Émigré Composers and the Composer’s Obligation

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Émigrés’ Challenges
The Composer’s Obligation
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

The U.S. accepted a host of émigrés over the course of World War II and the decade preceding it. Many came fleeing the dangers of the War or Nazi oppression and had to face great challenges adapting to the new culture and new ways of life (Crawford, “Composers in the ‘Picture Business’”, p. 176). However, for some, losing their home countries would mean finding new opportunities to practice their art, with their unique experiences contributing to works that convey the chaos and discord of the time. Others would respond to these trying times by seeking to uplift and entertain people through their art. In music, this distinction created a divide that demonstrates, perhaps, two opposite ways of coping with difficulty.

The Émigrés’ Challenges

The 1930s and 1940s were a difficult time for the U.S. The Great Depression was creating harsh economic conditions that made it challenging even for citizens, who had established themselves, to survive. For émigrés, some of whom were political and war refugees and could arrive at the East Coast with nothing, this would mean starting their careers, and possibly lives, anew (Crawford, “Paradise?”, p. 24). The immigration laws at the time gave preference to those who had secured employment with a U.S. citizen (Crawford, “Paradise?”, p. 24) Therefore, for many émigrés obtaining a contract with a film studio, a university, or a performing organization was necessary for a composer (Crawford, “Paradise?”, p. 24). These factors drove them towards Los Angeles, but the city’s culture made it difficult for them to adapt (Crawford, “Paradise?”, p. 25). The film industry had a significant influence, while other cultural establishments, like theater and opera to which émigré composers were more used were relatively underdeveloped (Crawford, “Paradise?”, pp. 25-26). These conditions posed a significant challenge for émigrés as they strove to adapt to life in a new country.

Many émigrés were hopeful to experience the freedoms afforded by the U.S. Constitution, especially when compared to what they might have encountered in their home countries. Nonetheless, conditions were harsh, and many had to adapt to new ways of work and life. Erich Korngold, one of the most successful and renowned émigré composers, mentions that when he first arrived to work on film scores, he “knew no more about films and their making than any other mortal” (qtd. in Karnes and Goldmark, “Some Experiences in Film Music”, p. 247). For most, work in the ‘picture business’ involved up to ten contracts a year, with limited choice, creative control, and ownership rights to the music (Crawford, “Composers in the ‘Picture business’”, pp. 177-178). In contrast, Korngold’s success allowed him an extremely privileged position that left him significant choice as to the projects he would undertake, as well as the highest pay among Hollywood composers at the time (Crawford, “Composers in the ‘Picture Business’”, p. 178). Thus, for émigrés, their flight to the U.S. could mean success if they could adapt to the new culture.

The Composer’s Obligation

The historical context of the 1930s and 1940s greatly influenced the music created at the time. The émigré composers, many of whom experienced the hardships of the period or fled the Nazi regime, contributed to this direction. Some would claim an obligation to engage with the current events. Arnold Schoenberg explained that his work “must not ignore the agitation aroused in mankind against the crimes that provoke this war” (qtd. in Auner, 291). His two works, Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte, op. 41 and A Survivor from Warsaw were heavily influenced by the situation (Feisst, “Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte, op. 41”, p. 149; Feisst, “A Survivor from Warsaw”, pp. 105-106). Such works can evoke feelings of chaos, despair, discord, or hope in listeners who are familiar with the context.

This approach has received criticism as potentially insensitive or offensive. Adorno notes that in stylizing the violence enacted on the victims of concentration camps, some of its horror is removed, an injustice to these victims (p. 61). Shreffler brings up criticism of A Survivor from Warsaw as failing at being good music as well as delivering a political message (10). A conflict between being successful as music and delivering a political message is also evident in this critique (Shreffler, p. 10). Furthermore, as such music is reliant on its historical or political context to a great extent, understanding of this context is necessary to appreciate it.

Erich Korngold, conversely, condemns this context-dependent approach in his writing. He claims that music should engage with higher ideals or nature that exist outside of the constraints of time (Korngold, “Faith in Music!”, p. 256). He brings up several classical composers, such as Chopin and Beethoven, whose music does not reflect their time (Korngold, “Faith in Music!”, p. 258). This music, he argues, has the potential to engage and “bring to mankind today and in the future, pleasure and exaltation, dedication and happiness” (Korngold, “Faith in Music!”, p. 258). His renown and success as a Hollywood composer can serve as evidence that this approach to creating music finds its response among a broad audience.

Does a composer, then, have an obligation to create music that engages with the present historical context? I find the criticism against Schoenberg’s approach valid; program music pursues two goals that may come in conflict with one another: create music that is pleasing and deliver a message. Furthermore, especially when engaging with sensitive topics, it is possible to misrepresent or offend those who are affected by them. Finally, this music is entirely dependent on a variety of factors, including the knowledge of the context. To someone unfamiliar with the history of World War II, A Survivor from Warsaw sounds like a dramatic memoir, as disconnected from reality as any other work of music.

