Brahms Patriotic and Political

<b>Offers a historical context in which to understand how Brahms's three most intensely political and nationalistic works interact with questions of German patriotism liberalism and nationalism.</b><br><br><br>Johannes Brahms rarely composed music that engaged the national-political issues of the day. Three of his works though do precisely this: the <i>Fünf Lieder für Männerchor</i>; the <i>Triumphlied</i> for eight-part chorus and orchestra; and the <i>Fest- und Gedenksprüche</i> for eight-part chorus a cappella. In <i>Brahms Patriotic and Political </i>David Brodbeck challenges notions that Brahms's political music evinces embarrassing anticipations of later Prussian militarism and German chauvinism. Instead he provides a thick historical context in which to read these works and offers a more nuanced understanding of the intersections of Brahms's music and questions of German patriotism liberalism and nationalism than has been customary in the field of historical musicology.<br><br>In particular Brodbeck relates the <i>Männerchor-Lieder</i> to the debate over how and in what form a German nation-state might be achieved; he relates the <i>Triumphlied</i> to the euphoria but also the solemnity that attended the foundation of the German Reich; and he relates the <i>Fest- und Gedenksprüche</i> to the necessary work of instilling in the diverse German people a genuine sense of national belonging. At the same time he traces Brahms's changing attitude toward Otto von Bismarck the Blacksmith of the Reich whom he originally loathed but in time came to venerate.<br><i>Brahms Patriotic and Political</i> will appeal to readers with interests in both nineteenth-century German music and Central European history.