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Hanns Eisler's "Das Vorbild" And The Rebuilding Of Musical Culture In The German Democratic Republic, Alyssa Wells

Masters Theses

In his essay, “Musik und Musikverständnis” (1927), Hanns Eisler (1898-1962) wrote that "the evaluation of a piece of music calls for the understanding of the elements of harmony, polyphony, and form," and that one who is not privy to this understanding will "be in the same situation as one who hears a speech in Chinese, without an understanding of Chinese.” Eisler maintained that music could be rendered intelligible through “a gradual rebuilding of musical culture.” This new musical culture, which he believed could only occur after the proletariat seized societal power from the bourgeoisie, would promote musical education and encourage …