 1942, Egk notes “Salzburg H.J. Kulturtagung Vortrag,” Salzburg Hitler Youth
Cultural Convention Presentation on 16 May 1942. Egk traveled to Salzburg on 15 May and returned to Munich on
16 May.
40
Report Transcription of 25 November 1946 and Ermittlungsbericht, 7 November 1946. StAM, Ka 339.
Micklei’s reference to a RM 20,000 Olympic prize is incorrect. According to information submitted prior, an
honorarium in the amount of RM 2,000 was paid Egk for composing the music for Olympische Jugend.
41
Egk to Weidinger, 29 March 1947. StAM, Ka 339. Weidinger’s connection to Egk’s proceedings is unclear.
Weidinger was not a member of the Kultur für Kulturschaffende who originally reviewed Egk’s case, and the name
does not appear before the 29 March letter.
42
Einstellungsbeschluß, 2 May 1947. StAM, Ka 339. “Der Betroffene wurde beschuldigt, dass er ein Nutzniesser
des 3. Reiches gewesen wäre. Nach eingehender Untersuchung und nach Überprüfung der Aktenlage konnte in
dieser Hinsicht nichts Bleastendes Festgestellt werden. Eine grosse Anzahl eidesstattlicher Erklärungen bestätigen,
dass der Betroffene in keiner Weise der Nazi-Ideologie nahestand.”
320
Munich. 43 Herf then requested the swift transmission of Egk’s file from the Trial Court. 44
Stenzel contacted the Trial Court as well. He had heard that the Appellate Court prosecutor was
seeking a repeal of Egk’s exoneration and requested written confirmation, should that happen. 45
Stenzel’s perpetual presence surrounding Egk’s proceedings begs the question of whether he had
a personal vendetta against the composer or was a dogged Nazi-hunter. In a letter of 7 July Herf
informed Egk that “in his supervisory position,” he had abrogated the exoneration of 2 May 1947
and was bringing charges against the composer anew under the Law for Liberation.
On 7 July 1947 Herf filed charges classifying Egk as an Offender-Profiteer. Herf’s case
stemmed from similar grounds as did Stenzel’s original. Herf charged that Egk would not have
been appointed Head of the Composers Section of the Reich Music Chamber were he not
endorsed by the Promi. He explained,
It has been established that, particularly at the point of time in question, from the side of
the Propaganda Ministry, a post such as this was conferred only on a person who was
politically unobjectionable according to National Socialism and by whom oppositional
activity would not be undertaken nor from whom it could be expected.
Herf also cited Egk’s Olympic gold medal and position as Kapellmeister at the Berlin State
Opera as rewards for Egk’s political connections, not for his musical talent. Similarly qualified
composers objectionable to the regime did not enjoy such success. Herf again cited Egk’s
numerous trips to France to rehearse and conduct his own works as sanctioned and supported by
the National Socialist administration. And as did Stenzel, Herf credited Egk’s substantial
increase in income during the Third Reich not to Egk’s flourishing career and quality of work,
but to profiteering. Herf concluded that Egk “lent propagandistic support to National Socialism
through his occupation; that the cultural façade of tyranny was erected with the help of his
name.” 46
43
Becher to Herf, 16 May 1947. StAM, Ka 339.
44
Herf to Spruchkammer München-Land, 21 May 1947. StAM, Ka 339.
45
Stenzel to Öffentlicher Kläger München-Land, 6 June 1947. StAM, Ka 339.
46
Klageschrift, 7 July 1947. StAM, Ka 339. “Es ist bekannt, dass zumal in jenem fraglichen Zeitpunkt seitens des
propagandaministeriums ein derartiger Posten nur einem Mann übertragen worden ist, der politisch im Sinne des
Nationalsozialismus einwandfrei war und von dem nicht eine gegneriche Betätigung angenommen oder erwartet
werden konnte.”
321
Egk received the charges on 11 July 1947 and within the week appealed to the Court of
Cassation, to no avail. 47 Beisler did the same in a letter of 18 August. In the procedural portion
of this complaint, Beisler reminded the Court that the 2 May 1947 exoneration became binding
two weeks after the conclusion of proceedings. Herf did not bring a new case within this period,
and so the statute of limitations had expired. Beisler pointed out that such a reversal could be
effected only in the case of new evidence, which Herf had failed to present, and that regardless
of his supervisory position, Herf had acted beyond his purview.
Regarding the facts of the case, Beisler again explained that Egk’s Reich Music Chamber
position was an apolitical one for which Egk was not remunerated. Unlike his predecessor Paul
Graener, Egk was not an NSDAP member and enjoyed the support of the colleagues on whose
behalf he accepted the position. Beisler reminded the Court of Cassation that Olympic medals
were not Nazi decorations. He reported that while Egk on one occasion welcomed field-gray
composers to a concert, he had never used the words “National Socialism,” “Führer,” or “Third
Reich” in public. Beisler further detailed those portions of Egk’s income specifically
scrutinized by the Law for Liberation: income from radio, from presentations of the KdF, from
tours to the Wehrmacht, and from the Stagma remuneration fund for Party functions. Egk’s
income from radio comprised less than one percent of his income during the Twelve-Year
Period, and the composer had received a total of RM 300 from the KdF during that time. Egk
had made no tours to the Wehrmacht, nor had he received any monies from the Stagma fund.
And regarding Egk’s alleged contribution to the Nazi cultural façade, Beisler argued that Egk
was no more complicit than the numerous singers, composers, conductors, soloists or other
artists who decided to remain in Nazi Germany and attempted to make careers for themselves. 48
On 9 September 1947 Egk was again called for a hearing before the Trial Court of
Munich. In the meantime, Rudolf Keilhold, the Chair of the Trial Court had received notice that
the Court of Cassation would allow the proceedings to continue. Among the now usual
“Der Betroffene ist damit als Nutznießer im Sinne des Art. 9 des Gesetzes anzusehen. Er hat dem
Nationalsozialismus auch insofern durch seine Tätigkeit eine propagandistische Unterstützung geliehen, als mit
seinem Namen die Kulturfassade der Gewaltherrschaft mit errichtet worden ist.”
47
Terminkalender. BSB Ana 410. The Court of Cassation was the appellate court of highest instance.
48
Beisler to Kassationshof, 18 August 1947. StAM, Ka 339. Beisler’s letter comprises eleven pages in the file and
is incomplete.
322
questions about Egk’s Reich Music Chamber position, journal articles, exemption from military
service, and position as Kapellmeister at the Berlin State Opera, some new evidence came to
light. Egk was questioned about emphatically greeting Hermann Göring with the Nazi salute
when the Minister-President attended a Berlin State Opera performance of Verdi’s Don Carlos.
Egk countered that the two were never introduced—just at the moment that Göring had leaned
forward to better see the new conductor, Egk had raised his hand for a cue to the horns. He did
not greet the Minister-President, nor did he know him.
Egk did know Hermann Scherchen, whose name was brought up by Chairman Keilhold.
According to Egk, Scherchen had advised a group of composers in Darmstadt to emigrate as he
had, or at the least to “shoot down this dog (Hitler).” Scherchen told Egk that he and those
composers bore the fault for the misery that had overcome Germany. Surprisingly, Scherchen
also reportedly recommended that Egk join the NSDAP, since as a member, he could better work
against prevailing politics. In an almost comical retort, the Chair asked if it were true that
Scherchen had promised to box Egk on the ears at their next meeting. “That could be,” replied
Egk, explaining that Scherchen bore a similar attitude toward all composers who had remained in
Germany. Egk concluded the discussion on a positive note, confident that Scherchen was again
ready to work with him as he had in Weimar Germany. 49
While Egk did not join the NSDAP as Scherchen recommended, he did attend Party
meetings on two occasions. Egk’s attendance at a 1922 Party meeting instilled in him his
aversion to National Socialism and its ruffians. At a much later 1944 Party meeting to muster
the Volkssturm of Gräfelfing, Egk was informed of the upcoming wonder-weapon that would
ensure German victory.
During the course of the hearing, Egk confirmed that his presentation before the Hitler
Youth was confined to musical problems; Egk had not greeted them, nor had he mentioned
Goebbels or Hitler. Egk also provided further information about his snowball system. The goal
of the resistance group was to place information pertaining to the worst Nazis in the hands of the
American liberators. The group’s efforts were negated by the Allied proclamation of the
collective guilt of the German people. Egk also furnished more detailed information regarding
his rehearsal and direction of Joan von Zarissa in Paris. According to Egk, Fourestier elected
49
Hermann Scherchen’s name is recorded as “Cherchen” in the minutes of the hearing.
323
not to direct the work because he had a Jewish wife and his activity would be viewed by the
Germans as an attempt at ingratiation.
Egk was also asked about negotiating adversarial relationships among leading regime
officers as part of his Reich Music Chamber position, specifically the rivalry between Goebbels
and Rosenberg. Egk responded that the real difficulties lay among officials within the Promi.
Some found Peer Gynt acceptable, others not. 50 Heinz Tietjen’s affidavit of 13 August 1947
reveals a consortium united against Egk. Rosenberg, Bormann, and Goebbels wanted to have
Egk’s opera declared degenerate. Hitler himself was to undertake action against both Egk and
Tietjen. The leader of the Music Department of the Promi, Dr. Heinz Drewes, intervened and
prevented action against the two. 51
Beisler submitted Tietjen’s affidavit to the Trial Court on 10 October 1947, along with
twelve other pieces of similar testimony in preparation for the most extensive of Egk’s hearings
that would take place on Friday, 17 October. A letter from Maurits Frank requested that Egk
compose a string quartet for the Amsterdam String Quartet, a testament to the quality of Egk’s
music and its perception outside Germany. From a similar etic perspective, former ballet mistress
of the Prague National Theater, E. Nikolna, testified to the international and therefore non-Nazi
nature of Joan von Zarissa. Nikolna reported,
In the circles of the Czech national Theater in Prague, Werner Egk was known as an
opponent of National Socialism. In conjunction with the performance of his Joan von
Zarissa in Prague, the universal feeling was that his music in no way adhered to that of
official Nazi Germany. The libretto deals with international material, the Don Juan saga;
the entr’actes are French choruses by Charles d’Orléans. The music has an international
niveau. I am Russian and represent the great tradition of classical ballet. At any time, I
would seize the opportunity to produce Egk’s Zarissa again in whatever country. 52
50
Verhandlung Werner Egk am 9. September 47. StAM, Ka 339.
51
Eidesstattliche Erklärung, 13 August 1947, Archiv des Akademie der Künste, Tietjen, Heinz.
52
Beisler to Spruchkammer München-Land, 10 October 1947 and attachments. StAM, Ka 339.
Eidesstattliche Erklärung E. Nikolna, 7 September 1947. StAM, Ka 339. “In den Kreisen des tschechischen
nationaltheaters in Prag galt Werner Egk als ein Gegener des Nationalsozialismus. Anlässlich der Aufführung
seines „Joan von Zarissa“ in Prag hatte nad darüber hinaus allgemein das Gefühl, dass seine Musik in keiner Weise
mit dem offiziellen Nazideutschland zusammenhing. Das Libretto behandelt einen internationalen Stoff, die DonJuan-Sage, die Entre-actes sind in französischer Sprache komponierte Chöre von Charles d’Orleans. Die Musik hat
324
Former Melos editor Heinrich Strobel recounted that Joan von Zarissa “came from the especially
despised milieu of French-Burgundian culture.… The use of Old-French chansons as intermedi
were provocation against the Germanic-Nazistic racial conceit during the war.” The international
nature of Joan von Zarissa, its matter and music, did not comply with a National Socialist
Weltanschauung. Strobel continued that Egk’s music was reminiscent of the music of Ravel,
Stravinsky, and de Falla, outlawed after the start of the Western Offensive. This led the French
before whom the music was presented to characterize it immediately as anti-Nazi. 53
Music critic Karl Heinz Ruppel became Director of the Wurttemberg State Theater after
the war and provided an extensive affidavit in Egk’s defense. Ruppel said of Egk’s presentation
on contemporary music to a 1942 Vienna Festival of Contemporary Music that it would be fun
for those with open ears but would make the Promi seethe with anger. Ruppel stated that no one
could have better embodied musical opposition to National Socialism than Werner Egk. Ruppel
relished that Egk,
whose authority as a leading German composer the Nazis believed they could mold for
their own purposes, but which instead he used in word and work to voice his oppositional
standpoint. Because the weapon of irony stood to so extensive a degree at his disposal,
those things he and his friends represented served them well; the Nazis, completely
unprepared for this sort of polemic, were helpless against it. 54
internationales Niveau. Ich bin Russin und vertrete die hohe Tradition des klassischen Ballettes. Ich würde
jederzeit jede Gelegenheit ergreifen, um Egks „Zarissa“ glecihgütig in welchem Land wieder zur Aufführung zu
bringen.”
53
Eidesstattliche Erklärung, Heinrich Strobel, 12 September 1947. StAM, Ka 339. “Egks nächstes Werk kommt
aus dem den Nazis besonders verhassten Stoffkreis der franzoesisch-burgundischen Kultur: es ist das Ballett „Joan
von Zarissa“. Die Verwendung von alt-franzoesischen Chansons als Intermedien wirkte in den Jahren des Krieges
geradezu als Provokation des germanisch-nazistischen Rassenduenkels.”
“Die Nazis verlangten von der Musik, dass sie volkstuemlich und allgemein verstaendlich sei, dass sie den Verstand
einschlaefere und durch die Wucht eines verlogenen Pathos auf das Unterangemeut wirke. Werner Egks Musik ist
von einer scharfen Intelligenz geformt, sie ist technisch raffiniert, sie vermeidet jede nazistisch-popularisierende
Ohrenfaengerei und ist ausserdem stark nach der Kunst unserer westlichen Nachbarn (Ravel, Strawinsky, de Falla)
orientiert. Die letzt genannte Tatsache erklaert nicht zuletzt die grosse Beachtung, die Werner Egk in Frankreich
fand. Die Franzosen bemerkten sofort den anti-nazistischen Charakter dieser Musik.”
54
Eidesstattliche Erklärung, K. H. Ruppel, 11 October 1947. StAM, Ka 339. “Wir waren uns darüber einig, daß
die Sache der geistigen Opposition in Musikdingen bei niemand besser aufgehoben sein konnte als bei Werner Egk,
325
Perhaps Ruppel had Joan von Zarissa in mind when he wrote of Egk’s powerful irony. Ruppel
noted that Herbert Gerigk, the critic of the Völkischer Beobachter and the editor of the journal
Musik, had worked to ensure that Egk’s works were never performed in his hometown of
Königsberg, as he had also done with the works of Carl Orff, Rudolf Wagner-Régeny, and Boris
Blacher. Ruppel concluded that Egk’s artistic talent alone, completely independent of and
incompatible with a Nazi Weltanschauung, accounted for his success.
On 13 October Beisler submitted six more affidavits and letters to the Trial Court.
Among these was an affidavit by the Editor of Der Kurier, Paul Bourdin. Bourdin attested,
Even after the conquest of France, he [Egk] never doubted the eventual collapse of the
regime. During all his visits to Paris, where I was then correspondent for the Frankfurter
Zeitung, he withdrew from the tributes by National Socialist Occupation agencies and did
not allow himself to be caught up in National Socialist propaganda. He showed the
greatest possible reluctance and confined himself to his artistic work and found
acceptance far beyond French collaborationist circles. He also did not avoid meeting
with emigrants and Jews in Paris with me, at which opportunities he openly avowed his
enmity toward the National Socialist regime. I am strongly convinced that the numerous
friends and admirers he made outside collaborationist France are also prepared to testify
to the respectability of his character. 55
dessen Autorität als führender deutscher Komponist die Nazis für ihre Zwecke einspannen zu können glaubten, der
sie aber in Wort und Werk stets zur Betonung seines oppositionellen Standpunkts benutzte. Daß ihm dabei die
Waffe der Ironie in so hervorragendem Maß zu Gebote stand, kam der von ihm und seinen Freunden vertretenen
Sachen zugut; die Nazis, auf diese Art von Polemik überhaupt nicht eingestellt, waren dagegen hilflos.”
5555
Eidesstattliche Erklärung, Paul Bourdin, 30 September 1947. StAM, Ka 339. “Ich kenne Herrn Werner Egk
seit fast einem Jahrzehnt und bin in der Lage, zu versichern, dass er in zahlreichen Gesprächen, die ich mit ihm
hatte, niemals die leiseste nationalsozialistische Regung bekundet hat. Auch nach der Eroberung Frankreichs hat er
nie an dem schliesslichen Zusammenbruch des Regimes gezweifelt. Bei all seinen Besuchen in Paris, wo ich damals
Korrespondent der Frankfurter Zeitung war, hat er sich den Ehrungen der nationalsizialisischen [sic]
Besatzungsstellen möglichst entzogen und sich nicht in die nationalsozialistische Propaganda einspannen lassen. Er
zeigte die grösstmögliche Zurückhaltung und beschränkte sich auf seine künstlerische Arbeit und fand weit über die
französischen kollaborationisrischen [sic] Kreise hinaus Anerkennung. Er scheute sich auch nicht, zusammen mit
mir mit Emigranten und Juden in Paris zusammenzukommen, bei welchen Gelegenheiten er offen seine Feindschaft
gegen das nationalsozialistische Regime bekannte. Ich bin fest davon überzeugt, dass die zahlreichen Freunde und
326
Bourdin’s affidavit was among the last contributed to Egk’s case. In an affidavit of 15 October,
the celebrated conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler, Hitler’s favorite, testified that Egk had worked
against the National Socialists and helped his colleagues who had run into trouble with the
Propaganda Ministry. 56 These included Tatjana Gsovsky, who would serve as the choreographer
for Joan von Zarissa in Frankfurt and Munich in the 1950s and 1960s. In July 1946, Gsovsky
had thanked Egk for intervening on her behalf to counter the slander brought against her in 1943
and 1944 by the Promi. She credited Egk with saving not only her career but probably her life,
as well. Gsovsky also counted Egk among those involved in a strong resistance movement that
ran its press out of her home. 57 Agathe von Tiedemann also provided an affidavit on 15 October
1947, in which she explained the correspondence between Egk and Head of the Hitler Youth and
Gauleiter of Vienna Baldur von Schirach. Egk had been attempting to get Wilhelm Furtwängler
to take part in a 1941 meeting of composers in Vienna. Goebbels prevented the event and
forbade Egk from contacting Schirach, with whom Goebbels did not get along. 58 These final
two affidavits of Egk’s file continued to show that Egk had consistently proven himself not the
unobjectionable Leader of the Composers Section of the Reich Music Chamber that many
thought him to be.
On 17 October 1947 Egk was again called before the Trial Court in Munich. At the
hearing, the allegations against Egk were again enumerated and refuted. Egk had not been an
NSDAP member, nor had he submitted his Ariernachweis. Egk had in fact conducted his opera
Die Zaubergeige prior to his engagement as a Kapellmeister at the Berlin State Opera, so his
appointment was attributed to musical ability, not political connections. While he was ex officio
Bewunderer, die er in dem nicht kollaborationistischen Frankreich gewonnen hat, auch heute bereit sind, für die
Anständigkeit seiner Gesinnung zu zeugen.”
56
Eidesstattliche Erklärung, Wilhelm Furtwängler, 15 October 1947. StAM, Ka 339.
57
Eidesstattliche Erklärung, Tatjana Gsovsky, 10 July 1946. StAM, Ka 339. “Ich erkläre hiermit an Eides statt,
daß ich den Komponisten Werner Egk während vieler Jahre als einen erbitterten und niemals schwankenden Gegner
des Naziregimes kennen und schätzen gelernt habe. Ich verdanke seinem persönlichen und unerschrockenen Protest
gegen die Anwürfe des Promi in den Jahren 43 und 44 meine künstlerische Behauptung und wahrscheinlich sogar
mein Leben.
Mir ist bekannt, daß Egk aktiv mit der stärksten Berliner Widerstandsgruppe, deren Druckerei in meinem Hause
untergebracht war, arbeitete.”
58
Eidesstattliche Erklärung, Agathe von Tiedemann, 15 October 1947. StAM, Ka 339.
327
a member of the Reich Theater Chamber during the course of his Berlin State Opera contract, he
had not actually joined the Reich Music Chamber, even when he was appointed to a leadership
position within it. While he had been appointed Head of the Composers Section of the Reich
Music Chamber, he had not received remuneration for the duties he performed in that position.
While Egk had received an Olympic gold medal, it was not a Nazi decoration, nor was the prize
orchestrated by Goebbels. While Egk’s career flourished under National Socialism, Egk had run
afoul of various National Socialists, especially at the press conference before the premiere of
Peer Gynt. While Egk’s income had grown considerably during the National Socialist Regime,
this growth was due to the popularity of Egk’s music, not because of his political connections.
As had been the case at earlier proceedings, various witnesses testified on Egk’s behalf,
and one of them proved extremely valuable in evaluating Egk’s activities in Occupied Paris.
Michael Crochot, Head of the Department of Theater and Music of the French Military
Government in Germany, explained the difference between a work like Pfitzner’s Palestrina and
Egk’s Joan von Zarissa:
Pfitzner’s Palestrina was dismissed as Nazi Propaganda. But not because the
music as such was pro-Nazi, rather because the composer had the reputation as an antiSemite. Therefore, Palestrina had only six to eight performances to a half-empty hall.
On the contrary, Egk’s Zarissa was played twenty-five times to a full house, making for a
total of some 50,000 audience members.
I was unaware that the performance of the Egk works was made possible by the
help of the Propaganda Staff. Incidentally, that had no influence on the audience. There
were those within the Propaganda Staff who sympathized with the French resistance. 59
Crochot went on to explain that Egk had also provided a review for the arts newspaper Comœdia.
He explained that Comœdia had refused to print pro-National Socialist articles outside its
59
Zeugenaussagen zum Protokoll Werner Egk [17 October 1947]. StAM, Ka 339. “Pfitzners „Palestrina“ wurde als
Nazi-Propaganda abgelehnt. Aber nicht deshalb, weil die Musik als solche proßnazistische war, sondern weil der
Komponist den Ruf einen Antisemiten hatte. Deshalb hat „Palestrina“ nur 6 -8 Aufführungen bei halbleerem Saal
gehabt. Dagegen wurde Egks „Zarissa“ 25 mal vor vollem Haus gespielt, was insgesamt ungefähr 50 000 Zuschauer
ausmacht.
Es war mir nicht bekannt, dass die Aufführung der Egk’schen Opern mit hilfe der Propaganda-Staffel
zustande gkommen ist. Das hätte im übrigen keinen Einfluss auf das Publikum gehabt. Es hat innerhalb der pro.
Staffel Leute gegeben, die mit Widerstandsfranzosen sympathisiert haben.”
328
“European Page.” Further, the paper enjoyed the greatest circulation of Occupied Paris
newspapers and was viewed by the French as at least somewhat independent. Its director,
Crochot pointed out, had not been persecuted by the French purge committee after the liberation.
Comœdia asked Egk to provide a first-page review of the ardent anti-Nazi Jean Cocteau’s play
Antigone, and Egk did so. Crochot judged that Egk’s 6 February 1943 review was not
propaganda for the aesthetics of the Third Reich—it was a critical review. But that didn’t mean
it was apolitical. In response to Antigone’s burial of her brother in direct violation of King
Creon’s command, Egk had written, “This is the likeness of that which threatens us today.” 60
Crochot took this to be a statement against the Nazi regime by Egk, who was working on the side
of the conquered, not the conquerors.
At the end of the eleven-hour proceeding, an exhausted Egk made the following
statement to the Court:
I have comprehended that the intent of the Law for Liberation is to eradicate National
Socialism and Militarism. If you have been left with the impression today that an
Activist stands before you, one who has earned the same penalty as a Gauleiter, then
convict me. But one cannot so twist the facts of the case through an artificial
construction that he condemns an anti-fascist who has always acted consistent with his
views. Should you do that, I no longer understand the world and do not want to live
anymore. I want to live in a world where there is justice. Please consider carefully what
you are doing. If you pronounce a classification as Offender or as Minor Offender, in
60
Ibid. Antigone’s burial of her brother, who died in battle against the state, was a direct violation King Creon’s
edict that his death was not even to be mourned. “Die einzige Zeitung der Besatzungszeit, die den Weisungen der
Deutschen—soweit möglich—Widerstand entgegenstellte, war die Zeitschrift „Comedia“, eine Spezialzeitung für
Musik und Theater. Diese Zeitung hat sich geweigert, nationalsozialistisch inspirierte Artikel zu bringen, ausser auf
einer Seite, die die „Europäische Seite“ hiess. Diese Zeitung hat Herrn Egk gebeten einen Artikel auf der ersten
Seite zu schreiben. Dieser Artikel war nicht eine Propaganda für die Ästhetik des 3. Reiches, sondern eine
Besprechung über „Antigone“ von Cocteau, eines Künstlers, der tief antinazistisch eingestellt war. Egk wagte es in
diesem Artikel anlässlich des Kampfes von Antigone zu schreiben: „Das ist das Bild dessen, was uns gegenwärtig
bedroht.“
„Comedia“ hatte während der Besatzungszeit die stärkste Auflage von allen französischen
Wochenzeitschriften, vor allem deshalb, weil sie vom Publikum für halbwegs frei angesehen wurde. Der
Herausgeber dieser Zeitung war der einzige Zeitungsdirektor, der durch das Säuberungs-Kommittee [sic] nicht
belangt wurde.” Emphasis original.
329
both cases I stand before the world as a National Socialist Activist. For me, there is only
one just judgment: I am not punishable under this law. I ask you to end the epoch of
lack of rights that lies behind us and to speak justice. 61
Trial Court Chairman Keilhold ruled that Egk was, in fact, not punishable under the Law for
Liberation from National Socialism and Militarism, but he was quick to add,
Everyone who placed his name and work at the disposal of National Socialism has
heaped guilt upon himself. And Egk cannot be spared from this allegation. But because
his entire demeanor and his uncontested resistance to National Socialism strengthened
many others in resistance, the Trial Court cannot find a charge under the law in his case.
For a second time, Egk was exonerated. 62
After his exoneration, Egk wrote to the Frankfurt General Director Hans Meissner, who
had given Egk’s career its start by producing Die Zaubergeige. Egk reprimanded Meissner for
allowing his most recent work, Circe, to be cancelled entirely while the proceedings against Egk
were ongoing. Egk reported that the charge of “helping to erect a cultural facade that would
61
Protokoll der Öffentlichen Sitzung am 17 Oktober 47 Kei/Mo. StAM Ka 339. “Ich habe begriffen, daß der Sinn
d. Befr. Ges. darin besteht, den Nat.-Soz. u. den Militarismus auszurotten. Wenn Sie heute den Eindruck gehabt
habem daß ein Aktivist vor Ihnen steht, einer, der die gleich Strafe verdient wie ein Gauleiter, dann verurteilen Sie
mich. Man kann aber nicht durch eine künstliche Konstruktion den Tatbestand so verdrehen, daß man einen
Antifashisten, der stets in Konsequenz seine Anschauungen gehandelt hat, verurteilt. Wenn Sie das tun, verstehe ich
die Welt nicht mehr und will nicht mehr leben. Ich will in einer Welt leben, in der es Gerechtigkeit gibt. Bitte
überlegen Sie genau, was Sie tun. Ob sie eine Einstufung als Belasteter oder als Minderbelasteter aussprechen, in
beiden Fällen stehe ich vor der Welt als NS-Aktivist. Für mich gibt es nur einen gerechten Spruch: Ich bin vom
Gesetz nicht betroffen. Ich fordere Sie auf die Epoche der Rechtlosigkeit, die hinter uns liegt, zu beenden und Recht
zu sprechen.”
62
Final Judgment, Spruchkammer München-Land, 17 October 1947. StAM, Ka 339. “Jeder, der seine Leistung und
seinen Namen dem National-Sozialismus zur Verfügung stellte, hat damit eine Schuld auf sich geladen. Auch Egk
kann dieser Vorwurf nicht erspart werden. Da aber sein gesamtes Verhalten und sein unbestrittener Widerstand
gegen den National-Sozialismus auch viele andere im Widerstand bestärkte, dann die Spruchkammer bei ihm eine
Belastung im Sinne des Gesetzes nicht erkennen. Auch eine Nutzniesserschaft im Sinne des Art. 9 ist nicht
gegeben. Die Steigerung des Einkommens beruht auf der zunehmenden Beliebtheit her Egk’schen Musik. Es kann
nicht gesagt werden, dass er sie diurch seine politischen Beziehungen in eigensüchtiger Weise herausgeschlagen hat.
Da auch eine nominelle Belastung nach des Wortlaut des Gesetzes nicht vorliegt, stellt die Kammer das Verfahren
ein. Egk ist vom Gesetz nicht betroffen.”
330
camouflage the crematories of Dachau and Buchenwald” had been dismissed. 63 But as it had
been in 1946, Egk’s confidence would soon again be eroded.
On 19 November 1947 Egk received a call from Beisler that new material had originated
from such a credible source that Appellate Court Public Prosecutor Herf “could not ignore it.” 64
Though Herf had again allowed the two-week statute of limitations on Egk’s exoneration to
expire, he nevertheless overturned the 17 October decision of the Trial Court and initiated a third
round of German proceedings against the composer. In a letter of 24 November to Eberhard
Beckmann, the Director of Radio Frankfurt, Herf indicated that the Hessian State Minister for
Special Functions reported that Egk had been granted considerable sums by important Frankfurt
Nazis. 65 Herf sent a similar letter to Public Prosecutor Müller of the Frankfurt Trial Court. 66 On
the same day, American journalist Kendall Foss reported that during a visit with Egk he had
learned from the American military government agencies that the Hessian Minister in Wiesbaden
possessed material pertinent to his denazification. Three days later, Rudolf Keilhold informed
Egk that the Court was awaiting the material and that Herf was appealing the Court’s decision.
On 8 December 1947 Egk was contacted by Willy Strecker of Schott Publishers, who informed
the composer that no evidence from the Hessian Minister had thus far materialized. 67
Beckmann never received Herf’s original letter, so Herf wrote again on 28 January 1948.
In a letter of 16 February 1948 Beckmann responded to Herf that the Head of Radio Frankfurt
Kurt Schröder had removed all Egk works from the station program. Schröder cited Egk’s close
friendships with Hitler, Goebbels, and Göring as the reason for Egk’s success, and with those
friendships, Egk hardly needed to be a member of the NSDAP. Beckmann referred Herf to
Winfried Zillig, who would “confirm the connection between Hitler and Egk.” 68 Zillig
responded to Herf in a letter of 14 April 1948 in which he found it completely understandable
that Egk should have had a career in the Third Reich. Zillig was strongly convinced that, for
there to be an infraction, the infraction had to be borne eo ipso in the music. He did not find this
63
Egk to Meissner, 25 October 1947. BSB Ana 410. “Mithilfe an der Errichtung einer Kulturfassade, durch die die
Krematorien von Dachau und Buchenwald getarnt werden sollten.”
64
65
Herf to Beckmann, 24 November 1947. StAM Ka 339.
66
Herf to Müller, 24 November 1947. StAM Ka 339.
67
68
Herf to Beckmann, 28 January 1948; Beckmann to Herf, 16 February 1948. StAM Ka 339.
331
in Egk’s works and apologized for probably not giving the Herf the answer he would have liked
to hear. 69 On 30 April 1948 Herf reinstated the Trial Court’s 17 October 1947 decision. 70 Egk
was finally exonerated.
By that time, the Americans, under whom the denazification program had begun, had
started to refocus their efforts from dismantling the Nazi cultural facade to peeking behind the
Iron Curtain the Russians were hanging in the east. The Germans were moving forward, and the
Twelve-Year Period was receding into a common willful forgetfulness.
The inevitable question: was Werner Egk a Nazi? Egk’s non-membership in the NSDAP
went largely unquestioned during the course of his denazification, with the exception of
Micklei’s interpretation of the Deschauer affidavit. Approximately eighty percent of NSDAP
membership cards survived the war, both from individual Gaue and central Party headquarters.
Among these, there is none for Werner Egk. The complete files of the Reich Music Chamber
were destroyed in bombing raids on Berlin on 22 November 1943. Accordingly, Egk’s nonmembership in the Chamber cannot be confirmed. 71
There is no doubt that Egk actively pursued a career within the infrastructure of National
Socialism, because that infrastructure was the only one available to a composer who wished to
remain in Germany during the Twelve-Year Period. Egk’s awareness of National Socialist
propaganda seems undeniable, but his actual complicity in that propaganda remains elusive, and
the Nazi propaganda was hardly successful. Works like Columbus, Peer Gynt, and Joan von
Zarissa are simply illogical choices for a composer wishing to espouse the tenets of National
Socialism. Of course, these works are balanced by Bayerische Fahnen, Das große Totenspiel,
Job, der Deutsche, and Die hohen Zeichen, works that seem to do exactly that. But then again,
Egk himself had referred to the first three of these as “nationalistic kitsch,” and he had not made
Die Zaubergeige a work of National Socialistic kitsch. The antifascist attitude Egk asserted in
the course of his denazification proceedings is borne out in at least some of his works. Not
deserving of the definite black with which the Americans painted Egk, and also undeserving of
69
Zillig to Herf, 14 April 1948. StAM Ka 339.
70
Herf to Berufungskammer München, 30 April 1948. StAM Ka 339.
71
See Ottmar Seuffert, “Werner-Egk-Recherche in Bundesarchiv zu Berlin 2001,” Der unbekannte Werner Egk:
Beiträge zum 2. Werner-Egk-Symposium Donauwörth, 17.–19. Mai 2001 (Donauwörth: Verlag der Stadt
Donauwörth, 2007): 140–150.
332
an untenable and naïve whitewash, Egk is left in the expansive field of grey between. Like
countless others who survived Nazi Germany, Egk had made a life for himself and his family,
and while he chose compromise, he never embraced National Socialism.
333
CHAPTER TEN
ENCORE!
