Overview

BEST CLASSICAL MUSIC BOOK RELEASE OF 2019 by Classical-music.com, the official website of BBC Music Magazine. 2019 SUMMER READS ABOUT CLASSICAL MUSIC by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2019 BEST BOOK AWARD FINALIST in both the History and Performing Arts categories, sponsored by American Book Fest. 2019 SUBVENTION AWARD by the American Musicological Society, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. One of the cherished narratives of American history is that of the Statue of Liberty welcoming immigrants to its shores. Accounts of the exclusion and exploitation of Chinese immigrants in the late nineteenth century and Japanese internment during World War II tell a darker story of American immigration. Less well-known, however, is the treatment of German-Americans and Germannationals in the United States during World War I. Initially accepted and even welcomed into American society at the outbreak of war, this group would face rampant intolerance and anti-German hysteria. Melissa D. Burrage's book illustrates this dramatic shift in attitude in her engrossing narrative of Dr. Karl Muck, the celebrated German conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, who was targeted and ultimately disgraced by a New York Philharmonic board member and by capitalists from that city who used his private sexual life as a basis for having him arrested, interned, and deported from the United States. While the campaign against Muck made national headlines, and is the main focus of this book, Burrage also illuminates broader national topics such as: Total War; State power; vigilante justice; internment and deportation; irresponsible journalism; sexual surveillance; attitudes toward immigration; anti-Semitism; and the development of America's musical institutions. The mistreatment of Karl Muck in the United States provides a narrative thread that connects these various wartime and postwar themes. MELISSAD. BURRAGE, a former writing consultant at Harvard University Extension School, holds a Master's Degree in History from Harvard University and a PhD in American Studies from University of East Anglia. Support for thispublication was provided by the Howard Hanson Institute for American Music at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester.

Full Product Details

Author:   Melissa D Burrage (Royalty Account)
Publisher:   Boydell & Brewer Ltd
Imprint:   University of Rochester Press
Volume:   v. 157
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 3.90cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.001kg
ISBN:  

9781580469500

ISBN 10:   1580469507
Pages:   456
Publication Date:   01 June 2019
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

"Introduction Here on Foreign Shores: Dr. Karl Muck's Acclaim in Boston (1906-1916) Mobilization: A Changing Environment for Boston (1917) Selling the War: Demonizing the Enemy (1918) ""Looking for the Trump Card:"" Mrs. William Jay's Attacks on Karl Muck in Wartime America (1915-1918) ""A Leaf in the Storm:"" Muck, Higginson, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra (1918-1919) Muck's Arrest: ""Finding 'One Weak Spot'"" (1918-1919) ""Only Too Proud to Shoulder It All:"" The Sexual Climate of Wartime Boston and Muck's Fall from Grace (1918-1919) Muck's Final Years: His Association with the Wagners and Adolf Hitler (1920-1940) Coda (1919 to Present) Acknowledgments Bibliography"

Reviews

The Karl Muck Scandal: Classical Music and Xenophobia in World War I America is impressive, linking musical, historical, and cultural aspects in the career of Dr. Karl Muck as conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The author's narrative confronts effectively how Muck's career engaged with a variety of major issues-nationalism, anti-Semitism, sexual morality, and Nazism. Drawing on impressive archival and published sources, Burrage moves smoothly between the musical world and national politics, showing how deeply public opinion became inflamed in new ways in the early decades of the twentieth century. --William A. Weber, California State University, Long Beach I find Burrage's book to be a provocative, well-researched, and carefully argued contribution to the literature on American musical life, the impact of World War I on the American cultural scene, and issues of nationalism and identity in the early twentieth century. The Karl Muck Scandal: Classical Music and Xenophobia in World War I America is admirably even handed, presenting a complex portrait of Dr. Muck that stands as one of the best book's features. It will become a new point of departure for future scholars working on the Boston Symphony Orchestra and its conductor. --S. Andrew Granade, author of Harry Partch: Hobo Composer

