Music

Roots

Music has an extremely long tradition in Germany, going all the way back to the Minnesänger of the Middle Ages. The German equivalent of the French troubadours were lyrical poets who sang mostly love songs at the royal courts. The most famous German Minnesänger was Walther von der Vogelweide, who died around 1230.

Baroque Era

Today most people associate German composers with classical music. The premier composer during the late Baroque period was undoubtedly Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), who is famous, among other things, for his preludes, cantatas, fugues, concertos. A contemporary of Bach's was Georg Friedrich Händel (1865-1759), who was born in east-central Germany but spent most of his life in England, eventually becoming a British subject. The Messiah is considered his greatest work.

Classical Era

This was the pinnacle of musical evolution in Western culture, and several German and Austrian composers led the way. Vienna, Berlin and Dresden were the main centres of orchestral composition in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Austrian Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809), known as the Father of the Symphony and the Father of the String Quartet, paved the way. Haydn was a great friend and mentor of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). The two composers met on numerous occasions in Vienna and even played string quartets together.

Romantic Era

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) entered the scene in the early 19th century. Born in Bonn, Germany, he was also influenced by the Vienna School, having been a student of Haydn's. Beethoven is considered a key figure in the transition from the Classical era to the Romantic era. A contemporary of Beethoven's, Austrian Franz Schubert (1797-1828), is most well known for his contributions to the development of a form of lyrical poetry called the Lied. Schubert composed over 600 works in this genre.

A number of famous German composers who mixed classical and romantic elements in various ways burst onto the scene around the middle of the century, including Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), Robert Schumann (1810-1856) and Johannes Brahms (1833-1897), just to name a few.

Late 19th Century

Vienna returned to centre stage at the end of the 19th century with the emergence of the Vienna waltz. Austrian Johann Strauss II (1825-1899) is popularly known as the "Waltz King".

Richard Wagner (1813-1883) strove to create a Gesamtkunstwerk that represented a synthesis of all forms of poetry, music and drama. His works are often referred to as "music dramas". One of the best known music festivals in Germany takes place every year in Bayreuth (Bayreuth Festival) and features one of Wagner's masterpieces.

20th Century

In the early 20th century the Wagnerian tradition was initially continued by such composers as Hans Pfitzner (1869-1949). Best known as the composer of "Mack the Knife" from Bertolt Brecht's "Threepenny Opera", Kurt Weill (1900-1950) spent his latter years in the United States, eventually becoming a U.S. citizen. Carl Orff (1895-1982) developed a minimalist style founded on rhythm and percussive effects that was intended to be free of contemporary effects and thus timeless. His most well-known work is Carmina Burana, although many consider the opera Antigone to be his true masterpiece. German-born musician Hans Zimmer is considered the preeminent composer of musical scores for films. His credits include Rainman, Driving Miss Daisy, The Lion King, The Da Vinci code and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.