Throughout the course of his denazification proceedings, Egk continued conducting and
composing as he was able, and Joan von Zarissa continued to be performed. The work opened
in Berlin in June 1947 and in Mönchen-Gladbach on 17 October 1947, the day of Egk’s second
exoneration by the Trial Court of Munich. Unfortunately, Joan von Zarissa was beyond the
ballet company of the Mönchen-Gladbach Weeks of Modern Art festival in conjunction with
which the work was performed. Critics again lodged a familiar complaint: the choruses were
unintelligible from behind the “sound-swallowing curtain.” 1
On 6 June 1948 Egk’s Faustian ballet Abraxas premiered in Munich. The opening,
though wildly successful, was the beginning of Egk’s first postwar scandal, reminiscent of those
surrounding Peer Gynt. In the libretto booklet to be sold to the audience, Egk described the third
act as a “Black Mass,” and because of that label, the management of the Bavarian State opera
refused to sell the booklets. The scene was instead described as a “infernal ceremony,” although
everything else remained unchanged. Bavarian Minister of Education, Dr. Alois Hundhammer, a
devout Catholic and cofounder of the conservative Catholic Social Union of Bavaria political
party, prohibited any further performance of the ballet. 2 The Bavarian ban only assured the
ballet’s later success in Berlin, where it premiered on 9 October 1949. Many critics saw Abraxas
as the natural successor to Joan von Zarissa, and by the end of 1953 Abraxas boasted over 200
performances on German stages alone. 3
In 1949 amid the Abraxas scandal, Joan von Zarissa was performed in Braunschweig and
Freiburg im Breisgau. Ironically, Egk was awarded the Munich Art Prize—Abraxas remained
1
Rheinische Post, 18 October 1947. “Werk als Ganzes für das M.-Gladbacher Ballett—trotz Neuengagements—ein
Mißgriff. Es übersteig abermals die Kräfte. Außer dem gereiften tänzerischen Können mangelte der Regie
(Elisabeth Schaffrath) an räumlicher Disposition. Man kann auch die wichtigen Zwischenaktschöre nicht hinter
einem klangschluckenden Stoffvorhang nicht abwürgen.”
2
Ulrike Stoll, “Freiheit der Kunst? Der Fall Abraxas” in Werner Egk: Eine Debatte zwischen Ästhetik und Politik,
134–146. An in-depth discussion of this scandal lies beyond the purview of this document.
3
Werner Egk 1901–1983: Ausstellung zum Werner-Egk-Jahr 2001, (Donauwörth: Stadt Donauwörth, 2001), 27.
334
under ban— the same year. 4 Two years after his exoneration, Egk’s career had regained
substantial momentum. Egk would surely not have continued to flourish after the war, had his
success during the National Socialist period been due to his political connections alone. His
enduring popularity arose from his works, which continued to enjoy the support of the German
public and music critics.
In 1950 Egk became Full Professor and Director of the Conservatory of Music
(Hochschule für Musik) in Berlin, a short-lived appointment. In 1952 he encountered problems
with the Board of Directors, and in 1953 he resigned his post to composer Boris Blacher, citing
too little time to devote to composition. In the meantime, Joan von Zarissa had been performed
in Innsbruck, Cologne, Kassel, Dortmund, Bremen, and Buenos Aires. Abraxas had returned to
the stages of Munich.
Joan von Zarissa appeared again in Munich in 1953, alongside Egk’s most recent ballet,
Die chinesische Nachtigall (The Chinese Nightingale). Tatjana Gsovsky’s new choreography for
Joan von Zarissa was successful, and critic Walter Eichner noted that even then the work had not
yet found its equal. Unfortunately, the choruses were anything but successful—they were
described as lethargic and criticized for interrupting the drama instead of providing an
interwoven moral commentary. What was more, the onstage chorus members had sung from
scores. 5
In 1955 the Egks relocated to Inning am Ammersee, where the couple would live out
their lives. Throughout the 1950s Egk reestablished relationships with many important figures
from his past, among them Hermann Scherchen, Jean Cocteau, Arthur Honegger, Igor
Stravinsky, and not least, Heinz Tietjen. Additionally, Egk forged new international
relationships with musicians such as Pierre Boulez, Dmitri Mitropoulos, and Leonard Bernstein. 6
4
Egk, DZ, 557.
5
Die Abendzeitung, 12 May 1953. “Wie Tatjana Gsovsky die burgundische Legende mit allem Prunk und höfischen
Zeremoniell in die weiträumigen, farblich genial abgestuften Bilder von Jürgens einbaute und in Details gliederte,
war von großartig Eindringlichkeit.…
Doch im gesamten gesehen, blieb die große einheitliche Wirkung aus, weil die Chöre die dramatische
Handlung zerrissen, anstatt ihre einzelnen Stationen miteinander zu verzahnen. Sie wurden gar nicht in den
szenischen Ablauf einbezogen, sondern sangen jeweils in einer jämmerlichen Zwischenakt-Gruppierung stumpf und
schwerfällig ihre Betrachtungen vom Notenblatt (!)”
6
Egk, DZ, 557–61.
335
In 1961 and 1962 Joan von Zarissa was produced for German television. 7 Egk, who had
successfully experimented with the medium of radio while it was still young, now took
advantage of the new medium of color television, whose spectacle could match that of Joan von
Zarissa. A testament to its enduring internationalism, Joan von Zarissa was scheduled once
again for performance at the Paris Opéra in 1963. Serge Lifar had been reappointed to his post
as Balletmaster in 1962 and promptly added Egk’s work to the playbill. Unfortunately, Lifar
elected not to renew his contract with the Opéra for 1963 and instead left the Opéra, taking Joan
von Zarissa and six other ballets with him. 8 Joan von Zarissa would never return to its most
famous—or infamous—venue.
Throughout the 1960s Joan von Zarissa was produced in thirteen cities, from Bremen to
Lausanne to Belgrade to Buenos Aires. The Frankfurt performances of March 1965 met with a
lukewarm reception. 9 The critic of the Welser Zeitung reported on the very simple version of
Joan von Zarissa performed in Linz, where a pair of soloists had replaced the ten-voice chorus.
He raised another familiar question: why were the texts of the choral interludes not included in
the program? 10 In December 1965 Joan von Zarissa was performed in Essen, again with the
duet versions of the interludes, again unintelligible, and without the prologue, epilog, or finale.
In response, critic Herbert Gerigk asked, “Are we hearing an authentic new version of the work
from 1940?” 11 Understandably, the simplification of Joan von Zarissa had robbed it of its
spectacle and its power.
7
BSB Ana 410.
8
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 3 October 1963. “Der bekannte Choreograph Serge Lifar, der vor einem Jahr von
dem neuen Generalintendanten der Pariser Oper als Ballettmeister wieder engagiert war, hat seinen Vertrag nicht
erneuert. Er erklärte, es herrsche in der Oper eine gewisse Anarchie, die eine fruchtbare Arbeit unmöglich mache.
Seine sieben vorbereiteten Ballette, unter anderem Johann von Zarissa von Werner Egk, hätten nicht aufgeführt
werden können.”
9
Duisberger General-Anzeiger, 30 March 1965.
10
Welser Zeitung, 23 March 1967. “… von Egks „Joan von Zarissa“ gab es eine sehr vereinfachte Fassung.
[Ballettmeister Robert] Roberti verzeichnete auf Prolog und Epilog und auf den Sprecher; der Singchor wurde durch
zwei Solosänger (Mary O’Brien und Hans Lättgen) ersetzt. Nebenbei: Es ist unverzeihlich, daß Programm über den
Sinn der Chansons zwischen den einzelnen Bildern uninformiert ließ.”
11
Westfalen-Post, 6 December 1967. “Hörte man wohl eine authentische Neufassung des Werkes aus dem Jahre
1940? Anstelle der meditierenden Chöre standen mit Annik Simon und Karl-Heinz Lippe zwei hervorragende
Sänger zwischen den vier Bildern vor dem Vorhang, die französische Texte aus dem 15. Jahrhundert sangen, wovon
336
In 1967 B. Schott’s Söhne publishers announced that Egk’s works would be performed
on thirteen stages in the coming season. The most requested work was Joan von Zarissa. 12 In
the same year, the village of Auchesheim, Egk’s birthplace, bestowed honorary citizenship on
the composer, erected a bust of Egk, and planted a commemorative tree in the newly-dubbed
Werner-Egk-Platz. 13 In September 1969 Tatjana Gsovsky took Joan von Zarissa to Buenos
Aires, where the work was danced fifteen times through August 1971.
In 1971 the City Theater of Augsburg, the city where Egk received his first formal music
education, unveiled a bust of Egk in its foyer. The same year saw the first and, to date, only
performance of Joan von Zarissa in the United States by the Alabama Ballet in Birmingham,
Alabama. 14 The following year, Egk would receive honorary citizenship from the city of
Donauwörth, which had since incorporated Auchesheim. In 1973 the City of Donauwörth
instituted the Donauwörth Werner Egk Culture Prize, bestowing the first laurel on conductor
Eugen Jochum. 15
In 1976 Egk was elected president of the Confédération Internationale des Sociétés
d’Auteurs et Compositeurs (International Confederation of the Society of Authors and
Composers, CISAC). Egk had attended a meeting of this organization in Paris in 1937, an
activity for which he stood accused of representing Nazi Germany in his denazification
proceedings. 16 Egk’s CISAC presidency was the last in a series of posts from which Egk sought
to help his fellow musicians. The first was, arguably, his Reich Music Chamber position, though
his work with STAGMA predated his 1941 appointment. Egk had not stopped working since.
From 1950 to 1958 Egk was President of the Society for Musical Performing and Mechanical
Reproduction Rights (Die Gesellschaft für musikalische Aufführungs- und mechanische
man leider nichts verstand. Übriggeblieben ist jetzt die reine Handlung zu der kraftvollen Musik, ohne Prolog,
Epilog und Finale.…”
12
Fränkische Tagespost 29 November 1967. “Opern und Ballettwerke von Werner Egk kommen in der laufenden
Spielzeit am 13 Bühnen heraus. Wie der Mainzer Schott-Verlag mitteilte, ist das Ballett „Joan von Zarissa“ am
meisten gefragt.”
13
Egk, DZ 563–64.
14
Records of B. Schott’s Söhne at the Stadtarchiv Donauwörth.
15
Alfred Böswald, Die Seele Suchen: Werner Egk und der Donauwörther Kulturpreis (Verlag der Stadt
Donauwörth, 1994). Other prize recipients are listed in Appendix H.
16
Ermittlungsbericht zu Werner Egk, 7 November 1946. StAM Ka 339.
337
Vervielfältigungsrechte, or GEMA), a logical continuation of his STAGMA work. From 1954 to
1971 Egk was president of the German Association of Composers (Deutscher
Komponistenverband), and from 1968 to 1971 Egk served as President of the German Music
Council (Deutscher Musikrat). In these positions, Egk not only worked for the rights of his
fellow composers but promoted contemporary art music throughout Germany and the world. In
1973 Egk published his autobiography Die Zeit wartet nicht (Time does not wait), easily the most
often cited source on the composer’s life and works. 17 Meanwhile, Joan von Zarissa, or at least
excerpts from the work, had been danced in cities from Seoul, South Korea, to Cairo, Egypt, to
La Plata, Argentina. 18
On 12 December 1978 Egk lost his Magic Violinist, his Zaubergeigerin Elisabeth. Joan
von Zarissa was last performed in Lübeck, Germany, in 1980. The same year, the Stadt
Donauwörth decided to create a Werner Egk museum. The Werner Egk Center (Werner Egk
Begegnungsstätte) opened in 1982. The year before, Egk had received honorary citizenship from
Munich. On 10 July 1983 Werner Egk died, having adroitly run his labyrinthine race. 19
17
Werner Egk 1901–1983, 13.
18
BSB Ana 410.
19
Werner Egk 1901–1983, 4, 36.
338
APPENDIX A
JOAN VON ZARISSA LIBRETTO
Original version, except where otherwise indicated
Page
i
ii
Text
Translation
Werner Egk
Werner Egk
Joan von Zarissa
Joan von Zarissa
Ballett
Ballet
B. Schott’s Söhne / Mainz
B. Schott’s Söhne / Mainz
Printed in Germany
Printed in Germany
PERSONEN
CHARACTERS
Joan von Zarissa
Joan von Zarissa
Isabeau
Isabeau
Florence
Florence
Lefou
Lefou
Perette
Perette
Der Eiserne Herzog
The Iron Duke
Ein hünenhafter Ritter
A Gigantic Knight
Die Schönste der gefangenen Maurinnen
The Most Beautiful of the Imprisoned Moorish
Women
Ein Ungeheuer
A Monster
Ein junger Ritter
A Young Knight
Ein Flötenspieler
A Flute Player
Joans Ebenbild
Joan’s Likeness
339
Page
Text
Translation
ii,
Zwei Küchenmädchen / Ein gefangenes Fürstenpaar/
Princess/
cont.
iii
Two kitchen maids/ An imprisoned Prince and
Einige greise Bürger / Sechs Frauen /
Several old Townsfolk / Six Women /
Maurinnen / Wilde / Bewaffnete / Hofstaat
Moors / Savages / Men-at-Arms / Court
Ein Sprecher
A Speaker
Ein Singchor
A Choir
Zeit: Mitte des 15. Jahrhunderts
Time: Mid-15th Century
Ort: Frankreich
Place: France
INHALT
CONTENTS [Not transcribed]
340
Text
Page
iv
Translation
BESETZUNG DES ORCHESTERS
DISPOSITION OF THE ORCHESTRA
3 große Flöten (2. und 3. auch kleine)
3 Flutes (2 & 3, also Piccolo)
3 Oboen (3. auch Englisch Horn)
3 Oboes (3, also English Horn)
3 Klarinetten in B (2. auch Es-Klarinette, 3. auch
3 B-flat Clarinets (2, also E-flat Clarinet; 3, also
Baß-Klarinette)
Bass Clarinet)
3 Fagotte (3. auch Kontrafagott)
3 Bassoons (3, also Contrabassoon)
4 Hörner in F
4 Horns in F
3 Trompeten in B
3 Trumpets in B-flat
3 Posaunen
3 Trombones
Tuba
Tuba
4 Pauken
4 Timpani
Schlagzeug: Triangel, Zymbeln, 2 Glockenspiele,
Percussion: Triangle, High cymbals, 2
Xylophon, Kastagnetten, Basseln, Tambourin,
Glockenspiels, Xylophone, Castanets, 2 Rattles,
Bolztrommel, kleine Trommel, ein hoher Gong,
Tambourine, Wood blocks, Small drum, Gong, Tam-
kleines Tamtam, Becken, große Trommel, großes
tam, 2 Cymbals, Bass drum, Tubular bells
Tamtam, Röhrenglocken
1
Celesta
Celesta
Harfe
Harp
Streicher
Strings
Bühnenmusik:
Stage Music:
8 Trompeten in B
8 Trumpets in B-flat, on- and backstage
Kleine Kichenglacken hinter der Szene
Small Church Bell backstage
großes Glockengleäut hinter der Szene
Large Bell Peal backstage
JOAN VON ZARISSA
JOAN VON ZARISSA
Werner Egk
Werner Egk
Vorspiel
Prelude
341
Text
Page
[13]
Translation
PROLOG
PROLOGUE
Vor einem Zwischenvorhang, der in der Manier
In front of a drop depicting Odysseus lashed to the
eines altfranzösischen Gobelins Odysseus am
mast and surrounded by the Sirens in the form of
Mastbaum festgebunden und umschwebt von den
great birds in the manner of an Old French tapestry,
Sirenen in Gestalt großer Vögel darstellt, erscheint
appears a magnificent structure with different
ein prunkvoller Aufbau mit verschiedenen
allegorical figures (Comedy, Tragedy, nymphs,
allegorischen Figuren (Komödie, Tragödie,
satyrs, etc.). Topmost, in the middle of these figures,
Nymphen, Satyrn, etc.) Zuoberst, inmitten dieser
an actor in period costume stands and speaks the
Figuren steht ein Schauspieler im Kostüm der Zeit
Prologue.
und spricht den Prolog:
Im Jahre vierzehnhundertdreizehn kam
In the year fourteen hundred thirteen,
Kurz vor dem Fest des heiligen Martin
Shortly before the Feast of St. Martin,
Herr Joan von Zarissa auf die Welt.
Lord Joan von Zarissa came into the world.
Zur selben Stunde stand am Firmament
At the very same hour appeared in the firmament
Ein Stern, neunfach geschwänzt, furchtbar zu sehn,
A star, nine-times tailed, dreadful to see,
Und in Bewegung war der Erde Bau,
And foundation of the earth was in motion,
Die Wasser ungestüm und seltsam groß,
The seas tumultuous and curiously heavy,
Wie’s nur geschieht zum Zeichen seltnen Glücks
As it only happens at signs of rare fortune
Und ungewöhnlicher Begebenheit.
And exceptional events.
Ich weiß, daß viele diese Zeichen nicht
I know that many of these signs were not
Joans Geburt zuschreiben, daß man sagt,
Ascribed to Joan’s birth, so one says,
Selbst seine Herkunft wäre ungewiß,
Even his ancestry would be unknown,
Sein Stand nur angemaßt. Doch hört mich an:
His class only presumed. Now listen:
Sein Ursprung steckt im phrygischen Geschlecht
His origins have root in the Phrygian race
Des Paris, der die Helena geraubt,
Of Paris, he who abducted Helen,
Woraus sich leicht die feurige Natur
Which readily portends the fiery nature
Des spätgebornen Enkels deuten läßt.
Of the late-born grandson.
Er war sehr schön und kräftig, hoch gebaut,
He was very beautiful and strong, tall,
So licht sein Antlitz von vollkommner Form
So clear his countenance of perfect form
342
Page
[13,
cont.]
Text
Translation
Und so begabt mit edler Eigenschaft,
And so gifted with noble character,
Daß rings, erliegend seiner Wirkung Kraft,
That all around, defeated by the effect of his force,
Von brennender Begierde ward verzehrt,
Were consumed by burning lust,
Selbst wer sein Leben lang ihn nie gesehn.
Even those who had never seen him in their whole
lives.
Man sagt, doch scheint uns dieses ungewiß,
It is said, though this seems dubious to us,
Er habe das Buch Smagorad gekannt,
That he knew the book Smagorad,
Das Buch, aus dem sich Adam Trost geholt
The book in which Adam took solace
In seiner Trauer um des Abel Tod.
In his sorrow at the death of Abel.
Er habe auch den Teufel aufgesucht
He supposedly also sought out the devil
Im wilden Schottland und ihn ausgeforscht,
In wild Scotland and questioned him thoroughly,
Des Orten kund zu werden, wo der Schatz
To find out about the place, where the treasure
Des Antichrist geheim verborgen sei.
Of the antichrist allegedly lay hidden in secret.
So viel ist sicher, daß er ohne Furcht
So much is certain, that without fear he
Jedwedes Abenteuer kühn bestand.
Boldly faced any adventure.
Kein Wunder also, wenn er Liebe fand
No wonder therefore, that when he found love
Bei mancher Schönen, die ihn kaum erblickt
In some beauties who hardly noticed him
Und jäh von heißem Liebesweh zerschmolz,
And abruptly melted by the hot pain of love,
Die nichts und nichts vermochte über sich,
That could not change anything about itself,
Weil nie ein Feuer heißer als die Glut,
Because a flame is never hotter than the ember
Die unerbittlich sie versengt, gebrannt.
That unrelenting burns, scorched.
Verhüt es Gott, daß Ihr ihm darum schmäht!
God forbid, that one would defame him for this.
343
Page
[13,
cont.]
Text
Translation
Betrachtet dieses Bild des armen Herrn
Von Ithaka und wie er an dem Mast
Des eignen Schiffes angebunden ist,
Damit er blind nicht folge dem Gesang.
Bedenkt, daß nur der stärksten Fessel Zwang
Consider that only the strongest fetter of bondage
Ein schlimmes Schicksal hat Ulyss erspart.
Spared Ulysses a wicked fate.
Habt Mitleid mit Joan, der ohne Arg,
Have compassion on Joan who, without malice,
Verachtend jede Vorsicht, jeden Schutz,
Spurned every precaution, every safeguard,
Der Sinne Zauber nimmer widerstand!
Never resisted the charm of sense!
Doch wenn Ihr ungerührt, gerecht zu scheinen,
But when you, unmoved, appear to be just,
Hartherzig richten wollt die blinde Tat,
Hardhearted, wish to judge the blind deeds,
Dann geb ich Euch den wohlgemeinten Rat:
Then I give you the well-intended advice:
Vergeßt nicht Eure Sünden vor den seinen!
Forget not your sins in the face of his!
344
Text
Page
14
Translation
ERSTES BILD
FIRST TABLEAU
Bankett des Eisernen Herzogs
Banquet of the Iron Duke
Eine mächtige Doppeltreppe führt im Mittelgrund
A mighty double stair leads up from the left and the
der Bühne von rechts und von links auf eine zweite
right to a second platform above center stage. Above
Spielfläche. Rechts und links oben, bei der
right and left, at the confluence of the stairs, two
Einmündung der Treppe, tragen zwei säulenförmige
pillared pedestals bear far larger-than-life figures,
Sockel die weit überlebensgroßen Figuren einer nur
one with only a veiled woman and one a gigantic lion
mit einem Schleier verhüllten Frau und eines ihr
facing her, who in his raised paws carries a tablet
zugewandten riesigen Löwen, der in seinen
with the inscription: “Do not touch my lady.” The
erhobenen Pranken eine Tafel mit der Inschrift:
background is filled by a coat-of-arms; over it waves
„Berühre meine Dame nicht“ trägt. Den
a banner with the words “God and Faith.” The entire
Hintergrund Füllt ein Wappen aus, über dem ein
set has the effect of a huge emblem, wherein the
Spruchband mit den Worten „Dieu et Foi“ schwebt
great steps should be sensed as an ornamental base
Die ganze Szene wirkt wie ein riesiges Emblem,
for the coat-of-arms and the figures, its flanking
wobei die große Treppe als ornamentale Basis des
bearers. In the middle of the stage directly under the
Wappens und die Figuren als dessen flankierende
second platform between the two ascending stairs sit
Träger empfunden werden sollen. In der Mitte der
the Iron Duke and Isabeau, the Duchess, with their
Bühne unmittelbar unter der zweiten Spielfläche
court. On the upper platform, musicians and folk; in
zwischen den beiden Treppenaufgängen sitzen der
the space below, the entourage.
Eiserne Herzog und Isabeau, die Herzogin, mit
ihrem Hofstaat. Auf der oberen Spielfläche
Spielleute und Volk, im unteren Raum Gefolge.
345
Text
Page
Translation
Nr. 1
No. 1
Aufmarsch
Procession
Es folgt eine Darstellung des triumphalen Einzugs
A representation of the triumphant entry of an
eines Vorfahren des Eisernen Herzogs nach einem
ancestor of the Iron Duke after a victory over the
Sieg über die Heiden. Das Ganze muß durchaus
heathen follows. The whole must appear thoroughly
theatralisch und mit der Phantasie des 15.
theatrical and with the fantasy of the fifteenth
Jahrhunderts gesehen sein.
century.
Einzug Bewaffneter mit erbeuteten Trophäen und
Entry of men-at-arms with captured trophies and
Seltsamkeiten.
oddities.
Auftritt und Tanz einer Gruppe geketteter und
Entrance and dance of a group of chained and beastly
tierisch behaarter Wilder
hairy savages.
Auftritt und Tanz eines gefangenen, trotz seiner
Entrance and dance of a captured old prince and
barbarischen Pracht kläglichen, alten Fürstenpaares.
princess, deplorable despite their barbaric finery.
Kniefall und Bitte um Gnade
Prostration and plea for mercy
21
Abermaliger Kniefall und Bitte um Gnade.
Repeated prostration and plea for mercy
22
Es folgen weitere Bewaffnete, mit Feldzeichen,
More men-at-arms follow, with standards, trophies,
Trophäen und Fahnen.
and flags.
17
20
346
Text
Page
25
Translation
Nr. 2
No. 2
Auftritt und Tanz der gefangenen Maurinnen
Entrance and Dance of the Captured Moorish
Women
29
30
32
34
Es werden die schönen Weiber hereingebracht, die
The beautiful women who should have been carried
der Sage nach im Feldzug erbeutet worden sein
off by the sage after the campaign are brought in; in
sollen, in ihrer Mitte ein riesiger Pfau.
their midst a gigantic peacock.
Der Pfau öffnet sich, es entsteigt ihm ein
The peacock unfurls its feathers; a gorgeous woman
wunderschönes Weib, nahezu unbekleidet.
steps out, nearly naked.
Die Schönste beginnt einen unschuldsvollen, süßen
The most beautiful woman begins an innocent, sweet
Tanz.
dance.
Die Gefährtinnen beginnen sich allmählich an Tanz
The female companions begin to join gradually in the
zu beteiligen, der nun in den Ausdruck verhaltener
dance, which becomes an expression of restrained
Spannung übergeht.
excitement.
Entsprechend dem jeweiligen Charakter der Musik
Fitting the current character of the music, the dance
nimmt der Tanz im Folgenden bald einen
that follows soon takes on an unrestrained-wild,
hemmungslos-wilden, bald einen leidenschaftlich-
passionate-voluptuous character. The most beautiful
wollüstigen Charakter an. Die Schönste wird immer
is adorned with more and more jewelry and draped
mehr mit Schmück behängt und mit Schleiern
with veils.
verhüllt.
347
Text
Page
49
50
51
Translation
Die Schönste wirft ihre Hüllen ab und steht nun
The most beautiful casts off her veils and stands,
gegenüber dem Anfang in völlig verwandelter,
unlike the beginning, in fully transformed salacious
aufreizender Nacktheit da.
nakedness.
Die Schönste wird in ihrem Pfau und inmitten ihrer
The most beautiful enters her peacock and is taken
Gefährtinnen hinausgebracht.
out in the midst of her female companions.
Nr. 3
No. 3
Tanz des Narren
Dance of the Fools
In konischer Hast stürzt Lefou, ein narr, herein, um
In comical haste, Lefou, a fool, rushes to follow the
den schönen Mädchen nachzueilen.
beautiful maidens.
Er wird von einem Knappen zurückgestoßen und
He is repelled by a squire and then dances crudely
tanzt nun derb komisch seine unerfüllte
and comically his unfulfilled longing for love.
Liebessehnsucht.
52
54
Von oben fliegt dem Narren eine lebensgroße, mit
From above, a life-sized Puppet draped with colorful
bunten Fetzen behängte Puppe in dem Arm.
ribbons flies to the fool’s arms.
Er tanzt mit ihr.
He dances with her.
Die Puppe wird ihm von oben weggezogen.
The puppet is pulled away from him from above.
Der Narr trauert.
The fool mourns.
Die Puppe fliegt ihm wieder in den Arm.
The puppet flies again into his arms.
Er tanzt wieder mit ihr.
He dances with her again.
348
Text
Page
Translation
57
Die Puppe wird endgültig hochgezogen.
The puppet is finally withdrawn.
58
Lefou packt sie an den Füßen, wird ein Stück mit
Lefou grasps it by the feet, is carried upward with the
hochgezogen, bis er sich nicht mehr festhalten kann
puppet a bit, until he can no longer maintain his grip
und herabfällt.
and falls.
Nun rollt er einen Läufer über die Bühne.
He then unrolls a runner across the stage.
Lefou weist bedeutungsvoll in die Kulisse, um die
Lefou points with determination to the wings, to
Ankunft seines Herrn zu melden.
announce his master’s arrival.
Nr. 4
No. 4
Der Zweikampf
The Duel
Joan von Zarissa, prunkvoll modisch gekleidet, tritt
Joan von Zarissa, pompously and fashionably attired,
auf.
appears.
In Vordergrund wird mit bewimpelten Lanzen ein
In the foreground, a tournament arena is staked off
Turnierplatz abgesteckt.
with bannered lances.
Joan tritt vor das Herzogspaar.
Joan steps before the duke and duchess.
Das Abstecken der Turnierplatzes ist beendet.
The staking of the arena is finished.
59
60
349
Text
Page
61
Translation
Joan grüßt die Herzogin.
Joan greets the duchess.
Joan grüßt den Herzog.
Joan greets the duke.
Joan grüßt die Gäste.
Joan greets the guests.
Ein hünenhafter, schwer gepanzerter Ritter geht zum
A gigantic, heavily armored knight goes to the arena.
Turnierplatz.
62
63
Er bezeigt seine Absicht zu kämpfen und wirft
He shows his intention to duel and throws his glove
seinen Handschuh in den Turnierplatz.
into the arena.
Joan geht zum Turnierplatz.
Joan goes to the arena.
Joan nimmt die Herausforderung an, hebt den
Joan accepts the challenge, picks up the glove, and
Handschuh auf und wirft ihn hinter sich. Man bringt
throws it behind him. A person brings the same
den gleichen schweren Zweihänder und die gleiche
heavy two-hander [sword] and the same armor as the
Rüstung, wie sie der Herausforderer trägt.
challenger wears.
Joan weist Rüstung und Schwert zurück […]
Joan refuses armor and two-hander […]
350
Text
Page
64
Translation
und begrüßt mit seinem Degen den Gegner, bereit,
and hails the opponent with his sword, ready to duel
nur mit dieser Waffe zu kämpfen.
with only this weapon.
Der ungleich Kampf beginnt; der Ritter führt mit
The lopsided battle begins; the knight delivers
seinem schwere Zweihänder wuchtige Schläge; Joan
massive blows with his heavy two-hander; Joan
begegnet ihnen nur durch die Leichtigkeit und
avoids them only by the lightness and quickness of
Raschheit seiner Bewegungen. Allmählich aber
his movements. But gradually he is able to direct the
reißt er die Führung des Kampfes an sich und
duel and confuses the enemy through feints and
verwirrt den Gegner durch Finten und vorgetäuschte
feigned parries.
Paraden.
69
Joan wirft seinen Degen fort und umfaßt mit beiden
Joan throws his sword away and grasps with both
Händen den Griff eines unsichtbaren Zweihänders.
hands the handle of a concealed two-hander. His
Sein Gegner, vollkommen verwirrt, scheint die
enemy, completely confused, appears to see the
Waffe zu sehen.
weapon.
Joan greift an.
Joan attacks.
Der Ritter läßt sein Schwert fallen und weicht
The knight lets his sword fall and falls back.
zurück.
71
72
Der Ritter erliegt endlich einem gewaltigen
The knight finally succumbs to a powerful overhead
Luftstreich Joans.
blow by Joan.
Nr. 5
No. 5
Der Ehrentanz (Quartett)
The Honor-dance (Quartet)
Isabeau, durch den Kampf Joans fasziniert, erhebt
Isabeau, enthralled throughout Joan’s duel, rises and
sich und reicht ihm eine Blume, die sie von ihrem
hands him a flower she has taken from her dress.
Kleid nimmt.
351
Page
Text
74
Isabeau tanzt zeremoniös mit Joan um ihn als Sieger
Isabeau dances ceremoniously with Joan to honor
zu ehren auf dem Turnierplatz. Die Magd Perette,
him as victor of the arena. The maid Perette, a
ein etwas derbes, aber reizvolles Mädchen, tritt im
somewhat coarse but attractive girl, appears in the
Kostüm der Puppe auf der oberen Spielfläche auf.
puppet’s costume on the upper platform. Lefou,
Lefou, rasch entflammt, ist hinter ihr her.
greatly enamored, is behind her.
Joan beginnt Isabeau zu bedrängen; Perette weiß
Joan begins to hassle Isabeau; Perette manages again
sich immer wieder dem sie verfolgenden Lefou zu
and again to avoid the dogging Lefou.
75
Translation
entziehen.
76
Perette kann Lefou nicht mehr entkommen.
Perette cannot escape Lefou any longer.
77
Von hier an wiederholt sich gleichzeitig bei Lefou
From here Lefou and Perette repeat, in their own
und Perette auf ihre Weise alles, was zwischen Joan
manner, what transpires between Joan and Isabeau.
und Isabeau vorgeht.
79
81
Joan beginnt rücksichtslos seine Leidenschaft zu
Joan begins unabashedly to show his passion, so that
zeigen, sodaß es Isabeau kaum mehr möglich ist, ihn
is it hardly possible for Isabeau to keep him in his
in seine Grenzen zurückzuweisen. Der Herzog
bounds. The duke observes the pair with growing
beobachtet die Beiden mit wachsender Eifersucht.
jealousy.
Auf das vierte Achtel dieses Taktes [R62+3] reißt
On the fourth eighth-note of this bar [R62+3], Joan
Joan Isabeau an sich und versucht sie zu Küssen;
pulls Isabeau to himself and attempts to kiss her;
Lefou versucht dasselbe mit Perette.
Lefou tries the same with Perette.
Isabeau stößt Joan zurück, Perette gibt Lefou einen
Isabeau pushes Joan back, Perette gives Lefou a
kräftige Ohrfeige. Der Herzog dringt mit
strong box on the ear. The duke advances on Joan
gezogenem Degen auf Joan ein.
with sword drawn.
352
Text
Page
82
Translation
Joan wehrt sich,
Joan defends himself;
er tötet den Herzog.
he kills the duke.
In entstehenden Tumult entfliehen Joan und Lefou,
In the ensuing tumult, Joan and Lefou escape, the
die Bühne leert sich rasch.
stage quickly empties.
Isabeau bricht über ihrem Gatten zusammen.
Isabeau collapses over her spouse.
Ende des 1. Bildes
End of the first tableau.
Der Zwischenvorhang schließt sich; als rein
The drop closes, as a purely musical interlude of the
musikalisches Zwischenspiel wird von einem
following Chanson is sung by an unseen choir.
unsichtbaren Chor das folgende Chanson gesungen.
353
Text
Page
83 ff.
Translation
Chanson [I]
Chanson [I]
Encore esse plus paine de mourir
Si convient il en vivant mal souffrir
As we live, we must suffer death
Et au derrain de morte passer la bonde.
And, in the end, pass along the road of death.
L’aucune fois joye ou plaisir abonde.
If at times joy and pleasure abound,
On ne les peut longuement retenir.
They cannot be kept for long.
Pour ce je vueil comme un fol qu’on me tonde
And so, I am willing to have my head shaved like a
madman if,
Le plus pense quoy que voye avenir.
Whatever I see coming, I think about anything
qu’a vivre bien et bonne fin querir!
Except living virtuously and seeking a good end.
Las! Il n’est rien que Soussy ne confonde
Alas! There is nothing that Care does not
overwhelm.
C’est grant paine que de vivre en ce monde.
(Trans. John Fox, alt.)
354
Text
Page
87
Translation
ZWEITES BILD
SECOND TABLEAU
Der ganze Raum ist in eine Stimmung ähnlich der
The whole space is immersed in a single atmosphere
einer hoher dämmrigen Kathedrale getaucht. Die
similar to a tall, dim cathedral. The large flanking
großen flankierenden Figuren sind nur noch als
figures are recognizable only as silhouettes. The
Silhouetten erkennbar. Die Tafel ist weggeräumt;
table is removed; on the right a kneeler and two tall
rechts ein Betpult und zwei hohe Leuchter.
candelabra.
