Reviews
"Mr. Kater...has extracted masses of information from far-flung sources, including public and private archives in Germany and elsewhere, and has drawn level-headed, intelligent conclusions from his research.[T]he broadest and clearest study of classical music in Hitler's Germnay that has appeared to date.....Mr. Kater's treatment of the complicated-and hotly debated-case of the conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler is thorough and convincing....A great deal more is packed into "The Twisted Muse," including fresh looks at the Wagner family's complicity with the Nazis and the cases of Paul Hindemith,....and Herbert von Karajan....Anyone interested in the depressing but fascinating subject of art and politics will find this book exceptionally worthwhile."--Wall Street Journal "Kater...has done prodigious primary research, much of it in hitherto unexamined files, to emerge with a mountain of fresh material....Anyone seriously interested in the interface of art and a peculiarly threatening political culture will find [this book] endlessly fascinating."--PublishersWeekly "[Gives] more analytical attention to the entire [Nazi] era's secrets. Kater...has combed newspaper archives, studied economic statistics, interviewed surviving composers and meticulously correlated information from denazification proceedings. His account...is the most throrough and nuanced now available of Nazi musical alliances, allegiances and ambiguities....[B]rings us to a more complicated understanding without tolerating latent defenses of old friends or 'Vissi d'Arte' alibis." --New York Times Book Review "Fills a conspicuous lacuna in 20th-century musicology. Kater...presents a detailed, disturbing, but always compelling account....There is a great deal here to engage scholars and professional musicians as well as general readers interested in the study of music and ideology. Highly recommended for all libraries."--Library Journal "The best source of information about conductors and other musicians in the Third Reich is now Mr. Kater's book, dense with facts, many of them newly unearthed."--New York Times, "...a well informed study of the state of serious or classicalmusic....Kater is extemely knowledgable about the varieties of politicalallegiances deployed by the musical fraternity....[His] almost-encyclopedicstudy of these musicians' activities in the Third Reich reveals a great dealmore than was hitherto documented about the least desirable sides of these men'scharacters."--Vancouver Sun, "Mr. Kater...has extracted masses of information from far-flung sources, including public and private archives in Germany and elsewhere, and has drawn level-headed, intelligent conclusions from his research.[T]he broadest and clearest study of classical music in Hitler's Germnay that has appeared to date.....Mr. Kater's treatment of the complicated-and hotly debated-case of the conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler is thorough and convincing....A great deal more is packed into "The Twisted Muse," including fresh looks at the Wagner family's complicity with the Nazis and the cases of Paul Hindemith,....and Herbert von Karajan....Anyone interested in the depressing but fascinating subject of art and politics will find this book exceptionally worthwhile."--Wall Street Journal "Kater...has done prodigious primary research, much of it in hitherto unexamined files, to emerge with a mountain of fresh material....Anyone seriously interested in the interface of art and a peculiarly threatening political culture will find [this book] endlessly fascinating."-- Publishers Weekly "[Gives] more analytical attention to the entire [Nazi] era's secrets. Kater...has combed newspaper archives, studied economic statistics, interviewed surviving composers and meticulously correlated information from denazification proceedings. His account...is the most throrough and nuanced now available of Nazi musical alliances, allegiances and ambiguities....[B]rings us to a more complicated understanding without tolerating latent defenses of old friends or ' Vissi d'Arte ' alibis." --New York Times Book Review "Fills a conspicuous lacuna in 20th-century musicology. Kater...presents a detailed, disturbing, but always compelling account....There is a great deal here to engage scholars and professional musicians as well as general readers interested in the study of music and ideology. Highly recommended for all libraries."-- Library Journal "The best source of information about conductors and other musicians in the Third Reich is now Mr. Kater's book, dense with facts, many of them newly unearthed."-- New York Times, "...a well informed study of the state of serious or classical music....Kater is extemely knowledgeable about the varieties of political allegiances deployed by the musical fraternity....[His] almost-encyclopedic study of these musicians' activities in the Third Reich reveals a great deal morethan was hitherto documented about the least desirable sides of these men's characters."