BEST CLASSICAL MUSIC BOOK RELEASE OF 2019 by Classical-music.com, the official website of BBC Music Magazine. 2019 SUMMER READS ABOUT CLASSICAL MUSIC by the ABC--Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2019 BEST BOOK AWARD finalist in both the History and Performing Arts categories, sponsored by American Book Fest. 2019 SUBVENTION AWARD by the American Musicological Society, funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. [C]ommendably even-handed in its treatment of Muck, declining to make an innocent victim of him. . . . It's a wonderful book, a very rich addition not only to the literature on American music and the war but also to Boston musical history. I learned much! THE NEW YORKER [Alex Ross] This incisive, powerful book is not so much a biography as a broader cultural history . . . Burrage situates Muck as a prism through which to examine the shadow of prejudice, paranoia and reckless journalism that engulfed cultural relations in America during World War I. The resulting work is an exemplary piece of scholarship. It is painstakingly written, offering a compelling (and terrifyingly relevant) discussion of the power-play between culture, politics and the darker forces of humanity. FIVE STARS. BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE [Kate Wakeling] [A] thoroughly researched and excellent book. . . . Well-illustrated and thoroughly footnoted with an excellent, comprehensive bibliography, sparing no details of one of the shabbiest farces in our cultural history. AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE [Don O'Connor] Fans of classical music like to think that music can transcend politics. After all, music is the language of beauty that crosses borders and cultures. . . . Sadly, classical music can be a creature of politics as well, as Melissa Burrage reveals in her absorbing history. . . . [A] sad story evocatively told. QUARTER NOTES MAGAZINE, WCPE CLASSICAL MUSIC RADIO [R. C. Speck] The Karl Muck Scandal goes behind the front page to explain one of World War I's most remarkable events. Melissa Burrage draws on intensive research and careful listening while always keeping the human element in view. An immigrant in a new land, contests over loyalty and patriotism, fear, surveillance, and incarceration, this is not only the story of a single musician, but also a crucial chapter in the story of America itself. --Chris Capozzola, professor of history, Massachusetts Institute of Technology [E]ffectively confronts . . . a variety of major issues -- nationalism, anti-Semitism, sexual morality, and Nazism. . . . Drawing on impressive archival and published sources, Burrage moves smoothly between the musical world and national politics, showing how deeply public opinion became inflamed in new ways in the early decades of the twentieth century. --William Weber, professor emeritus of history, California State University, Long Beach I find Burrage's book to be a provocative, well-researched and carefully argued contribution to the literature on American musical life, the impact of World War I on the American cultural scene, and issues of nationalism and identity in the early twentieth century. The Karl Muck Scandal is admirably evenhanded, presenting a complex portrait of Dr. Muck that stands as one of the book's best features. It will become a new point of departure for future scholars working on the Boston Symphony Orchestra and its conductor. --S. Andrew Granade, professor of musicology, University of Missouri-Kansas

In 1918, Karl Muck captured headlines, but The Karl Muck Scandal goes behind the front page to explain one of World War I's most remarkable events. Melissa Burrage draws on intensive research and careful listening while always keeping the human element in view. An immigrant in a new land; contests over loyalty and patriotism; fear, surveillance, and incarceration: this is not only the story of a single musician, but also a crucial chapter in the story of America itself. --Christopher Capozzola, professor of history at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and author of Uncle Sam Wants You: World War I and the Making of the Modern American Citizen The Karl Muck Scandal: Classical Music and Xenophobia in World War I America is impressive, linking musical, historical, and cultural aspects in the career of Dr. Karl Muck as conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The author's narrative confronts effectively how Muck's career engaged with a variety of major issues-nationalism, anti-Semitism, sexual morality, and Nazism. Drawing on impressive archival and published sources, Burrage moves smoothly between the musical world and national politics, showing how deeply public opinion became inflamed in new ways in the early decades of the twentieth century. --William A. Weber, professor emeritus of history, California State University, Long Beach I find Burrage's book to be a provocative, well-researched, and carefully argued contribution to the literature on American musical life, the impact of World War I on the American cultural scene, and issues of nationalism and identity in the early twentieth century. The Karl Muck Scandal: Classical Music and Xenophobia in World War I America is admirably evenhanded, presenting a complex portrait of Dr. Muck that stands as one of the book's best features. It will become a new point of departure for future scholars working on the Boston Symphony Orchestra and its conductor. --S. Andrew Granade, professor of musicology at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and author of Harry Partch: Hobo Composer

The Karl Muck Scandal: Classical Music and Xenophobia in World War I America is impressive, linking musical, historical, and cultural aspects in the career of Dr. Karl Muck as conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The author's narrative confronts effectively how Muck's career engaged with a variety of major issues-nationalism, anti-Semitism, sexual morality, and Nazism. Drawing on impressive archival and published sources, Burrage moves smoothly between the musical world and national politics, showing how deeply public opinion became inflamed in new ways in the early decades of the twentieth century. --William A. Weber, California State University, Long Beach I find Burrage's book to be a provocative, well-researched, and carefully argued contribution to the literature on American musical life, the impact of World War I on the American cultural scene, and issues of nationalism and identity in the early twentieth century. The Karl Muck Scandal: Classical Music and Xenophobia in World War I America is admirably evenhanded, presenting a complex portrait of Dr. Muck that stands as one of the best book's features. It will become a new point of departure for future scholars working on the Boston Symphony Orchestra and its conductor. --S. Andrew Granade, author of Harry Partch: Hobo Composer

Author Information

MELISSA D. BURRAGE, a writing consultant at Harvard University Extension School, holds a Master's Degree in History from Harvard University and a PhD in American Studies from University of East Anglia.

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