Nr. 6
No. 6
Isabeau’s Klage
Isabeau’s Lament
Isabeau, von einem langen schwarzen Schleier
Isabeau, enveloped in a long black shroud, supported
verhüllt, wird von sechs ebenfalls verschleierten
by six similarly shrouded women, is led into the hall.
Damen gestützt in den Saal geleitet.
90
Die Frauen haben Isabeau verlassen; Isabeau
The women have left Isabeau; Isabeau cries in deep
beweint in tiefem Schmerz und in edler Trauer ihre
pain and in true sorrow for her spouse.
Gatten.
93
Isabeau kniet am Betpult nieder und verharrt mit
Isabeau kneels at the kneeler and is poised with
gefalteten, hocherhobenen Händen unbeweglich im
folded, upheld hands motionless in prayer.
Gebet.
Nr. 7
No. 7
Isabeau’s Zorn
Isabeau’s Rage
Joan steht wie aus dem Boden gewachsen plötzlich
As if growing out of the floor, Joan appears directly
vor Isabeau, die sich erschreckt und entsetzt erhebt
before Isabeau, who, frightened and horrified, leaps
und vor ihm zurückweicht.
up and recoils before him.
355
Text
Page
94
Translation
Joan macht eine Bewegung auf sie zu.
Joan makes a movement toward her.
In dem Augenblick, in dem Isabeau begreift, daß
In the instant in which Isabeau comprehends that no
kein Gespenst, sondern der Mörder ihres Gatten vor
specter, rather the murderer of her spouse, stands
ihr steht, bricht mit elementarer Gewalt glühendster
before her, blistering hate erupts from her with base
Haß aus ihr hervor.
force.
95
Joan’s Haltung ist sicher und überlegen.
Joan’s posture is sure and deliberate.
103
Isabeau versucht mit ihren eigenen Händen Joan zu
Isabeau attempts to strangle Joan with her own
erwürgen, der ohne sich zu wehren standhält.
hands; he stands fast without defending himself.
In diesem Augenblick aber verläßt sich ihre ganze
But in this moment, she loses her entire strength; she
Kraft, sie bricht am Treppenaufgang zusammen,
collapses on the stair, futilely seeking to stop the
vergeblich an der hochaufgerichteten Gestalt Joans
Joan’s imposing form.
104
Halt suchend.
Joan verlöscht rasch die Kerzen und entzündet alle
Joan quickly puts out the candles and ignites all
Lichter oben auf der zweiten Spielfläche.
lights on the second platform above.
Das große Lichtcrescendo soll erst auf die zweite
The great light-crescendo should begin on the second
Fermate treffen [R86+7].
fermata [R86+7].
356
Text
Page
105
Translation
Nr. 8
No. 8
Verführung Isabeaus
The Seduction of Isabeau
Joan richtet langsam die Gestalt Isabeaus auf und
Joan sets Isabeau’s body upright and with great
zieht mit großer Zartheit die sich nur noch schwach
gentleness pulls her, still feebly resisting, up the
Sträubende die Treppe hinauf bis zur Mitte der
steps to the middle of the upper platform. He loosens
oberen Spielfläche. Er löst ihren Schleier und läßt
her shroud and lets it glide to the floor, so that she
ihn zu Boden gleiten, sodaß sie wieder in blühender
again faces him in blossoming beauty and in the
Schönheit und in dem glänzenden Gewand des
brilliant robe of the first Tableau. Joan professes to
ersten Bildes ihm gegenübersteht. Joan erklärt
Isabeau his fervent love and devotion, until she
Isabeau seine glühende Liebe und Ergebenheit, bis
succumbs to his courtship.
sie seiner Werbung erliegt.
112
Joan umarmt Isabeau,
Joan encircles Isabeau in his arms;
113
sie halten sich reglos umschlungen bis der Vorhang
she remains motionlessly entangled as the curtain
fällt.
falls.
Ende des 2. Bildes
End of the second tableau.
Das nachfolgende Chanson wird, wie das erste, von
The following Chanson is sung, as the first, by an
einem hinter dem Zwischenvorhang unsichtbar
unseen choir positioned behind the drop.
aufgestellten Chor gesungen.
357
Text
Page
114
Translation
Chanson [II]
Chanson [II]
Doulceur et encore mieulx!
Beauty, sweetness, and even better,
Soudainement louyst par semblance
Suddenly lit up as if
comme un esclair venant des cieulx.
From a lightning bolt coming from on high;
D’ont vient ce souleil de plaisance?
Il fait perdre la contenance
It makes all men lose their composure
A toutes gens, jeunes et vielz ;
All men, young and old;
N’il n’est eclipse, se m’aist Dieux,
There is not an eclipse, so help me God,
Qui de l’obscurir ait puissance ;
That has the power to obscure it:
Beaulte, Doulceur et encore mieulx!
Beauty, sweetness, and even better,
D’ont vient ce souleil
From where comes this sun of pleasure
Ah!
Ah!
ff.
(Trans. Sarah Spence)
358
Text
Page
123
Translation
DRITTES BILD
THIRD TABLEAU
Nr. 9
No. 9.
Die Huldigung
The Homage
Joan und Isabeau sitzen, umgeben von Isabeaus
Joan and Isabeau sit, encircled by Isabeaus royal
Hofstaat, auf zwei Thronsesseln. Im ganzen Raum
household, on two thrones. Stationed throughout the
sind Bewaffnete in Joans Farben verteilt. Die
entire room are men-at-arms in Joan’s colors. The
Gefolgsleute des ermordeten Herzogs ziehen an Joan
followers of the murdered Duke file past Joan and
vorüber und beugen Haupt und Knie vor ihm zum
bow body and knee before him to demonstrate their
Zeichen ihrer Ergebenheit, wenn auch mit
loyalty, although with visible reluctance. – This
sichtlichem Widerstreben. – Diese Szene spielt ohne
scene played without music.
Musik.
124
130
131
Nr. 10
Nr. 10
Der Eröffnungstanz
The Opening Dance
Es folgt ein großer allgemeiner Schautanz, der von
A large company show-dance follows, led by Joan
Joan und Isabeau angeführt wird.
and Isabeau.
Lefou zieht die widerstrebende Perette herein und
Lefou pulls the reluctant Perette in and seeks her
versucht vergebens sie zu überreden an dem
forgiveness to persuade her to take part in the public
allgemeinen Tanz teilzunehmen.
dance.
Lefou stürzt wütend hinaus und kommt mit zwei
Lefou storms out and comes back with two cute little
reizenden kleinen Küchenmädchen zurück. Die
kitchen maids. The company has noticed the affair;
Gesellschaft hat den Vorgang bemerkt, der
the public dance breaks up.
allgemeine Tanz wird unterbrochen.
359
Text
Page
132
140
142
Translation
Alles sieht zu, wie Lefou übermächtig mit den
Everyone watches how Lefou raucously dances with
Küchenmädchen tanzt und scherzt und wie Perette
the kitchen maids and banters [with them] and how
außer sich vor Zorn immer wieder den Versuch
Perette, beside herself with fury, seeks again and
macht, Lefou von den Mädchen zu trennen.
again to separate Lefou from the girls.
Ein Bewaffneter jagt auf Joans Wink die
At Joan’s signal, a man-at-arms chases the kitchen
Küchenmädchen hinaus.
maids out.
Der allgemeine Tanz wird wieder aufgenommen und
The public dance is again taken up and finished.
zu Ende geführt.
146
Der Hof hat auf der unteren Spielfläche Platz
The court has taken its place on the lower platform in
genommen um einer theatralische Darbietung auf
order to watch a theatrical performance on the upper
der oberen Spielfläche zuzusehen.
platform.
360
Text
Page
147
Translation
Nr. 11
No. 11
Pantomime
Pantomime
Der Vorhang einer improvisierten Bühne wird
The curtain of an improvised stage is drawn.
zugezogen.
Der Vorhang öffnet sich.
The curtain opens.
Man sieht ein zottiges, überall mit Schellen,
One sees a shaggy monster, adorned with bells,
Klappern und Rasseln behängtes Ungeheuer. Es
clappers, and rattles. It looks around.
sieht sich um.
148
Nachdem aber niemand kommt, gerät es in Wut und
But no one approaches it; it grows angry and stamps
stampft die Erde.
the ground.
Einige greise, gramgebeugte Bürger treten auf.
Several old townsfolk, bowed with grief, appear.
Sie bieten dem Untier große Früchte und
They offer the beast large fruits and artichokes.
Artischoken [sic] an.
Wütend schlägt ihnen das Untier die Opfergaben aus
The beast angrily knocks the offering from their
der Hand und verjagt sie.
hands and chases them.
Das Untier versteckt sich hinter einem Baumstrunk.
The beast hides himself behind a tree trunk.
Klagend führen die Bürger eine zarte Jungfrau auf
Lamenting, the townsfolk lead a delicate virgin to the
den Platz.
place.
361
Text
Page
149
150
151
Translation
Sie binden die Jungfrau an den Baumstrunk.
They tie the virgin to the tree trunk.
Stockenden Schrittes entfernen sich die Bürger.
With stumbling steps the townsfolk back away.
Das Ungeheuer umkreist sein Opfer.
The monster circles his offering.
Es wetzt ein großes Messer.
He whets a large knife.
Das Ungeheuer holt zum tödlichen Stoß aus.
The monster prepares a deadly blow.
Das Held erscheint, fällt dem Ungeheuer in den Arm
The hero appears, strikes the monster on the arm and
und dringt mit seinem Schwert auf das Tier ein,
stabs the monster with his sword as it breathes fire on
während ihm dieses aus einem Rohr Feuer
him, as if from a chimney.
entgegenbläst.
152
--
Das Untier wird erschlagen.
The monster is slain.
[The following text is included at this point in the
original piano score (88):
[Der Held befreit die Jungfrau, die ihm in die Arme
The hero frees the virgin, who sinks into his arms.
sinkt. Die Bürger krönen das Paar.
The townsfolk crown the pair.
Die Vorhang wird zugezogen.]
The curtain is closed.]
362
Text
Page
153
Translation
Nr. 12
No. 12
Der Liebestanz
The Love-Dance
Der Narr bringt einen Flötenspieler herein. Die
The fool brings in a flute player. The actors of the
Schauspieler der Pantomime treten hinter dem
pantomime step forward from behind the curtain and
Vorhang hervor und verwandeln sich wieder in
change again to ladies and gentlemen of the court.
Damen und Herren des Hofes.
156
157
Der Flötenspieler beginnt zu spielen. Der junge
The flute player begins to play. The young knight
Ritter, der den Helden in der Pantomime dargestellt
who portrayed the hero in the pantomime begins to
hat, beginnt mit Florence, der Darstellerin der
dance with Florence, the actress who portrayed the
Jungfrau, zu tanzen.
virgin.
Joan nimmt ihm das Mädchen weg, um selbst mit ihr
Joan snatches the maiden to dance with her himself.
zu tanzen. Diese grobe Verletzung der Sitte ruft
This bumbling infraction of custom causes great
große Bewegung im Saal hervor. Der junge Ritter
commotion in the hall. The young knight, inflamed
gerät in Zorn, doch ehe er sich überhaupt über den
with rage, before he completely figures out the affair,
Vorgang klar wird, hat ihm Joan seinen Degen
wrests Joan’s sword from him, breaks it, and throws
entrissen, ihn zerbrochen und ihm die Stücke vor die
the pieces at his feet. Immediately, quick as
Füße geworfen. Gleichzeitig packen blitzschnell
lightning, two of Joan’s men-at-arms seize the young
zwei von Joans Bewaffneten den jungen Ritter und
knight and lead him away. The fool follows the
führen ihn ab. Der Narr verfolgt den Auftritt mit
scene with great malicious joy.
großer Schadenfreude.
158
Joan beginnt mit Florence einen süßen Liebestanz.
363
Joan begins a sweet love-dance with Florence.
Text
Page
159
160
Translation
Isabeau versucht vergebens ihn zu bestimmen, das
Isabeau seeks in vain to persuade him to end the
frivol Spiel zu beenden.
frivolous game.
Außer sich vor Leidenschaft, Scham und Eifersucht
Beside herself with passion, shame, and jealousy, she
wendet sie sich an ihre Bewaffneten und fordert sie
appeals to her men-at-arms and orders them to
auf sie zu rächen.
avenge her.
Der Narr, der die Gefahr erkannt hat, wendet sich an
The fool, who recognized the danger, appeals to
Joans Bewaffnete.
Joan’s men-at-arms.
Beide Gruppen rücken Schritt für Schritt in Richtung
Both groups advance step-by-step in the direction of
auf das unbekümmert tanzende Paar gegeneinander
the unconcerned couple and against each other.
vor.
163
Der Narr versucht vergeblich seinen Herrn zu
The fool seeks in vain to warn his lord.
warnen.
167
Die beide Gruppen treffen aufeinander. Joan nimmt
The two groups engage each other. Joan takes
Florence auf seine Arme und trägt sie hinter die
Florence in his arms and carries her behind his men’s
Linie seiner Leute und aus dem Saal. Isabeau bricht
lines and out of the hall. Isabeau collapses and is
zusammen und wird von ihren Frauen weggebracht.
taken away by her ladies. All unarmed people flee.
All Unbewaffnete fliehen. In Verlauf des kurzen
In the course of the short but intense battle, Joan’s
aber heftigen Kampfes vertrieben Joans Leute ihre
men rout their foes and pursue them.
Feinde und verfolgen sie.
364
Text
Page
171
172
176
Translation
Nr. 13
No. 13
Perettes Rache
Perette’s Wrath
Die Bühne hat sich geleert; unter dem einen
The stage empties; Lefou creeps carefully beneath
Thronsessel kriecht vorsichtig Lefou hervor,
one throne,
unter dem andern ebenso vorsichtig Perette.
under the other, Perette carefully does the same.
Perette sieht Lefou, der sie nicht bemerkt und
Perette sees Lefou, who doesn’t notice her, and
schleicht ihm nach.
slinks toward him.
Perettes gerechte Wut auf Lefou entlädt sich in
Perette’s just rage toward Lefou releases itself in a
einem Trommelfeuer von Prügeln, die der arme
barrage of lashings, which poor Lefou must endure
Lefou völlig überrumpelt einstecken muß.
completely without making a sound.
Ende des dritten Bildes
End of the third tableau.
Der Zwischenvorhang schließt sich; als rein
The drop-scene closes; as a purely musical interlude,
musikalisches Zwischenspiel wird von einem
the following rondeau is sung by an unseen choir.
unsichtbaren Chor das folgende Rondeau gesungen.
365
Text
Page
177
Translation
Rondeau
Rondeau
[The original piano score replaces the previous
[The original piano score replaces the previous
instruction with the following:
instruction with the following:
Das folgende Rondeau wird wie die vorgehenden
The following Rondeau, as the previous Chansons,
Chansons von einem unsichtbar aufgestellten Chor
is sung by an unseen positioned choir.]
ff.
gesungen.]
Vous y fiez vous
En mondain espoir?
in this world?
S'il scet decevoir
If it disappoints you,
Demandez à tous!
Ask everyone!
La, la, la, … [Ha, ha, ha, …]
La, la, la …
Son attrait est doulx
It’s lure is sweet
Pour gens mieulx avoir
And it gets the better of people.
Vous y fiez vous
en Mondain espoir?
in this world?
La, la, la, … [Ha, ha, ha, …]
La, la, la …
De joye, ou courroux,
Whether of joy or anger,
Soing, ou nonchaloir,
Care or nonchalance –
Veult, à son vouloir,
The world speaks to you
Tenir les deux boux.
From both sides of its mouth.
Vous y fiez vous?
Do you put your trust?
(Trans. Brigitte Riskowski, et al.)
366
Text
Page
182
184
Translation
VIERTES BILD
FOURTH TABLEAU
Auf den unteren Spielfläche steht ein kleiner Tisch,
On the lower platform stands a small table on which
auf den sich das Licht konzentriert, während alles
the light is concentrated, while everything else
Übrige im Dämmer bleibt.
remains in twilight.
Nr. 14
No. 14
Wein und Würfelspiel
Wine and Dice Game
Joan lehnt in trüber Stimmung am Tisch, der Narr
Joan leans on the table in a bleak mood; the fool
versucht ihn mit Musik aufzuheitern.
seeks to cheer him up.
Joan unterbricht mit unwilliger Gebärde Lefou’s
Joan interrupts Lefou’s jingle with averse gestures.
Geklimper
Der Narr holt einen großen Krug Wein und schenkt
The fool gets a large jug of wine and pours. Both get
ein. Beide betrinken sich.
drunk.
194
Lefou holt Würfel und Becher
Lefou gets dice and tumbler.
196
Lefou würfelt.
Lefou rolls.
Florence tritt auf und nähert sich zart Joan, der ihr
Florence appears and tenderly nears Joan, but he
aber keine Beachtung schenkt.
pays her no attention.
Joan würfelt.
Joan rolls.
185
197
367
Text
Page
Translation
Joan hat verloren
Joan has lost.
Lefou würfelt
Lefou rolls.
Joan würfelt
Joan rolls.
Joan hat abermals verloren und wirft Lefou den Rest
Joan loses again and throws the rest of his money to
seines Geldes hin.
Lefou.
Joan gibt zu erkennen, daß er kein Geld mehr hat;
Joan reveals that he has no more money; suddenly an
plötzlich jedoch kommt ihm in seiner Trunkenheit
idea comes to him in his drunkenness to wager
der Einfall Florence aufs Spiel zu setzen.
Florence.
Joan würfelt.
Joan rolls.
200
Lefou würfelt.
Lefou rolls.
201
Joan hat verloren und schleudert brutal Florence
Joan loses and brutally flings Florence to the fool.
198
199
dem Narren zu.
Lefou umtanzt Florence wild vor Gier und Freude.
Lefou dances around Florence wildly with
ravenousness and joy.
202
Florence stößt sich einen Dolch ins Herz.
Florence plunges a dagger in her heart.
Der Narr […]
The fool […]
368
Text
Page
203
204
Translation
fängt sie in seinen Armen auf.
catches her in his arms.
Joan und Lefou stehen erstarrt und ernüchtert.
Joan and Lefou stand stiff and sober.
Lefou schleppt Florence langsam hinaus.
Lefou slowly drags Florence out.
Nr. 15
No. 15
Die Erscheinungen
The Apparitions
Auf der oberen Spielfläche weit hinten erscheinen
On the upper platform, far to the rear, two female
wie Schemen zwei Frauengestalten, deren
forms appear as silhouettes, their magnificent
prunkvolle Gewänder mit grauen Schleiern verhüllt
vestments veiled by grey shrouds. They carry the
sind. Sie tragen die Enden eines bis zum Boden
ends of a grey cloth which drapes to the floor and
fallenden grauen Tuches und bewegen sich langsam
move slowly forward.
nach vorne.
205
Die Frauen sind vorne angelangt.
The women have arrived at the front.
Joan sieht, wie die beiden Frauen das Tuch fallen
As the women allow the cloth to fall, Joan sees, to
lassen und so zu seinem Entsetzen sein eigenes
his horror, his own exact Likeness revealed.
genaues Ebenbild enthüllen.
206
207
Joans Ebenbild beginnt einen gespenstischen […]
Joan’s Likeness begins a spectral […]
Tanz, in dem es sich bald mit der einen, bald mit der
dance in which he coalesces soon with the one, soon
anderen Frauengestalt verbindet.
with the other womanly form.
Die beiden Frauen, welche über dem Gesicht
Both women, who wear masks over their faces, but
Masken tragen, die aber als solche nicht erkennbar
which are not recognizable as such, each take off the
sein sollen, nehmen die erste Maske ab.
first mask.
369
Text
Page
--
210
Translation
[At this point, the following text is missing from
[At this point, the following text is missing from
Donauwörth copy of the original version, but present
Donauwörth copy of original version, but present in
in the original piano score:
the original piano score:
Die Frauen heben das Tuch vom Boden wieder auf,
The women again lift the cloth from the floor, shroud
verhüllen Joans Ebenbild, werfen die zweite Maske
Joan’s Likeness, throw off the second masks and
ab und zeigen ihr wirkliches Gesicht, das Gesicht
show their true faces, the faces of Florence and
der Florence und der Isabeau.
Isabeau.
Sie lassen das Tuch wieder zu Boden gleiten,]
They again allow the cloth to glide to the floor,]
diesmal enthüllt es die schemenhafte Gestalt des
this time revealing the shadowy figure of the Iron
eisernen Herzogs, der mit beiden Händen ein
Duke, who with both hands raises an executioner’s
Richtschwert hebt und es symbolisch in der
sword [lit., “Sword of Justice”] and allows it to
Richtung auf Joan zu niederfallen läßt.
symbolically fall in Joan’s direction.
Joan bricht leblos zusammen, der Spuk
Joan collapses, lifeless; the phantom disappears.
verschwindet.
211
Die Bühne beginnt sich etwas zu erhellen.
The stage begins to lighten some.
212
Auf die Tafel, die der Löwe in seinen Pranken hält,
Bright light falls on the tablet that the lion holds in
fällt helles Licht.
it’s claws.
Lefou kommt um nach seinem Herrn zu sehen.
Lefou comes in order to see after his lord.
Er nimmt Joans Hand,
He takes Joan’s hand,
213
370
Text
Page
214
Translation
läßt sie fallen, erkennt, daß er tot ist, erschrickt und
lets it fall, recognizes that he is dead, starts and runs
läuft weg.
away.
Er kehrt zurück, zieht seinem Herrn den Degen aus,
He returns, removes his lord’s rapier, girds […]
gürtet […]
215
sich damit und geht.
himself with it and goes.
216
Die Bühne verdunkelt sich langsam.
The stage darkens slowly.
Ende des 4. Bildes.
End of the fourth Tableau.
371
Text
Page
[216a]
Translation
EPILOG
EPILOG
Vor dem Zwischenvorhang erscheint der prunkvolle
In front of the drop appears the magnificent structure
Aufbau des Anfangs. Der Schauspieler inmitten der
from the beginning. The actor, in the middle of the
allegorischen Figuren spricht den Epilog:
allegorical figures, speaks the epilog:
Weh ihm, den jäh ein grausames Gesetz
Woe to him, who is suddenly held hostage
Durch der Vergeltung harte Geisel traf!
by a savage law of severe retribution!
Er ward in seiner Jugend schönster Kraft
He was in his youth of most beautiful strength
Zu früh zerstört und aufgelöst zu Staub,
Too early undone and returned to dust,
Verschlungen von den Flammen, die er selbst,
Devoured by the flames which he himself,
Unkundig der Gefahr, arglos genährt.
Ignorant of the danger, carelessly fed.
Mit trüber Klage, kummervollem Blick
With a turbid dirge, grieving glance
Vermag ich zu betrachten nur sein Los
I am able to regard only his lot
Und könnte wohl verstehn, wenn der und der
And could well understand when everyone
Bedenkend das Geschick, das jenen traf,
Contemplating the fate that met him,
Die Freude meidend um die Qual zu fliehn,
Would shun joy to flee misery,
Beschließen würde nimmermehr sein Herz
Would resolve never again
Der Liebe je zu öffnen um in einem
To open his heart to love, at once
Das Sehnen zu ersticken, das in uns,
To suffocate the longing, that lives in us
Solang wir leben, lebt und die Gefahr
As long as we live and the danger
Die uns, so lang wir sind, in ihm bedroht!
That threatens us as long as we are!
Doch endete die Zeit schon vor der Zeit
However, time ended before the time
Den Toren, die sich ohne Grund und Not
Of the fools, they who without cause or distress
Zu Tode quälten um den Tod zu fliehn!
Tortured themselves to death to flee from death!
Nicht ist’s die Liebe ja, die Unheil bringt,
Nay, it is not love that brings calamity,
Nur der Betörung Sporn, und edle Glut!
Only the bewitchment of infatuation, and noble
embers!
372
Page
Text
Translation
[216a,
Drum meidet stets die ungestüme Gier,
Thus shun always the impetuous lust,
cont.]
Den bösen Zäuber [sic] der Sirenen stets,
Doch flieht die heilige Bezauberung,
Die segenspendende, der Liebe nicht!
The blessing-bestowing, of love!
In ihrem Feuer glüht der ewige Schmied
In her fire glows the eternal smith makes
Sein Eisen seit dem Anbeginn der Zeit
His iron glow since the dawn of time
Und trennt das spröde Erz in ihrer Glut
And separates the rough ore in its flame
Zu trüber Schlacke und zu reinem Gold.
Into dull slag and into pure gold.
Nur wenn auch unsre Brust ihr Glanz durchglüht
Only when her luster glows within our breast
Und ihre helle Flamme und durchsprüht,
And her bright flame and sparkles through,
Wenn Sinn und Seele ganz sich ihr ergeben,
When sense and soul give themselves totally to her,
Kann unser Sein zum Leben sich erheben!
Can our being arise to life!
Verscheucht deshalb mit uns Melancholie
Therefore shun melancholy with us,
Und Gram und Trauer um Vergangenes,
And grief and sadness at what is past,
Das keine Klage mehr entreißen kann
That no lament can longer pluck
Dem dunklen Grund der Zeit und seht mit uns
From the dark ground of time and watch with us
Dem Spiel für eine frohe Spanne zu,
The play for a happy time,
Das neu in jedem Augenblick beginnt,
That begins anew in each moment,
Dem Spiel, in dem auch, wer verliert, gewinnt,
The play, in which also, he who loses, wins,
In dem sich stets erneuert alles Leben
In which all life renews itself
Und Fordern Schenken heißt und Nehmen Geben.
And demanding is called gifting and taking, giving.
373
Text
Page
217
Translation
RONDEAU FINALE
RONDEAU FINALE
Der Singchor und die acht Bühnentrompeten sind
The choir and the eight on-stage trumpets are
sichtbar auf der Bühne aufgestellt. Das gesamte
positioned visibly on the stage. The complete ballet
Ballettkorps, im Stil der Zeit modisch gekleidet,
corps, clothed in fashions of the time, perform this
führt diesen Tanz aus, der die überschäumendste
dance, symbolizing the most exuberant joy of life
Lebensfreude und den Triumph der Liebe
and the triumph of love.]
symbolisiert.]
226
Go away, go, go!
ff.
Me cuidez-vous toute, ma vie
Will you burn me all of my life,
Gouverner, comme fait avez ?
Governing, as you have been?
Je vous prometz que non ferez ;
I promise you will not;
Raison aura sur vous maistrie :
Reason has triumphed over you:
Go away, go, go!
Se jamais plus vous retournez,
That you would never again return,
Avecques vostre compaignie,
Along with your company,
je pri à Dieu qu’il vous maudie
I pray to God that he curse you
et ce par qui vous reviendrez !
And that by which you return!
Go away, go, go!
[End]
[End]
250
374
APPENDIX B
VON KEUDELL NOTE, 9 JANUARY 1934
Reich Ministry for Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda
Note
Berlin, 9 January 1934
Since about 1900 there has existed a modern form of artistic dance in Germany, which has
grown out of German preconditions (founder: Laban), which as German art dance has
conquered all European and extra-European culturally advanced states (e.g. America and Japan).
In this dance the German man creates works of dance (individual, group, and choral activities) in
a way that Nietzsche desired for “the moving and dancing German man.” He uses the medium
of his body trained to be his instrument and draw such works form the depths of German
emotional and spiritual life, and which can stand side-by-side with most of the worthiest works
of art in other artistic areas and in the shaping of the festive and ceremonial in the life rhythms of
the Third Reich which have an especially comprehensive role to play.
This Ausdruckstanz (in the world known as the “New German Dance” or “la nouvelle dance
allemande”) is just at this moment being rejected unjustly not by the public but by some
members of the clique of theater dance enthusiasts (ballet). They prevent it and try to suppress it
idiotically with slogans such as “cubism” or “expressionism.” In the “German League of Choir
Singers and Association of Dancers,” the compulsory professional association also for art
dancers within the Reich Theater Chamber, a choir singer has the lead who understands nothing
at tall about art dance. A subgroup within the National/Socialist Teachers’ Federation is also
trying at present to pursue a special interest policy within this area of art and at the cost of this
particular art form, although the Teachers’ Federation has absolutely no jurisdiction in this area.
Finally, during the auditions of dancers for the theater, all German art dancers were
systematically rejected and only those who had been trained in ballet, often at foreign ballet
schools, were accepted. This is all the sillier as slowly but surely the dance creations of German
art dance are beginning to overcome the all too stylized and soulless figures of ballet dancing in
375
the great and culturally important dance groups in theaters. What is clear is that German art
dance stands on the edge of collapse. The economically weak but artistically recognized
independent artists receive no help from official sources, and as result of the opposition
mentioned and as a result of the economic situation in Germany face ruin. Important
representative of German schools of German art dance (Wigman, Palucca, Laban, Günther) are
desolate and face collapse. German art dance, which has advertised German culture in triumphal
march abroad (e.g. America and Japan) and could make German cultural propaganda à la
Fürtwängler [sic] with corresponding support, is about to die, unless the Propaganda Ministry
intervenes at the last minute.
What is to be done?
I. Measures that cost no money:
An official commitment to the importance of and necessity for German art dance. Without an
official prompting, the anxious and uncertain spirits will not be soothed.
Influence the specialist press and critics so that they no longer make propaganda only for
gymnastics, ballet and foreign ballet schools both at home and abroad.
Instructions to the Professional Association, to theater intendants, and to city administrations to
place more weight on German art dance and its cultivation and to open theater and meeting
places in greater measure to presentations of German art dance.
Instructions to Opera intendants to include in their ballet ensemble an appropriate percentage of
German art dancers, especially, since for other viral reasons, the penetration of ballet dance by
works of French and Italian origin must be countered by typically German artistic creativity.
Establishment of the training course of the coming generation of dancers and the setting-up of
suitable examination committees.
376
II. Measures that will cost money temporarily:
Temporary subsidies for the four essential leading dance schools, which without help will lose
their doors in September. This subsidy must last until 1 January 1935 and will cost 10 to 12.000
RM.
Make provision for the great tasks of German art dance. From the 6th to the 9th of September this
year the three German choreographers Laban, Wigman, Günther were supposed to demonstrate
their abilities in Venice at the invitation of the Italian government. A month ago the Italian
government postponed the event to 1936 because of lack of money. This is an occasion for the
Propaganda Ministry to intervene and to grant to this wonderful area of art, which has hitherto
been treated in Germany like an unwanted child, the possibility to develop its potential on
German soil and to show what it can do.
Execution of the measures under paragraph 2 would lead inevitably to the foundation of a
permanent dance theater in Berlin, which would make propaganda for Germany’s cultural
mission and development in Germany, in tours abroad, and above all at the Olympic Games in
1936.
I shall submit appropriate proposals in due course.
(signed) Keudell
Note for the files: Herr State Secretary Funk approved in principle the postulates stated above
and the points in the program at a meeting on 12 August [sic, correctly, July] 34 at which Herr
Min.Dir. Greiner and Herr Min.R. Dr. Ott participated. (signed) Keudell 13 July.
377
APPENDIX C
JOAN VON ZARISSA PERFORMANCES
Date
(Start of Run)
City
Ensemble
Notes
Other Works
on Program
20 January 1940
Berlin
Staatsoper
Uraufführung
No Choir in
Rondeau-Finale
Reger, „BallettSuite“,
Heddenhausen
„Tanz ums Dorf“
30 April 1940
Halle
Städtische Bühnen
Halle
No Epilogue
No Rondo-Finale.
Orff, „Der Mond“
12 May 1940
Hamburg
Hamburgische
Staatsoper
First unabridged
performance
Rimsky-Korsakow,
„Capriccio
Espagnol“, Mozart,
„Kleines
Liebesspiel“ (Les
petits riens)
27 February 1941
Stuttgart
Württembergische
Staatstheater
Program contains the
texts of the two
Chansons, with
German translations.
Orff, „Carmina
Burana“
30 April 1941
Chemnitz
Chemnitzer Oper
(Chemnitzer
Theaterfreunde)
Casimir von
Paszthory,
„Arvalany“
(Premiered as
Aschenbrödel
Goldhaar in
Dresden)
15 May 1941
Essen
Essener Oper
Orff, „Carmina
Burana“
16 November 1941
terminus ante quem
Essen
Essener Oper
Franz Willms, „Die
Stunde der Fische“
6 December 1941
Zurich,
Switzerland
Stadttheater
Orff, „Carmina
Burana“
20 December 1941
Berlin
Staatsoper
(For the time
being, on
Königsplatz)
New Production.
Blätter der
Staatsoper refers to
the Epilogue, but the
program lists only
„Prolog: Fritz Soot“
Orff, „Carmina
Burana“
(Berlin Premiere;
receives most
press)
Between 31 May
1942 and 6 June 1942
Berlin
Staatsoper
Berliner
Kunstwochen
Orff, „Carmina
Burana“
378
Date
(Start of Run)
City
Ensemble
Notes
Other Works
on Program
5 February 1942
Vienna,
Austria
Staatsoper
With Epilogue and
Rondeau-Finale
In preparation for the
Weeks of
Contemporary Music
festival
Egk conducted,
4.3.42;
25th performance,
19.5.42
Orff, „Carmina
Burana“
19 February 1942
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorfer
Tanzgruppe
No Epilogue or
Rondeau-Finale
Mozart,
„Liebesprobe“
11 April 1942
Prague,
Czechoslovakia
Balet Národního
divadla
„Joan ze Zarissy“
With Epilogue
Boris Blacher,
„Jižní slavnost“
(Fest im Süden)
10 July 1942
Paris, France
Théatre National
de l’Opéra
Paris Premiere
C. M. Weber, „Le
spectre de la
Rose“, orch.
Berlioz (90.
Performance)
L. v. Beethoven,
„Les Créatures de
Prométhée“ (56.
