Dangerous Melodies, Jonathan Rosenberg
Dangerous Melodies, Jonathan Rosenberg
List: $24.95 | Sale: $17.47
Club: $12.47

Dangerous Melodies
Classical Music in America from the Great War through the Cold War

Author: Jonathan Rosenberg

Narrator: Chris Henry Coffey

Unabridged: 15 hr 55 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/10/2019


Synopsis

A Juilliard-trained musician and professor of history explores the fascinating entanglement of classical music with American foreign relations.Dangerous Melodies vividly evokes a time when classical music stood at the center of American life, occupying a prominent place in the nation’s culture and politics. The work of renowned conductors, instrumentalists, and singers―and the activities of orchestras and opera companies―were intertwined with momentous international events: two world wars, the rise of fascism, and the Cold War.Jonathan Rosenberg exposes the politics behind classical music, showing how German musicians were dismissed or imprisoned as the country’s music was swept from American auditoriums during World War I―yet, twenty years later, those same compositions could inspire Americans in the fight against Nazism while Russian music was deployed to strengthen the US-Soviet alliance. During the Cold War, Van Cliburn’s triumph in the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow became cause for America to celebrate. In Dangerous Melodies, Rosenberg delves into the singular decades-long relationship of classical music and political ideology in America.

About Jonathan Rosenberg

Jonathan Rosenberg is an author and professor of twentieth-century US history at Hunter College and the CUNY Graduate Center. He lives in Croton-on-Hudson, New York.

About Jayme Mattler

Jayme Mattler is a professional voiceover artist with years of experience in recording, directing, and producing. Passionate about narrating audiobooks, she has been the recipient of multiple Audie Award nominations.

About Chris Henry Coffey

Chris Henry Coffey is a film and television actor known for his role in David Schwimmer’s film Trust. He has also had roles on Broadway, including the play Bronx Bombers. A graduate of the Yale School of Drama, he divides his time between New York and Los Angeles.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Steve

Unless you have some major prior knowledge about the history of classical music in the US, this is not for you. If you appreciate the music. already know a lot about it and wish to increase your knowledge about the relationship between music and politics, this is THE book. Perhaps the best on classi......more

Goodreads review by Linda

Dangerous Melodies: Classical Music in America from the Great War through the Cold War by Jonathan Rosenberg shows early examples of cancel culture with German musicians. Politics still affects art and entertainment. Unpopular affiliations and opinions also stifles academic freedom and scientific in......more

Goodreads review by Jean

I found this book thoroughly engaging. Rosenberg does an excellent job of laying out the main theme - the influence of classical music on and its role in U.S. political policy and national thinking. In his assessment of the decades between 1914 and today, he uses several characters to illustrate his......more

Goodreads review by Bill

This is primarily about performers - the only composition discussed at any length is Shostakovich's Seventh. DSCH's appearance at the New York Cultural and Scientific Congress for World Peace and Aaron Copland's run-in with HUAC are the only incidents discussed involving composers. Much of the book i......more


Quotes

“A riveting and illuminating book.” Wall Sreet Journal

“Engaging and authoritative…Not only valuable and fair-minded history but an unceasingly engaging series of tales.” Washington Post

“Narrator Chris Coffey’s deep voice and soft tone are a wonderful vehicle to tell this history…Coffey’s steady pace and subtle expression work splendidly in this engaging work.” AudioFile

“For half a century, classical music reflected America’s identity on the world stage…A richly detailed and freshly illuminating musical/political history.” Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Rosenberg masterfully tells these stories straightforwardly.” Booklist

“Rosenberg smartly frames this history as a battle between a ‘musical nationalism’ that saw classical music as a projection of national diplomacy and influence, and a ‘musical universalism¹ that emphasized its power to unite humanity…Classical music aficionados will find much enjoyable lore from a time when the music was at the center of international rivalries.” Publishers Weekly

“A clear-eyed and perspicacious work for classical music scholars and fans and anyone interested in the intersection of politics and culture.” Library Journal

“Backed up by meticulous scholarship, Dangerous Melodies is clearly motivated by a great love for music; throughout this tribute to its emotional power, the author poses insightful and disturbing questions about the political uses that can be made of humanity’s deep need for artistic communication.” Eugene Drucker, founding member, Emerson String Quartet, and author of The Savior

“Riveting and eye opening…Thoroughly researched and well written, the book offers both scholar and general reader invaluable information through gripping stories of intrigue, heroism, and villainy.” L. Michael Griffel, chairperson of the Music History Department, Juilliard School