Fritz Stege (11 April 1896 – 31 March 1967) was a German

music journalist Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

in the era of National Socialism and composer of

accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German language, German ', from '—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a Reed (mou ...

music.

Life

Born in , Stege attended a Realgymnasium in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and was drafted at the beginning of the First World War, in the war where he lost his father who had also been drafted.Michael H. Kater: ''Gewagtes Spiel'', 1998, From 1919 to 1923 he studied

musicology Musicology is the academic, research-based study of music, as opposed to musical composition or performance. Musicology research combines and intersects with many fields, including psychology, sociology, acoustics, neurology, natural sciences, ...

with Jean Paul Ertel and Johannes Wolf at the University of Berlin and was awarded a doctorate with a dissertation on

Constantin Christian Dedekind Constantin Christian Dedekind (2 April 1628 – 1715) was a German poet, dramatist, librettist, composer and bass singer of the Baroque era. Biography Dedekind was born in Reinsdorf, Thuringia into a musical family, the son of musician Stefa ...

. During his student days, Stege composed Schlager, which he had to dismiss as a youthful sin during the period of National Socialism when he was a victim of intrigue.Joseph Wulf: ''Music in the Third Reich'', 1983, Stege worked as a freelance

music critic '' The Oxford Companion to Music'' defines music criticism as "the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres". In this sense, it is a branch of m ...

and music writer. He published his own "Kulturkorrespondenz für Musik" (cultural correspondence for music) and worked as an editor for various specialist journals. In the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

, Stege had been a follower of radical right-wing groups since the early 1920s and from 1927 to 1929 he was Music Reporter of the German Völkisch Freedom Party.Joseph Wulf: ''Music in the Third Reich'', 1983, For political reasons, he prevented a concert tour of

Felix Weingartner Paul Felix Weingartner, Edler von Münzberg (2 June 1863 – 7 May 1942) was an Austrian Conducting, conductor, composer and pianist. Life and career Weingartner was born in Zadar, Zara, Kingdom of Dalmatia, Dalmatia, Austrian Empire (now ...

through the Palatinate in 1928 "by initiating a general press offensive".Joseph Wulf: ''Music in the Third Reich'', 1983, p 208f He joined the

NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...

in 1930 with membership number 410.480 and became "Fachspartenleiter Schrifttum" in 1932 in the

Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur The Militant League for German Culture (German: ''Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur'', ''KfdK''), was a nationalistic Antisemitism, anti-Semitic political society during the Weimar Republic and the Nazi era. It was founded in 1928 as the ''Nationalsoz ...

.Ernst Klee: ''Das Kulturlexikon zum Dritten Reich. Wer war was vor und nach 1945.'' S. Fischer, Frankfurt, 2007, . After the

Machtergreifung The rise to power of Adolf Hitler, dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, began in the newly established Weimar Republic in September 1919, when Hitler joined the '' Deutsche Arbeiterpartei'' (DAP; German Workers' Party). He quickly rose t ...

, Stege became head of the "Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Musikkritiker" (Association of German Music Critics) and was commissioned by the party to "clean up the German music critic scene" but got into a dispute over organisational issues with

Friedrich W. Herzog Friedrich Wilhelm Herzog (30 March 1902 – 3 November 1976) was a German writer and music critic. Life Born in Oldenburg, Herzog joined the National Socialist German Workers' Party in 1931 and became head of the music department of the Milita ...

of the

Reichsverband deutscher Schriftsteller The Reichsverband deutscher Schriftsteller (sometimes mis-translated Nazi Writers Union) was founded in 1933 by the Nazi government of the Third Reich in the process of 'germanizing' cultural institutions and purging it of foreign influences. This ...

.Joseph Wulf: ''Music in the Third Reich'', 1983, p. 217ff In March 1933, he denounced

Fritz Jöde Fritz Jöde (2 August 1887 − 19 October 1970) was a German music educator and one of the leading figures in the (youth music movement). Life Born in Hamburg, Jöde was the son of a master shoemaker. Fred K. Prieberg: ''Handbuch Musiker 193 ...

Hans Hinkel Johann Heinrich "Hans" Hinkel (22 June 1901 – 8 February 1960) was a journalist, Nazi Party official and politician in Nazi Germany. He mainly worked in the Reich Chamber of Culture and the Reich Ministry of Propaganda. He was involved in ex ...

and protected in his place

Otto Jochum Otto Jochum (; 18 March 189824 October 1969) was a German composer, choral director and music educator. He was influential in Augsburg, where he was organist at St. Georg from 1922, director of a Singschule for vocal training from 1933, founding ...

