Music & Nazism: International Conference At York U. To Explore Music Under Ideological Control

TORONTO, October 7, 1999 -- Like art, literature and film, music in Germany between 1933 - 1945, was subject to sweeping ideological control by the Nazis ń witness Hitler's affinity for Wagner and the Nazi Party's aesthetic conceptions of music. At an international conference entitled Music and Nazism to be held at York University, Fri., Oct. 15 - Sun., Oct. 17, 1999, the interrelationship between music and totalitarian ideology during the Third Reich will be critically examined by a host of leading scholars from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the United States, and Canada.

The conference which is sponsored by The Canadian Centre for German and European Studies (CCGES) at York University is the inspiration of Michael H. Kater, Distinguished Research Professor of History at York University and Professor Albrecht Riethm¸ller, Chairman of the Musicology Department at the Freie Universit”t Berlin and the 1999 recipient of the Canada Council for the Arts John G. Diefenbaker Award.

"Politics under Hitler and Stalin unavoidably interfered with the development of music," said Riethm¸ller who has written several books on music history, and the interrelationship of music, literature and politics. "Between 1925 and 1945, Western art and music were also influenced by monumental technical achievements and waves of emigrant musicians which shifted the musical centres from Europe to North America. In these two decades, the history of music cannot be portrayed by compositional features alone, and this is most challenging to the historiographer," he said.

The Canadian Centre for German and European Studies is a Canada-wide research and teaching resource focussing on contemporary Germany in its European context. Established in 1997, the Centre is a cooperative initiative of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), l'UniversitČ de MontrČal, and York University.

WHO:
Professor Michael H. Kater, York University, Professor Albrecht Riethm¸ller, the Freie Universit”t Berlin, 1999 John G. Diefenbaker Award recipient, and leading scholars from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the United States, and Canada.

WHAT:
Music and Nazism, an international conference at York U. exploring music under ideological control

WHEN:
Fri., Oct. 15 - Sun., Oct. 17, 1999 (Registration is Friday, 8 a.m. - 8:45 a.m. Conference runs Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

WHERE:
Harry Crowe Room (Rm 109), Atkinson College, York University, 4700 Keele St., Toronto

ADMISSION: $30 / $15 for students (ID required). Lunch: $10 per day (limited availability)

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For more information or a detailed schedule, visit the conference Web site: http://www.yorku.ca/research/ccges or contact:

Deborah Allen
Graduate Assistant, CCGES
York University
(416) 736-5695
email: dallen@yorku.ca

Dr. Michael H. Kater
Professor of History, CCGES
York University
(905) 845-7021
email: mkater@yorku.ca

Ken Turriff
Media Relations Officer
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086
email: kturriff@yorku.ca
YU/098/99