美国国家公共电台 NPR Jonathan Rosenberg Explores Classical Music From WWI To The Cold War

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

There is another American who once got a great, big ol' bear hug from a Russian leader...

(SOUNDBITE OF VAN CLIBURN PERFORMANCE OF TCHAIKOVSKY'S "PIANO CONCERTO¹ NO. 1 IN B FLAT MINOR")

SIMON: ...Van Cliburn, curly-headed Texas kid who won the International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1958, the height of the Cold War. He was hugged by Nikita Khrushchev and heralded² like Elvis Presley when he got back home to America. Classical music figures were once stars in America - pursued, recognized, gossiped about, people who had popular and cultural impact on America.

Jonathan Rosenberg, a professor of history at Hunter College, has a new book, "Dangerous Melodies: Classical Music In America From the Great War Through the Cold War." He joins us in our studios. Thanks so much for being with us.

JONATHAN ROSENBERG: It's a great pleasure to be here.

SIMON: Help us understand Van Cliburn's popularity at the height of the Cold War.

ROSENBERG: Well, that's how the book begins. He won the competition in the spring of 1958, the Tchaikovsky competition. When he came back, Cliburn-mania swept the country. People were deeply interested in everything about him. They wanted to read about him. There was a ticker tape parade in New York. A hundred thousand delirious³ New Yorkers watched the parade snake its way up Broadway. Cliburn was in the back of an open car, waving to people, blowing kisses.

And this was seen as a victory for the American system in some sense, the idea that Van Cliburn, an American, could go over and defeat the Russians, among others, in classical music, which was not seen as something that the United States particularly excelled at, that he could go over there and win this competition and receive praise, in fact, from Russians while he was there suggested to people that perhaps the United States was not comprised of a bunch of materialists and barbarians⁴ because in many circles, that was how we were seen. Cliburn seemed to put the lie to that.

SIMON: Let me ask you about another period much earlier.

ROSENBERG: Yes.

(SOUNDBITE OF RICHARD STRAUSS' "ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA")

SIMON: The United States entered World War I in 1917. And across the country....

(SOUNDBITE OF RICHARD STRAUSS' "ALSO SPRACH ZARATHUSTRA")

SIMON: ...There were calls for the music of Richard Strauss and other great German composers not to be played. What happened?

ROSENBERG: There was throughout the country tremendous anti-German sentiment. Classical music was swept up in this anti-German sentiment quite distressingly⁵, I might add. The Metropolitan⁶ Opera Company, for example, banned all German opera starting in the 1917, '18 season. The music of living German composers was banned in most places in the United States, including the music of Richard Strauss. And musicians in the orchestra also lost their jobs. This happened across the country. Obviously, it manifested itself in different ways, but the world of classical music in the United States - East, Midwest and West - was affected⁷ adversely⁸ by this.

(SOUNDBITE OF PERFORMANCE OF BEETHOVEN'S "SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN E-FLAT MAJOR")

SIMON: Let me ask you about another period.

ROSENBERG: Sure.

(SOUNDBITE OF PERFORMANCE OF BEETHOVEN'S "SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN E-FLAT MAJOR")

SIMON: Maestro Arturo Toscanini conducting Beethoven's Third.

(SOUNDBITE OF PERFORMANCE OF BEETHOVEN'S "SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN E-FLAT MAJOR")

SIMON: Let me get you to tell us about the concert he conducted in April of 1933 and its significance.

ROSENBERG: Toscanini and a number of other musicians in the United States sent a cable to Adolf Hitler basically saying that Hitler ought to stop the depredations⁹ against musicians in Nazi¹⁰ Germany.

SIMON: I mean, to be plain, they were Jewish musicians - not just...

ROSENBERG: Not exclusively.

SIMON: Yeah.

ROSENBERG: There were some who were not Jewish musicians, but they were in the eyes of the Nazi regime transgressors. And Toscanini was asked to become part of this effort. And he said, absolutely, I will certainly do that. And it was seen as quite an important event in the United States at the time.

SIMON: Another period I want to ask you about - the McCarthy era in the United States and a story - I'm afraid I didn't know - about a composer who, in many minds, is the author of quintessential, irreplaceable American music.

(SOUNDBITE OF PERFORMANCE OF AARON COPLAND'S "LINCOLN PORTRAIT")

SIMON: Of course, that's Aaron Copland's "Lincoln Portrait."

ROSENBERG: Lovely, lovely to listen to.

(SOUNDBITE OF PERFORMANCE OF AARON COPLAND'S "LINCOLN PORTRAIT")

SIMON: It was struck from the playlist, if I might call it that, of Dwight Eisenhower's inaugural¹¹ concert.

ROSENBERG: That is correct. I think an Illinois congressman¹² - I write about this in the book...

SIMON: He was, yeah.

ROSENBERG: ...A man by the name of Busby came to understand or was given to understand that that Aaron Copland's political sentiments were, let us say, questionable¹³. This congressman made quite a fuss about it. And, in fact, the piece was taken off, as you said, the playlist for the inaugural. It was taken off. Copland was exercised about it. Others were as, well. Then there was worse to come for Copland, which we might discuss.

SIMON: He was called before Joseph McCarthy's Senate committee.