, who applied to educate the misguided youth with a new kind of folk music education in order to build up the service of the fatherland.Joseph Wulf: ''Music in the Third Reich'', 1983, rp. 62f Stege became press officer of the

Reichsmusikkammer The Reich Chamber of Music (''Reichsmusikkammer'', abbreviated as RMK) was a government agency which operated as a statutory corporation controlled by the Ministry of Public Enlightenment and Propaganda that regulated the music industry in Nazi G ...

and press officer of the

Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft The Reichs-Rundfunk-Gesellschaft (RRG; ''Reich Broadcasting Corporation'') was a national network of German regional public radio and television broadcasting companies active from 1925 until 1945. RRG's broadcasts were receivable in all parts o ...

.''Fritz Stege'' im

Munzinger-Archiv Munzinger-Archiv is a German Publishing, publisher and online encyclopedia based in the Baden-Württemberg city of Ravensburg. The content of the archive includes entries about people in politics, business, culture, sport, music and society, abou ...

Artikelanfang
frei abrufbar) As a film editor he published the foreign press service of the '' Tobis'' and joined the picture editorial department of the

UFA Ufa is a city in Russia and the capital of the republic of Bashkortostan. UFA or Ufa may also refer to: Places * Ufa (river), a river in Russia; a tributary of the Belaya * Ufa International Airport, near the Russian city * Ufa railway statio ...

. Stege was the music critic of the party organ ''

Völkischer Beobachter The ''Völkischer Beobachter'' (; "'' Völkisch'' Observer") was the newspaper of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) from 25 December 1920. It first appeared weekly, then daily from 8 February 1923. For twenty-four years it formed part of the official pub ...

'' and also wrote for the SS newspaper ''

Das Schwarze Korps ''Das Schwarze Korps'' (; German for "The Black Corps") was the official newspaper of the ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS). This newspaper was published on Wednesdays and distributed free of charge. All SS members were encouraged to read it. The chief edi ...

''.Michael H. Kater: ''Gewagtes Spiel'', 1998, In May 1933, Stege demanded in an article in the ''

Neue Zeitschrift für Musik The New Journal of Music (, and abbreviated to NZM) is a music magazine, co-founded in Leipzig by Robert Schumann, his teacher and future father-in law Friedrich Wieck, Julius Knorr and his close friend Ludwig Schuncke. Its first issue appe ...

'', of which he had become

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The editor-in-chief heads all departments of the organization and is held accoun ...

, the assumption of power in opera houses and orchestras. In May 1933, he summed up the restrictions on jazz music on German radio that "us" had demanded in April 1932: "Today Negro jazz has been banned on Berlin radio."Joseph Wulf: ''Music in the Third Reich'', 1983, p. 72f Stege also demanded "the exclusion of foreign dance bands". He boasted in his ''Zeitschrift für Musik'' that his influence had replaced Hans Mersmann as editor of the magazine ''

Melos Milos or Melos (; , ; ) is a volcanic Greek island in the Aegean Sea, just north of the Sea of Crete. It is the southwestern-most island of the Cyclades group. The ''Venus de Milo'' (now in the Louvre), the '' Poseidon of Melos'' (now in the ...

'', that he had contributed to the dismissals of

Carl Ebert Carl Anton Charles Ebert (20 February 1887 – 14 May 1980), was a Germans, German actor, stage director and arts administrator. Ebert's early career was as an actor, training under Max Reinhardt and becoming one of the leading actors in his nat ...

and

Otto Klemperer Otto Nossan Klemperer (; 14 May 18856 July 1973) was a German conductor and composer, originally based in Germany, and then the United States, Hungary and finally, Great Britain. He began his career as an opera conductor, but he was later bet ...

, and that he had helped the National Socialists Richard Trunk and Otto Krauß to find new jobs. In the ''

'' he called for the exclusion of Jews from German musical life. In a report on the German Composers' Day 1934, at which

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

spoke, Stege formulated his folk concept of art: In keeping with this, he went under the

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

of jazz musicMichael H. Kater: ''Gewagtes Spiel'', 1998, , and accused a composer like

Boris Blacher Boris Blacher (30 January 1975) was a German composer and librettist. Life Blacher was born when his parents (of German-Estonian and Russian backgrounds) were living within a Russian-speaking community in the Manchurian town of Niuzhuang () (h ...

of being close to jazz music.Michael H. Kater: ''Gewagtes Spiel'', 1998, For the Austrian composer Roderich Mojsisovics he wrote the

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

for his Nordic folk opera in 3 acts ''Norden in Not'', which premiered in 1936. Nothing more is known about Steg's "superficial

denazification Denazification () was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by removing those who had been Nazi Par ...