Performance)
11 July 1942
Paris, France
Théatre National
de l’Opéra
2nd Paris
Performance
Verdi, „Rigoletto“
(732. Performance)
21 October 1942
Paris, France
Théatre National
de l’Opéra
3rd Paris
Performance
Debussy, „Prélude
à l’après-midi d’un
Faune“
Ravel, „Bolero“
21 March 1943
Hannover
Opernhaus
Hannover,
Städtischen
Bühnen
With Epilogue
Müller-Lampertz,
„Bauernhochzeit“,
Kodaly,
„Zigeunertänze“
24 March 1943
Rome, Italy
Teatro Reale
Dell’Opera
„Giovanni di
Zarissa“
Mit Epilog
Program (Italian und
German): „Balletto
drammatico in 5
Quadri“
Stravinsky,
„L’Usignuolo“
15 May 1943
Leipzig
Opernhaus Leipzig
With „Epilog des
Narren“ (Epilogue of
the Fool)
Rudolf WagnerRegeny, „Der
zerbrochene Krug“
27 November 1943
Weimar
Deutsches
Nationaltheater
With Rondo-Finale
Orff, „Carmina
burana“
379
Date
(Start of Run)
City
Ensemble
Notes
Other Works
on Program
2 July 1944
München
Bayerische
Staatsoper (For the
time being, at the
German Museum)
With Rondeau-Finale
21 June 1947
Berlin
Staatsoper
Rolf Jahnke Tanz
Abend
18 October 1947
MönchenGladbach and
Rheydt
30 April 1949
Freiburg
Freiburger Theater
13 May 1949
Braunschweig
Hoftheater/
Braunschweiger
Theater- und
Konzertfreunde
Orff, „Carmina
burana“
29 May 1949
Freiburg im
Breisgau
Städtische Bühne
5 March 1950
Innsbruck
Landestheater
8 March 1950
Köln
Städtische Bühne
With Prologue
spoken by Gert
Fürstenau
Stravinsky,
„Feuervogel“
13 May 1950
Kassel
Staatstheater
With Prologue und
Epilogue
Dvorak, „Scherzo
capriccioso“
Ravel, „Bolero“
(als Ballette)
4 June 1950
Dortmund
Städtische Bühne
20 October 1950
Bremen
Theater der Freien
Hansestadt
Bremen
Reference to a
Speaker
Puccini, „Gianni
Schicchi“
October-November
1950
Buenos Aires
Teatro Colon
Choreography by
Tatjana Gsovsky
Orff, „Carmina
burana“
20 May 1953
München
Bayerische
Staatstheater
New Production
No reference to
Prologue, Epilogue,
or Speaker
Egk, „Chinesische
Nachtigall“
6 April 1961
Television
28 January 1962
Fernsehen I
Weeks of Modern
Art festival
Weeks of Music
festival (26 May to 3
Juni 1949)
Orff, „Die Kluge“
Orff, „Carmina
burana“
Ravel, „Bolero“
Delibes,
„Coppelia“
T.V. Production
Choreography by
Heinz Rosen
Bayerische
Staatsoper
T.V. Production
380
Date
(Start of Run)
City
Ensemble
Notes
Other Works
on Program
30 October 1962
Bielefeld
Chor des
Musikvereins
Bielefeld
Rondeau only
Reutter, „Die
Brücke fon San
Luis Rey“
Frank Martin,
„Sonata da chiesa
für Viola d’amore
und
Streichorchester
1 February 1963
Stuttgart,
Ulm,
Karlsruhe,
Konstanz,
Durlach,
Bonn, Hamm
Berliner Ballett
„Versuchung und
Verführung der
Isabeau“
Adagio aus
„Schwanensee“
Blacher, „Hamlet“
May 1963
Ostwestfalen
Metropole
Bielefeld
29 November 1963
Braunschweig
Staatstheater
Braunschweig
New Production
Killmayer, „La
Buffonata“
11 December 1963
[Letmathe-]
Hagen
Städtische Bühnen
Hagen
Evening of Ballet (2
Performances)
Strawinsky,
„Petruschka“
20 October 1964
Detmold
Landestheater
Detmold
14 December 1964
Paderborn
Landestheater
Detmold
Guest Performance
Prokofieff, „Peter
und der Wolf“
28 January 1965
Frankfurt
Frankfurter
Städtischen
Bühnen
Choreographie von
Gsovksy
(Same Run as March
Performance?)
Henze, „Maratona“
March 1965
Frankfurt
Frankfurter
Bühnen
Moderately
Successful
Choreography by
Tatjana Gsovsky
Henze, „Maratona
di Danza“
May 1965
München
Münchner
Nationaltheater
Internationale
Ballettfestwoche
Klage, Zorn und
Verführung Isabeaus
aus „Joan von
Zarissa“
Choreography by
Tatjana Govsky
Strawinsky,
„Feuervogel“
Prokofieff, „Peter
und der Wolf“
381
Date
(Start of Run)
City
Ensemble
Notes
Other Works
on Program
June 1965
Nürnberg
Städtische Bühnen
Bürnberg-Fürth
14 Weeks of
Contemporary
Theater festival
Evening of Ballet
1965
Choreography by
Hildegard Krämer
Orff, „Pulcinella“
26 February 1966
Halle
Städtische Bühnen
Run extended
Nothing
23 March 1967
Linz, Austria
Linzer
Landestheater
December 1967
Essen
22 January 1968
Belgrade,
Yugoslavia
16 June 1969
Lausanne,
Switzerland
Theatre Municipal
14 September 1969
Buenos Aires,
Argentina
Teatro Colon
15 Performances
December 1969 –
January 1970
Beograd
Nationaltheater
Beograd
3 Performances
4 April 1970
Seoul, South
Korea
Bangkok,
Thailand
Calcutta,
India
New Delhi,
India
Kabul,
Afghanistan
Tehran, Iran
Nicosia,
Cyprus
Cairo, Egypt
Malta
Deutsche Oper
Berlin
Die Versuchung der
Isabeau [sic] von
Joan von Zarissa
15 November 1970
Cottbus
Prokofieff,
„Symphonie
classique“
„Le Spectre de la
Rose“ nach
Webers
„Aufforderung
zum Tanz“
Boris Pilatos first
Evening of Ballet in
Essen
Choreography by
Heinz Rosen
382
Francaix, „Les
demoiselles de la
nuit“
Ravel, „Bolero“
Date
(Start of Run)
City
Ensemble
18 June 1970
Belgrade,
Yugoslavia
Theater Belgrad
27 June 1970
Berlin
Deutsche Oper
Notes
2nd Tableau
Deutsche Oper
Berlin
5 September 1970
19 September 1970
Berlin
Deutsche Oper
15 November 1970
Mannheim
14 November 1970
Cottbus
17 December 1970
Gera
2 February 1971
Birmingham,
Alabama,
U.S.A.
Alabama Ballet
November –
December 1971
Ljubljana,
Yugoslavia
Ljubljana Thaeater
12 Performances
15 July 1972
La Plata,
Argentina
Teatro Argentino
5 Performances
31 December 1974
Belgrade,
Yugoslavia
Dunav Film
Use of a two-minute
excerpt for a noncommercial
documentary
1980
Lübeck
Bühnen der
Hansestadt Lübeck
With Rondeau-Finale
Die Versuchung der
Isabeau von Peer
Gynt [sic]
383
Other Works
on Program
APPENDIX D
COMPILATION OF CULTURAL PROPAGANDA
PRESENTATIONS IN OCCUPIED FRANCE, AA PARIS 1115X
(Entwurf.)
Zusammenstellung der kulturpropagandistischen Veranstaltungen, die seit Antritt des
Sachverständigen des Reichspropaganda-Ministerium bei der Deutschen Botschaft Paris
durchgeführt wurden.
1942: 10. Mai
17.–23.V.
Liederabend Lore Fischer (Alt) – Hermann Reutter im Deutschen Institut.
Konzerte des Berliner Philharmonischen Orchestern unter Leitung von
GMD Clemens Krauss in Marseille (17.V), Lyon (18.V.), Paris (25,V),
sowie Werkpausenkonzert in den Pariser „Gnome et Rhône“-Werken.
18.–19.VI.
Prof. Wilh. Kempff mit Charles Münch und dem Orchestre de la Société
des Concerts du Conservatoire: 3 Beethoven-Klavierkonzerte in Trocadero
und Wiederholung im Théâtre Champs Elysées.
7.VII.
Schumann-Schubert-Abend Lore Fischer/Alfred Cortot im Salle Gaveau,
Paris
10.VII.
Franz. Erstaufführung des Ballettes „Joan von Zarissa“ von Werner Egk
unter Leitung des Komponisten an der Pariser Grossen Oper. Das Ballett
hat bisher 15 Aufführungen erlebt.
17. Oktober: Wideraufnahme des „Palestrina“ von Hans Pfitzner an der Pariser Oper in
Anwesenheit des Komponisten. Der „Palestrina“ hat bisher 12
Aufführungen in Paris erlebt.
31.X.
Konzerte des spanischen Cellisten Cassado mit GMD Herbert Carlier
(Lille) am Flügel in Salle Gaveau (31.X.) und im Deutschen Institut
(2.XI.)
384
29.XI.–
9.XII.
Konzertreise des Regensburger Domchores: Paris, Notre Dame (29,XI.),
Nantes (30.XI.), Angers (1.XII.), Tours 2.XII.), Poitiers (3.XII.),
Paris/Werkpausenkonzert (5.XII.), Chartres (6.XII.), Paris/Dt. Institut
(7.XII.), Rouen (9.XII.)
25.–27.XII.
2 Festaufführungen des „Rosenkavalier“ (25. u. 27.XII) in der Grossen
Oper Paris mit Martha Rohe (Wien), August Griebel (Köln) und Bertil
Wetzelsberger (München) als Gäste.
1943:
15.–24.I.
Tournée der Tanzgruppe Günther (München): Paris (16.I.), Bordeaux
(23.I.), Biarritz (24.I.).
7.II.
Orchesterkonzert unter Leitung von Eugen Jochum (Hamburg) mit den
Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire. Erstaufführung
des „Rondo giocoso“ von Theodor Berger.
26.II. und
6.III.
Konzerte des Kammerorchesters von Benda: Paris/Dt. Institut (26.II.),
Paris/Konservatoriumssaal (4.III.), Rouen (6.III.).
31.III.
Konzert des Geigers Gerhard Teschner im Dt.Institut.
12./13.IV.
3 Klavierabende Walter Gieseking im Salle Pleyel und in der Grossen
Oper.
18./22.V.
3 Festaufführungen der „Walküre“ anlässlich des 50-jährigen Jubiläums
der ersten französischen „Walküre“-Aufführung und des 130.
Geburtstages von Richard Wagner.
-2-2unter Mitwirkung von Hilde Konetzny (Wien), Marie-Therese Henderichs
(Köln), Joachim Sattler (Wien), Egmont Koch (Duisburg), Dr. Hartmann
(Duisburg) und prof. Rudolf Krasselt (Hannover).
18.–29.VI.
„Grand Festival Beethoven“ – 5 Orchesterkonzerte unter Leitung von
Hermann Abendroth. Solisten: Elly Ney, Wilhelm Kempff, Alfred Cortot
und Ginette Neveu.
26.VI.
Konzert Wilh. Kempff im Deutschen Institut.
385
1.VII.
Klavierabend Wilhelm Kempff in Vichy.
3.–17.VII.
Orgelkonzerte des Berliner Domorganisten Prof. Fritz Heitmann in Nancy
(3.VII.), Dijon (5.VII.), Paris/Radio Paris (8.VII.), Paris/Notre Dame
(9.VII.), Amiens (11.VII.), Poitiers (15.VII.), und Bordeaux (17.VII.).
Veranstaltung für Sprachschüler (Paris und Provinzinstitute.).
1942
12./21.V.
Liederabende Lore Fischer (Alt) und Hermann Reutter (Klavier) in Paris,
Angers, Blois, Cahtellerault, Châlet, Orléans, Poitiers, Tours.
4./15.VII.
Konzerte des Lübecker Kammermusikkreises in Paris, Angers, La
Rochelle, Langres, Le Mans, Nantes, Mennes.
29.XI.–
Klavierabende Eva Maria Woerz in Paris, Beaume, Belfort, Besançon,
3.XII.
Chalone, Dijon, Montbéliard.
5.–11.III.
Klavierabende Christine Purrmann in Bordeaux, Orléans, Poitiers, Tours.
20.–26.III.
Kammermuikabende des Kölner Kammertrios in Paris, Angers, Nantes,
1943
Belfort, Besançon.
14.–19.V.
Klavierabende Carl Seemann in Paris, Angers, Nantes, Tours.
26.–29.V.
Klavierabende Hans Borck in Paris, Orléans, Besançon.
1.4.VI.
Kammermusikabende des Strub-Quartettes in Angers, Bordeaux, Poitiers.
386
APPENDIX E
SD-BERICHTE ZU INLANDSFRAGEN
18 AND 25 OCTOBER 1943
SD-Berichte zu Inlandsfragen vom 18. Oktober 1943.
(Rote Serie)
Stellungnahmen zu der Wirksamkeit der deutschen Propaganda in Frankreich
Nach vielfachen Beobachtungen wird es als unbestrittene Tatsache bezeichnet, daß, von
zahlenmäßig begrenzten Ausnahmen abgesehen, die französische Bevölkerung nach dem
Waffenstillstand weitgehend eine deutschfreundliche oder zumindest abwartende Haltung zeigte
und auch noch in der darauffolgenden Zeit, als die ersten Schockwirkung der Niederlage vorüber
war und sich die zunehmenden Schwierigkeiten des täglichen Lebens bemerkbar machten, der
deutschen Besatzung durchaus wohlwollend gegenüberstand. Dagegen läßt das heutige Bild
erkennen, daß größte Teile des französischen Volkes deutschfeindlich geworden sing und sich
gegenüber allen deutschen Bemühungen anlehnend verhalten.
I. Ursachen der negativen Entwicklung auf dem Gebiet der deutschen Propaganda
Die Gründe für diese Entwicklung werden einmal in den schwerwiegenden natürlichen
Auswirkungen der Niederlage auf die wirtschaftliche Lage, dann aber in einer Reihe von Gehlern
in der Lenkung der öffentlichen Meinungsbildung gesehen. Aus allen vorliegenden Äußerungen
geht hervor, daß die deutsche Propaganda nicht den erforderlichen Anschluß an die Mentalität
des Durchschnittsfranzosen gefunden hat und heute keine Einflußmöglichkeit mehr besitzt.
Sowohl von deutsche wie von französischer Seite sind über die Ergebnisse der deutschen
Propaganda zahlreiche Betrachtungen angestellt worden, die weithin zu übereinstimmenden
Folgerungen gelangt sind.
In der Hauptsache werden dabei folgende Punkte hervorgehoben:
1. Die von den deutschen Propagandisten geleitete Propaganda gehe zu sehr von
deutschen Auffassungen und Methoden aus und berücksichtige nicht die besonderen
387
Voraussetzungen für einen Erfolg in Frankreich. Das besonders in der ersten Zeit angewandte
Trommelfeuer der deutsche Propaganda und das starke Auftragen der zu Grunde liegenden
Tendenzen habe die meisten Franzosen von vornherein in eine Abwehrstellung gegenüber
solchen zu deutlich spürbaren Beeinflussungsversuchen gebracht. Der Franzose bilde sich auf
seine geistige Selbständigkeit und Urteilsfähigkeit sehr viel ein; schreiende Plakate,
schlagwortartige Parolen und fertig formuliert Propagandabehauptungen erreichten daher meist
das Gegenteil der beabsichtigten Wirkung.
2. Die geringe Schlagkraft der deutschen Propaganda wird vielfach auf das völlige
Gehlen einer eindeutigen politischen Linie zurückgeführt, welch überhaupt als die
Voraussetzung und Grundlage für eine bestimmte Marschrichtung der Propaganda angesehen
wird. Infolge der Verschiedenheit der Auffassungen der zuständigen deutschen Stellen über die
Behandlung der französischen Probleme seit die Propaganda außerstande gewesen, ein
bestimmtes Ziel aufzustellen und planmäßig mit allen zur Verfügung stehenden Mitteln
„durchzupauken“. Im Gegensatz zu der feindlichen Propaganda, die in immer neuen Variationen
ganz bestimmte Themen behandelte, habe die deutsche Propaganda nicht mit konkreten
überzeugenden Argumenten aufwarten können, sondern sei gezwungen worden, sich auf die
Kommentierung der jeweils auftauchenden Fragen der Tagespolitik zu beschränken. Die
Verschiedenheit der hier vertretenen Ansichten habe aber die Propaganda vor unlösbare
Aufgaben gestellt und sie gezwungen, sich immer nur in allgemeinen Andeutungen zu ergeben.
Aus dem gleichen Grunde sei die deutsche Propaganda über die „europäische Neuordnung“ so
wenig erfolgreich gewesen, weil trotz der zahlreichen Verlautbarungen bisher niemals etwas
Positives und Konkretes von deutscher Seite gesagt worden sei. Sie habe keinem Menschen eine
Vorstellung von dem erstrebten neuen Europa geben können, weil die Verfasser der
Propagandaparolen teilweise noch selbst über ihre ansichten im unklaren wären.
3. Der in der ersten Zeit fast allgemeine Wunsche der Franzosen nach Aufklärung über
das neue Deutschland und den Nationalsozialismus sei nicht als Ausgangspunkt für die
Propaganda benutzt worden. Für Deutschland habe damals eine günstige Möglichkeit bestanden,
sich im französischen Volk Sympathien zu schaffen und diese politisch auszuwerten. Allgemein
habe damals ein reges Interesse für Berichte und Vorträge über Deutschland bestanden, während
gewisse geistige Kreise auch kulturpolitisch eine Orientierung nach Deutschland suchten.
388
Die deutsche Propaganda habe sich jedoch, ohne hierfür den Boden vorzubereiten,
bemüht, die Franzosen sofort zum Kampf gegen England und die übrigen Feinde Deutschland zu
mobilisieren. Die deutsche Propagandaformel, Churchill unablässig als den Ausbund
menschlicher Verkommenheit hinzustellen, hat – trotz der nach Dünkirchen weit verbreiteten
englandfeindlichen Stimmung – lediglich eine Steigerung seines Ansehens zur Folge, da viele
Franzosen erst durch die heftige deutsche Polemik auf die Bedeutung seiner Person bzw. seiner
Gefährlichkeit für Deutschland aufmerksam gemacht wurden.
4. Die Meinungsbildung der breiten Masse des französischen Volkes werde heute
vollständig von der feindlichen Rundfunkpropaganda beherrscht. Nach irgendwelchen
politischen oder militärischen Ereignissen hält der Durchschnittsfranzose solange mit
Äußerungen zurück, bis die Kommentare von Radio London vorliegen und sich
herumgesprochen haben. Der starke englische Einfluß dauert unvermindert fort, obwohl
England seit Monaten fortlaufend an Ansehen und Sympathie verloren hat und sich alle
französischen Hoffnungen den Vereinigten Staaten zugewandt haben.
Als wesentliche Ursache für den Widerhall der englischen Meldungen wird von
französischer Seite die Tatsache bezeichnet, daß die französischen Sendungen weitgehendst von
Franzosen verfaßt und bis ins letzte auf die französische Mentalität zugeschnitten sind. Die
Versprechungen und „Garantien“ bezüglich einer Wiederherstellung der Vorkriegsverhältnisse,
vor allem des materiellen Wohlstandes bleiben nicht ohne Eindruck, wenn auch ihre
Glaubwürdigkeit gelegentlich angezweifelt wird. Als ein Musterbeispiel der Londoner
Propaganda wird die Meldung bezeichnet, daß die Stadt New York die Patenschaft für das
vollständig zerstörte Lorient übernommen habe und die Stadt nach dem Kriege weitaus schöner
wieder aufbauen werde. Da der Franazose [sic] nicht mehr an einen deutschen Sieg glaubt,
klammert er sich krampfhaft an alle Versprechungen der Gegner, um wenigstens auf diese Weise
zu einem festen Standpunkt zu gelangen.
5. Deutsche Zugeständnisse, wie etwa die Aufhebung der Demarkationslinie und die
Rückgabe der Norddepartements an die französische Verwaltung haben keine positive
Stimmungsänderung bewirkt. Allgemein wird hierzu bemerkt, daß diese Maßnahmen vor einem
Jahr eine große Wirkung erzielt hätten, aber heute als Zeichen der militärischen Schwäche
Deutschland ausgelegt werden. Die tiefere Ursache für die wachsende deutschfeindliche
Opposition und die Zunahme der Terror- und Sabotageakte sei nicht zuletzt darin zu suchen, daß
389
es nicht gelang, die anfangs für Deutschland vorhandenen Sympathien zu erhalten und zu
vertiefen und einen größeren Kreis von deutschfreundlichen Franzosen zu schaffen, der in der
Lage gewesen wäre, ein Gegengewicht zu der Feindpropaganda zu bilden und das
Überhandnehmen der deutschfeindlichen Element zu verhindern.
II. Vorschläge zur positive Gestaltung der deutschen Propaganda
Wenn auch eine grundsätzliche geistige Umstellung des französischen Volkes von den
Auswirkungen des endgültigen deutschen Sieges abhängig sein wird, so stellt doch die Lenkung
der öffentlichen Meinungsbildung während des Krieges einen wichtige Teil Der geistigen
Kriegsführung dar, der mit den militärischen Vorgängen auf das engste verbunden ist. Zur
wirksameren Gestaltung der deutschen Propaganda sind von den beteiligten Stellen zahlreiche
Vorschläge gemacht worden, die im folgenden kurz umrissen werden sollen:
1. Einheitliche Ausrichtung der deutschen Dienststellen in politischen und
kulturpolitischen Angelegenheiten
Die Erteilung von Weisungen an die deutschen Dienststellen in Frankreich erfolge durch
drei verschiedene Reichsbehörden (OKA, Auswärtiges Amt, Reichspropagandaministerium).
Diese Tatsache habe sich dahingehend ausgewirkt, daß die nachgeordneten Dienststellen in sehr
vielen Fällen völlig entgegengesetzte Meinungen vertreten und in ihren Entscheidungen unsicher
würden. Eine schlagkräftige Behandlung kulturpolitischer und Propagandafragen sei nur bei
einer zentralen Führung möglich.
2. Stärkere Berücksichtigung der Führungsaufgaben gegenüber der Verwaltungstätigkeit
Die fehlende Ausrichtung auf entscheidende ziele habe dazu geführt, daß die deutschen
Dienststellen immer mehr zu einer reinen Verwaltungstätigkeit gelangten und die Regelung von
zahllosen Kleinigkeiten des gesamten französischen Lebens selbst übernehmen. Die
eigentlichen Führungsaufgeben seien dadurch stark in den Hintergrund gedrängt worden. Auf
französischer Seite habe man die deutsche Verwaltung für alle Mißstände und Nachteile
verantwortlich gemacht und planmäßig versucht, sie zu sabotieren oder totlaufen zu lassen. Die
deutsche Verwaltung werde einfacher und wirksamer werden, wenn sie sich in erster Linie auf
die Erteilung von Weisungen und die Kontrolle über ihre Ausführung beschränkte und die
Erledigung der verwaltungsmäßigen Angelegenheiten bei strengster eigener Verantwortlichkeit
den französischen Stellen überlasse. Anzustreben sei von deutscher Seite vor allem eine
390
konsequente, and unmerkliche Steuerung des französischen öffentlichen Lebens, nicht aber z. B.
eine weitgehende Übernahme französischer Belange in die deutscher Verantwortung.
3. Aufstellung eindeutiger, überzeugender Propagandaziele
Durch die allzu starke Abhängigkeit von den Tagesereignissen (verschiedenartige
Kommentare zu bestimmten politischen Problemen; wechselnde Haltung in der Behandlung der
Juden- und Freimaurerfragen) habe die deutsche Propaganda bei den Franzosen häufig den
Eindruck einer schwankenden Haltung hinterlassen und al Glaubwürdigkeit eingebüßt. Als
Gegengewicht zu den zahlreichen grundsätzlichen Verlautbarungen der Alliierten (AtlantikCharta usw.) seien auch auf deutscher Seite konkrete deutsche Erklärungen über den Sinn und
das Wesen der europäischen Neuordnung notwendig.
4. Aufklärung über die grundlegenden Auffassungen des Nationalsozialismus
In vielen Fällen sei die Hinwendung der Franzosen zu Deutschland durch falsche
Vorstellungen über die Grundauffassungen des Nationalsozialismus in Frage gestellt worden.
Vielen Franzosen bleibe das Wesen des Nationalsozialismus fremd und unverständlich, weil man
auf deutscher Seite unter falscher Auslegung des Wortes „der Nationalsozialismus ist kein
Exportartikel“ ängstlich vermieden habe, den Franzosen ein richtiges Bild von den Grundlagen
des Nationalsozialismus zu geben. Von deutschfreundlichen Franzosen ist als Beweis auf die
Worte des Führers in der Proklamation vom 24.2.1943 verwiesen worden, daß „die
Gedankenwelt unserer Bewegung Gemeingut aller Völker“ werde.
5. Stärkere Anpassung der deutschen Propaganda an die französische Mentalität
Die deutsche Propaganda spreche den Franzosen nicht an, weil sie in vielen Fällen bereits
durch ihre äußere Form für sein Empfinden fremd und aufdringlich erscheine. Wen die
Propaganda wirksam sein solle, müsse sie jeden lehrhaften Ton vermeiden und in möglichst
vielseitiger und einfallsreicher Argumentierung einen Tatbestand darstellen, ohne aber die
Schlußfolgerung selbst zu ziehen. Der Franzose sei aus Mißtrauen gegen jede „geistige
Bevormundung“ ängstlich auf eine „selbständige“ Stellungnahme bedacht. Die größten
Erfolgsaussichten werde die Propaganda im Hinblick auf die stark ausgeprägte Spott- und
Kritiksucht des französischen Volkes immer dann haben, wenn sie darauf ausgehe, den Gegner
durch Witz und Ironie lächerlich und damit unschädlich zu machen.
391
6. Einschaltung der französischen Initiative
Zur Ausarbeitung erfolgreicher Propagandamethoden sei die stärkere Beteiligung der
französischen Initiative unentbehrlich. Durch das Bestreben der deutschen Dienststellen, auf
dem Gebiet der öffentlichen Führungsmittel neben den Fragen der militärischen und politischen
Zensur auch nahezu die gesamte verwaltungsmäßige Betreuung selbst zu übernehmen, sei von
dieser Möglichkeit nicht ausreichend Gebrauch gemacht worden. Andererseits müsse bei der
öffentlichen Heranziehung von französischen Mitarbeitern auf deren politische und
charakterliche Eignung der größte Wert gelegt werden. Das Eintreten von belasteten
Journalisten für die deutsch-französische Zusammenarbeit sei nicht nur propagandistisch
ergebnislos geblieben sondern habe dem ansehen des Reiches erheblichen Schaden zugefügt.
7. Beeinflussung der führenden französischen Kreise
Die deutsche Propaganda habe sich bisher zu wenig bemüht, das Denken der
maßgeblichen franzosischen Gesellschaftskreise zu beeinflussen. Von den Engländern sei diese
Methode der unauffälligen Propaganda vor dem Krieg mit dem größten Erfolg betrieben worden.
(Bei der englischen Botschaft habe Charles Mendel sich eigens mit dieser Aufgabe befaßt und
hierfür über einen jährlichen Betrag von sieben Mio. Pfund verfügt.) Den neugegründeten
Vereinigungen „Groupe Collaboration“ und „Cercle Européen“ sei eine Einflußnahme auf die
maßgeblichen Gesellschaftskreise bisher nicht gelungen. Notwendig sei, um dieses Ziel zu
erreichen, die Vermeidung jeden offiziellen Anstrichs, die geschickte Benutzung wirtschaftlicher
Anknüpfungspunkte, die Beauftragung von geeigneten Persönlichkeiten mit entsprechenden
Mitteln und schließlich die Ausschaltung von belasteten Persönlichkeiten und
Konjunkturstrebern.
8. Geeignete Auswahl der maßgeblichen deutschen Persönlichkeiten
Auf deutscher Seite seien teilweise Persönlichkeiten verwandt worden, die nicht als
Nationalsozialisten bezeichnet werden könnten und deren politische Haltung bereits früher im
Reich zu Bedenken Anlaß gegeben habe. Die nagelnde Politische Ausrichtung wirke sich
besonders schwerwiegend aus, weil den deutschen Dienststellen auf französischer Seite
durchweg Verhandlungspartner gegenübertreten, die nicht nur hervorragende Sachkenner
sondern leidenschaftliche Patrioten und Kämpfer für die französische Sache sind.
392
SD-Berichte zu Inlandsfragen vom 25. Oktober 1943.
(Rote Serie)
Widerstände gegen die Aufführung deutscher Werke auf französischen Bühnen.
Der deutsch-französische Kulturaustausch hat auf einigen Bebieten, vor allem in der
Musik und im Film, zu einem starken Anteil deutscher Werke im französischen Kunstleben
geführt. Schwierigkeiten, die bis heute noch nicht behoben sind, stehen jedoch der Aufführung
deutscher Werke auf der französischen Bühne entgegen. Trotz der deutschen Beaufsichtigung
des gesamten französischen Theaterwesens und der Einschaltung verschiedenster Dienststellen
in fast alle Einzelfragen des französischen Theaterbetriebes werden heute auf den französischen
Bühnen weniger deutsche Stücke aufgeführt als vor dem Kriege.
Nach einer vorliegenden Übersicht brachten die Pariser Privattheater vor dem Kriege in
jeder Spielzeit mindestens fünf deutsche Stücke in der Spielzeit 1930/31 waren es sogar über 25,
worunter sich allerdings eine größere Anzahl von Stücken jüdischer Autoren befand. Während
der letzten Spielzeit haben die Pariser Privattheater kein einziges deutsches Stück aufgeführt.
Bei den Stücken, die in der letzten Spielzeit in den zahlreichen Privattheatern zur
Aufführung gelangten, handelte es sich überwiegend um die typischen Erscheinungen der Pariser
Unterhaltungs- und Gesellschaftstheaters. Der künstlerische Wert der Stücke war größtenteils
sehr gering; gegen den seichten Inhalt und die unzulängliche künstlerische Gestaltung wurden
auch von französischer Seite häufig Beanstandungen erhoben. Ein höheres Niveau zeigten
einige historische Schauspiele, die sowohl bei dem Publikum wie bei der Kritik sehr gut
Aufnahme fanden. Von einigen Autoren wurde der Versuch einiger ernsthaften Darstellung des
Gemeinschaftslebens und bäuerlicher Probleme unternommen; die Aufführungen endeten jedoch
durchweg mit einem Mißerfolg, da die Stücke schlecht waren und überdies schon wegen ihrer
Tendenz abgelehnt wurden. Einen Aktuellen politischen Einschlag zeigen vor allem das
französisch-nationalistische Stück „Souvenez-vous, Madame“ von Rostand m Odeon
(Staatstheater) und da antienglische Stück „L’honorable Mr. Pepys“ von Couturier im Atelier
(Privattheater). Nachdem in einer früheren Spielzeit der von der Comédie Francaise einstudierte
„Aiglon“ von Rostand wegen seiner chauvinistischen Tendenz keine Aufführungsgenehmigung
erheilt, löste das neue Stück bei seinen Aufführungen laufend Beifallsstürme aus, deren
politisch-demonstrativer Charakter unverkennbar war. Trotz der von deutscher Seite
393
bestehenden Bedenken, wurde gegen die Aufführung nichts unternommen, da nach der
Auffassung der Zensur die Franzosen die Möglichkeit haben sollten, auf diese „harmlose Weise“
ihre patriotischen Gefühle abzureagieren.
Das Stück „L’honorable Mr. Pepys“ behandelt eine Ende des 17.Jahrhunderts spielende
englische Korruptionsaffäre und enthält in seiner Handlung eine scharfe Kritik der Mentalität des
englischen Volkes. Die Aufführung eines Werkes mit derartig eindeutiger politischer und
antienglischer Tendenz stellt nicht nur eine Besonderheit dar, sondern zeugt im Hinblick auf die
allgemeine französische Einstellung von einem bemerkenswerten Mut des Theater. Das
Publikum nahm das Stück ohne Widerspruch auf. Die Pressestimmen waren gut, aber farblos
gehalten.
Die nichtfranzösischen Stücke, die während der abgelaufenen Spielzeit in geringer Zahl
aufgeführt wurden, fanden durchweg starken Beifall. Ausschlaggebend für die Zustimmung des
Publikums war nach den vorliegenden Feststellungen nicht die englische oder neutrale Herkunft
der Verfasser (Shakespeare, Shaw, Ibsen, Strindberg), sondern die Tatsache, daß der
Künstlerisch Wert der Werke das durchschnittliche Niveau der Pariser Bühne weit überragte. In
der Presse wurde in verschiedenen Besprechungen die Aufführung englischer Stücke als
erstaunlich bezeichnet. Shakespeares „Pygmalion“ fand beim Publikum und in der Presse
vielfach Ablehnung. Beanstandet wurde vor allem der Versuch, das typisch englische Milieu des
Stückes in das Fanzösische [sic] zu übertragen, wodurch der Sinn des ironischen
Gesellschaftsstückes verlorengegangen, andererseits manch englische Eigentümlichkeit
geblieben sei, die im Widerspruch zum französischen Denken stehe.
Als einzige deutsche Werke brachte die Pariser Staatstheater (Comédie Francaise,
Odeon) aus Anlaß des Hauptmann-Jubiläums „Rose Bernd“, „Fuhrmann Henschel“ und
„Iphigenie auf Delphi“ [sic]. Entscheidend für das Zustandekommen dieser Aufführungen war
nicht nur die deutsche Anregung, sondern gegenüber der französischen Verschleppungstaktik
auch ein gewisser deutscher Druck. Bei dem Publikum haben die Werke Gerhart Hauptmanns
zum Teil einen Sehr starken Eindruck hinterlassen. In einzelnen Kreisen, in denen man an einer
angeblich propagandistischen Absicht Anstoß nahm, wurde eine bewußte Zurückhaltung
sichtbar, die aber den Gesamteindruck kaum beeinträchtigte. Die Kritik schrieb über die Werke
in sehr positiver, teilweise begeisterte Weise.
394
Der Spielplan der Großen Oper und der Komischen Oper weist heute ebenfalls eine weit
geringere Zahl von deutschen Werken auf als in der Zeit vor dem Kriege. Die großen Werke des
Deutschen Opernschaffens bildeten vor dem Krieg einen festen Bestandteil des französischen
Spielplanes und erfreuten sich bei dem Publikum einer außerordentlich hohen Beliebtheit. Auch
in den ersten Jahren der Besatzung brachten die Große Oper und die Komische Oper noch eine
beachtliche Anzahl von deutsche Werken, die beim französischen Publikum einen unvermindert
starken Beifall fanden. In der Spielzeit 1942/43 ist dagegen der Anteil der deutschen Opern zur
Bedeutungslosigkeit herabgesunken.
