Musical life in Germany
Thanks to the extraordinary density and diversity of its musical life, Germany continues to be regarded as a 'land of music'. Not only does this reflect its rich musical legacy, it is also indicative of a living and vibrant music scene in which various genres, styles and a wide range of musical cultures can develop and unfold. With the present publication the German Music Information Centre (MIZ) is publishing selected facts and figures on Germany's musical life for an international readership. The topics range from music education to amateur music-making, and from the funding and professional practice of music to the music industry and the media.
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'I am certain that the book will help many readers to deepen their knowledge and form their own picture of musical life in Germany.'
Bernd Neumann, Member of Parliament, Minister of State to the Federal Chancellor
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After the Second World War, Germany developed into a verdant landscape whose essence is best conveyed by a single term: diversity ...
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Germany's state school system is influenced in two different directions: by the individual's right to receive an education, and by the state's responsibility to provide it ...
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For centuries young people have received music instruction outside the state system of education, in particular learning to play an instrument or to sing. The seeds of music ...
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In keeping with the great variety of forms that music can take, a wide and varied array of professions either directly or indirectly associated with music has emerged over ...
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With an estimated seven million singers and instrumentalists, amateur music-making is one of Germany's largest areas of civic engagement. Civic engagement is the essential ...
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The German orchestral landscape, with its 133 professional, publicly financed symphony and chamber orchestras, remains unparalleled worldwide for its density and ...
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Music theatre in all its various genres – opera, ballet, operetta and musicals – is clearly the favourite of Germany's theatre audiences. In the 2008-09 season a total of ...
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Festspiel, or Festspiele in the plural, is the German word for 'festival'. So is Festival writ large, although, as we shall see, the two words mean quite different things ...
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The infrastructure of contemporary music in Germany is remarkable for its diversity. The very large number of German synonyms for the 'serious' music of the last 100 ...
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Pop, rock, jazz, schlager, commercial folk, oom-pah, chansons, hip-hop, rap, techno, dance music and all their many hybrids and sub-genres occupy a place of ...
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In every religion practised in Germany, especially Judaism, Christianity and Islam, sacred music plays a crucial role. This is not the proper place to attempt an even-handed ...
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In the beginning was music: music presided over the very birth of German broadcasting on 29 October 1923, when the first truly general free-to-air radio transmission ...
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Music libraries and music archives are fundamentally important for both the study and the performance of music. They collect and provide access to source material and ...
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The music industry has long figured among the major classical sub-markets of Germany's cultural economy. Often referred to as the 'music business' or the 'music market' ...
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Music is one of the largest and most important fields in Germany's cultural sector. Its importance is generally acknowledged by German society, as is apparent ...
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