Propaganda

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union fostered classical music performance, and many outstanding international performers received their education there, including cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, violinists David Oistrakh and Gidon Kremer, and pianist Sviatoslav Richter. However, the Soviet attitude toward original musical composition was more restrictive. The early years of Josef Stalin were associated with a rejection of Western values, including Western classical music, in favor of music based on or incorporating traditional Russian melodies. Beginning in the 1930s, Soviet composers were required to submit their work for approval to the Union of Soviet Composers, part of the Ministry of Culture.

The ideals of socialist realism, including glorification of the Russian people and depictions of the class struggle, were reflected in many songs and operas during the Soviet period. Composers who failed to adhere to the party's desires could be denounced and have their works banned; for instance, noted composer Dimitri Shostakovich's 1934 opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District was banned because of its sexual content and sympathetic portrait of an adulterous woman who commits murder. On the other hand, composers who found favor with the Soviet government could see their careers prosper; for example, Ivan Dzerzhinsky's patriotic opera Tikhii Don, based on the novel And Quietly Flows the Don, incorporated simple melodies intended to appeal to a proletariat audience and party officials.

Nazi Germany

The attempts of the Nazi government in Germany to use music as propaganda is well documented. Hitlerjugend, the Hitler youth organization purposed with training children in Nazi principles and installing discipline and national pride, included music as a key aspect of its educational program. Children in the organization received formal vocal and instrumental music training, many musical groups were founded to give young people opportunities to perform, songbooks were published to promote choral singing, Nazi lyrics were created for many existing folk songs, and group musical events were frequently held because they were considered an important means of creating group unity. The Nazi party also incorporated music into its public events, including military music and the work of certain German composers such as Richard Wagner, whose opera Rienzi was a favorite of Hitler.

The Nazi government classified several types of music as degenerate (entartete musik) and banned performance of such works. The category of [Page 907]degenerate music was broad, and included music written by Jewish or part-Jewish composers (e.g., Kurt Weill and Felix Mendelssohn); works by Marxist composers (e.g., Hanns Eisler); works featuring nonwhite or Jewish characters; and jazz, swing, and modernist music. Music classified as degenerate was incorporated into several public art exhibits that were meant to show German citizens what they were to avoid, but the exhibits had the opposite effect because they gave people a chance to enjoy modernist art and music not otherwise available. Composers whose works were included in exhibitions of degenerate art included Arnold Schoenberg, Kurt Weill, Paul Hindemith, and Igor Stravinsky.

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