Trends in German musicology, 1918--1945: The effects of methodological, ideological, and institutional change on the writing of music history

The purpose of this study is to examine the intellectual development of German musicology and reactions within the field to political changes in the years in question through two areas of investigation: the scholarly literature in music history; and the social, political, and economic environment that influenced the discipline (based on research in archives and libraries and collections of private papers). The first part of the dissertation analyzes the literature in music history that appeared between 1918 and 1945, focusing on certain predominating trends. Chapter One discusses the concerns of musicologists with defining the discipline and developing methodologies, relating musicology to music practice and to the community, and exploring both academic and non-academic career opportunities. The Chapter Two traces the "scientification" of musicology, a trend which combed the natural sciences for suitable paradigms to apply to music history and fostered the application of racial theory and biology. Chapter Three focuses on the treatment of national identity and national style in general music histories by single authors, tracing its development from a fairly equal consideration for all European nations to a growing concentration on Germany's contribution to western music, ultimately moving the discipline closer to the aims of Hitler's political and ideological programs by demonstrating German hegemony throughout the history of western music.;The second part of the dissertation discusses the political, social and economic conditions facing musicologists in Germany between the wars. Chapter Four traces the organizational history of the scholarly society (the Deutsche Musikgesellschaft); the musicological conferences and events, both national and international; and the emergence and transformation of scholarly periodicals. Chapter Five reconstructs the history of the Institute for Musicological Research (founded in 1917, closed in the early 1930s, and reestablished in 1936 as the Staatliches Institut fur deutsche Musikforschung) and looks at special government-sponsored and party-sponsored musicological publications and other research projects. The last chapter discusses the situation at German universities: the development of scholarly orientations; the effects of university reforms under the Weimar Republic and the Third Reich; and the effects of these changes on the individual scholar and on scholarly production.