Die Ursache für diese Entwicklung wird hauptsächlich in der deutschfeindlichen
Einstellung des Leiters der Großen Oper und der Komischen Oper, J. Rouché, gesehen. Obwohl
die Absetzung Rouchés aufgrund seine Deutschfeindlichkeit bei Beginn der Besatzung von
deutscher Seite als dringende Notwendigkeit und von französischer Seite als unvermeidlich
angesehen wurde, gelang es Rouché doch, sich bis heute zu behaupten. Ein weiterer Grund für
den Rückgang deutscher Werke im Spielplan, wird in der Auffassung der Propaganda-Abteilung
gesehen, daß die Pariser Oper in künstlerischer und technischer Hinsicht nicht die erforderlichen
Voraussetzungen zur einwandfreien Darstellung großer deutscher Opern, vor allem WagnerOpern, besitze und deshalb die Aufführung dieser Werke besser zurückstelle.
Von anderer deutscher Seite ist demgegenüber eingewendet worden, daß die Aufführung
deutscher Werke in Paris zunächst unter dem kulturpolitischen und dann erst unter dem rein
künstlerischen Gesichtspunkt gesehen werden müsse. Es sei nicht die deutsche Aufgabe, das
künstlerische Niveau der Pariser Oper zu heben; außerdem habe das französischer Publikum die
bisherigen Wagner-Aufführungen stets mit uneingeschränkter Zustimmung aufgenommen; durch
gelegentliche deutsche Gastspiele werde es einen umso stärkeren Eindruck von der Größer und
Vollendung der deutschen Kunst erhalten. Von Rouché ist der Wunsch der PropagandaAbteilung mit einer sonst seltenen Bereitwilligkeit erfüllt worden.
Die Abneigung der französischen Theaterleiter, deutsche Stücke aufzuführen, entspricht
der allgemeinen deutschfeindlichen Einstellung; die sowohl im Publikum wie auch unter den
Künstlerschaft anzutreffen ist. Nach außenhin tritt bei vielen Künstlern das politische Moment,
nicht zuletzt aus Verdienstrücksichten, in den Hintergrund. In ihrer Grundeinstellung ist jedoch
fast immer eine antideutsche Haltung vorhanden. Als bezeichnendes Beispiel für dieses
Verhalten wird auf die bekannte Sängerin Germain Lubin hingewiesen, die wegen ihrer
395
vermeintlichen Deutschfreundlichkeit auf deutscher Seite sehr großes Ansehen und
entgegenkommen findet, aber vor kurzem die Aufführung einer deutschen Oper unmöglich
machte und dazu in demonstrativer Weise erklärte, daß sie sich als Französin für französische
Werke einzusetzen habe. In Hinblick auf die steigende Hoffnung auf eine anglo-amerikanische
Landung halten es die meisten Theaterleiter nicht für ratsam, sich durch die Aufführung eines
deutschen Stückes festzulegen. Die Wünsche deutscher Stellen werden zwar in den wenigsten
Fällen abgelehnt; man geht scheinbar darauf ein, versteht es aber, die Aufführung des deutschen
Stückes unter dem Vorwand von personellen, technischen und sonstigen Schwierigkeiten endlos
hinauszuzögern oder nach Möglichkeit ganz zu verhindern. Die Verhandlungen und
Bemühungen um die Oper „Peer Gynt“ von Werner Egk, die kürzlich an der Großen Oper
aufgeführt wurde, haben sich fast ein Jahr lang hingezogen.
Trotz dieser nach außenhin unerfreulichen Lage, werden für die deutsche Kulturpolitik
doch noch gute Möglichkeiten zur Gewinnung eines Einflusses auf die französischen Bühnen
gesehen. Bei der Opernbühne kommt die Beliebtheit der deutsche Opern, vor allem die
Begeisterung des französischen Publikums für Richard Wagner, den deutschen kultur-politischen
Interessen weithin entgegen. Die Zurückhaltung der Großen Oper ist och vielfacher, sowohl von
deutscher wie französischer Seite vertretenen Ansicht im wesentlichen von dem Problem Rouché
bzw. einem entsprechenden deutschen Vorgehen abhängig.
Schwieriger liegen die Dinge bei der Sprechbühne. Jedoch wird es auch auf diesem
Gebiet als möglich angesehen, bei entsprechender finanzieller Unterstützung und Hilfestellung
gegen Schikane durch die französische Behörden, unter der großen Zahl der Pariser Bühnen
wenigstens bei einigen eine Bereitwilligkeit zur Aufführung eines deutschen Stückes zu finden.
Als wesentlich erscheint gerner die Auswahl von Stücken, die handlungsmäßig und
psychologisch dem Geschmack des französischen Publikums nicht allzu fremd sind. Der
Mangel an ausreichenden und geeigneten Übersetzungen, der in den zurückliegenden Jahren die
Hauptschwierigkeit bildete, ist inzwischen behoben worden.
Sehr bedauert wird in allen interessierten Kreisen, daß der Plan zur Gründung eines
deutschen Theaters in Paris, der dicht vor seiner Verwirklichung stand, nicht ausgeführt worden.
Das deutsche Bühnenstück hätte hierdurch nicht nur eine vor allen personellen,
konjunkturmäßigen und politischen Schwankungen unabhängige Pflegestätte, sondern überhaupt
396
den Ansatzpunkt für die Einführung deutscher Werke auf der französischen Bühne und ihre
weitere Kulturpolitische Auswirkung im französischen Theaterleben erhalten.
397
APPENDIX F
LUCHT REPORT ON THE FRENCH PREMIERE
OF JOAN VON ZARISSA
Propaganda-Staffel Paris
Paris, den 28. Juli 1942
- Gruppe Kultur –
BERICHT
über die
französische Erstaufführung des Ballettes
„JOAN VON ZARISSA“
von Werner Egk
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Im Spätsommer 1941 hatte die Gruppe Kultur der Propaganda-Staffel Paris
Besprechungen mit der Administration der Pariser Grossen Oper aufgenommen, die darauf
abzielten, neuere, in Frankreich noch unbekannte deutsche Werke der französischen
Oeffentlichkeit vorzustellen und womöglich ihren Einbau in den Pariser Spielplan zu erreichen.
In diesen Unterhaltungen wurde aus taktischen Gründen Wert darauf gelegt, dass bei der Leitung
der Oper der Eindruck bestehen blieb, dass sie die Auswahl aus einer Reihe ihr zur Verfügung
gestellter Partituren weitgehend selbständig und unbeeinflusst treffen konnte. In den
gemeinsamen Erwägungen wurde für die bevorstehende Saison zugunsten der musikalischen
Legend „Palestrina“ von Hans Pfitzner und des Ballettes „Joan von Zarissa“ von Werner Egk
entschieden.
Mit dem „Palestrina“ war die Wahl auf das werthaltigste Werk eines zwar älteren, in
seiner Ausstrahlung bisher jedoch fast auschliesslich auf den deutschen Kulturraum begrenzt
gebliebenen deutschen Meisters gefallen. Gegenüber der romantisch-eigenwillig versponnenen
Stilwelt und der ethisch überragenden Reife des „Palestrina“ trat mit Werner Egks „Joan die
398
Zarissa“ [sic] ein Werk vor das Pariser Publikum, das in seiner elementaren Theaterhaftigkeit
und mit seiner musikalisch wie dramatisch gleich urwüchsigen Dynamik Zeugnis für die
Gegenwartsverbundenheit, Fortschrittfreudigkeit und Gesundheit des neuen deutschen
Kulturwillens im Bereich des musikdramatischen Schaffens ablegte.
Der Komponist, der für die Einstudierung und ersten Aufführungen die Uebernahme der
musikalischen Leitung zugesagt hatte, fand sofort bei den ersten Besprechungen den lebhaftesten
Kontakt zu dem Ballettmeister der Grosse Oper, Serge Lifar. Dass Lifars fast enthusiastisches
Eintreten für den „Joan di Zarissa“ nicht zuletzt von den tänzerischen und darstellerischen
Möglichkeiten bestimmt war, die er für sich sofort in der Titelrolle erkannte, darf am Rande
vermerkt werden. Das brachte allerdings auch mit sich, dass die Gruppe Kultur sich hinsichtlich
der würdigen Vorbereitung des Ballettes keinen intensiveren Anwalt hätte wünschen können und
das der Komponist bei seinem Eintreffen eine choreographische Ausarbeitung des Werkes
vorfand, die ihm so gut wie kam hinzu, dass die bestimmte und frische Art der
Dirigentenpersönlichkeit Werner Egks sofort einen ungemein herzhaften Kontakt zum Orchester
des Opernhauses fand. Die unter seiner Leitung durchgeführten Proben fanden daher in einer
Atmosphäre allseitiger Einsatzbereitschaft und Spannungsfreudigkeit statt.
-2Verschiedene Aenderungen hatten sich aus Berücksichtigung der gegebenen Pariser
Verhältnisse ergeben. Auf den Prolog wurde verzichtet, da seine Uebersetzung auf sprachliche
Schwierigkeiten stiess. Das erleichterte dem Komponisten die Erfüllung von Lifars Wunsch, das
heitere Nachspiel zu streichen und die Aufführung mit dem Tode des Joan abzuschliessen. Die
im Original a capella gehaltenen Chorsätze, die die einzelnen Bilder des Werkes verbinden,
wurden von Werner Egk für die Pariser Aufführung instrumentiert. Die gelegentlich weiter
ausladende orchestral Stütze wirkte sich nicht nur für die Intonation der Chöre positiv aus,
sondern steigerte auch die geschlossene Gesamtwirkung.
Auch für die propagandistische Vorbereitung des Werkes brauchte angesichts der
Aktivität Lifars die Gruppe Kultur nur wenig Hilfestellung zu geben. Sie war darauf bedacht,
den interessierten Musikkritikern der Pariser Presse möglichst weitgehend die Proben zugänglich
zu machen. Für die führenden Vertreter der Pariser Musikkritik veranstaltete der Staffelführer
nach der Generalprobe einen Empfang im Foyer der Oper, um ihnen die Möglichkeit
399
persönlicher Fühlungnahme mit dem Komponisten zu geben. Darüber hinaus war sämtlichen
Pariser Zeitungen ein kurzer Abriss über Werner Egk und sein bisheriges Schaffen sowie ein
Auszug aus seinem Wiedervortrag über Fragen des zeitgenössischen Musikschaffens übermittelt
worden. Die Aufnahme von Beziehungen zu führenden Persönlichkeiten des Pariser
Musiklebens betrachtete Egk in seiner Eigenschaft als Leiter der Fachschaft Komponisten in der
RMK als besondere Aufgabe, Er widmete sich ihr mit Aufgeschlossenheit und spürbarer
Bereitschaft.
Die Aufführung verlief in Gegenwart des Deutschen Botschafters und des
Kommandanten von Gross-Paris in festlicher Hochspannung. Das Publikum liess sich bald von
der rhythmischen Dynamik, der orchestralen Kühnheit und melodischen Eindringlichkeit der
Egkschen Tonsprache fesseln und setzte nach dem ersten Solotanz der „La plus Belle“ (Solange
Schwarz) spontan mit lebhaftem Beifall ein, der sich dann allerdings über die einzelnen
Nummern und Bilder schnell und immer intensiver steigerte. Zum Schluss musste Egk mit Lifar
und den Solisten des Ballettes an die zwanzigmal vor den Vorhang kommen: Die Aufführung
des Ballettes „Joan von Zarissa“ hatte für die junge deutsche Musik in Paris eine Bresche
geschlagen.
Es bleibt an sich zu bedauern, dass sich infolge des Schlusses der Opernspielzeit vorerst
nicht mehr als zwei „Joan“-Aufführungen ermöglichen liessen. Um die Anwesenheit Werner
Egks noch ergiebiger auszunutzen, hatte das Musikreferat der Gruppe Kultur eine
Rundfunksendung angeregt. Sie brachte in 45 Minuten die wesentlichen Strecken des gut
einstündigen Werkes als Uebertragung von Radio-Paris. Dabei offenbarte die Musik Werner
Egks fast noch stärker als im Theater die Uebersetzungskraft ihrer absoluten Werte. Des weitern
wurde bei der Firma Pathé-Marconi die Schallplattenaufnahme einer auf Anregung des
Musikreferenten eigens für diesen Zweck vom Komponisten eingerichteten „Joan von Zarissa“Suite vermittelt, die in Kürze als erster Beleg der jungen deutschen Musik im französischen
Schallplattenrepertoire erscheinen wird. Gemessen
-3an der Tatsache, dass im Reich bis heute noch keine „Joan von Zarissa“-SchallplattenAufnahmen vorhanden sind, gewinnt dieser propagandistische Vorstoss doppelte Bedeutung. Er
400
beweist andererseits aufs neue, bis zu welchem masse von Entgegenkommen die französischen
Musikkreise sich für Anregungen der Gruppe Kultur bereit finden
Das Ballett selbst wird am 30. September unter Leitung des Komponisten wieder zu
mehreren Aufführungen im Spielplan der Oper erscheinen.
Der Widerhall der Aufführung bei Publikum und Presse war denkbar lebhaft und positiv.
Der Name Werner Egk ist für die Pariser Musikwelt ein Begriff und ein werthaltiger zeuge für
das kulturschaffende junge Deutschland geworden. Das Ballett Werner Egks hat damit bei
seinem ersten Start im Ausland mehr Aufsehen erregt und Anteilnahme gefunden als im Reich
selbst. Zum Vergleich sie darauf verwiesen, dass der „Joan di Zarissa“ in München, der engeren
Heimat Egks, überhaupt noch nicht aufgeführt wurde.
Die umfassende Auswertung der pressemässigen Resonnanz [sic] kann noch nicht
erfolgen. Sie wird nach Vorliegen aller Französischen Pressestimmen nachgereicht werden.
[Unterschrift: Lucht]
Leutnant und Gruppenleiter
401
APPENDIX G
EGK’S OMGUS QUESTIONNAIRE AND APPENDIX
402
I
D. CHROl\OLOGICALRECORD OF fULL Tli\IE EMPLOYME:.Yl' AND MJLITAlltY ｓｅｒｖｉｃｊｾ＠
I
\,
To
ａｲ｢･ｴｧ｣ｾＬ＠
Bis
1
'931...
..\..1i.9}6.
ｩｾｬＳＮ＿ｦｲ＠
Employe; and 1\<Jdress
o,r Mllitary Unit .
.keine
1940............... 1945
.l ... ｫａｾｮ･＠
I
arne and "lie o Immediat••
.
und ａｮｳｾｨｴＢｬｦ＠
odcr Mditiil'nnschrift
II
·36 ················1·1 ?40
ｴｾ＿＠
II). Ch••oJwloglsclu! Aufr.liblung jcgticlrcr lfnuptansldlungen rmd ､ｬｴＧｾ＠
29. Give a chronological history of your employment and military service beginning with i.st M .January 1931,
accounting for all promotions or demotions, transfers, periods of unemployment, attcndnnc<:: at educational
institutions (othot·· than those covered in Section B) ot· training schools und full-time Rcrvicc with pam
military organizations. (Part time employment is to be recorded in Section F.) Usc a separate line for cneh
change in your positions or rank or to indicate periods of unemployment o1· attendance at ll'uining schools
or transfer from one military or para military organization to nnothel'.
Super!or or C.'?·
Name und T1tel des D1cnstvor..
gesctztcn od. vorgcsctzter Offz.
ｂ･ｲｬｾｮ＠
ｾ［ＭＺｮﾷ＠
keine .......
. ｾｮｴＮｔｩ･ｪ＠
........ :KeJ:ne··
I
Position or Rank
Stellung ode-r ｄｊｃｮｳｴｾＧ｡､＠
.
.
Art dcr ｔｩｬｴｧｫﾫｾ＠
.,
·
1
Dufie•r and Responsibilities
. . und \i,crantwortp:ng.€berescb
.
J
·······I keine
,n. ｬｦ｡ｾ･Ｎｊｭｩｳｴｲ＠
ltiUtilrdi.:miE:$
29. Gci>en Sic in zeitlicher folge cine Aufziihlung Ihrer He!!Chiifti[Ung tmd Ibre• ｾｈｬｩｴｲﾭ
､ｩ･ｮａｉｾ＠
scit dem 1. .Tanuar 19:31 an, mit Be"rlindungen fur alle J$e'f.Onlernngen oder De""
gr·adi..r,"ltng•,n, Versetzungen, Arbcitslosigkeit, Ｑｾ･ｳｵ｣ｨ＠
nm Hildung:.amtalten (aul!er wlclum,
<lie hereits in B. angcfiihrt sind) odcr ａｵｳ｢ｩｬ､ｮｧ｟ｾｓ＼Ａｨ･Ｎ＠
und ｜Ｂｯｬｴｩ｣ｮｾ＠
in mifitiiriilmliehen
Organ;,ntinncn (Ncbcnheschaftigungen sind in Ahschnitt F'. anzugeben)• .lknutzen Sic eine gesondcrte Zeile fflr jcden Wechsel in Stellung oder Hang oder zur Angaf.e voo Arbeit!!lm;igkcits-Zcitahschnittcn oder fUr d,en Be5Uch von Ausbildungsschulen rnler fur Verset't.ungen van
ciner mililiirischen odcr militar.iihnlichen Organisation zu ciner anderen.
itcrundrlir:4n<l
Rea;:(!,:;:;{;,;"".J}S:t.f::,.iiiiU
ｾｲＮ､･Ｘｮｬ＠
""
I
f:rf'is.ohaffender Komp.. ··I
.von.. ｏｰ･ｲｮｶｯｾｴ＠
i frelschaffender ｋｯｭｰｮｲｾｴ＠
ｲＭｩｾ･ｮ＠
ｫａｾｮ･＠
I
.......... i
dea: ｄｩｾｬｴｮ＠
1
1p -:::-
KUl!digu.ng meiners.
i
i
t
·I
... ······r
403
f.,'.
i
····I··
···········l··················································
...... !..... .
30. ｗ･ｲｾ＠
you deferred from Military ｓ･ｲｶｩ｣ｾ＠
7 - 31. It so, cxplttiit circumstances complctc1y. - 32. Have you
ever beCn a member of the General Staff Corps? - 33. When? - 34. Have you ever been a Nuzi 1\filitury
Leadership Officer? - 35. When and in what unit? - 36. Did you serve ns pnrt o£ the Militm·y CQvcrnl!'cllt
or Wohrk1·cis administration in any country occupied by: Gcrmnny 'including Austria and Sudeten lund? 37. If so, give particulars of offices held, duties performed, location and period of Sc1·vicc. - 38. Do yon
have any military orders m• other military honors? - 39. If so, stntc whnt wus awarded you the date, reasons
and occasion for its bestowal.
30. Waren Sic vom Militar<lienst zuriickgcstcllt? .. ｾＮＱＺ＠
Umsjiindc an ..ｾｬｳＮ＠
Gcneralstliblc,r?
ｮ･ｾ＠
ｾＮｅＳｩ＠
Usterreich und Sndetenland, gedient?.ll.e.:in... 37. FallS
Diem:tcs.
n1cht ｾＺＮ･ｦｮ､＠
.......... :
....... 31. ll'nlls jn, gebcn Sic <lie gcnnucn
...Komponis.t... ...... ...........
.... 33. ｗ｡ｮ＿ｉｩｦＺＮｾ＠
luiul bcsch:ten Lander, ･ｩｮｳ｣ｴｬｾｨ＠
jn, gebmt Sic. Einzelheiten iibcr Ihre Amter und Pflichten, so..,.ie Ort und Zeitdaner des
Cl2. Wm·cn Sic
34. Waren Sic NS-Fiihrungs-
ofiizier? ................. 35. Wann und in wclchcm Truppeuvcrba\1<!,? .:
.l.l.;Gb.t.. b.etr..
36. Hahcn Sic in der Militiil·rogicrung odct· Wclll'ki'CisvcrwaHung il·gendcincs dct· Yon Dcu!sd1-
38. Sind Sic berechtigt, militiirische Orden odcr andere militiirische Eltrenauszeichntingen ·zm
tragen? ................. 39. Falls ja, geben Sic an, was Ihnen "erliehen
Grund
ｵＡｲｘｾ＠
fiit· die Vcrloihung , ·;ni:Cht.
ﾷｷｵ［ｾＺｬｽ･Ｎ＠
dns
ｄ｡ｦｵｩＺ［Ｌｾ＠
b-etref'fe-nG·· .........·.........,.,,..Ｚｾﾷ＠
............. f.
If you were a
-
ｉｔｾＺｨ｡｣ＧＡｲ＠
3: Insert
your ·
i:u1::. ｾｮＺｴﾷ＠
ｨｾｩｮ＠
you are no.
ｾ＠ｾＺｊ｣ｬｴｲ＠
ｩｮｾｨｶｯＡｲＺ［ｦ･Ｇｃｵ＠
office,· rank or post o.f attthority .listed in Column 5.
ｬｾ｣ｲ＠
- Column 2: InSert date on
if you are still a member. -
a
5
°!:dr Ｖｾｴ＠
ｃｾｉｵＺＡｨＶｩｳ［､ｴＥ
Ｐ
Ｐ
ｾ＠［ｾ＠
In der f<>lgenden Liste ist anzufii.hren, <>h Sic Mitglied einer der angefii.hrten Organisati<>nen wareu und welche Amter Sie daril1 bekleideten. Andere ｾｬｳ｣ｨ｡ｦｩＺ･ｮＬ＠
Handelsgesellschaften, Bursc.henschaften, Verbindungen, Gewerkschaften, Genossenschaften, Kammern, Instituten, Gruppen, ｋｯｲｰ･ｳ｣ｨ｡ＺｦｴｾｮＬ＠
Vereine, Verbande, Klubs, Logen oder andere Organisationen beliebiger At't, seien sic
gcsellschaf-tlicher, politischer, beruflicher, sportlicher, bildendcr, kultureller, industrieller, k<>mmerzieller oder ehrenamtlicher Art,
mit welchen Sie je in Verbindung standen oder welchen Sie angcsehlossen waren, sind auf Zeile 96-98 anzugeben.
1. Spalte: ,Ja" oder ,Ncin" sind bier einzusctzen zw.ecks Angabe lhrer jemaligen Mitgliedschaft in der angcfiihrten Organioation.
'
Falls Sie Anwiirter auf Mitgliedschaft oder unterstiitzendes Mitglied oder in1 ,Opferring" waren, ist, unter Nichtberucksichtigung der Spalten, daa Wort ,Anwarter" oder ,unterstiitzendes Mitglied" oder ,Opferring" sowie das Datum IlH'er
· Anmeldung oder die Dauer lhrer Mitgliedschaft als unterstiltzendes Mitglied oder im Opferring einzusetzen.
2. 'Spaltc: Eintrittsdatum.
'
3. ｓｰ｡ｬｾ･Ｚ＠
Austrittsdatum, fl!lls nicht mehr Mitglied, anderenfalls ist das. Wort ,gegenwlirtig" einzusetzen.
4. Spalte: Mitgliedsnummer.
5. Spalte: Hochstes Amt, hochster Rang oder cine anderwcilig einflnlbrciche, von Ihnen bekleidete Stellung. Nichtzutreffendenfalls
ist das Wort ,keine" in Spalte 5 und 6 einzusetzen.
6. Spaltc: Antrittsdatum fur Amt, Rang odcr einfluEreiehe Ste llung laut Spalte 5.
3
4
To
Number
Bis
Nummer
ｅｦｩｧｨｾｳｴ＠
rani<
5
Office or
held
HOehstcs Am.t oder
hOchster Rang
Date Appointed
Antrittsdatum
41. NSDAP
··········*··························
ｾＺ＠
..ｾｬｧ･＿ＧＮｈ＠
.......................... .
..ｾｬｩ･ＮＢｦｌ＠
ｾＺ＠
...
ｾＺ＠ ..ｳＮｩ｣ｾｬＱ･ｴ＠
ＨＩＮｾｲ＠
45. SA
46. HJ einsehl. BDM
ＴＷＺＭｎｳｯｾｊｩﾷ＠
ff.
.................................
48. NSDoB
v•
49. NSFrauenschaft
5o. :Nsrac
51. NSFK
52. Reichshlind der deutschcn Benmten
53. DAF
54. KdF
!>!>:. ｾｓｖ＠
nioht betr •
. 56. NS-Reichsbund deutschcr
57. NSKOV
......
················
58. NS-Bund Deutscher Technik
59. NS-Arztebtmd
60. NS-Lchrcrbund
61. NS-Rcchtswaht·et·bund
62. Deutschcs Fruucnwerk
63. Rci«hsbund dcutscher l!'nmilic
·····························
ｾＺＮ＠
ｎｓｾ＠
ｩｾ｣［｢Ｎ＠
ｻｩｾＩＮ＿ﾷＧｧ＠
........... !...................... .
............. !·
....
65. NS-Altbcrrcnbund
........ .
··············
66. Deutsche Stmtentcnschuft
Ｎ＿ｩＺﾷｯｾ［＠
ＺＮＣｾ［ｩﾷ＠
..
ＶｩＢｾ［､Ｈｦｴ＠
68. NS-Roichskdcgcrbund
......................................................
70. Rcicbskul!ut·kiunmcr
nioht
｢･ｴｲｦｾ＠
xomp.lll\\bea.?.6.
1 • Si ehe An.l.
Staat.sar1ghiv MunchEln
Spruch..ammer Ka }.5.9
Egk Werner
404
I
97.
98.
···········································-·············
ｾＺＭｶＡ､ｹｩｬｯ＠
［Ａｳｾ｡＠
Ｐ
Ｚｾｴｩ［ｲ
｡ｮ［ｙｯｴｬＺｾｺ
Ｐ
ｾｳ＠
ｳｲｾｯ
Ｕ
ｾｬ＠
ｾｧＺＡｴ［ｯ＠
ｗｾＮ＠
ｬｦｾｶＺｯ［ｉＡｕｴ＠
.
'
;;;n!2:·｡ｾｶＺ､ｏｳｹｴ｢ｦ［ｩ＠
hip to you and n description of the position and organization. - 103. With tb,c exception of minor contributions to the WinterhiJfe and regular membership
dues, hst and give details of any contributions of money or property which you have made, directly or indirectly, to th.e NSDAP or any of the other ｯｲｾ＠
ganizations listed above including any contributions made by any natural or juridical person ol" legal entity through your solicitation or influence. -
ｾＺＬｴｩ＠
ｴｩｬｾｳＬ＠
104. Have you ever been the recipient of any
Ｐ
Ａｾｲ
ｦｏｳｾｨｆｯ｡］ｕＺｉｩｴ［ｲ
Ｖ
､ｩｲ［ｾ＠
ｲｮｾ｡Ｌ＠
medals, testimonials or other
Ａｾ＠
ｩｾ｣ｬＱＡｳ＠
ｾ･ＺＡ｢＠
honors
ｾｧＲｲ･ｴＶＹｦｵ＠
from any of the above organizations? -
ｍＺｾ･ＱＹ［＿｡＠
｟ＡｯｩｾｦｶＱ･Ｚ＠
105. If so, state the
ｾＺＡ
Ｑ＠
･ＭｭｾＺ｢［＠
of any anti-Nazi underground party or groups since 1933? - 111. ·which one? - 112. Since when 7 - 113. Have you ever been a member of any trade union
or professional or business organization which was dissolved or forbidden since 1933 7 - 114. Have you ever been dismissed from the civil serricc, the teaching
profession or ccclesiasticnl positions or any other employment for active or passive resistance to the Nazis or their ideolOe,ay? - 115. Have you
been
ｾ［ＱＡＺｾ＠｢
:f Ｚｴｾ･ｲｨＮ＠
ｾｳｩＺ｡ｶ｣ＡＬ＠
ｴ｢ｾｳｩ＿＠
o:_ ｲＱＶｾ
Ｐ
ｩｦ＠［Ｚｵｰｨｾ｣ｮｩ･ｲ＠
muncs and u<ldL"csscs of tw·o persons who can confirm tho truth of ypur statements.
ｾ＠ｩｾ［ｲ･Ｚｬ＠
99. Sind Sie jemals zu einem Schweigegebot fiir eine Organisation verpflichtet
sation mid Einzelheitcn an: ......NJC.h:t....b.e.tr ..... .
ｷｯｲ､･ｾ＿＠
｢Ｚｾｳｴｙ
Ｐ
ｾｃＺＡｮＱ｛Ｐﾰｯｦｳ｡＠
ｾｲｮｬＺｦｓｳ＠
Cl"er
Ｚ､ｳｾ］＠
Ne in ... 100. Falls ja, geben Sic die Organi-
dill Jemals Amt, Rang oder cinfluBreiche Stellungen in irgendciner der von Nr. 41 bis 95 an101. Haben Sic irgendwelche ｖ･ｲｷ｡ｮ､ｾ＠
gefiihrten Organisationen haben? ...... ｾ＿ＮＺ＠
102. Falls ja, geben Si<l...d,eren Na!:Qen und Anschriften an, den Grad Ihrer \'crwandtsehaft sowie eine Beschreibung dill' Stellung und Organisation... l\Jicht oetreffend
......
103. Mit Ausnah}lle von klcinercn ･ｩｴｲｾｧｮ＠ｂ
·zur· Winterhilfe und ordnungsmiilligen Niitgliedsbeitriigen, geben Sie nachfolgcnd im cinzelnen aile von ｌｾｮ｣＠
direkt oder lndirekt an die NSDAP oder irgendeille andere der oben angefUhrten Organisationen gcleistcten
Beitrlige in l?orm von Geld oder Bcsitz an, einsehlieBlich aller au[ lhr Ersuchen oder auf Grund Illl'es Einflusscs seitens einer natiir.
lichen oder ju_ristischcn Person ode:r eincr and<;ren rechtlichen Einhcit geleisteten Beitrage ·kP·i-ne.. ..............
104. Sind Ihnen von einer der
ｯ｢･ｾ＠
'angcfiihrtcn Organisationen
\:!crc Ehren crwiescn worden? .......ｉｊＺＮ･ｾｐＭＱＰＵ＠
fftr die Verleihung ...
ｩｲｧｾｮ､ｷ･ｬ｣ｨ＠
Titcl, Orden, Zeugnisse, Dienstgrade Yerlieheu odcr an-
Falls ja, g:cben Sic an, was Ihnen vct·liehcn wurdc, das Datum, den Grund und AnlaB
·.. N:rcht. ·het'ie':f't.;:;ii <r·
·nicht ....
....................................................................................................ii'€!in:···
｢･ＧｴＺｲｾﾷ＠
·106. Waren Sic Mitglied cincr poljtischcn Pnrtei vor 1933 ?.................. 107. Falls ja, wclchcr7 .
108. Wclchc
politischc Pa.·tci hnbcn Sic in de1· Novembcrwahl 1932 gewahlt? Ｎｊｾｐｄ＠
... 109. Und im Milt·z 1933?.kei.ne..
110. Waren Sic seit 1933 1\lltglicd cincr vcrbotenon O}>positionspurtei odet• Ｍｧｲｵｰ｣＿ａｴＡｾＮＺｬ［＾ｩＳｊＧｶｨ＠
Ｎｑﾧｴ･［ｲｾＧｬｩｗ､ｳ＠
112. Soit wam1?
odcr vct·botcncn Gcwcrkschaft ｾｬＮＱｧ＠
42 ... 113. Waren ｓｩｾ＠ jcmals Mitglie(i cincr nach 1933 ｡ｵｾｧ｣ｬｩｳｴｮ＠
Berufs- odcr \Virtschnftsvcrbandes? G:DT/.ADMV......... 114. Sind Sic jemnls nus dcm llcnmtenstnnd, dent Lchrerboruf odcr aus
oincr kirchlichcn oder irg'lndciucr Stollung au£ Gmnd aktiven ｯｾ｣ｲ＠
pnssiven Widerstandcs gegcn die Nazis odcr Ihrc \Velttmschmmng
·1"9.
entlusscu worden? ...
!1- 9 1.n
..... 115. 'Vurdcn Sic jcn1als nus rassischca odcr rcligiOscn GrUnden oder wcil Sic n.l-:tiv ｯ､｣Ｑｾ＠
passiv den Nntionnlisten \Vidcrstand lcistctcn, in Huft genommcn odor in Ihrcr Bcwcguugs- ot!cr Nicdcdussungsft'Ciheit odor sonstwic in Ihror gcwcrblich<.Jn odcr bcxuflichcn Frcilieit bcscln:iinkt? Ｎｾ＠
.......... 116. Ist die Antwnrt auf cine dcr Frnpcn von 110 his
1'15 bcjnhcnd, so ｂＡｊＺｬｈｾ｣ＧｦＮｴ＿ｮｎｭｵ＠
und Auschriften von zwei l'crsonen, welch(> dies ｷ｡ｨｲＨｬｩｴｳｧ｣ｭｕｾ＠
bezcugcu kilnncn,
nnzufiilu·cn ..... ,......................................................................................... ........................................................................................................
·
Staatsarchiv Munchen
Spruchkammer Ka 339
Egk Werner
l TIW'llrtoi'tnutt<.>u nvnllublu
tles ｜ｉｊｕＡｴｪ｣ｬＢＧｲｾＭＮＩｩｯＺｳＨｮ＠
405
to tl\11; 1>::<uopnono
111 ＧＱｾｾＺ［Ｌ＠
Ｐ
ｾ
Ｑｩ［ＺＧｾＮＡＩｮｬｑ＠
00
•
ｾ＠ＧｾｊＺﾷ＠
"_l'i..,_<>-
ｾ＠
.....
4Q, ｾｮ､ｩｃｴ｣Ｎ＠
to.· 98" to
whetcr,
ｾｦＺＡｵ｛ｏ＠
ｾ｡ｊｴＺ＠
Ｐ
ｹ［ｵｾ
nnd wdte in the word
ＺＡｨ｣ｲｩｾｮ･ｦｯ［Ｎ＠
Ｚｾ［＠
ＭｾｦｵｳＺ［ｴ＠
ｩｬｾ･［ＺｦＡｮｫ＠
h·eld at nny
If you have nevcL" held an office. rank or post of nuthortty, mscrt the word
appointment to the offieo, rank or post of authority listed· in Column 5.
40.
it
followed by the date o.f your applieation
Ｑ
ｯｾｳｃｴｲｩ＠
none
JD
th;r ｾｩｬｲ＠
ｐｾ＠
Columns <> and 6.
till a
of ｵｅＡ｢ｩｾｳＺ［ｴｯｲ＠
Col
vour
·
I
In der folgenden Listc ist anzufiihren, oh Sic Mitglied einer der angefiihrtcn Organisatiouen warcn und welchc Amter Sie darin hckleidcten. Andere Gescllscbaften, Handclsgesellsci:aften, Burschenschaften, Verhindungen, ｇ･ｷｲｫｾ｣ｨｦｴｮＬ＠
ｇ･ＧＺｯｳｾｮ｣ＢｬｴＬＮ＠
Kati?mern, Instituten, Gruppen, Korperscbaftcn, Vereme, Verbiinde, Klubs, Log:en MP•· •n<lere Organisalfonen hehebiger It,. sewn SIC
gesellschaftlicher, politischer, her
· onh••l'·'-·- • ·• • :
••
h
llcr, ｾｯｭ･ｲｺｩｬ＠
oder chrenamthcher Art,
mit wclchcn Sie jc in Verbindung stan
StaatsarchtV Munc ｾＹ＠
.uf Zetle 96-98 anzugehen.