--Vancouver Sun, "Mr. Kater...has extracted masses of information from far-flung sources, including public and private archives in Germany and elsewhere, and has drawn level-headed, intelligent conclusions from his research....The broadest and clearest study of classical music in Hitler's Germany that hasappeared to date....Mr. Kater's treatment of the complicated--and hotly debated--case of the conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler is thorough and convincing....A great deal more is packed into [this book], including fresh looks at the Wagner family's complicity with the Nazis and the cases of PaulHindemith...and Herbert von Karajan....Anyone interested in the depressing but fascinating subject of art and politics will find this book exceptionally worthwhile."--The Wall Street Journal, "This work, with its emphasis on the social and political nature of music and the political attitude of musicians during the Nazi regime, is the first of its kind. It will be of interest to scholars and general readers eager to understand Nazi Germany, to music lovers and to anyone interestedin the interchange of music and politics, and culutre and ideology."--Avid-Magazine, "[Gives] more analytical attention to the entire [Nazi] era's secrets.Kater...has combed newspaper archives, studied economic statistics, interviewedsurviving composers and meticulously correlated information from denazificationproceedings. His account...is the most throrough and nuanced now available ofNazi musical alliances, allegiances and ambiguities....[B]rings us to a morecomplicated understanding without tolerating latent defenses of old friends or'Vissi d'Arte' alibis." --New York Times Book Review, "The most authoritative account to date of music and musicians in the Third Reich."--American Historical Review, "Mr. Kater...has extracted masses of information from far-flung sources,including public and private archives in Germany and elsewhere, and has drawnlevel-headed, intelligent conclusions from his research.[T]he broadest andclearest study of classical music in Hitler's Germnay that has appeared todate.....Mr. Kater's treatment of teh complicated-and hotly debated-case of theconductor Wilhelm Furtwangler is thorough and convincing....A great deal more ispacked into "The Twisted Muse," including fresh looks at the Wagner family'scomplicity with the Nazis and the cases of Paul Hindemith,....and Herbert vonKarajan....Anyone interested in the depressing but fascinating subject of artand politics will find this book exceptionally worthwhile."--Wall StreetJournal, "This absorbing study provides a painful reminder of the degree to whichmusicians were prepared to compromise their artistic integrity in order toappease the political hierarchy during the Third Reich."--Music Magazine, "...[An] impressive new book...far and away the finest and canniest treatment of the Nazi musical nightmare to date, presents an excellent case study of two conductors who were judged not ideologically but aesthetically."--The New Yorker, "Mr. Kater...has extracted masses of information from far-flung sources, including public and private archives in Germany and elsewhere, and has drawn level-headed, intelligent conclusions from his research.[T]he broadest and clearest study of classical music in Hitler's Germnay that has appeared to date.....Mr. Kater's treatment of the complicated-and hotly debated-case of the conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler is thorough and convincing....A great deal more is packed into "The Twisted Muse," including fresh looks at the Wagner family's complicity with the Nazis and the cases of Paul Hindemith,....and Herbert von Karajan....Anyone interested in the depressing but fascinating subject of art and politics will find this book exceptionally worthwhile."--Wall Street Journal"Kater...has done prodigious primary research, much of it in hitherto unexamined files, to emerge with a mountain of fresh material....Anyone seriously interested in the interface of art and a peculiarly threatening political culture will find [this book] endlessly fascinating."--Publishers Weekly"[Gives] more analytical attention to the entire [Nazi] era's secrets. Kater...has combed newspaper archives, studied economic statistics, interviewed surviving composers and meticulously correlated information from denazification proceedings. His account...is the most throrough and nuanced now available of Nazi musical alliances, allegiances and ambiguities....[B]rings us to a more complicated understanding without tolerating latent defenses of old friends or 'Vissi d'Arte' alibis." --New York Times Book Review"Fills a conspicuous lacuna in 20th-century musicology. Kater...presents a detailed, disturbing, but always compelling account....There is a great deal here to engage scholars and professional musicians as well as general readers interested in the study of music and ideology. Highly recommended for all libraries."--Library Journal"The best source of information about conductors and other musicians in the Third Reich is now Mr. Kater's book, dense with facts, many of them newly unearthed."--New York Times, "Fills a conspicuous lacuna in 20th-century musicology. Kater...presents adetailed, disturbing, but always compelling account....There is a great dealhere to engage scholars and professional musicians as well as general readersinterested in the study of music and ideology. Highly recommended for alllibraries."