ROSENBERG: He was interrogated¹⁴, if you will, by McCarthy and Roy Cohn. The larger point is that he was a person who, as you said earlier, represented in his music America's highest patriotic¹⁵ aspirations¹⁶. And nevertheless, he was drawn¹⁷ into the toxic¹⁸ quality of the McCarthy era, being called before that committee. And after that, in fact, he was banned from performing. And he suffered.

SIMON: I find it astonishing that Aaron Copland lost gigs.

ROSENBERG: He did. Eventually, he sort of returned to favor, as it were, but it was...

SIMON: And it was on the Nixon inaugural...

ROSENBERG: That's right. But it was a grim period for many, including Copland.

SIMON: You reflect toward the end of this book on the fact that classical - the classical music audience in America...

ROSENBERG: Yes.

SIMON: ...Is smaller than it once was. What do you think classical music might do now for American culture if more people just picked up the habit?

ROSENBERG: Well, I'd like to think that in a culture that is often distracted, that is seems, at times, to be spinning madly out of control that it allows people the opportunity to appreciate music that was produced in another era, which can be - I find - uplifting. And, you know, quite frankly¹⁹ to me, it would be desirable if people were open to listening to it because I think it can be really rather enriching to sit down and listen to a symphony or a string quartet. I think that would be nice if classical music could yet again become something that people are willing to devote at least a little bit of time to.

SIMON: Jonathan Rosenberg - his book "Dangerous Melodies: Classical Music In America From The Great War Through The Cold War." Thank you very much for being with us.

ROSENBERG: Pleasure.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

1 concerto   

n.协奏曲

参考例句：

• The piano concerto was well rendered.钢琴协奏曲演奏得很好。
• The concert ended with a Mozart violin concerto.音乐会在莫扎特的小提琴协奏曲中结束。

2 heralded   

v.预示( herald的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布（好或重要）

参考例句：

• The singing of the birds heralded in the day. 鸟鸣报晓。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 delirious   

adj.不省人事的，神智昏迷的

参考例句：

• He was delirious,murmuring about that matter.他精神恍惚，低声叨念着那件事。
• She knew that he had become delirious,and tried to pacify him.她知道他已经神志昏迷起来了，极力想使他镇静下来。

4 barbarians   

n.野蛮人( barbarian的名词复数 )；外国人；粗野的人；无教养的人

参考例句：

• The ancient city of Rome fell under the iron hooves of the barbarians. 古罗马城在蛮族的铁蹄下沦陷了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It conquered its conquerors, the barbarians. 它战胜了征服者——蛮族。 来自英汉非文学 - 历史

5 distressingly   

adv. 令人苦恼地；悲惨地

参考例句：

• He died distressingly by the sword. 他惨死于剑下。
• At the moment, the world's pandemic-alert system is distressingly secretive. 出于对全人类根本利益的考虑，印尼政府宣布将禽流感病毒的基因数据向所有人开放。

6 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

7 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

8 adversely   

ad.有害地

参考例句：

• We commented adversely upon the imbecility of that message of telegraphic style. 我们对着这条电报式的愚蠢的留言发泄了一通不满。
• Widely fluctuating exchange rates may adversely affect international trade. 浮动幅度很大的汇率可能会对国际贸易产生有害的影响。

9 depredations   

n.劫掠，毁坏( depredation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Protect the nation's resources against the depredations of other countries. 保护国家资源，不容他人染指。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Hitler's early'successes\" were only the startling depredations of a resolute felon. 希特勒的早期“胜利”，只不过是一个死心塌地的恶棍出人意料地抢掠得手而已。 来自辞典例句

10 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

11 inaugural   

adj.就职的；n.就职典礼

参考例句：

• We listened to the President's inaugural speech on the radio yesterday.昨天我们通过无线电听了总统的就职演说。
• Professor Pearson gave the inaugural lecture in the new lecture theatre.皮尔逊教授在新的阶梯讲堂发表了启用演说。

12 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

13 questionable   

adj.可疑的，有问题的

参考例句：

• There are still a few questionable points in the case.这个案件还有几个疑点。
• Your argument is based on a set of questionable assumptions.你的论证建立在一套有问题的假设上。

14 interrogated   

v.询问( interrogate的过去式和过去分词 )；审问；（在计算机或其他机器上）查询

参考例句：

• He was interrogated by the police for over 12 hours. 他被警察审问了12个多小时。
• Two suspects are now being interrogated in connection with the killing. 与杀人案有关的两名嫌疑犯正在接受审讯。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 patriotic   

adj.爱国的，有爱国心的

参考例句：

• His speech was full of patriotic sentiments.他的演说充满了爱国之情。
• The old man is a patriotic overseas Chinese.这位老人是一位爱国华侨。

16 aspirations   

强烈的愿望( aspiration的名词复数 )； 志向； 发送气音； 发 h 音

参考例句：

• I didn't realize you had political aspirations. 我没有意识到你有政治上的抱负。
• The new treaty embodies the aspirations of most nonaligned countries. 新条约体现了大多数不结盟国家的愿望。

17 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

18 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

19 frankly   

adv.坦白地，直率地；坦率地说

参考例句：

• To speak frankly, I don't like the idea at all.老实说，我一点也不赞成这个主意。
• Frankly speaking, I'm not opposed to reform.坦率地说，我不反对改革。