’You play exactly as if you came from America.’ Transatlantic Relations and Anti-American Bias in the Musical Life of the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy 1880-1915
Final Report Abstract
Using contemporary sources such as diaries, (auto)biographies, personal documents or newspaper reviews and focusing on individual American pianists who studied with teachers like Franz Liszt (Weimar) and Theodor Leschetizky (Vienna) as well as at institutions in Berlin, we looked at how transatlantic networks in musical life c. 1900 developed, and to what extent, for what reasons and with what consequences anti-American biases became relevant to this process. We researched challenges faced by American pianists with larger and smaller historical footprints, the question of how they navigated their new networks, and what the advantages of studying in Europe were with regard to a career in the United States. Not only have we been able to show that transatlantic networks, especially those with pianists as the most important group, turned out to be densely wrought and long-lasting. We also found that anti-American bias served specific functions, and that it was present on both sides of the Atlantic, in both German- and English-spoken communities, and thus was even sometimes voiced by Americans themselves.
Publications
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Progress, Interrupted: American Students of Theodor Leschetizky in Vienna. Journal of Austrian-American History, 6(2), 136-153.
Tewinkel, Christiane
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„Adele Lewing and the Transatlantic Networks of Women Pianists“, Konferenz “Women at the Piano 1948-1970”, University of California at Irvine, USA, März 2023
Noorduin, Marten
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„Ethel Newcomb, Vorbereiterin at Theodor Leschetizky’s“, Konferenz “Women at the Piano 1948-1970“, University of California at Irvine, USA, März 2023
Tewinkel, Christiane
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„The Leschetizky Method: Transatlantic Impact of a Musical Idea“, Arbeitstagung „Musicians on the Move in the Long Nineteenth Century“, November 2023, Lübeck
Noorduin, Marten