Korngold’s approach, as evidenced by his score for The Adventures of Robin Hood, pursues one objective: create music that is enjoyable and uplifting. This score, when heard separate from the film, is an enjoyable piece of music 80 years after its creation. It still bears the context of the time, and, being written specifically for the film, represents a larger piece of work, securing its place in time without being inextricably embedded in a particular period.

Conclusion

Based on these arguments, a composer is under no obligation to engage with any specifics of the present moment. Music is not created in a vacuum, and such an obligation would also imply that others have an obligation to perform and listen to it. The composer is, thus, free to engage with the context of his or her time. However, it is also impossible to separate a piece of music entirely from this conflict. Whether it is the technical limitations and instruments available, or specific forms and influences from the composer’s contemporaries, the time period when a piece is composed will have an effect on it. Ultimately, composers are only obligated to create music; whether it will be considered timeless is, ironically, a question to which time will tell the answer.

Works Cited

Adorno, Theodor. “Commitment.” New Left Review, vol. 87-88, 1974, pp.60-62.
Auner, Joseph. “Reactions to World War II.” A Schoenberg Reader: Documents of a Life. Yale UP, 2008, pp. 290-291.
Crawford, Dorothy Lamb. “Composers in the ‘Picture Business’.” A Windfall of Musicians: Hitler’s Émigrés and Exiles in Southern California, Yale UP, 2009, pp. 174-179.
Crawford, Dorothy Lamb. “Paradise?” A Windfall of Musicians: Hitler’s Émigrés and Exiles in Southern California, Yale UP, 2009, pp. 23-33.
Feisst, Sabine. “A Survivor from Warsaw” Schoenberg’s New World: The American Years. Oxford UP, 2011, pp. 105-108.
Feisst, Sabine. “Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte, op. 41.” Schoenberg’s New World: The American Years. Oxford UP, 2011, pp. 144-149.
Korngold, Erich. “Faith in Music.” Korngold and His World, edited by Kevin C. Karnes and Daniel Goldmark, Princeton UP, 2019, pp. 255-258.
Korngold, Erich. “Some Experiences in Film Music.” Korngold and His World, edited by Kevin C. Karnes and Daniel Goldmark, Princeton UP, 2019, pp. 247-252.
Shreffler, Anne C. “Schoenberg’s Survivor from Warsaw: Political Music or Kitsch?” Cold War Dissonance: Dahlhaus, Taruskin, and the Critique of the Politically Engaged Avant-garde. 2015, pp. 9-11.

Quote candidates: if you see this page, delete it.

Not only is Survivor not very good music, according to Taruskin, it is not even adequate as political music. In fact, it is only kitsch (Shreffler, p. 10).

The increasingly ugly anti-Semitism in Austria convinced the Korngolds, who had two sons, to seriously consider possible refuge in California, and in the fall of 1935 Erich accepted a return engagement (Crawford, p. 176).

At the beginning of each of his film projects, Korngold was plagued by bouts of anxiety (Crawford, p. 177).

No other film composer achieved the privileges granted to Korngold (Crawford 178)’ Korngold completed the score only because on February 12 he received a telephone message that Austria’s demise was imminent (Crawford, p. 179).

With the German annexation of Austria, the Korngolds’ homes and property were confiscated, and their immediate challenge was to bring their older son and their parents unharmed to California (Crawford, p. 179).

When the European war broke out in 1939, Korngold sank into a deep depression (Crawford, p. 179).

Quotes from Korngold:

The true creative artist does not wish to recreate for his fellow man the headlines screaming of atom bombs, murder, and sensationalism found in the daily paper (Karnes and Goldmark, “Faith in Music!”, p. 255).

The horrors of the Napoleonic war years are hardly recognizable in the compositions of Schubert or Beethoven (Karnes and Goldmark,”Faith in Music!”, p. 258).

Within days, however, the situation in Austria deteriorated to the point where the Korngolds realized not only that they could not return to their home, but that they had best make sure

their older son Ernst, who had stayed in Vienna so as not to interrupt his schooling, left immediately (Karnes and Goldmark, “Some experiences in film music”, p. 247).

[Korngold] he essentially knew nothing about the integration of music into film from a technical standpoint (Karnes and Goldmark, “Some experiences in film music”, p. 249).

Korngold also seems entirely aware of the fact that he is in the minority — perhaps even in a singular position in Hollywood — regarding the amount of deference he received as a composer (Karnes and Goldmark, “Some experiences in film music”, p. 249).

When I came to Hollywood about six years ago, I knew no more about films and their making than any other mortal who buys his ticket at the box office (“Some experiences in film music” 249).

The aesthetic principle of stylization, and even the solemn prayer of the chorus, make an unthinkable fate appear to have had some meaning; it is transfigured, something of its horror is removed. This alone does an injustice to the victims (Adorno, p. 61).

I had at once the idea that this piece must not ignore the agitation aroused in mankind against the crimes that provoke this war. (Schoenberg in Auner, p. 291).

With his Ode, Schoenberg catered to the American public in manifold ways. He made a political and patriotic musical statement at a time when American soldiers began to risk their lives in the fight against Nazism. He selected a work by an English-language poet who was popular in America and built on the topical Napoleon-Hitler comparison (Feisst, “Ode to Napoleon Buonaparte”, p. 149)

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