__
1. Spalte: ,,Ja" oder ,Nein" simi hier
. Spruchkammer Ka
gliedschaFt
der
'
Falls Sic Anwlirtcr auf ｍｩｴｧｬｾ＠
Egk werner
·;Ppfcrrmg ｷｾｲ･［＠
1St, _unter ｎｉｃｨｴ｢｣ｲｵｾＭＮ＠
tichtigung der Spalten, das Wm ..
. ___ ---· ＬＭﾷｶ｡ｵＮ］･ｾ＼ＢＧｬｖＡｴｧｮ､＠
oder ,Opferrmg ｳｾｮｶｴ｣＠
das Datum Iluet
Anmcldung oder die Dauer Ihrcr Mitgliedschaft al• unterstiitzendes Mitglicd oder im Opferring emzusetzen.
ｾ＿＠
I
｡ｮｾ･ｦｩｨｲｴ＠
ｏｾｧ｡ｮｩｳｯＮ＠
f
I·
F. PART TIME SERVICE WITH ORGANIZATIONS. I F. Mitgliedscbaft oder Nebendienst in andcren Organisationen
I!
117. With the exception of those you have specifically mentioned iu Scctiona' D and E above, list: a. Any part time, unpaid or honorary position of authority or trust you have held as a representative of any Reich Ministry ot• the Office o.t the Four. Year Plan or simila1· central control agency; b. Any office,
rank or post of authority you have held with any economic sclf·administration organization such as the Reich Food Estate, the Bauernschafte.n, the Central
Marketing Associations, the Rcichswirtschaftsltammer, the Gauwirtschaftskanrmern, the ｒ･ｩ｣ｨｳｧｲｵｰｮｾ＠
the Wirtschaftsgruppen., the Verkehrsgruppen, the
ｒ｣ｴｨｳｶｲｩｮｧｗ･ｾ＠
the Hauptausschiisse, tho Industrieringe and similar organizations, as well as their- subordinn.te or affilated organizations and field
offices; c. Any ｳ･ｾＺｖｩ｣＠
o.f any kind you have rendered in any military, paramilitary, police, law enforcement, proteetion, intelligence or civil defense organization such as Organisation Todt, Technist:he Nothilie, StoBtruppen, Wcrkscharcn, Bahnschutz, Postschutz, FuQkschutz, Werkschutz, Land- und Stadtwacht, Abwelll", SD, Gestapo and similar organizations.
·
·
117. Unter Auslassung der hereits in Ahschnitten D und E beantwortcten Punkte fiihren Sic an:
a) Jcdwedcs Nebenamt, einflullreiches rmbezahltes oder Ehrenamt oder Vertrauensstellung, welche Sie als Vertreter cines Rcichsministeriums oder der Leitstelle fur den Vierjabresplan oder libn!ichen Wirtscbaftsiiberwachungsstellen innehatten.
b) 4mt, Rang oder einflullreichc Stcllung jedweder Art, wclche Sie bei offentlich-rechtlichen ｓ･ｬ｢ｳｴｶｲｷ｡ｵｮｧｫｯｰ｣ｨｾ＠
innehatten, wic z. B. dem Reichsnlihrstand, den Bauernschnften, den Hauptvereinigungen, den Reicbswirtschaftskammern, den
Gauwirtschaftskammern, Reichsgruppen, \Virtschaftsgruppcn, Industrieringen oder iihnlichen Korperschaften sowie hei deren
untcrgcordneten und angeschlossenen Korperschnften und Gebietsstellen•
.c) Jl'glichcr Dienst in militiirischen, militadihnlichen, polizeilichen, Gesetzvollzugs-, Schutz-, Aufkllirungs- oder Luftschutzdiensten,
wic z. B. der Organisation Todt, der Technischen Nothilfe, den Stolltrupps, Werkscharen, dem Bahnschutz, Postschutz, Funkschutz, \Verkschutz,.der Land- und Stndtwacht, Ahwehr, des SD, der Gestapo und i!hnlichen Organisationen.
ｾＺ＠
I
To
Duties
Bis
Pllic)ltenkreis
.Il
I
·······/
ﾷＮｾＭＺ＠
,._·::.·:.·.·.·:::.·.·.·.·..·:.·..ﾷＮＭＺｾ＠
.........
....... ﾷＭｾ＠
···!····················· ·.
I·
········--····················-··········-···-········-······················
·····················•i'
..
G. WRITINGS AND SPEECHES
ｾｩｴＡＺｮ＾ｬＮＯｲｯ＠
........ I;.
I
....
,
I
I
G. Veroffentliclnmgen und Reden
118. List on n scpnrute shoot the titles und publishers of all publicutions from 1923 to tho present which were wdttcn in whole or iu pn.rt, Ot' cUIUpilt.-d 01·
ｾ｣］
ｐｾｵ｢ｩ｜ｴｳＺ［＠
ＡＬｾｴｩ＠
Ｌｾ
｛･ｾｬｩｮｧ
［Ｚｾ｣ｴＬ＠
date, and oireulation or audience. H they were sponsored by nny orgnnizntionl give
Ｕ
ＰＱ
Ｘ
118. Gcben Sic auf cinem ｅｸｴｲ｡｢ｾｧ｣ｮ＠
die Titelund Vcrleger aller von Ihnen seit 1923 bis :rur Gegenwart ganz odeJ." teilwcisc gescbrichcnen, zusammengestclltcn <>der ｨ･ｲ｡ｵｳｾｧ｣｢ｮ＠
Veroffcntlichungen und nile v<>n Ihnen ｾｨ｡ｬｴ･ｮ＠
affcutlichcn Ansprachen und V<>r· .
lcsungen mit Angabc des Themas, Datums, dcr Auflagc odcr Zuhorerschaft. Falls Sic untcr Obhut ciuer Organisation stnnd-en, gdJeu
Sic dcren Nnmcn nn. Falls kcine Rcdcn, Ansprachen ocler Ycroffcntlichungen, setzeu Sic dns Wort ,kcine" ein. Sieh·e····Arrla:ge
ｉＡｾ＠
!NCOl\fE AND ASSE'l,S / I-I. Einkontntcn uud Vcnniigcn
119. Show tho sont·cos nnd nmount o[ you1• muluul income .!1•onr Junuul'y '1, 1931 to dnto. II .l'Qeords nro not uYnilablo, give· nppros:imnte amounts.
119. Hcdcun:ft und Bctrligc des jlihrlichcu Einkommcns
ungcflihre Betriige :anzugcbcn.
year
YO!ll
1. Jmmar 1931 bis zur Gegenwm·t. In ErmnngcJung von Belcsen sind
Si ehe Anlage
Sources of Income - Eiukommonsquollc
Jnhr
1931 ... ! ｊＮｑＢＡｮｐ＿ﾧｾｴＹａ＠
1932
I
ﾷｾ［＠
1933
1934
II
II
II
II
... ｾｮＹＺ＠
..................
... ｐＮＺｴ［ｲＱｧｾｮ＠
. II
Betr<>S
··i .30.00.-
Werke. .. sc.hatsungsw..
II
II
I
II
. j ..
·················;;·········""'"'"""""''·······"""""""·······;;············"············;;··············"""'
0
·•::i••••· ｋＮｾ｡ｬｭｩｴ･ｲ＠
... ｽ＿Ｎｾ＠
.. :..
ﾷ｡［ｾｴｯｰ＠
··········r'. ,'·........ :...................................'........... · ·
............................... ........ ... . .........
｡［ＮｬｾｩＬﾷＺｊ＠
··
•
ｾﾷ＠
II
••
•
... .
I
I$
••••
4000 .. -
·I Ｔｾ［Ｌ＠
····,r·······················;·····································ii..............................................ｩＮＺﾷｴｾｳＭ･Ｌｲｫｬ＠
·n························································ ...
1935
...ｾＮｩｬｴｮｲＺ＠
Rmount
0
0
0
•
0
'
'
ＭｾﾷｲＮ［ＡＺ｟＠ "
II
..
; ..
))4-1 .• -
1Sfl0ll·'f'
"
a
2
a
406
.-
and the names and
fu,rtheranee of Aryanization decrees
ordinances f -
124. If so,
120.. llmen oder unmittelbaren Angehiirigen Ihrer Familie gehOriger Grundstiicks- oder Hausbesitz. Erwerbsdatum, von wem ･ｲｷｾ｢ｮＬ＠
Art der Hauser, ｇｲｵｮ､ｳｴｩ｣ｫｾｂ･＠
in Hektaren, und die iibliche Verwendung des Besitzes sind anzugeben .
................................................
ｾＭＺ＠
.......................................................................................................................:..................... .
121. Haben Sie oder ein unmittelharer Angehoriger Ihrer Familic jemals B.esitz erworben, welchcr anderen Personen aus politischen,
rassischen odcr religioscn Grunden entzogen oder anderen Personen enteignet wurde im Vcrlauf der Besetzung fremder Lander
oder zwecks Forderung der Ansiedlung von Deutschcn oder Volksdeutschen in von Deutschland besetztcn Gebieten? --ne-i-n-122. Falls ja, geben Sie Einzelbeiten an, einschlieJUich Zeit- und Ortsangaben sowie Namen und gegenwartigen Aufenthalt der urspriing-
nicht betr.
licl1en Besitzer .....
·
.
. ........
123. Waren Sic
nungen ｾ｡ｴｩｧ＠
...
ｪ･ｭ｡ｬｾ＠
·······-·························
...
,.
ｾ＠
'
ａｲｩｳ｣ｵｾｧＧＺｬ｡･ｮ＠
ｎ･ｾｮ＠
als Verwaltcr odor .Treuhiindcr fiir jiidischen Besitz zwecks Forderung von
.
·
. ,. · .
oder _,·erord-
·nicht betreffend
................... 124. Falls Ja, geben S1e Emzclhcitcn an .......................................ｾＭﾷ＠
.. ······························-
I. TRAVEL OR RESIDENCE ABROAD/ 1. Reisen oder Wolmsitz ini Ausland
125. List all journeys or residence outside of Germany including milita.ry campaigns.
125. Ziihlen Sic aile Reisen odcr Wohnsitze auBerhalh Deutschlands auf (Fcldziige einhegriffcn).
ｃｯｵｮｩｲｬ｣ｾ＠
ｖｬｳｩｦｾ､＠
Dales
Land
Purpose:- of Journey
Zweck der Heise.
Datum
ｾ＠ :;:; ＡＺｾｯｦｵ｡ｹ＠
ｾＺ｣ｩｲ［ｳｵＧｴｬｮｶＭ､Ａﾷ］ｯｦ･＠
held,
duties performed., location and period
ｯｾ＠
service. -
131.
ｴＺｾｩ［＠
［Ｚ･ｾ＠
ｻｾ･ＡＺ［Ｑｊ＠
h-y ｩＺＡﾷｊｦ｣ｴｯ＿｟ｬ｡ｏＬｳｾ＠
List foreign
languages you speak: indicating degree of fluency.
····Anl-age
126. ·Habcn Sie die Reise auf eigenc Kosten untcrnommenhl.- .... : 127. Falls nein, auf wessen Kosten?
............ 128. Welche Pcrsonen oder Orgauisationen
____-_-_-_· .·.·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_· _·.·.·.·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_·_· _-_-_-_-_-_:·.·.·_·_: ·.:·.:· ·.: . . . . . . . . . .
ａｩｾＭ｡ｧ･＠
Sic bcsucht? ....
p'!s:J:!ia;;· Ａｾ＠
ｨｾｮ＠
.........................................................................
129. Haben Sie jemals und, falls ·ja, in welcher Rolle in dcr Zivilverwaltufig in cincm der von Deutschland cingegliederteu "Oder :besctztell
.................................................................................................. ······-····························
Gehictc gcdicnt? :........... N.e-in .............................
130. Falls ja, geben Sic Einzclhcitcn an fiber Ihr Amt, Iluen Pflichtenkreis, sowie Ort und Zcitdauer des Dicnstcs. -Ni-c-ht-- -betr.
······· ·····-······--·-················
131. Kenntnis frcmde.t; Sprachcn und ｇｾ｡､＠
·ｦｲ｡ｮｺﾷｾ＠
dcr Vollkommcnheit.
f Bemerkungen
• REt\IARKS
¥e in.e..ｾ｟ｊ｜Ｎｬｧ｡｢･ｮ＠
ｾｯｨ＠
ｾｮｧ［･ｲ｡ｵＮＭﾷ｣､Ｚｬｶｯｴｩｦ＠
ｾＡ｣ＭｦﾷｬﾢＮｧｲｩＳ｢ＬｱＺｊＱ＼＠
ｭｾｲ＠
... habe .. ｩＮ｣ｨｾｮ｡＠
ｳｾ･＠
bewusst,dass
itaTi"enTsch
riissisch hlf. ［ＮｾＭ･ﾷＺ＠
ＢｉｻｯｮｶﾷｾＭ
·······Kenntrr:iJ3"se·
...........................
·
...b.es.t em vi.is.sen un.d-· .Gewis-sen gemaeht; doeh bin
wegen Mangels an Unterlagen in Einzelheitem
..bTeib"en ｲｮｵｳｴ･ｾ＠
ｄｦｾｳ･ﾷＭｵｮｶＶＱｬｴｩ､Ｎｧｫ
.'h.a'be ich
J eweil.s .... se.lb.st.. >.g.ek(m.nze-iohl:l.-et····l:l.nd····sie-·-enthelt ﾷｫ･ｩｮｲｬＭｖｳ｣ｨｵｾ
.t!Pt.E?;t7.s.QP.,;r..if.t....1.s.t....u.nt.e.:r..... dent..hi.er
\
ｏｬｾ＠
CEl\'ffiriCA'fiON
ｾ＠
ｴｾｚＢｦ＠
Ｑ
ｍＧｴｯｾＢＺ＠
Ｑ
ｾＯ［ｵｫＺｮｹ＠
·ﾷＭＮＬｾ｜ｳＱｦｴｱｵｮｧ＠
｢ＡｵｾﾷＺｬ
Ｑ
ｵＺｾｲｯ
IMi\mlllA'l'E
Ｖ
ｬｴｈｉｊＮｭｲｯＧＭＩ･ｮｳ｜ｾｧ＠
tles
·
ｲｾＺｮｬﾷＮｗ｜ｩ＠
ｩｾＡＧ＠
Ｓ
Ｑ
im nnhtnllll dill' mh•
\
ｓｴ｡ｳｾｧｨｩｶ＠
ｊｾ｣［ｴｬＨ｜ＧｵＺＩＱＮ＠
1\'lit Ausnnhmo dot· ｮｵｬｴｾＡＺＬＧＢ｜Ｑ＠
.
.,o,.,.,•.,... _,•.....,
ｓｴｬｎｾｕｏ｜＠
solobll
ｮｬｵ｜Ｑｾ＠
｜ｾＱﾷｬｭｮ､ｵ＠
ｾＭＢＺＮ＠
Mlinchen
ｰｲｵ｣ｨｾＮ｡ｭ･＠
Egk Werner
407
Ka 339
·
IU\1'
ｳｩｮｾｬＩＮ＠
ＡｾＺＢｬ･ﾷ｜ｦＧ
Ｑ
Ｂ＠
"''
l'mtktll sllt<l
V\lr.£\IQ'\\l\g t.\t\lll\1.ll\dt"ll1l •.II
,nlafen
·DTfi.t'll#.l'. -·; E•. s-..- k
ｯ｡ｾＮｴ＠
＾｜ｳ［ﾷＡｾ＠
oa-d .d •""'O ".
.--: ＧＭｾ＠｣Ｚｾ＠ lf. t! :StH:. d :t Ｍｾ＠
Zne!eJA3.d A.m:).!l7 .tt2.37 ｗｬＺｲ＾､･ｴＮｳｾｩ｢ＢｦＧ｣ｨ＠
•-:.:ra(h uA. t: ｾｬＮｮｧ･ｳｴｶﾫＨＬｪＧ＠
.. ＡＭＧｉｾﾷＺｲｸ｟＠
ｾＺﾣﾷ＠
::_,?.0
ｲＧｾＮＺｚｰ＠
ＮｾｦＬ｣Ｚﾷ＠
ＢｾＮ［＠
,::"'<•·.
L..
her nl s ｋｩｾｄＴＧｉｬ･Ｎ＠
ｾＮＡ＠
r:..;c_'·
0
ｾ＠
ｴｾＮＭｸｲｬＬ＠
·_;
Ｚｾ＠ｾＮｴ＠
ｲｴｩＧｏＡｦｾｬｳＬ［Ｎ＠
ＭＧＡ｜ｬＩＮｦ
> ri
•_·i ·-,.
ﾷｾＮ＠
Ｍｾ｜＠
•
Name Mayer> in den Na:'len
lJ.tf.r> von mit> ｳ｣ｨｾＭｮ＠
ｶｯＺｾﾭ
Ｙｫ＠ｾ
_,, o: -,"" 1
+;:;.;1
Ｔｾｦ＠
for>der>te ioh ｃ｜ＭＡｬ［ｐｦｴＮｾＺｊ＾ｘ
Ｇ＿ｾｘＡＭＮ＠
ｾｲＭＮｦ･ｬｩｮｧ＠
auf, von 1:;
:Etanzel herab zu .r>klaren_, dass Chr:J..stentum un:l Nationa.lsozi.
; ｳｾＱＮｩﾷ＠
;:;... · •; • · ｾＮｈｩ＠ sinus unvePeinbar>t ｴ｡ＡＧｦｬＮｾｯ＠
Ａ｀Ｇｬｊｾｨｩ＠
､ｾｺｩ＠
Q..M&'tli ch
dieser> Tatsache bewu-s$1 Ｇ＼ｙｊ｡ＮｔｾｉｦｵｩＺ＾＠
dd.oe<e:-t ｧＮｾ･ｮｩｬＺ＾Ｍｲ＠
-eugab 1 lehnte er es
. _·;ry_)i··I' :.;c·3.d ｾＮｨ･ｲ＾＠
ａｵｦｯｲ＾､･ｮｧ［ＮｾＬｩｬｃＺｚＧｕｊＭ＠
Da.:?t.D.4.'Mn wel.gerte ich ;:;.'.c
meinen SoS,.!f.-r ｜ﾷｲ･ｩＦｾＮＺｬＧＡｊ＠
ｩＺｦｬｴＮﾥｊｮ･ＭｪＬｾｰｳｲ＾｣＠
zu schic!< en
da. ich im Zuf.: ｣ｾ＠
Zu Elf"5d Ji.e'h'i wurde nicht Mitglied der ｒＺｇｩＭ＼ｭｾ｡ｴｬＡＮ･ｲＬ＠
eines Ｌｧ｟ｲＮＺｴ［ｊｾ｣ｬｓａｩｐｨ＠
ｾﾷｴＭＺＮ＠
ｉ＾ｎｦＮｩＡｗ｣ＦｮｊＺｬｾ［ｲｳｴ｡､･＠
gegen natio· \
ｳｯｺｩ｡ｬｴＹ｣ｾＺＭ［ａＮﾻ＠
.. ｡ｊＱｐｩｬＧﾷｾＬＮ＾［Ｚ･ｴＩ｣ｨｙｳ＠
nic':t ertrn. ｾＺＭＧＮ＠
, t§',:t Trotzdem. ｾｪ［ＹｬＺ｣Ｎ｜Ｑ＠
ｺｾ＼ｆａＺ･ｨ｡ＹＭｴｳｬｩ＠
ter Komponist-::-n
ernannt. Dieser Ernennung wider>setzte ioh mich nicht, in ､･ｾ＠
sicht im Interesse meiner> Kollegen den Nazis entgegen zu arte ten.
von De
3") DUl"Oh
£10 i:: uwn::.nrt!hT 'l!ft{i!.tlli"S:tlf:lfN:.P.·
'r ·:nto ＮＺｴＧＡｩｵｾ･ｓｬ＠
:.i...:.: L!:·SW
r:
｜Ｍｾ＠
x
c
'r .t.nV!
,. 11\'
e$l!l
l J .·;: .[r[(,V[
"". ·': ｾ＠ 1:1 ｬＧｦＺ｣Ｍ､ＮｍｾＬ＠
-" .v
ｬｾｴｳｩｯｨ･ｮ＠
!;,<te
''!d) ul: ｡ｾ｢＠
ｾＬ＠
e
408
ｐｩｾ＠
allnt 1 i ch ｾｭ＠
ten
dan ｓｯｨｷｴＮｾ･ＺｸＭｬｭ＠
ｬｴ｡Ｚｰｮｾｩｳｭ＠
､ｾｳ＠
ｦｩｨｾ＠
ｊｩ＿ｾ｡Ｍ
vom
Autoren
do West ｡ｵｾ＠
ｂ･ｾｮｑﾭ
ｭＮｯｴ･ｾｩﾷ＠
Zu E fJ6/'97/t<J8
Genossenschaft deutschar Tonsatzer
Gallhornkreis Berlin
Novembergruppa Berlin
Verainigung fur zaitgenossische
·,: ,e u . : L
' : :tinlsi'lt·, Mttnrehen.<> r· · t.f'i\
. Ｌｾ＠
v
·• Ａｬｾ･ｩＭｮｲｦＮ＠
,r(;'
f
Ｇ､ｾｴｳＺｃＱｬﾷｍｵＮｩＡｶｉ＾･ｮ＠
ｏｲｧ｡ｮｩｳ･ＮｴｬｾＧｦＺ､Ｍ＠
.J c
S:ta\1.4 ﾷｾｰ｝＠
.
) · ＧﾷｳＺｴ｢･ＢｬｩｵｧｾＮ［｣ｨ｡ｲ＠
ﾣｾ＠
J
->1
;..t:l' u ｮｾﾷ＠
·!J.· ·
r- r
., '!
t! .•
i1
ｾ＠
..
j
.
::::
af
ｊｴｩｧＮｍｬＦＧｓｏＡ｢ｾ［･＠
• 'L•
'·1:_;
-·
L
ｩｾｖ＠
ｾ＠
't .
-...;
--o.: .., J i
8eb
• . .. •
ＺｴＡｦＮ｜ｮｾ＠
.,.. '.BU!finen;;;. ·
aut oren
' ｨｾ｜ｬＬｳＧＹＮｲ［Ｚｩｴｰ＿ｯ｢ﾥ＠
. ·''
.a ｩｴｾＰ＠ｏＺｾｩｬ＠ｐｯｩｬｴｾ＠
ｊ＿ｾｬＧｴｳＬ＠
t··
, ·
,r
• .r
•;) .c-:; :J v EtFband (i.en tJsrehlet>: Buhlllen sclu;•i f·t-
r
:
• ｾ＠
D ·:
::- j
ｾﾷＺ＠
t ·;
r. ·
t
ｍｩｊ･｜ｴｫＮＺＱＭ､ｳＧｏｬｦ｡ｾﾷ＠
lt92§ b. ｾＮＡＹＳ､Ｚｓ＠
1.@3·2 b • .Auflosung
1942 b.gegenwartig
b;gegenwat>tig
· · ＱｾｩＴＺＲ＠
b .gegenwiirtig
ｴｾＴＮＱ＠
b.gegenwiirtig
u'nd
L •• · ｾ＠ >1
·
ｾＧｬＮｩＡｓｴｄｦｮ･ｊｯ｡＾｢Ｔ｣Ｚ＠
b. Aucf'losung
ＱＮｾＳ＠
j'
ｾｩｴｰｵｮｫ＠
'Stla.&Jaige't'lkt:, ｦｾｃ･ｳ＠
. L ｲ･､ｊｴｾｮＬ［ＧｩｬｵｦＮＺ＠
._ , ·
Unrcl" ＱｃＧｏｬｩｾｮＺｳＮｴｲ･＠
:l.'l) 2'8
1928 b. 1930
1929 b. ll.'bc'<tt}
ｩｾ･ｊ＿＼ｮ｡ｲｴＧｯｬ＠
ｾ＠
ｾ･ｬＡＶＮＰｃＺＱｮ＾ＢｦｩｯＧﾷｴ＠
·
.. r: :. ·· ..
:l
r-' ＼ＧＢｾ＠ ?.
···:
:1
··
ｾ＠ｦｾ｡ｧｬｩ｣ｨ＠
C'
ｾＳｴｳｌ＠
- 3 -
409
I
3
ＬＭｾ｢･ｬｧｴＺ｟ＧＮｅｮＡ｡ｩＫｦｯＨ､＠
Zeugen:
l
;
t-:
ｖ･ｲｬ｡ｦＴＮａｾ｜ﾥｴＬＺ［ｰ､＠
ＧＮｃｉＺｾ＠
ＡｦＺ･ｾｴＢｊ［ＧＩ＼ｎＱ＠
ＺｙｾＮｬＭｲ･＠
Ｎｾ＠
_-.f. i
Jn
:f.i)'f
Wei b3r-e Wer>ke ＭｾｲｩＧｴｮ＠
;'i)
J•
n
ｾ＠
［ＱＱＹｾＳＧ＠
ＭｾＢＶ＠
ｾＭＬＮ＠
ｾ［Ｚ＠
ｴｾＦｊｩＩ［＠
t.
'inl'e.l'tr> Ｈｴ｡ｾｗｷＮｦ･ｩＧＢｨｐ＠
wegen angebliahen nKul ｴｵｲＧｱｬＮｾｯｩｗｦＺｌＬ＠
,Die ｋｾｮ･Ｚ［Ｓｴｩ｣ＭＢ＠
"dar Lowe unJ ａＮｾｯ＠
ｽｾ｟ｵｦｐｊ＠
und so fort. -"-- ·
Ｑｾ＠
ＱｾｶﾷｦＧ
ｰ｟ｯｬｴｩｳＭｃｨ･ｮＮｾｧｫ｡ＲｲｵｌｺＡＺｊｓｄｅａＬＱ＠
ﾷＺｾ＠
'::.
ＬＮｏｾｌ｟［ｊｩｪｳ＠
• · "'·
｣［ＡＬＮ｟ｮｴｾＱ＿ﾱＭ
ＭＺｾ＠
t• ·:
ｾＺ｣Ｂ､ｐＱｬ･ｩ［ｲｳｊｉｴｮＧ｡ｦＮｯ＠
;..,
Ｍｾ＠
ＮＱﾥｾｳ＠
-i.
ｾＺＱＬｌﾷｵ＠
ｴ［ＧｊＬｩＮｉｓｦＺＯＡＨｾｲｪＢ＠
"'r1
'j_ ;L"
Ｚｴｮｾ［ｅﾣ＠
'
ﾷＧｾＮ＠ｾＺＯ＠ :, . ｾ＠ｾ＠ e/. ＺＱｾ＠
'' -
rte ·_;.
;_,;j'u '_;(:; .:::_,j)
.tf!.)
'i '" 1lht
ｩｬｾ［ｳ｡＠
ｴｩＭｾｶ｟＠
:1
ｲＮＺｮｾ｡ｩｴｬｈｳｃｊｨｇｓ［Ｌｉｵ･ＧｂﾷｚＭｏ＠
"leJrrF
:_off •
ｾｩＭｋＶｲｪＤＺ､＠
:r ｾ＠
1
ＨＧＢＡｾ＠
Ｎ｡ｾ［＠
['"'
.....
r
t):J'""L!lq ＧｬｦｴｊｓｭＮ＾ＤｾＰＱ･ｵｳ､ｻＭｒｩｑ｡ＺＬ＠
rrl: r.r,, ·;cw·' 1:tJ:t ｮｾｬ･ＮｴｊＱＧｐＦｦＬｩｒｗ＠
ｾｊ＠ cw J .L1 ｾ＠
· ＧｉＡ｡｢ｳＱＺｂｾ＠
ｾＬ［＠
ltl
ＬｏｰｾＢＧｩｮ＠
Ｎｐ｡ｾ､ｳ＠
.--
f\,11 tift--L"t"' ·it 1-r·f
1-
'•
r.
'
o'"'::,'_
•r,
ｦＡＹｾ＠
｟ＡＱＧｊｨｾ＠
Lf{!ext
Ｎｙｾ［＿ｬｪ､＠
id'&.fg:l:!
ＧＡ［Ｑ｜ｊＺ＼ｗｾｓ＿Ｔ｡｟Ｌ＠
und.
､ｩ･Ｎｾ｡ｬｴｂＧｮ［ＦＭＬｕｊｈ＠
!:1ull.'t>.
,2,"dem Muller
Ｚｅｳｯ｣ｈｩｨ｡ｭｬＧ［･Ｎｊｮ､ｾＦｧﾣｲ＠
ＮＺﾷＬｾ＠
ＭｾＢ＠
ｹｾ［Ｌｲｴｩｮ＠
wuraan:
':' · «
·. ,j
•. •
f1 n /
ｾｕｲｦｬＳﾣｩ､Ｎ＠
0.!'
· ,. .｟ｴｾＧｦＺＭ｜ｬｕＤＬＮ＠
Ｎｩｾ＠
c)
' - . tt
·. ·.);:.
＼Ｚｾ＠ . ｾ＠
tol!lr%in·d·.lllnstt'u.,...;
'·•·
1
·t':·.,' ·.dF'
,'}
,_l,,_.a«
ｬｦＺｾＡＭｊﾷｩｕ＠
ta
ｾ＠
2.
··-
ｾｩ｡ｬｦＮｴＬｵ､ｮｫｲ･＠
.ｾ［Ｎ＠ｊｾﾷｵＬＺ＿ｆＧｴＴＭＮ＠
ＰｾＭ
Defai t i s·:u; ｾ＠
gege-belP.hat.
1d'•o .. r
t:- Cn
:· r:J
ＺｐＮｦｵｬ｡ｴｾｮｫｈＭ
｜ｒＵ｢･ｲｴｾＺｳｦ＠
ｾＱｴｧ＠ｳ
rd:
A
ｩＭｾＺＮＱ
ｾｱｨＺＮ［ｩＧﾷ･ｴｬ＠
•Jf·::<:
. _-
fE.d'"l"<? tJ:Vt fiOl!Wfll.SlliHhi
ＶｩｲｴｾＺｵ｟ｮｒﾻｪ｢ＤＱＡＬＧＭＮ＠
ij>"i..fln.· ｣ｐｾｚＧＶＱｴ｟Ｍ
ｾ･ｦＱＰｴｨﾣｲＮｪｊｩＧＭﾷｖ＠
ｾＧ＠
'serg6: ｾＺ｛［ｦｴＮＦＬ＠
ＭｾＮＱ､＠
meiner
dar
die in :::: ･ｾ＠
Ball ett-
Hanke
. ｾｲｳ＠
ｾ＠ HI},
Ｌｲ［Ｎｾｩ＠
·
tntermezzo"
.. .,
ｱＮＬｾｳｴ＼ＺＧ＠
ｾ＠ｾ･ｳｊ［ｰＺｖｧＦｄ＠
Ｚｾ＠
ｭＡＺｴｇＢｾｈｬＮｦｓｳﾧｩＧｵ＾ｯＭ［｡･ｮａｍ＠
._ ..
''---
ＺｦｫｵｰｾｮｧｲＭ＠
:r-L: ··
ﾫﾷ｟［ｾＺ＠
I<
tJ§ft:'lif\!
·uLieit
. • ,w''"'·"''J'}
Ｎｌｾｈ＠
:<:<·- ·--:!•J..e·:_; Ｇｾｬｊ＠
c
;;·o nn J:.Da:J te r."!Wtre\l
: :;.t:o· ·:u.t.. c0a.te ｉＡｆＧｕｖＮｃｨｩｊｬｦｓｴ｡Ｌｾﾷ＠
ｾＭ［ｲＢＮｩ､ＧＺﾷｉ＠
,J:!jrt'J.tffn·D•aP ｾｯｷ･Ｎ＠
•
Ａｙｾ＠
aeus: ｩ､ＺｂｾｴｮＧｶｳｲｬＡｹ＠
ｾＭＺｲＪ［ｩ
'u
;)
Ｑ
ｾＭ･ｷ｟ＺＴｴｺＬ
t':T
c; _;_')
ｷｬｲｾ･ｴｩ＠
ＬｌｑｾｨＺｦｩｬＡｴ＠
ｾ･､ｩ＾ｯＭ｡ｦＺｈｧ＠
ＭＮｾＮｾＺ［ｬｩ｜ｍﾣ･ｴｦ＠
l:.:t .LT
ｧｲ＾ｑｓｾＬｮ＠
Ｔｴｾｩ＠
ｾＮ＠
...
ＰｾｦＱｬＭｴ＠
· Ｚ｟｣［ｵ｡ＮＧＦ＾ｊｬ＿ＬｯｩｾｓｭﾥＢＭｺｷｳ＠
•..
:r; ｾｲﾷＬ＠
ﾷｌＧＮｎｮｦＸｊｾＱＴｯ＠
:tr;·_J:
·- · · · '-- ｾＭＺ＠
ｾＭＬ
Ｇ､ｓｩ［ｪＬＭｍＺｲｈＡｨｮｾＮｐｚｉｦｃｬｴｰｶ･｡＿ａｄ＠
c: ｴＡＧＹＺｮｾ［ＬｩｬｦＵ｜Ｋｓ
·. r,"•
:_
Ｍｾ＠
-
Ｔｬｲｾ＠
_dar
Ａｾ＠
ｾ＠ＭｾＰｧＴＬｒｩｳ［Ａｴﾷ＠
--''C .