--Library Journal, "[Gives] more analytical attention to the entire [Nazi] era's secrets. Kater...has combed newspaper archives, studied economic statistics, interviewed surviving composers and meticulously correlated information from denazification proceedings. His account...is the most throrough and nuancednow available of Nazi musical alliances, allegiances and ambiguities....Brings us to a more complicated understanding without tolerating latent defenses of old friends or 'Vissi d'Arte' alibis."--New York Times Book Review, "...the most authoritative account to date of music and musicians in theThird Reich."--American Historical Review, "Kater...has done prodigious primary research, much of it in hitherto unexamined files, to emerge with a mountain of fresh material....Anyone seriously interested in the interface of art and a peculiarly threatening political culture will find [this book] endlessly fascinating."--PublishersWeekly, "Fills a conspicuous lacuna in 20th-century musicology. Kater...presents a detailed, disturbing, but always compelling account....There is a great deal here to engage scholars and professional musicians as well as general readers interested in the study of music and ideology. Highlyrecommended for all libraries."--Library Journal, "The best source of information about conductors and other musicians in the Third Reich is now Mr. Kater's book, dense with facts, many of them newly unearthed."--New York Times, "Kater...has done prodigious primary research, much of it in hithertounexamined files, to emerge with a mountain of fresh material....Anyoneseriously interested in the interface of art and a peculiarly threateningpolitical culture will find [this book] endlessly fascinating."--PublishersWeekly, "...the most authoritative account to date of music and musicians in the Third Reich."--American Historical Review, "This work, with its emphasis on the social and political nature of musicand the political attitude of musicians during the Nazi regime, is the first ofits kind. It will be of interest to scholars and general readers eager tounderstand Nazi Germany, to music lovers and to anyone interested in theinterchange of music and politics, and culutre andideology."--Avid-Magazine, "This absorbing study provides a painful reminder of the degree to which musicians were prepared to compromise their artistic integrity in order to appease the political hierarchy during the Third Reich."--Music Magazine, "Mr. Kater...has extracted masses of information from far-flung sources, including public and private archives in Germany and elsewhere, and has drawn level-headed, intelligent conclusions from his research.[T]he broadest and clearest study of classical music in Hitler's Germnay that has appeared to date.....Mr. Kater's treatment of the complicated-and hotly debated-case of the conductor Wilhelm Furtwangler is thorough and convincing....A great deal more is packed into "The Twisted Muse," including fresh looks at the Wagner family's complicity with the Nazis and the cases of Paul Hindemith,....and Herbert von Karajan....Anyone interested in the depressing but fascinating subject of art and politics will find this book exceptionally worthwhile."--Wall Street Journal "Kater...has done prodigious primary research, much of it in hitherto unexamined files, to emerge with a mountain of fresh material....Anyone seriously interested in the interface of art and a peculiarly threatening political culture will find [this book] endlessly fascinating."--Publishers Weekly "[Gives] more analytical attention to the entire [Nazi] era's secrets. Kater...has combed newspaper archives, studied economic statistics, interviewed surviving composers and meticulously correlated information from denazification proceedings. His account...is the most throrough and nuanced now available of Nazi musical alliances, allegiances and ambiguities....[B]rings us to a more complicated understanding without tolerating latent defenses of old friends or 'Vissi d'Arte' alibis." --New York Times Book Review "Fills a conspicuous lacuna in 20th-century musicology. Kater...presents a detailed, disturbing, but always compelling account....There is a great deal here to engage scholars and professional musicians as well as general readers interested in the study of music and ideology. Highly recommended for all libraries."--Library Journal "The best source of information about conductors and other musicians in the Third Reich is now Mr. Kater's book, dense with facts, many of them newly unearthed."--New York Times, "[Gives] more analytical attention to the entire [Nazi] era's secrets. Kater...has combed newspaper archives, studied economic statistics, interviewed surviving composers and meticulously correlated information from denazification proceedings. His account...is the most throrough and nuancednow available of Nazi musical alliances, allegiances and ambiguities....[B]rings us to a more complicated understanding without tolerating latent defenses of old friends or 'Vissi d'Arte' alibis." --New York Times Book Review, "[An] impressive new book...far and away the finest and canniest treatment of the Nazi musical nightmare to date, presents an excellent case study of two conductors who were judged not ideologically but aesthetically."--The New Yorker, "The best source of information about conductors and other musicians inthe Third Reich is now Mr. Kater's book, dense with facts, many of them newlyunearthed."--New York Times
