123 School Work

Johann Strauss II Viennese Symbol of Romantic Nationalism

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  Throughout recorded time, music has served as a means of entertainment, inspiration, and motivation to evoke emotional responses from the listener. In the nineteenth century, some composers were able to rally entire nations to patriotic heights through their music. In Germany, Wagner's Ring Cycle operas raised a sense of nationalism that grew into the mythical Aryan manifestation of 20th century Nazism. In America, Sousa's marches inspired U.S. Marines as they went to war with Spain in Cuba. The Viennese music of Johann Strauss II, however, didn't inspire people of the Habsburg Empire in the same manner. To the contrary, his smooth and seductive waltzes did more to sooth and calm the subjects of an empire in decline. It was more than coincidence that Strauss' music had this effect; there were definite factors that contributed to this 'reverse phenomenon.' First was the style of music that Strauss primarily wrote in: the waltz...