•
Ｚｾ＠
ｦＡｾ＠
r
ｾＭ
｟｡ｾｳ･｣ＬＹＮ＠
"· ｮｺＧﾧｵＺｧ･ｦｩｴｬｄｅｨｲｊｾＡ＠
ｾＺＮ＠
·-
1• '.,.,'("
:4er .-_lt'?ia_l!1'L
ＮｾＨ･Ｌｮｲ､ｩｳ｣＠
ｵｮｾ＠
_#non ｊＺｾＭ＿＠
0
An-rang 1'14nscnweo·te e1Ii -verran t-rn-geget( mJ. ｣ｬｦＧｩｴ･ｾＭｮ＠
- Ｍｾ
-.r.c
ｾﾷＮＧ＠
...
w er>den,
Ｚｂ｟［･ｩＮ｡｢ＩＬｬｴＭｾＧ＠
Mi ｴｧｬＺｉ｟Ｎｾｃｊ･ｲＭ
Q,_es ｾ｡ｬｴｩＮﾣ＿Ｌ＠
sem "zusci'rn:nel)harig- ｶ･ｾｯｊｩｭｮ＠
meister, ｓｾｬｮｧ･＠
ｓｾｨＡ｡Ｇ＠
r
ｾｨＱｲ｣＠
Dr.tuchng un}
Willi Str-ecker, Wiesbaden, Bierstadterstr. 60.
cten
ｑｊｩｾｯｴ･ｬＧＮ＠
fit
Ruihl!unk• .,_
61!1Jf,r><
ＺｩｾｳｦＮｲﾷ＠
Nr'- ＼ｉｾｩＺ＠
l'J:'JJi;r·
ｾ＠
b·" ·.;
-b1
,, . ;: ·· 1 ＾［ｾ＠
.. ､ｾ＠
c:._; .ic
;nt• !Un.dal'stliicke
ｾ＠ .riiu\tMMU'IJtUt n:
ｊｴ｡ｾｮｯｩｓ＿ＭＪＱＮ｟＠
cc _t
Jt
ｍｓｬＬＮｦｾｊｳｭ＠
'
iel'.b
>'H.
ｾ＠
Ｎｴｾ｣ｦＩｬｊｪｩ＠
i!lei $1: s ｴＡｬＮｾ＠
1932
1932
;a [ i.!:i.
·-;o:i:.tllHi
r" \">a:
& r..J to. :t
J!!U'l :£n'J:.1 ".
'"i tr ｾ＠
410
1930
1.930
1931
li
M .:!' l _;) I d
i'l0" -.
lt\32
!134
ＱｾＡＵ＠
19S6
ｕｾＳＸ＠
'.ＮｮｏＡｬｾｧＬｨ･＠
ｾ｡Ｎ｟ｴｰＫＡＭＧＺＢＱ＠
.·.
·
)
ＬＮＢ＼Ｉｾ＠
Ｎ｟ｬｦＧＬｾ＿［ｗ｡ｓＢｲＺＴｩ＠
ｅＧｬＺ｢ＮＭﾢｾＱＡＴＬｊｴ＠
ｲ［ｴＧｩｬｾ＠
ｬｾ･［ｦＡ｡＠
.. ＼ＺｊｂＬｾｩﾷ＠
er-r,n;acJi:G_ed':tcl}t'e:n
ＺｊﾷｾＭ
Ｍｾ＠
'.
.t ·
t" ;,
•
ＮｬｴＬｾＡＧＹｦｐｳ･ｲ＠
ｾＰＭｱｨｴＬ･ｰ＠
. u
vf?_n liort:v
·t_...r
.
't
ﾷＭｾＺＮ＠
4
Ｍｾ＠
' .. -··.·
__
i936
..
1.937
•
"Mein Vaterl··ndn .Chor nach Worten von ltlopstock
- :) >: ｾＭ ·
Ｌｾ＠
ｊｦｬ＿･Ｇｾ＠
nJoa;n;
:: .·) ·.: ＺｾＧＢｭ＠
ｾ＠ＮＭｾｶ｡ｩｦｴｯｉＧ･［＠
｣ｇＭｾｮﾷ＠
,,(}-per> ｪｾＧＤｴﾷ＠
\rott Ｇｚｾｲｦｓﾷ＠
'Q;9c ｾｵＭＫＮｫ＠
ｮＮｾｴ］［ｦｵ､ｩＧ＠
- j j · ] (: .<_::-.
,..
ｾＮｔｴＶＬ［｟ｲ＠
ＭｾｩＧｫｷ･ｮ＠
_,;_tftr_·- Ｌ［ｴ｜｡Ｇｻｾｲ＠
Ｍｾｵｮ＠
ｮｊｴｩＮｲｾ･Ｍｳ＠
Ｑ
1939
Hun·d 'arch.
iius:ik von Egk •.,
u:.
ｩｾＧｯ＠
ｾｲｩｬＧｙｴｳＤ｣ｨ＠
ＱｾＳＸ＠
L'- ｾＢ＠Ｍｾ＠
J-·,;-ocriuriibu·g, t&p:r, Yeit'
ni.
, ¥0,U :;mgk
ＧＺｓ｡ｬ･ﾷｾｆ＠
:fn; ｾｱＬｩｴｵＱｳ｢ｆ｡ｮＮ＠
1938
t•
1940
1942
"!ri' ·anderan "Veil-
.•_Ｉｩｾｮｳ｟Ｇ＠
eti ｾｖ･ｲｬ｡ｧＬ＠
ｕｦｾｴｯＧｮｶ･｡ｧ＠
•• ·;; l :·. ') j'·B
'Kopenhagen
:B'erl:i:n
i932
1041
.
ｾｩ＠
_, .A.u:fsatze und Feuilletons in Zeitungen und Zeitschri:rten •
.e,l "ｾ＠ｾ＠Ｌｾ＠Ｚｾ＠ :r-' ｾ＠ . ［ｇｾ｜ｬ＠
ﾷＱＴ［ＬｾＺＧｴ＠
ｴｲｾｐ＠
Ｇｗｾ､＠
ｾｳ＠
［ｾ｜Ａ＠
ｩｾＧｮ＠
e,;
_.»!(i: ｾ｡＠
ｾＭ･ｴＡｬ＠
yolk seine
,,
e ｾ｟＿＠
:t'tn
_ ;,warnung vor. dem Kriegen
1 <r.o,t,
ｾＭｩ［＠
ｮｨＭ･ｦｴｲｩｧＧ＾［Ｌﾷｾｳ｣ｶＢｊｵｈ＠
in der Munchncr>• t · ＭｾｊＮＬｵ［ｧｳＧ｢･ＢＴｮﾷ､＠
ｾｩｴ＠
tung,' .,:irmaJ'ahnEv•$924,. Ｍｾ･ｵ＠
Pol.yphoni en in
,Das Konzertn una. ana.eren Blattern 1.924, li'll'SikkJ;>itiken una einzel. r1J,,
ｮＮｈｬｍｕＺｓ｡ａｊＦｾﾧＧｐ･ｩ｢ＡｨＬｌｴ＼ｲ＾｜ｳ＠
1g,:a&. ｦﾥＹｾ＠
ｭＮＺｦＬｾ＠
ｾＭｮｩ｣ｨＺｴ＠
lf:lehr fest stellc_ a<:: ｳＧｬＹＭｷｴｾｊ＠
ｴｾｍｓＮＡＧ＿Ｙ＠
ＴＧ｜ｴＣﾧｩｪＭｾ＠
¥! ｾｮ､＠
:B ･ｾＺｰＮｴ［Ｙｨｕｉ｡ｓｮ＠
. ｾｯｮＺ＠
·¥Usi kbilch ern i::1
Kulturteil de:t:> nVolkischen :Kulturn Verlag Il·imJ;lert, Dresden,
·-· . .cd'-c• .,, ＢｾＧ｟ＬＳｩ＠
［Ｍ｟ｾｩ＠ . Ｓ｟Ｍｾﾷ＠
__ ｾ｟ｬｫｴＮＭｯ［ＺＢ＠
_ ｳ｟ｰｾ･ｬｭ｜ｩｫＢＬﾷｖｯＮ［ｴｑｨ｡ｓｐ＠
ｾＬｩｮ｟［Ｚ＠
ｾｵＭ
ｾＮＡＭ
,,.., • >J ＧＭｾｎｊｩ＠
· ｍｩ＿ＭｴＬＺＮｾＴ･Ｆﾥｋ｡ｦｭＰｮｫＣｊｻＩｧｲ＠
mpo l i tik n
. ,p;ti ｴｾＮﾧＺｳＧｮＡ｝Ｌｧｲ［､＠
ｯｐｾｵｴＮＨ＿Ｌ｢ｊﾷｧ･､Ｂ＠
ｴＢｾ･ｪｦＧ｡ｨＺｐ＠
upd ＮＭＺｈ･ｦｾｮｵｧ＠
nPflicht zur ＦＭＧ｜ｊｳＮｾｮ＠
. ＭｮｾＮ［＠
..Ｚｾｮ､＠
Anfang " • Bei der Ueberfuhrung
､･ｾＺｲＳｩﾥＹ｢ｨＭＡ［ｐｶｊＱｵｈＮＢｰ＠
ＹＭｓ＿ｾ［＠
ｎＺｩｴ＿･ｾｧＮＡｮｶ［ｬ＠
ｾＭｱｮｴ･ｲ＠
dem Titel
ndas Volkn ｓｾＦＫｊＮ･ｪ［Ｌｰ＠
l,lfEl:l;.UjF..-,Mitar>belt ein, aa Jie ZeHscht>ift
von da· an ｮ｡ＮｴＺｯＡｳｺｦｕｩｾｨ･＠
OhaNlkter tr>ug. :Mein·J Mitar｢Ｎ･ｩｴｦｬ｡ｮＧ＾ＭｯｫﾱｓｨＺ＼Ｑｾｕｲﾷ＠
ｽｬＭＨｴＮＺ｢ｾｮ､ｚｷｅｈＩｫＧﾷＢ＠
gegen die
moderne Musik gerichteten !llendenzen det- Parted unter dem Schutz
e_i, ｮ･ｾＮｩｴｂＧＡｨＭﾧｧｬＨｈｵｦ＿ＺＫ｟＠
ＡｩＧｊｈｾ｟ｧＮﾷ＠
ｂｾｺＺ＠
_ ｾﾥＧｗｫｲＭｬ｜＠
Dazu ware nach
dex- Umwandlung in .• nDas ｶｯＺｮｴＬ｟ｾｦｲｬＡ［＠
ｍｯｾ［｡ｬｫＬｴ＠
ｾ･ｨｲ＠
gewesen. OhneJJ;i.n. WUr.:>de ｭｾ＠
e .. ｔｾｴｩｧ･＠
sghon J.m Jal:!:r>e iti26 ais parteifeindlioh
'::E:J..t
em;plt-uncl'en ..
｢ｾｫｬＧｨＱｽＺ･ｴＳｊｩｦｧｓ｣ｍ＠
ｾ｡ｭＺｴｳＧｯｨｲ･ｩ＠
tsdienst Mun;· i'i t?l:
Ｑｩ＠ Afig'Pi!tl!' ｾｨｧｮ＠
ohen ｳｴ｡ｾＮｕ･ｩＭ､Ｂ＠
ｾｩＱｳｴ･ｮ
··mid. 'duPoh einen Aursa.tz:
•n-!i.nJilt"l slila dneistt :Q i on.tu sonstoili.z. •:. • :.1•1• • ,, ., ｾＬ［＠
·e'lX3ehi en en l m Februa r
it'S5 in ｬＡｳｾｲｦｍｵ､ｩｫｨ＠
, ､ﾷ･ｭｾＮｴＺｩｬｲｯｨｮ［＠
MnstlN:J).i.l''ga.,n :\de!" Pa!"tei.
-o
,
•
Ｍｾ＠ｾＱ［Ｎｴｦ＠Ｌ
_R
'
ｾｩＬ｣ｱＮ＠
ｧｊｦＮｾｩ＠
ｳ･ｬｾＺ＠
｡ｾｴｭﾥＭＢＺ＠ｍ
"Vf?r.:f'all d,er ｬｴ･ｮＢ＠ｾ
s.\1··
Ｑ
In ､･ｩＢ
ｨＮｴｩＧｾｧｻｯｦ［ｪ＠ｒ
eie;ene Werke, ｭｩｈＯｳＧｴｾＺＮｬＡｰｦｊｧｲ｡ｨ･ｮ＠
Ot-t d
ｾｊＥＶＧＱ｜ｑｩＺ｢ｨﾷ･ｮ＠
· v'is!!adh'' Pfiiltillt!"ungen in
und Ta.geszeit·ungen.. Zeit und
festatellbaP.
in das Werk,
oder nOol'l.llUbusn
e:n Fr-u.nkf\:tt't/Ma.:!fJ
ｾ＠ .Ｌ［ＺｰｾｴｍｯｉＡ＠Ｎ
411
ｗ･ｴＺｾｮｲ＠
Esk,
ettt Nemes Musik ·
die ｬ＿｡ｵｳｾ＠
ｶｾｳｯｨｩ･､ｬ＼＠
5
Zeitungen, von mir n5.cht :fest.st-=llbar. nOpe:t>@Jll'iie Pause, Wien
ＱＮＷｾ＠
ｾｽＳＮｨ｡ｬｦｧＬ＠
ｈ｟･ｦｾ＠
5 •. tt!-nt!lgnne". von ｈｯｮ･ｧｾ｟ｐＬ＠
Ｂｃ｣ｾｯ･､ｩＬ＠
Paris
·19:4':3·. n'f4usr:iJfdr!ihl-a_;; M'rtl!Si-zi'ero-per';• ｖｾｬＮＬ＾ｩｯ［ｊ｣ｐＺｨｵ｟･ｳ＠
ｾ｢ｬ｡ｴ＠
\t:J.j nz
.• r ....
1Jt4l•· .. ＭｾｴｵｳｩｫＮ＠
l'tls ｾｵｳ､ｬｻ＠
:i1'l:ner ;Z:q.:l1:n ····nl;t··"lJ);er ａｾＮ＠
)3erlin
ﾷＬｾＧ＠
ＭｾＺｲ･Ｎ＠
-Jrihtic_ang ｎｲ＾ＮｾＭＺＱＰ＠
1.h 1:1 { "V:ter ｮ｡｣ｨｾ･ＺｵｴＩﾷ＠
·.n.Worum -e-s ginG un::
/:::; ＺｾＬＮＭ 1, ＧＥｾｲｷﾷＬ＠
ﾷｴｧＭ･ｦｩｾｈＺｅｲｖｬ［ｶＨＧｭ＠
'14..,2.4£3• ･ｴＮＧｬｊｩｽｾﾷｭｵｳｫ｡｣ｨＢＬＳｲｮｧ＠
• · : - ｾｊ＠
ｾ＠ＨＧｾ･ｮＺｧ＠
ＢＧｮ｡ＶｨﾣＺ･ｾｲｦｩｯｫｴＩＭＮ＠
ﾷａＺｮｳＤＮ･ｴｬ､｡ｌｉｈＡＱｾ［ｦＬｱＭ｣ｨ＠
･ＱＢａｩｾｳ＠
•. ａｾｴｯ｢ｩｧｲ｡ｰｨＲＮＭ
. · ._sene .• ｾＺｴｩｳｬ､＠
1vo:n, 4uttiihvungan Ｇ･ｾｧｮＭｶ＠
［ｗ･ｴｫｾｨ＠
.. Die ｬｩＷｾＺ＠
ｧ｣ｮ｡ｾ･ＺＱ＠
• :;··:.. ｾ＠
AUifSatiMe ·kann ｬＮｏｊｾ＠
tt/Ut-.. ｹ｡ｧｾＮＬｬｦｓ･ｮｙｏｳＭ＠
ｾｴｬＮｱｦＺ･Ｑ＠
Epsche::!.. ｾ＠
_ ｮｾｺＺｉｧｳ｣ﾷ＠
rt::J:tnd···Ze:i;t Ｚｾｮｧ･｢＠
sind. , ｍ｡ｰＮｴＡｾ･ｲ＠
ef>litel t ﾷＺｲＮｾｨ＠
ｊＡ･ｾｧｸｭｰｬｎ＠
· Ｚｬｵｮ｡ｾ＠
Ｑ｜ｵｳ｡Ｍ･ｾＺｱｩｽＴｊＧﾷ＠
ｇｾＱｦ･Ｎ＠
ｚｦＩｬｾ＠
ｩｦｵｾｧ･ｫｯ［ＩＺ＠
. un_1, tla.tum. : D:te Aufh.gehohu .. uer :Da;:
' ＢｚＺ･ｬｴｩｾ＠
ｐＮｬｾｊｴﾧＬ［Ｇ＠
ＬＮａＺｾｮ［ｴ＠
... ｾ｣ｊｌ＠
nis:h t ｦｾｳｴ＠
t3'tl?ll<;::n ;Ueber- d.ie ｾＺ｡ｩＧｬｲ･ｨｯ＠
n::-: J'c··· ｾＮ･ｲ＠
ｾＱ［Ｍｩ＠
•.a.,.Jrie.C;llen .i'ul>li}'aticnen k)i_nn·· ｡Ｎｾ＠
ｖｾｬＸＮＭｧＢＺｓ｣ｨＨＩｴ＠
.&uskunft geﾷＺ＾ＧｾＭ
...
·<e . • .
;_. ,;;c.·
bep1
ｖｾＺ｡･＠
'': ; ;
ｾＭ
i·
: JJP.'.
{ r:.
ｶ｣ｙＺＨｩｴｾ｡Ｑｆ･ｳＮ＠
ｾ＠
ｈ｣Ｎｖｯｴｩ［ｲｊｧﾷ＼Ｍｮ＿｜ｾ･＠
ｴＧＬ｟ｾ＠
ｾ＠
Zu ＧｾｨＺＱｬｲＬ［＠
1-.-
-ｾ＠
rc.
.-;: :
ｾＺﾷｵＡｐＬ｟ｧｦｩＮ＠
Reden
·
•
".t
...
,
ＭＬＧＮｳｧ･ｮｾ｛ＴＰｴｊｦｨｬ＠
. [.
ｾ＠
_...
f
.
. . ,., - :. :
.
J•
..
-:-•
.
•
in .\lf:'!n.
ＱＺｊ＿Ｎ･ｾ＠
anlassl i ct
ausserde;u
Aussei> meinc:n
ＧｲＡｩＹｾＺＮｴｮＢ｜Ｌｌｦ＠
ｾＮ･ｩｆＡｬＱｐｲｦ｜Ｚｴ［＠
,
•
v
·
., , z .. B.
.
:., -) ; .a·J ｾＮｳＭｬｦ｡ｴｂｩＳｲ＠
ｲｷｸｾＮ＠
ﾷｲＺｷｾｧ･＠
<-.r·
•
ｾＭｧ［ｮﾷｊｩｦｕｴ＠
. # ·.
ｩｦｊＺｴｬ｡･ｮ［ｾｵｧ＠ﾷ
.-e-igel}el? "We
Darmstt?-dt anHi.sslich .»Peer Gynt,, in Braunsc 1'Weig ｡ｮｬｩｴｾ＿Ｎｳ｣ｨ＠
. ':'
·:Jtr.;:J
•:
ｾＺ｡ｳ＠
TheatE!:Fn· ｾＭｳＺｲＮｬＡｮＧｶｯ＠
ｄｾＺ＠
'\·)JT .: ·
J _, m
ｾ､Ｇ＠
J
: . -ｾ＠
n-,: ＮＧ｡Ｂ＠ｾ
s ｾ＠ g e !",. ·von' Bet•t Brecht und
ｊｾＬｩ［ｵｲｴｦ＠
ｊｦｾｪｬＮ［ＭＬＡ＠
ｙｾｦｬｽ｢ｴＬ｡ＳＤ･ｰ｣＠
ｖｾｩＱＬＮｦｬｔｉｊｴ＠
fur zei tgencssi>.S.dhc ;;usn_ in
Mtinc hen a,932. Der Aurs·atz ｾｴｩ､ｵｳｫ＠
Ｂｴｾｳ＠
J!:u:sd-ruoV-" ｩｨｾ＠
Ｍｾ･ｩ＠
t"
(. ｳＮｾ＠
Autsatze) wurde von mtr in verschiedenen ｖ･ｲＮｮｳｴｾ＿ｊｬ［ｵｧ＠
a.ls
; ,. : Ji;,.. ....£ :}
ﾷＱｩｮｾｵｨｊＺｬＧｕﾣｴｅＡＭｙＮｏａｦ［ｲｰ＠
···•"· .,
"
· ··
ｱｹｮＺＭｾＬ＠
ｾ＠
ＧｬＩｾ･＠
ｲｰｦＧｾＭｴＡｬｊ＠
ＱｾＺｴｳ･ｮＢ＠
ｾｴｩＬ＠
gFr,;t:tf.lG·t .. ＱｾﾷｬｦＺｊ［＠
!l.;},eJeJl, ｬｩＧ･ｾＭ
.. t'f. _ｲｾ･＿＠
ｬＲＬＩ･ｾＮｮ＠
ＺｴｶｲｾＮＱ＠
ｦＺｐｆＧｾｰｩｳ＼ｴｮｬ＠
ＮｾＬｳｬｩ＿＠
ｾＧｬＬｰＺｓＮｴ［＠
Ｎｾ＠
Ｇｦｾ［ｬＬ､ｩｪ＠
｢ｧｴｾｮｬ＠
li)n) 'Aahrraen
ｊｾﾣＧ｡ｴｦｩＮＭﾷ＠
ｾｱｨﾷ＠
ｾＮ［ＭＣ･Ｚ｟ﾧＧ､＿Ｑ｜ｮ＠
･ｴＺｾｲ＠
ＮｾｘＺﾣｧ｡｢＠
nl?_we: ｇｾｴｮ＠
n ＭｮＧｚ｡ｩＬｾｦ＠
ｾＫｉｦｱｨｮ＠
ｾｬＧ＠
i'6h· i
､ｯｴ＾ｾ＠
ｯ｢･ｮｧｩｬｴｦＧｖ｡＾ｾｓ［ｳ＠
.• ＮＡｾＧ＠｡
· ｶ･ｾ＠
ｴｩＡ｡ｳｾｲ＠
!.uf'
ｾ｡ｴｙＡ＠
ｾｲｈｩｴＱﾧＧｷ｀ｦＡ･ｮﾷ＠
ﾷｾＧｴ｜Ｆｬｵｲ､･｀ｮｯ＠
ＡｬｴｾｓＧﾷ＼｣ｨｻﾥ＠
'y,era,
1&.I:-:'1t<? · Ｚｩ｟ｾｬＡＮＤ［ＱＭｚ｢ｵｮｽ＠
Ｇｬｦｾｩｈ＿ﾷＡ･ｵｮｧ＠
!lie
!uhrungavortvag in 'iCo'lutribU'S:H" ｶ･ｾＧｴｬＭｩＮ｣ｊｭ＠
furt a. .. M.
;D ···xu
ill' ｾｩ＾･ｳＧｉ｡ｵ＠
•. ｳＺ［ｾｓｕｬｦ､Ｎﾷｏ｡ＱＧＡ｢ｵｨ＠
Ｇ｡ｬＮｾ［ｲ＠
r
ＱｾＧＴＡＮ＠
ＭＱｾﾷ＠
ＭｵＺＧＡｬｧＮｭ･ｩｴｾ｣ｋ｡ｮ＠
Ｚｦｩｭ［ﾷｬｽｾｵｴｳ｣ＧＡ･ｮ｟Ｎｒ､ｫ＠
｡ＮｾＭ･ﾷｓＡｴｬ､｣ＺＩｮｧ＠
ｾｮ＠
des ﾷｾ･ｴＭＺＮｳ＠
v
tand<:>n z Wl.hat in ｭ･ｾＭ
g 2·:- .:l'
､･ｳＬａｵ｟ｪｴｾ｡＠
ｬＨｵｮｰｾ＠
een ｶｯｮｾ＠
:l. t'isGh)·: ｡Ｎｾ＠
:tel dgra.ue
SoJ:ingen\ v.or,;, eine::: Konz,,_·t
Ein-_
·
Ｇｄ･ＺｦｾＱｓＴＰ＠
J.n Fran<-
.2
｡ＺＮｲｫ［ｾＭ
&I'Un@
Ei:nk(';a,.
ioh
412
ｾＮ＠
,
.. ·
.-
ﾷＢＧｪｩｵＣ｣ｨｾＬｱ･＠
ｾｦＺｲｴＶ｡ｵｬｰＮｧＢ＠
..· Ｇｩ･ｾｬｦ＠
､Ｎｾｲﾢｨ＠
ＮＺｴｪｾｩｮ､ｲｵｧ［Ｇｒｬｫｳ･＠
'i
Ｚ｣｟ｾｨｴ･ｳｫ｡ｵＬｻｩｬｺＭｲ＠
vcrm
. nl?eer ﾷＮ｣［ｬｩｮｴｾ＠
c -·
t•·
,ef.:-
.
Ｍｾ＠
c-.·5d'f}6.
o.f>
•
.
•
.
.
. Ｇｾ･＠
arg'wqhnige ｕＺ･｢ｾｲｶ｡｣ＮｨｵｮｧＬｂｳｴＧｑｽ＠
un.:: Beeh-(<Pa!ltteistel1en, die si-ol1 in dor ａｾｳ･ｴｺｵｮｧ＠
meiner
SpielipJ..an 'alu:f' ｖ･ｲｴｬＡＮＧｮｾ｡ｓｕｧ＠
ＵＭｲｴｾｩ｣ｨ･＠
Ｌｉｵｬｴｲ､･Ｎｾｮ＠
Jljfitspruehe von .'loltal en ｬ＿ｾｊＺＧｴ･ｩｦｵ､ｯｮ｡ｲ＠
oder durch
.:. ､Ｎｬｊｾｃｨ＠
zentrale ｓｴ･ｬＮｮＨｃ｣ｵｭ｢Ｚｊｾ＠
ii,ol ty ｴＧ｡Ｎｾ･Ｂ＠
･ｴ｡ｾＩ＠
ｵｾ､＠
selbst d'U:J;oh. ｩｬｾｺ･ｮ＠
rte
den Nazi-Pl"ofessor zuP N@dden·.in Gera •
,Pe?r .q1;otn. duroh die ?'ffen· ausgebl:'ochene Hetze der PaPtei
ｐｬＧｾｊ＿ｳ･Ｌ＠
ge.gen ｭｩｾｮﾷＺｵＮ｡＠
di;l.s Werk unter An:fuhrung von Gev:i.gk in Rosen.-·-· ... ..:li>evgs ｾｎｓＭｍｯｮ｡ＧｦＬｩｳｊ［ｬ･ｴＺＮ＠
undt· J;?.oeder· 'V?lll ｐｾｯｰ｡ｧＮＺｩ､ｭｮｴｳ･ｲｵ＠
in
Goebbels "Angriff• ,sowie endlioh ｯｵｾ｣ｨ＠
den bei den ｅｲｬ｡ｵｴ･ｾｮ｣＠
.zu E 115 schon erwahnt•n Austall eines wesentlichen !r-eil0s meines
G8Samtwerkes wegen o:ffene:r:> wel tanschaulicher Gegens atze.
.. .. Im
:J""
. dam ｾ｡ｊＺｱ･ｵｴｪ｟ｧｮＮ＠
ｾｩｧ｟･ｮﾷ＠
• ｾ＠
•
I'' . '
Ｚｾｆ｟ｲａＬＮ＠
Ｑ
1..
･ｐＧＡｯｬｧｾｮ＠
ｌｦｬｲＬＮ［ｾｊＺ｡ｴ＾＼ｩＹﾷＧｮｃ｛ＡＭ･
·.
.
.
ｏ｝＾Ｌ･ＺｲｮｨｩｵｳｾＭ
ｦｏｨ･ｾ､Ｚ｡ｭＮｴｵｧｩＬｉｬｳ＠
.
Ｚｂ･ｬＢ｜ｌｴｵｮｾ＠
_ｹＮ･ｬｨｾＺｊＢＡｪＬﾷｲ＠
•
ｾＭＮ＠
cl±e .Staa.tao:p.er Rerlin unfl
!kithstle. ｾｩＺｱＭＬｨ･ｮＮ＠
ＭａＮｮｾ
Ｑｾｨ･ｮＮ＠
t
t
ＺｓＭｴｬ［･ｮＧＱＵ､ＬＮｾｲ＾＠
ＡＧＮｴＢ＿ｾ［Ｌｦｊ＠
. ·s 'm ｲｾｧｮｑｊ＿Ｌ＠
nannt$}
rr __ ｾ＠ t"1..__,v. ·.·2ft.ＺﾷＮｾ＿ＭＧｨｩ＾Ｄｲﾮ｡ｬ＠
-:: ::.l .:. -' .• Ｌ｟ＨｾＭｌＮｺ｡ｲｊＹｦｯｮ＠
,, ''J.'·J. -·· ＺｬｽｓｴｾＮｐ･ｦｕ＾＠
'
. ::- -, -_. .
ｾ･ｵﾣｬＬ＠
" , _3 •
_ｾ＠ . . ·:c '", ｮＭﾷ･ｬｾＺＮＧｴｦｵ｡＠
ｾＭ
dadur·ch ｧ･ｳｾＭｦｴｮ＠
h: .'if' :.:des
, _ ｾ＠ · . ｲｩｾＬｇｯＭ
··J·
.,--
ｴｲﾷｷ･ｺｬＯｅＡ｢ｾＢｩｊＭｈ､ｮｵ｡ＮｉｕＱ＠
'.I
;: ｾ［＠ <
·i
e:r;>z.;i;:llte rl"elative Ei!:inaniiieste1g--erurrg Ｍｾ｢＠
1330 ist
:Publik\unsertqlg· ｳ･ｾＧｴ＠
der ｬｨＺｾ｡ｵｦｲｮｧ＠
dar ,zaub ··rbe;n,· dE?m ｾ･ｧＧｮｴｩ＿ｲ＠
ｳ･ｾｴＮ＠
die Parte1 machtlos war.
ＬｊｨｾＺ｡ﾷＧｍｩｲｴ［ｑ･ＭｬＱｮ＠
f
. : · ｊ｣ｳ
,
ｺｾｵＺＮ＿Ｌｇｨｲ＠
ｆＭ･ｭｾ＠
ｾＱｰﾷ｟ｈｦｬ｡ＺＧｵｴｨＨｩｲ＠
; ｾｮ･ｭ＠
,'" ｾＮｲＬＺ｣ｬ･ｴ［Ｍｵ＠
·
ｆｾｰＮ･＠
ＧｄｩｴｾｌＮＺｲ＾ＦｧＬ｡ｊｭ＠
.,,
::;;: ＺＯｾ＠
;\
•
I!Jirf?ii: r· ｾｶ＠
"" •
' . ＬｊＮ､ｾ＠
ｾＭﾷ｟［Ｚ＾Ｎ＠
ｾＭＮ＠
,,,
· -: ｾＺＬ＠
ＺＹ＿ｑｲｳｰｴ＼［ｬ･ｩｾ＠
im
ａ［ｮｴＬｩＺ｡ｺｻｾ＠
ｬｲｾｳｰ｡Ｎ＠
(z.:B. ｇ･ｮｾｲ｡ｬｩｴ＠
･ｴ｣ｾＮ＠
ｯ､･ｾ＠
a.uek ､ｾ｣｢ａｮｪｩ｡ﾻｳ＠
ｪｬｾｊＧ＠
_P,_
Gyn-t:.; ｈＭＡｩｾｓｽＮ＠
ohende Aus\'tirkung.
ｊｾｴｪＡＺｃＬ＠
ｾＡＮ＠
ＱｾｊｴＡＢＮ＠
ＹＱＤＭＮｲ･｟Ｚｊﾷｾｨｮ＠
ｾＭﾷＺｬＧＮｩｮ｡ｨｭｽｚｴｺ･＠
ｾ･ｩｮｲｨＭ
ＮｾｵｮＸ
ｓｴｾｯ｢･ｬＬ＠
Pol:'sona.l
ｾｳ｡ｲ＾＠
Fvitz· sc·.uh,
Neher; ｾ｡Ｎｰ･ｬｭｩ＠
,_Qd.er au¢h. von
ｾｯＮＩ＠
nur Ｌ､･ｮｩＡｫＮｬ＿ｴｵＺｭｾＱ＠
ｫｩｮｳｴﾷｬ･ｲ｣ｨｾＧ＠
Ｑ
ｯ､ｰｲ＠
Heinz ｾＡｅ＾ｴｪ･ｮｬ＠
ｾ･ｮＮＬｨｦｫ､＠
ster
ｇＮＹ｣［ｮ･ｬｾ＠
dor
in der Vresse (der mit
K.U. Rtl)!Pel,.
ｬｩ･ｾｮ＠
ｪ･ｷｯｾｬｳ＠
.· U_, _ra.\tff\ill. rung en "Za.ub!rgei g d»
Gl.e b.eiden politisch nverdaohtigant,
v U:nd Ooliimbjl's '(1941) ha.tten ｫＮｾＭｩｮ･＠
:mts.·re·
·
413
I
I
'
- 7- .
tfl)· ·ueber Oester:reich volli t9;.::,;20.J-uni ＱｾＳＤＮ＠
"Peer Gyntn mit
.
.
'
zweck:
zu meine:r Ope:r
Bergliot Ibsen •
- :l' ': V.evha:ndlungen ube:r ｕＺｲｨ･ｯｾ｀､ＭｅＡ＠
ｆＺｲｾｵ＠
•r
ｾ､Ｉ＠
vom 7.3. - 30•4.!1.943 nach Rom zur-Erstauffuhrung
, ｮｚ｡Ｎｾｩｳ＠
• -•j
. ｾＺｳ＠ :.c :t:r :w ..e ｾＭＺｲＬ＠
Ｐ
r:-. Ｒ｡ＮＩｾ＠
ｊｾＰ＠
ｾ＠
ｾ＠
Ｚｾ［Ａｮｬｌ＠
(?} wenige ｟ﾷＡｲｾｧ･＠
i1 -. \'
ｪｾ＠
t
d
2b)
Ｚﾷ］Ｍｾ＠
ｵＮＯａＬｍＱＺ｡ｩｊＡ＿Ｇ･ｳｴｾ､Ｍｦ｟＠
vom i0.-i4.e.ar
_ＭｾＧｖＮｴ｣ｨ［ｺｵ＠
ｭｬｾ＠
)
ｾ＠
_
·2cV- '-\ibm ＭｾｯＮＡＺ［ｈｴｩＴＲＬ＠
J.="
ｗｾＺｱｴＬＷｲｨｵ＾［＠
- ' -- -
tia:(}h ｺｵｾｩ｣Ｚｴｬ＠
nZa.rissa,,
· ·
·
｡ｬ｟Ｚｧｾ･ｩｮ＠
ＺｾｽﾥＭ
3'8.') ' ｾｭ＠
. :t
Ｚ＾ｩＮＭＬｾﾷ［＠
: ua n ·; ;
ｩｾｳｴ｡ｵｦＮｨｲｮ＠
t: .
jr;r · ,· ｾｃＺ｜＠
\r·--:·
L "::
.4r..-s•..ＧＲ､ｾＳ･＠
nac'Jl; :A.'lltvr-ettp:elf.--
•,cj. ·,_; ＧｮＬ［ＺｯＮｩﾷｾ＠
1::0: ,, ｾ＠ｾＭＳｑｽ＠
;; ,. ｾｶＮｬｴｌ｣＠
o: ｴｬＮｙ､ｾＶＺ＠
:,a.,
·-zur Au<fl:t:li'hrung-- cie:s ｂ｡Ｚｵ･ｴＡｾｓ［＠
8\n:·.
