Making Music American: 1917 and the Transformation of Culture

by E. Douglas Bomberger

The year 1917 was unlike any other in American history, or in the history of American music. The United States entered World War I, jazz burst onto the national scene, and the German musicians who dominated classical music were forced from the stage. As the year progressed, New Orleans natives Nick LaRocca and Freddie Keppard popularized the new genre of jazz, a style that suited the frantic mood of the era. African-American bandleader James Reese Europe accepted the challenge of making the band of the Fifteenth New York Infantry into the best military band in the country. Orchestral conductors Walter Damrosch and Karl Muck met the public demand for classical music while also responding to new calls for patriotic music. Violinist Fritz Kreisler, pianist Olga Samaroff, and contralto Ernestine Schumann-Heink gave American audiences the best of Old-World musical traditions while walking a tightrope of suspicion because of their German sympathies. Before the end of the year, the careers of these eight musicians would be upended, and music in America would never be the same.

Making Music American recounts the musical events of this tumultuous year month by month from New Year's Eve 1916 to New Year's Day 1918. As the story unfolds, the lives of these eight musicians intersect in surprising ways, illuminating the transformation of American attitudes toward music both European and American. In this unsettled time, no one was safe from suspicion, but America's passion for music made the rewards high for those who could balance musical skill with diplomatic savvy.

Genres: Music, History, Nonfiction

268 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2018

Reviews

[MaryEllen Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating look at 8 musicians, popular in the USA at the time, and their rise/fall because of the outbreak of WWI. These included classical as well as those engaged in the brand new music of jazz. Covers racial and nationalistic prejudice and obstacles to these various artists in pursuit of their ability to make a livelihood and perform. Covers the various kerfuffles over the playing of the Star Spangled Banner at symphony orchestra concerts, the prejudice and indignities that African American soldiers/musicians in the 15th Infantry Division (Harlem Hellfighters) suffered from other Americans. 1917 was really a watershed moment for this country, but also, as this book demonstrates for music in American and the rise of uniquely American music. The book rambles a bit and goes into great detail including primary source material which while fascinating, derails from the main thrust of the book.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding history of a significant year

This is a superb history of a pivotal year in American music. This is book is superb in the quality of its writing (as a fascinating page turner) and in the rigor of its research. Douglas Bomberger has cross checked every major event, dug through extensive newspaper reports, national security records, books, articles, and correspondence to develop a fascinating, in-depth account of stories of insider-outsider status, the impact of race, ethnicity, gender, and social status, the role of nationalism in conflict, and the co-constructing stories of classical music and the birth of jazz. An incredible work of scholarship.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned a great deal from this book. I found it engaging and interesting. My husband and I read it aloud to each other and then talked about what we were learning. We also listened to quite a bit of the music that was discussed which just added to the appeal.

[Ted · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent history of artistic change..