".Michael H. Kater: ''Daring Play'', 1998, Stege's book ''Bilder aus der deutschen Musikkritik'' (1936) was added to the . His novel ''Aber abseits, wer ist's?'', which was still published in 1944, was included in the

GDR East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...

List of literature to be discarded in 1952/3. In 1951, Stege founded a private music school in Wiesbaden and worked there as a course instructor at the Volkshochschule, the Humboldt-Institut and the Jugendmusikschule.htm Fritz Stege at Akkordeon-online
/ref> As a music critic, he now wrote for the ''

Wiesbadener Kurier The ''Wiesbadener Kurier'' (also known as the WK) is a regional, daily newspaper published by the ''Wiesbadener Kurier GmbH & Co. Verlag und Druckerei KG'' for the area in and around the state capital of Hesse, Wiesbaden in Germany Germ ...

''. For his services to the promotion of folk music the Hessischer Sängerbund awarded him the silver honorary pin, the , and the golden honorary pin.

Books

* ''Constantin Christian Dedekind, ein Dichter und Musiker des 17. Jhs.'' Diss. Berlin 1922 * ''Das Okkulte in der Musik. Beiträge zu einer Metaphysik der Musik''. E. Bisping, Münster i. W. 1925. * ''Bilder aus der deutschen Musikkritik. Kritische Kämpfe in 2 Jh.'' Regensburg: Bosse 1936 * ''Tönendes Licht.'' In ''Zeitschrift für Musik.'' Vol. 103, Nr. 10, October 1936, , . * ''Aber abseits, wer ist's? Ein Musikroman''. Stolle, Freital 1/Dresden/Leipzig/Berlin 1944. *

Ernst Bücken Ernst Bücken (2 June 1884 – 28 July 1949) was a German musicologist and university teacher. Life Born in Aachen, Bücken, son of a director of a textile factory,Fred K. Prieberg: ''Handbuch Deutsche Musiker 1933-1945'', Kiel 2004, . first beg ...

: ''Wörterbuch der Musik'' Überarb. u. erg. v. Fritz Stege. Dieterich, Wiesbaden 1953 * ''Musik, Magie, Mystik''. Verl. Der Leuchter Reichl, Remagen 1961. * ''Musik hören, verstehen, erleben. Eine Einführung''. Wancura, Wien/Köln 1962. Essays * Auszugsweise wiedergegeben bei Joseph Wulf: ''Musik im Dritten Reich''. 1963 * ''Randglossen zum Musikleben.'' In ''Zeitschrift für Musik'', 1933 * ''Aufruf an die deutsche Musikkritik.'' In ''Zeitschrift für Musik'', May 1933 * ''Erfüllte Anregungen und Wünsche.'' In ''Zeitschrift für Musik'', May 1933 * ''Zukunftsaufgaben der Musikwissenschaft.'' In ''Zeitschrift für Musik,'' May 1933 * ''Der „privilegierte Irrtum“ H.H. Stuckenschmidt – Eine Abrechnung.'' In ''Deutsche Kultur-Wacht'', 1933 * ''Städtische Musikpreise.'' In ''Zeitschrift für Musik'', August 1933 * ''Geige und Saxophon.'' In ''Deutsche Kultur-Wacht'', December 1933 * ''Deutsche und nordische Musik.'' In ''Zeitschrift für Musik'', December 1934 * ''Berliner Musik.'' In ''Zeitschrift für Musik'', January 1935

Compositions

* ''Nordische Tanzfolge'', 1936 * ''Nordlandsklänge'', 1937 * ''Nordische Volkstänze'', 1938 * ''Heidebilder. Bauernwalzer''. Hohner, Trossingen/Württ. 1944. * ''Vogelstimmen. Kleine Spielstücke''. Hohner, Trossingen/Württ. 1955. * ''Kasperlespiele. Kleine Spielstücke''. Hohner, Trossingen/Württ. 1955. * ''Aus den vier Winden. Konzert-Suite''. Preissler, München 1957.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stege, Fritz 1896 births 1967 deaths People from North Rhine-Westphalia German military personnel of World War I German music critics German non-fiction writers 20th-century German classical composers German composers 20th-century German musicologists Militant League for German Culture members Nazi Party members Mattheson scholars

Life

Books

Compositions

Further reading

References

External links