·c.
ｾＡＢＭ＠
ａＮｮｴｷ･ｲｰｾ＠
ZiU'I" ［ＺａｵｴＭｦｾｮｧﾷ＠
\:L·:,-
ﾷｾ＠
• t::
r·. r
ＱＺＭｾ＼ﾷ＠
1 \!£
1. .,;.... ....
--.. 0 ｣ﾷｾ＠
ｩｾ＠
Ｑ｡ｾＺＭＮｻ［ｴｩＧｓ
5a}
-jf.JiJL
:r
｜ｶｊＺＭＬｮｴｉｄ｡ＮｾｗｳｩＧ｟＠
·..
ｾ＠
ins s
l·.d ＡＮＬＧｾ＠
--:
ｴｾＮｕｩＧ＠
l ｾ＠
2
ｾＢＧＺ＠
.;· · : Ｚｾ＠
r: ...
·.
J. ·., Ｇｾ＠
r25. Ｚｾｦ＠
ＡＱＮｾＴｩｴｦﾮﾷ･Ｚｳ＠
·
-.e·:d'8 e.ml.l ｾＩｴ｡ｬＮｦＬＡＧｫＷＱ＠
ＧＺｊｯｲｾ＠
rJcJr, tlm.r
ｸｵ｟｣ＺｊｬｴｲｾＮｩＧ＠
'1 ·. · . c) w;k 8
Cf
r
ｾ＠
o
tl
- :. G
itiaif.
41! ﾷＮｲｾｑＧｩｴＳＱ＠
•:re":'J..
ｴＧＡｾ＠
ＮｮｑﾷＺｾ］ＧｉＭＢ＠
ＭｾﾷＧＺ＠
Wt'll'> ｩ｜ｦｾＧＭｴｭ＾ｬＮｧ＠
Ｌｾ｟［Ｚﾷ＠
:" ;; ;_ Ｚﾷｾｲ＠
...:;:{;t•a.!t. ,;.d:·1C'J ｾＭ｟ＺﾷＮ＼＠
ｾｕｩｬ｜ＭＶｓ＠
t5.t .....ｴＬｾＴＺｃｩｨＧｕ［ｂＢｉＯＮｬＹＭｵ｡ｗ
stucdi
s t e ＮＺｴｾ＠
､Ｇｬｾｏ＠
ｾｪＮＺﾷ＠
.·;j:_:
·J
ｌＭＮ､ＧｾﾷｩＺｴ･ｵｮｳｦＱＬｐ＠
ｊＧ｡ｩｦＮＢＱｾｑｬｯＴＬＭＤＯＺ＠
f Ｌｾ＠
ｾ＠
.t$·4tt· 1:!1.-.4. -13 .4.!942/
ＭｖｯＮＬＧ｜Ｚ＾ＤｉＶｾｧ［ｴＴ
,:s·_;•_;·_
rr<:! o<::p ｨＬＮｴｦｬｾｩＧｊｅＡＴＺﾢｹ＠
,.,,,!rj"r ［ｴｾｬＧｖｦ＼ＺＮｮ､ｲｇ＠
Ｍｾ＠ＭｾＱＺ＠
J,
Ｎｾｊ［ｴＬｲ＠
:i'a.i:r
_t,
Ｌ｟ﾷｾｻｶｔ＠
Peer Gynt und'"Z'ai'i'sse. naoh Prag·
ＺｭｫｯｊｴＧｾ＠
.
:· ·
· ;s:
.L n
fi$' T.. •1.''S'I:i'lioJ:(l.. r;.t.U:
rU3.b) t tt!ZO-:t6.i-dita Ｖｾ＠ ttt_.,r//.et: ｾＡＴ､ｬＮ＠
·j H
:Au:t-t"fu"li:umtf<:d.Sv {n'€feigenmusik»
ｾ＠
.1 ·
!
.· :.L:.aR r:;sb s l''!.Sq ":f-s.diSl:tll''Vte.kd.''Stmh"lfl'fij ｎｾｴＭｬｨｩ｢ｮ＼｜ｦｊＧ＠
;;..:iliV.i1 "leD ao.t:fi!i!:lriof.l-_,;"!.C ＮｊｦＩＭ［ﾷｮＺｩｾＬＢＰ＠
'<J.:.
ＨｯＺＮＬ｣ｲｾﾷＧｴｏＢｊｩｬＩ＠
26.8 .....ＲＸＮｩｬＬＹｾ＠
ＭｾＬＮｦｨＧｴｆＺｽｳ＠
l..l.riJiiX<7IAtty;'Oilil
1
. . ｾ＠
I:.:'5'b )i r;.., ｶＨＺ＾ＧｭＱｬｾａＮＭＴｩ､ｫ｣ｴｒ＠
"
na or:
v -'··:'
Tillschechoslowakei
'::: y
: -·
:B a ub erg e ig e
-·
"4.&)·:11" \' v:b:mJ'28:•.Ａｴｬ｜ＬｾｉｄＭｩＲＧＴＺＵｓＮﾷ＠
,::;.t£''': :=e·:-:;:: ｾＮＺｊ｀ｴｬ＼［Ｍｯｮ･ｽｈＧｧ｣ｃ
der Weg
Ｇ､ｾＭ
Dan e ma r k
ＭｾＺｶＮ＠
-
Musik-
. 1.
B e l g j, e n.
,Hermann
(
､ＮａｩｴＭ［ｦｚＧｲ｡ＢｬｾＦ＠
:r
1·· \
Ｑ＠ｩｶＮｬｴｦｾＩｍＧｵｮｧ＠
ｻｾｳ｣ｨ･ｯｩＧＱＮ＠
von
.. ,
ｾ･ｆ＠
National-
ｾｲ［＠
·
Gynt na ch Pressbum
J 1 itHl:
ｾＰ＼Ｇ＾ＩＮ＠
n· -'' ·'JL.
,,11:;
d'auteur>s et de
'l.l;;{;,>,a w
.r(,q tt.eh':·,,;?i<W!:h•
ｾＴｑＮＬﾣｦｩＷＭＲ＠
• 7 • ＱＮｾＴＲＯ＠
(t\rt. a....t,S • 6 • 4.fl43/
Vol''bOP(:)i tung Ein·
lWied.ex-.holten Leitung des Ze.rissa., Peer> fYllt
;·f!IJ
.ＮＧｉｩｏｯＯｕＺｦｴｾﾷｬｲＬｹ＠
lltH1o•>
<:tetl:l
7)
Staatsarchiv Munchen
Spruchknmmer Kn 3·-5q
Egk werner
414
n
'•>P. art>'·
h
ｾﾷＧ＠
(.
-
125 1 Ｌｾ＠ｉＮｬＡＭｾ＠
ｾＢＧＭﾷ［ｱＬｴｖＺｊｮＴＮｧｩｙＡｇｲﾧｯｬｪＦｦ＠
ｾｦＮｨＺ［Ｇ･ＭＬｖｴｶ＠
ｾＮＬＡｽｵ｡ＱＫｴ､＠
. nur ｧ･､ｬＡｴｲｾＧｦ＠
Zu
8 -
j' ::.i:
l
.':o'
Aile Reisen wurden
den 2 Ausnahmen:
J' 126
ＧＢｲＮｴ［ﾷＺｾｦｬＭｌ
ｾＭ＠
q
'
t•
ｾＧ＠
.
n
eigenen i';osten unt::>rncmmen, :::it
fttlf
..r.v. GP=:.fl:
.. Ｌｾ＠
ｾ＠
:JSJ•J'(
Ｚｾｲ､＠
,in keinen
·'Qewirkt, sondern
-o
.. ｴ｜ｾ＠
Ｎ［ｾﾷ＠
Ｎｾ［＠
·-·:.
ｾ＠
Die Rej_se vcm 14.6.-2o •. 6.1937 ｮ｡｣ｨｴｾｩＺ＿ｬＢｲ､･＠
Zu J 127
ｾＬｬ｛ＺＮＢＧ＠
ﾷｾ＠
von uer
nSociet' d'auteurs et da oompositeurs" bazahlt, lie R8ise
ｊＧｬｾｗＡｲ｡Ｌｯｮ＠
im Herbst 1931 wurde vcn dem Dirig'el),:tEm
bezahl t.
Zu J
ｲＧｦＲｾﾷｉ･ＱＢ＠
ｩｲ｡､Ｇﾷａｾｴ［＠
.it)
ｩＰ､ｾｽＳ＠
2,(.
ｾＧ＠ｾＮｩＢｬ＠ﾷｾｊＭ｜＠
r.r
ＮＺＭＱＯｾｵｷ･ｗｲｴｮﾷｩ＠
K_Q:m.g<Je.f
f
ｾＺｊＡｩＮｦ｣ｲｳｃｉ＠
gcr
L;t.cM ae
Jf:. Gatti
bdinf deutschen
·a
ｾｦ［＠
.: ,. . : ··-"1 j til\
ｍｕｳｩｫｶｾｲ･ｮＮ＠
ｾｩＶ｡ＮＴＺｷＯ｛＾ＱｊｮｴＭＷｖｭ＠
lt<?mponist ｾｬ･ｩｳ＠
tor>iums ｬｴｾ･ｨＯｍｵｳｩｫ＾＠
ｬｩＬ｡｢ｦｄＴｾＮＭｻ［ｪＺ＠
Talich/
Aonser--vaｴｾｩ［ｨｲＧＦｯｳ｣･ｮ＠
tiker Stuck en schmidt.
.
ｾＮＺｨＲ［Ｍｌｺ＠
$lowa.kisohes Nationaltheater ltompcnist Suchon;toPLJ.uller
･ＮｾＭ､ｇ［ｹＢｦＺ｣ｴ＠
ｾ＠｟Ｌｾ［＠
ｾ･ｩＡＮＭｨｬ［Ｚ｡｣ﾷｸ＠
.rrl.tH.?Wo-aT""J
'f$;b)
.do :;n :tnv;D
ｾＮ＠
• f( _;
ｄ｡ｾｩｳ･ｨ＠
·
ｾＱｩｊＡＦ＠
ar
Ｍｾｱ＠
..eP.. Ｎｂ＿･ｳｵｾ＠
ｇＮ･Ｚｬ［ｴ＿ｦＧｾｗｌ＠
·. •,'
\
ln:a:th.ge Ri.itl1Flnge:I?/Verlegel" Fiansen/Biro).g.,J.;t ＧＱｾＢｱＯ＠
5b)
｜ｾﾷ＿ＮｃＡｴＭｦｩ･ｰｯ＠
---
ｾＭ＠
..
ｩｲＰｭｬＩｾＡ［ｴ＠
1
Ｍｾｯｶ＠
Qpl'W: ｦｩｲｴＺｊＡ｟ＭｳＬｾ･Ｎｮ［ＯＧｭｬｕ＠
:
.....r,
Konigl. O.p.el" Jul.ibM'erpe-n/Belgischer Fiuanzminlster Fr>ank
ＱＯｩｬｲｴｾ＠
.ltieiift<scheixff :Oenerdkonsul
,.. ;.taJJr.rre-g.ta.:) ..ｾＡｩｲＺｊ､ｦＮｃｨｷ＠
t. . .
ｾＭﾷ［Ｂ＠
ｊＲＮ［Ｌｾ＠
Personenkreis des MUsikfestes.
4)
\
ｾ＠
ｾＱｓＮｬｽｃＺＫ＠
Stadtthea.ter zt!Pich und. Sanger ﾷＭｍ｡ｸｩＧ･ｲｴｾ
.
-
• 1 • L·l.-• 1
Ｍｐｾｴ｡ｳｩｍｫ｣ｨｲｪ｟ｦ･ｬＱ＠
2b)
3b)
e:;.:. 2 d'J ［ｪﾷｶＮ｡ｴｻｾＡｲ｀ｉｵＧｨ＠
ｾ＠
ﾷｴｨｦ｡ｩｪｬ｣Ｍｳｾﾱ＠
Genua
.,, •.. ,
2o)
"nD ｾＩｴＺＭﾷ＠
i.
ｴｾＬｩ･ｯ＠
ｖｾＮｮＬ･､ｩｂ＠
Konigl.., Opel" Rom/ ｾＶｮｩﾣ｜ｦｳｴ＠
1d)
..
ｊｴ＼ｩｾＺﾷＭｰｌｬｯｪｋｉＦＧ＠
_Komponist ｌｩｹＺ｡ｾｽＹＱｬ＠
ｩＮＡｦｲ｡ｬＢ･ｾｊｴ＠
:"Sch::·rchen
------ -·- ·-··· --·-- · -·
ｬ＿ｾＧｭ｡･＠
. ·
..
?:::-·,'· :::;ｾ＠
"" Ｎｾ＠
:1-'"'W _,,
:.t.r .. :J ..
sum ｾ･ｩｬ＠
beJ:>U!lieh ｢･ｾｩｮｴＺ＠
.
· .· ..
.
'!).nrr,
Ｚ･｡ｳｾｯ｟＠
｢ｾｩＢ＠
1-!.RC!!-D¥1 ｱ｟･｣ｾＭ［ｑＮｮ＠
ｾ･ｲＮ＠
deut-
l?s.l"is dea Ra.ai o
&
del"
ＺｊｉＡｴｬＧｾＮｈｩ｜＠
..
nskyI
a.nnoy,A.lextm(
Wib:IU:»"s .. ( $\ll im& St l"€1.-
ｾＧｲ＠
\UHl den Chef c. }.I'
(gestol"btm}
, ( 4&n Soh wei z <H.'
lt\r•germeistet" in
ttt\"'ldClUX
ｴｬ･ｮｾ＠
_
ｬ･ｾｩｦＧ｜ｴ［＠
ﾷｾ＠ ..
ｾｊＺｗＧ＠
u:nd Ｌｴ｜ｾﾥ｢ＪｒｊＩＯＳｬｨ･Ｄ＠
Ｔ｜､
".J ;;' .
·
f; ttJJ
ＮﾷＭｾ［ｬＢ＠
Ｑ
..
• ".a.r
acw•! c) ｾ＠
ｾ＠ｓｲｬＬＡｴ［ｾＭＮＺ
.
r.J :j' J
Wint ert hu r ..
) Ji'! i'l L .J
. ,f) l!illig;'l£l
415
.fHr fi3
..:L5L. ｾＭ
.
1 -:·
lj.('
v
: ':'
416
APPENDIX H
DONAUWÖRTH WERNER EGK CULTURAL PRIZE
RECIPIENTS
Year
Recipient
Profession
1973
Prof. Eugen Jochum
Conductor and Musician
1975
Dr. Reinhard Raffalt
Littérateur and Historian
1977
Hans Ulrich Schmückle
Stage Designer
1979
Irmgard Seefried
Chamber Singer
1981
Heinz Piontek
Writer and Poet
1984
Albrecht Freiherr von Tucher
Leitheim Castle Concert Organizer
1987
Professor Dr. Erich Valentin
Musicologist
1989
Arthur Groß
Musician and Choir Director
1991
Professor August Everding
General Manager
1993
Professor Dr. Hans Maier
Political Scientist and Politician
1997
Wilfried Hiller
Composer
1999
Wolfgang Sawallisch
Conductor
2001
Professor Dr. Joachim Kaiser
Journalist
2002
Dr. Alfred Böswald
Author,
Oberbürgermeister Donauwörth
2005
Max Kruse
Author
Mark Mast
Conductor
Professor Joseph Zilch
Conductor and Composer
2008
417
APPENDIX I
PERMISSIONS
418
419
420
421
REFERENCES
Barron, Stephanie, et al. “Degenerate Art”: The Fate of the Avant-Garde in Nazi Germany.
Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art and New York: Harry N. Abrams,
Inc., Publishers, 1991.
Bazin, Germain. Fouquet of the series Les trésors de la peinture française. Geneva: Editions
d’art Albert Skira, 1942.
Benz , Wolfgang, Hermann Graml und Hermann Weiß. Enzyklopädie des Nationalsozialismus.
Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta, 1997.
Boberach, Heinz, editor. Meldungen aus dem Reich. Volume 15. Herrsching: Pawlak Verlag,
1984.
Böswald, Alfred. Die Seele Suchen: Werner Egk und der Donauwörther Kulturpreis.
Donauwörth: Verlag der Stadt Donauwörth, 1994.
Böswald, Alfred, Andrew McCredie, Franz R. Miller, and Helga-Maria Palm-Beulich, and
Werner Egk. Komponisten in Bayern: Dokumente Musicalischen Schaffens im 20.
Jahrhundert. Herausgegeben von Alexander L. Suder. Bd. 29: Werner Egk. Tutzing:
Hans Schneider, 1997.
Breul, Karl. Cassell’s New German and English Dictionary. Revised and enlarged by J. Heron
Lepper and Rudolf Kottenhahn. New York: Funk and Wagnalls Company, 1939.
Brüder Grimm. Kinder- und Haus-Märchen. Volume 2. Berlin: Realschulebuchhandlung, 1815.
Digital full-text edition at <http://de.wikisource.org/wiki/Der_Jud’_im_Dorn_(1815)>
(Accessed 24 May 2011).
Buhlan, Harald. “Josef Fenneker (1895–1956).” Unser Bocholt: Zeitschrift für Kultur und
Heimatpflege 42, no 4 (1991), ed. Verein für Heimatpflege Bocholt e.V.
Diem, Carl, [Hans] Niedecken-Gebhard, Werner Egk, Carl Orff, Dorothee Günther, and Mary
Wigman. Olympische Jugend Festspiel. Berlin: Reichssportverlag, 1936.
Durrieu, Le Comte Paul (Membre de l’Institut de France Conservateur honoraire au Musée de
Louvre). Le Boccace de Munich: Reproduction des 91 Miniatures de célèbre manuscrit
de la Bibliothèque royale de Munich. Étude historique et critique et explication détaillé
des planches, 2 vols. Munich: Jacques Rosenthal, 1909.
422
Dümling, Albrecht and Peter Girth, editors. Entartete Music: eine kommentierte Rekonstruktion
zur Düsseldorfer Austellung von 1938. Düsseldorf: Kleinherne, 1988.
Egk, Werner. Musik–Wort–Bild. Texte und Anmerkungen; Betrachten und Gedanken.
München: A. Langen and G. Mueller, 1960.
———. Die Zeit wartet nicht. Ergänzter und illustrierter Taschenbuchausgabe. Munich:
Wilhelm Goldman Verlag and Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1981.
———. Drei französische Chöre aus dem Ballett “Joan von Zarissa.” Mainz: B. Schott’s
Söhne, 1940.
———. Joan von Zarissa. Klavierauszug von Hans Bergese. Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1939,
1940.
———. Joan von Zarissa. Partitur. Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1939, 1940.
———. Konzertsuite aus dem Ballett “Joan von Zarissa.” Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, [1940].
———. “Pfitzner und die deutsche Jugend.” Völkische Kultur 2 (September 1934): 406.
———. “Programmpolitik.” Völkische Kultur 2 (June 1934): 279–280.
———. “Volksschauspiel und Musik.” Völkische Kultur 1 (December 1933): 317–19.
———. “Wege der Harmonik.” Völkische Kultur 2 (March 1934): 139–41.
Egk, Werner and Ludwig Andersen. Die Zaubergeige. Mainz: B. Schott’s Söhne, 1935.
Eichberg, Henning. “The Nazi Thingspiel: Theater for the Masses in Fascism and Proletarian
Culture. Translated by Robert A. Jones. New German Critique no. 11 (Spring 1977):
133–150.
d’Escouchy, Mathieu. Chroniques. Volumes 10 and 11 of Collection des chroniques nationales
Françaises by J. A. Buchon. New Edition. Paris: Verdière Libraire and J. Carez, 1826.
Evans, Joan. “Stravinsky’s Music in Hitler’s Germany.” Journal of the American Musicological
Society 56, no. 3 (Fall 2003): 525–594.
Fein, David A. Charles d’Orléans. Twayne’s World Author Series. Maxwell Smith, ed.
Boston: Twayne Publishers, 1983.
Fischer-Klamt [Gustav-Joachim]. “Die großdeutsche Tanzidee.” Die Musik XXXI, no. 10 (July
1939): 649–53.
Fitzgerald, Gerald, Editor-in-Chief. Annals of the Metropolitan Opera: The Complete Chronicle
of Performances and Artists. Boston: G. K. Hall and Co. and New York: The
Metropolitan Opera Guild, Inc., 1989.
423
Fox, John. The Lyric Poetry of Charles d’Orléans. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969.
Fritsch, Theodor. Handbuch der Judenfrage: Die wichtigsten Tatsachen zur Beurteilung des
jüdischen Volkes. 49th Edition. Leipzig: Hammer-Verlag, 1944. <http://nslarchiv.com/Buecher/Bis-1945/Fritsch,%20Theodor%20%20Handbuch%20der%20Judenfrage%20(49.%20Auflage%201944,%20339%20S.,%20
Text).pdf> (Accessed 27 June 2011).
Fulcher, Jane. “French Identity in Flux: Vichy’s Collaboration, and Antigone’s Operatic
Triumph.” Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 150, no. 2 (June 2006):
261–295.
Gesetz Nr. 104 Zur Befreiung von Nationalsozialismus und Militarismus vom 5. März 1946.
<http://www.verfassungen.de/de/bw/wuerttemberg-baden/wuertt-bbefreiungsgesetz46.htm> (Accessed 2 August 2011).
Goebbels, Joseph. Die Tagebücher von Joseph Goebbels. Im Auftrag des Instituts für
Zeitgeschichte und mit Unterstützung des Staatliche Archivdienstes Rußlands.
Herausgegeben von Elke Fröhlich. Teil I: Aufzeichnungen. 14 vols. München: K.G.
Saur, 1998–2006.
———. Die Tagebücher von Joseph Goebbels. Im Auftrag des Instituts für Zeitgeschichte und
mit Unterstützung des Staatliche Archivdienstes Rußlands. Herausgegeben von Elke
Fröhlich. Teil II: Diktate. 15 vols. München: K.G. Saur, 1993–1996.
———. Die Tagebücher von Joseph Goebbels. Im Auftrag des Instituts für Zeitgeschichte und
mit Unterstützung des Staatliche Archivdienstes Rußlands. Herausgegeben von Elke
Fröhlich. Teil III: Register 1923–1945, Geographisches Register, Personenregister. 3
vols. München: K.G. Saur, 1998–2006.
———. “Zehn Grundsätze deutschen Musikschaffens.” Amtliche Mitteilungen der
Reichsmusikkammer 5, no. 11 (1 June 1938): 41.
Günther, Dorothee. “Brauchen wir eine stärkere Einheit von Musik und Tanz?” Die Musik 27,
no. 2 (November 1934): 95–100.
Homer. The Odyssey. Translated by Robert Fagles. Introduction and notes by Bernard Knox.
New York: Penguin Books, 1996.
The Internet Movie Database, <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0417837/> (Accessed 25
November 2009).
424
The Internet Movie Database, < http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0388649/> (Accessed 25
November 2009).
Karina, Lilian and Marion Kant. Hitler’s Dancers: German Modern Dance and the Third
Reich. Translated by Jonathan Steinberg. New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books,
2003.
Kater, Michael H. Composers of the Nazi Era: Eight Portraits. New York and Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 2000.
———. The Twisted Muse: Musicians and Their Music in the Third Reich. New York and
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997.
Lafortune-Martel, Agathe. Fête noble en Bourgogne au XVe Siècle. Le banquet du Faisan
(1454): Aspects poltiiques, sociaux et culturels. Montreal: Bellarmin and Paris: Vrin,
1984.
La Marche, Olivier de. Les Memoires. Fourth Edition. Lovain: Everaerdt de Witte, 1645.
Laban, Rudolf von. A Life for the Dance. Translated by Lisa Ullmann. New York: Macdonald
and Evans Limited, 1975.
Lammers-Harlander, Heike. “Werner Egk Komponist 1901–1983.” Lebensbilder aus dem
Bayerischen Schwaben 17. Weisenhorn, Germany: Anton H. Konrad Verlag, 2010.
———. “Werner Egk und der Erfolg der Zaubergeige.” Lecture, Stadtbibliothek Donauwörth
und Historischer Verein, 18 November 2008.
Large, David Clay. Nazi Games: the Olympics of 1936. New York and London: W. W. Norton
and Company, 2007.
Lifar, Serge. Le Livre de la danse. Première Partie: Considérations sur la danse, ses origines,
ses rapports avec les autres arts. Paris: Les Editions du Journal Musical Français, 1954.
———. Ma Vie: From Kiev to Kiev. Translated by James Holman Mason. New York and
Cleveland: The World Publishing Company, 1970.
Marle, Raimond van. Iconographie de l’art profane au Moyen-Age et a la Renaissance et la
décoration des demeures. La Haye: Martinus Nijhoff. Vol. 1: La vie quotidienne. Avec
4 planches en héliotypie et 523 illustrations, 1931. Vol. 2: Allégories et symboles. Avec
6 planches en héliotypie et 524 illustrations, 1932.
Mitchell, Allan. Nazi Paris: The History of an Occupation 1940–1944. New York and Oxford:
Berghahn Books, 2008.
425
Monod, David. Settling Scores: German Music, Denazification, and the Americans, 1945–1953.
Chapel Hill and London: The University of North Carolina Press, 2005.
Murray, Michael. Marcel Dupré:: The Work of a Master Organist. Boston: Northeastern
University Press, 1985.
Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart. Zweite neubearbeitete Ausgabe. Edited by Ludwig
Finscher. Sachteil Band 9. Kassel: Bärenreiter, 1998.
Intelligence Branch, Office of the Director of Information Control, Office of Military
Government for Germany (U.S.), White, Grey, and Black List for Information Control
Purposes. April 1946. <http://www.docwarkentin.ca/BWG/Black%20List%20April%
201946/> (Accessed 4 August 2011).
Intelligence Branch, Office of the Director of Information Control, Office of Military
Government for Germany (U.S.), White, Grey, and Black List for Information Control
Purposes, 1 March 1947. < http://www.docwarkentin.ca/BWG/Black%20List%
20March%201947/> (Accessed 4 August 2011).
Otto, Werner. Die Lindenoper: Ein Streifzug durch ihre Geschichte. Berlin: Henschelverlag,
1985.
Pfitzner, Hans. “Offener Brief von Hans Pfitzner.” Die Musik XXVI, no. 10 (July 1934): 728–
32.
Plimlott, John. The Atlas of World War II. Philadelphia and London: Courage Books, 2006.
Pocci, Franz Graf von. Kasperlkomödien. Berlin: Hans Heinrich Tillgner Verlag, 1922.
———. Die Zaubergeige. Edited and adapted by Karl Seidelmann. Music by Christoph
Dietrich. Potsdam: Ludwig Voggenreiter Verlag, 1934.
Prieberg, Fred K. “Der Fall Werner Egk: Beispiel für eine traurig kompromittierte Generation.”
Die Zeit 17 (1969). http://www.zeit.de/1969/17/Der-Fall-Werner-Egk.
———. Handbuch Deutscher Musiker 1933–1945. CD-ROM, 2004.
———. Musik im NS-Staat. Köln: Dittrich, 2000. First published 1982 by Fischer
Taschenbuch Verlag, Frankfurt am Main.
Rasch, Hugo. “Der deutsche Komponist und seine Standesvertretung.” Die Musik XXXIII, no.
6 (March 1941): 191–93.
Riding, Alan. And the Show Went On: Cultural Life in Nazi-Occupied Paris. New York:
Alfred A. Knopf, 2011.
426
Schläder, Jürgen, ed. Werner Egk: Eine Debatte zwischen Ästhetik und Politik. Münchener
Universitätsschriften Studien zur Münchner Theatergeschichte Band 3. Munich: Herbert
Utz Verlag, 2008.
Schirer, William L. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany. New
York: Simon and Schuster, 1960.
Schmitz-Berning, Cornelia. Vokabular des Nationalsozialismus. 2nd edition. Berlin and New
York: Walter de Gruyter, 2007.
Schrott, Ludwig. “»Nicht so dreist, nicht so stolz …« eine notwendige Richtigstellung.” Die
Musik XVII, no. 5 (February 1935): 353–355.
Sommer, Reinhold. “’Mode’tänze oder deutsche Tänze?” Deutsche Tanz Zeitschrift 3, no. 110
(November 1938): 17–18.
———. “Neugestaltung des Gesellschaftstanzes.” Die Musik XXXIV, no. 8 (May 1942): 253–
255.
Spathnaky, Mike. “Old Style and New Style Dates and the change to the Gregorian Calendar: A
summary for genealogists.” <http://www.cree.ie/genuki/dates.htm> (Accessed 10
December 2009).
Speer, Albert. Inside the Third Reich: Memoirs by Albert Speer. Translated by Richard and
Clara Winston with an introduction by Eugene Davidson. New York: The Macmillan
Company, 1970. New York: Galahad Books, 1995.
Spence, Sarah. The French Chansons of Charles D’Orléans with the corresponding Middle
English chansons, edited and translated by Sarah Spence. Volume 46, Series A of the
Garland Library of Medieval Literature. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1986.
Spotts, Frederic. The Shameful Peace: How French Artists and Intellectuals Survived the Nazi
Occupation. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2008.
———. Hitler and the Power of Aesthetics. With a new introduction by the author. Woodstock
and New York: Overland Press, 2002. Introduction copyright 2009.
Stanton, Richard. The Forgotten Olympic Art Competitions: The Story of the Olympic Art
Competitions of the 20th Century. Victoria, British Columbia: Trafford, 2000.
Stege, Fritz. “Werner Egk und der dramatisch Kunsttanz: zur Uraufführung seines „Joan von
Zarissa“.” Zeitschrift für Musik no. 3 (March 1940): 143–146.
427
Steinweis, Alan E. Art Ideology, and Economics in Nazi Germany: The Reich Chambers of
Music, Theater, and the Visual Arts. Chapel Hill and London: The University of North
Carolina Press, 1993.
Thursby, Steven. Gustav Mahler, Alfred Roller, and the Wagnerian Gesamtkunstwerk: Tristan
and Affinities between the Arts at the Vienna Court Opera. Ph.D. dissertation. Florida
State University, 2009.
Der unbekannte Werner Egk. Beiträge zum 2. Werner-Egk-Symposium Donauwörth, 17.–19.
Mai 2001. Donauwörth: Stadt Donauwörth, 2007.
Vanderjagt, Arjo. “The Princely Culture of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy” in Princes and
Princely Culture 1450–1650. Edited b Martin Gosman, Alasdair MacDonald, and Arjo
Vanderjagt. Volume 1. Leiden, the Netherlands: Koninklijke Brill NV, 2003.
Wagner, Richard. Kunstwerk der Zukunft. In Gesammelte Schriften und Dichtungen. Band III.
N.p.: Adamant Media, 2005. Facsimile of 1871 edition (Leipzig: C.F.W. Siegel).
———. Oper und Drama. In Gesammelte Schriften und Dichtungen. Band IV. N.p.: Adamant
Media, 2005. Facsimile of 1871 edition (Leipzig: C.F.W. Siegel).
Wandrey, Conrad. “Hans Pfitzner.” Völkische Kultur 2 (May 1934): 193–201.
———. “Hans Pfitzner: Offener Brief an den Herausgeber der „Musik,“” Völkische Kultur 2
(September 1934): 401–05.
Werner Egk 1901–1983: Ausstellung zum Werner-Egk-Jahr 2001. Donauwörth: Stadt
Donauwörth, 2001.
Werner Egk, eine universelle Begabung: Komponist, Schriftsteller, Interpret und Zeichner.
Beiträge zum 1. Werner-Egk-Symposium Donauwörth, 12.–14. November 1999.
Donauwörth: Stadt Donauwörth, 2004.
Wolff, Stéphane. L’Opéra au Palais Garnier (1875–1962). Présenté par Alain Gueulette. Paris
and Geneva: Slatkine Resources, 1983.
The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl, dir. Ray Müller, Omegafilm GmbH and
Nomadfilms S.P.R.I., 1993. DVD.
< http://www.archive.org/stream/Denazification/OfficeOfTheMilitaryGovernmentForGermanyDenazificationen1948174P.Scan_djvu.txt> (Accessed 12 August 2011).
<http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/goeb36.htm.> (Accessed 28 June 2011).
428
<http://www.lexm.uni-hamburg.de/object/lexm_lexmperson_00003109.> (Accessed 24 May
2011).
<http://www.schott-music.com/shop/products/show,151462,,f.html> (Accessed 20 June 2011).
429
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Jason P. Hobratschk was born in La Grange, Texas in 1975 and grew up on his family’s
farm. Jason graduated summa cum laude from Concordia University at Austin, Texas with a
Bachelor of Arts degree in Church Music – Organ, Church Music – Conducting, and
Environmental Science in May 1998. During his undergraduate studies, Jason served as a
university Chapel Organist and as Apprentice in Church Music at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church.
After a stint as an environmental consultant for the firm Terracon, Jason moved to
Portland, Oregon in order to further his musical education. In 2005, he was awarded a Master of
Music degree in Organ Performance from Portland State University (PSU) in Portland Oregon,
where he studied organ with Dr. Lyn Loewi. Jason was also a baritone in the internationallyacclaimed PSU Chamber Choir under the direction of Dr. Bruce Browne. He first encountered
the choruses from Joan von Zarissa while singing in this ensemble. Additionally, Jason directed
the PSU Men’s Chorus. While in Portland, Jason was Organist and Handbell Director at
Bethany Presbyterian Church and Minister of Music at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church.
Jason matriculated at Florida State University in Fall 2006. From September 2009
through July 2010, Jason lived in Munich, Germany where he conducted research for this
dissertation, made possible by a Fulbright Full Grant. Upon his return from Germany, Jason
moved to Vero Beach, Florida. He is currently Organist and Choirmaster at Trinity Episcopal
Church and Assistant Director of the Vero Beach Choral Society.
430

Werner Egk And joan Von Zarissa: Music As Politics And

Transcription

Similar documents

Mitteilungsblatt Nr. 1-2/2011

ABSCHRIFT-Stettin-Sta-Heiraten 1877 bandII

Blechtrommel

ELEMENTSverschenkt 500Gratis-Trainings!

Daffy Duck Game City 2015 Rückblick auf 2015 Gametrak Heroes

Kostenlos!!! Stadtteilportrait Heßler

wome:n in german - Coalition of Women in German

Infomappe - Nassfeld

Goethes Faust musikalisch betrachtet