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Since Biblical times, music has held an important role in many Jews' lives. Jewish music has been influenced by surroundingGentile traditions and Jewish sources preserved over time. Jewish musical contributions on the other hand tend to reflect the cultures of the countries in which Jews live, the most notable examples beingclassical andpopular music in the United States and Europe. However, other music is unique to particular Jewish communities, such asklezmer of Eastern Europe.
Modern Israeli music is heavily influenced by its constituents, which include Jewish immigrants from more than 120 countries around the world, which have brought their own musical traditions, making Israel a globalmelting pot. The Israeli music is very versatile and combines elements of both western and eastern music. It tends to be very eclectic and contains a wide variety of influences from theDiaspora and more modern cultural importation.Hassidic songs, Asian and Arab pop, especially Yemenite singers, andhip hop orheavy metal (including a generally Israeli subgenre offolk metal calledoriental metal).
From the earliest days of Zionist settlement, Jewish immigrants wrote popular folk music. At first, songs were based on borrowed melodies from German, Russian, or traditional Jewish folk music with new lyrics written in Hebrew. Starting in the early 1920s, however, Jewish settlers made a conscious effort to create a new Hebrew style of music, a style that would tie them to their earliest Hebrew origins and that would differentiate them from the style of the Jewish diaspora of Eastern Europe, which they viewed as weak. This new style borrowed elements from Arabic and, to a lesser extent, traditional Yemenite and eastern Jewish styles: the songs were often homophonic (that is, without clear harmonic character), modal, and limited in range. "The huge change in our lives demands new modes of expression," wrote composer and music critic Menashe Ravina in 1943. "... and, just as in our language we returned to our historical past, so has our ear turned to the music of the east ... as an expression of our innermost feelings."[1]
The youth, labor and kibbutz movements played a major role in musical development before and after the establishment of Israeli statehood in 1948, and in the popularization of many of these songs. The Zionist establishment saw music as a way of establishing a new national identity, and, on a purely pragmatic level, of teaching Hebrew to new immigrants. The national labor organization, the Histadrut, set up a music publishing house that disseminated songbooks and encouraged public sing-alongs (שירה בציבור). This tradition of public sing-alongs continues to the present day, and is a characteristic of modern Israeli culture.
Termed in Hebrewשירי ארץ ישראל ("songs of theland of Israel"), folk songs are meant mainly to be sung in public by the audience or in social events. Some are children's songs; some combine European folk tunes with Hebrew lyrics; some come from military bands and others were written by poets such asNaomi Shemer andChaim Nachman Bialik.
The canonical songs of this genre often deal withZionist hopes and dreams and glorify the life of idealistic Jewish youth who intend on building a home and defending their homeland. A common theme isJerusalem as well as other parts ofEretz Israel.Tempo varies widely, as do the content. Some songs show a leftist or right-wing bent, while others are typically love songs, lullabies or other formats; some are also socialist in subject, due to the long-standing influence ofsocialism on Jews in parts of the Diaspora.
Patriotic folk songs are common, mostly written during the wars of Israel. They typically concern themselves with soldiers' friendships and the sadness of death during war. Some are now played at memorials or holidays dedicated to the Israeli dead.
Judaism therefore, as known, went beyond its own tradition by crossing the boundaries of every culture, appropriating it "almost carelessly" then, as natural to the intrinsic innate ancestral identity, "sweetening it with the most extreme Jewish characteristics": a religion like Judaism can only be eternally rooted in its people, because it professes to testify; like many, we[who?] also remember the example of the AustrianYodel, just apparently foreign to the Jewish religion, withIsrael Shalom in "She Taught Me To Yodel", masterful model among many of the pioneering so-called secular Jewish culture then "reduced to a simple Jewish religious exercise of ethnic-cultural conquest".[2]
Around the 15th century, a tradition of secular (non-liturgical) Jewish music was developed by musicians calledkleyzmorim orkleyzmerim by Ashkenazi Jews in Eastern Europe. They draw ondevotional traditions extending back into Biblical times, and their musical legacy of klezmer continues to evolve today. The repertoire is largely dance songs for weddings and other celebrations. They are typically inYiddish.The term "klezmer" was a derogatory term referring to low class street musicians. Often the klezmer performed with non-Jewish musicians and played for non-Jewish functions. As a result of this "mixing" the music constantly evolved through the fusing of styles. This practice still plays a major role in the development of musical style to include Jazz, as evident in Benny Goodman's music and even Texas music as evident in the music on the modernAustin Klezmorim.
Sephardic music is the unique music of theSephardic Jews. Sephardic music was born in medieval Spain, withcanciones being performed at the royal courts. Since then, it has picked up influences from across Spain,Morocco,Turkey,Greece and various popular tunes from Spain and further abroad. There are three types of Sephardic songs—topical and entertainment songs, romance songs and spiritual or ceremonial songs. Lyrics can be in several languages, includingHebrew for religious songs, andLadino.
These song traditions spread from Spain to Morocco (theWestern Tradition) and several parts of theOttoman Empire (theEastern Tradition) including Greece,Jerusalem, theBalkans andEgypt. Sephardic music adapted to each of these locals, assimilating North African high-pitched, extended ululations; Balkan rhythms, for instance in 9/8 time; and the Turkishmaqammode.
Mizrahi music usually refers to the new wave ofmusic in Israel which combines Israeli music with the flavor ofArabic andMediterranean (especiallyGreek) music. Typical Mizrahi songs will have a dominant violin orstring sound as well as Middle Eastern percussion elements. Mizrahi music is usually high pitched. In today's Israeli music scene, Mizrahi music is very popular.
Deriving from Biblical traditions, Jewish dance has long been used by Jews as a medium for the expression of joy and other communal emotions. EachJewish diasporic community developed its own dance traditions for wedding celebrations and other distinguished events. ForAshkenazi Jews in Eastern Europe, for example, dances, whose names corresponded to the different forms ofklezmer music that were played, were an obvious staple of the wedding ceremony of theshtetl. Jewish dances both were influenced by surroundingGentile traditions and Jewish sources preserved over time. "Nevertheless the Jews practiced a corporeal expressive language that was highly differentiated from that of the non-Jewish peoples of their neighborhood, mainly through motions of the hands and arms, with more intricate legwork by the younger men."[3] In general, however, in most religiously traditional communities, members of the opposite sex dancing together or dancing at times other than at these events was frowned upon.
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The below two sections address instances in which Jews have contributed musically using originally non-Jewish forms or the forms used by the mainstream culture,
Jews have also contributed to popular music, primarily in the United States andIsrael, and in some specific forms of popular music have become or are dominant. This is true to a lesser extent in Europe, but some of the first influential Jewish popular songwriters in the US were actually immigrants from Europe, such asIrving Berlin andSigmund Romberg, or children of immigrants. The most visible early forms of American popular music in which Jews have contributed are thepopular song andmusical theater. Approximately half of the members of theSongwriters Hall of Fame are Jewish.[4] However, the latter especially has been dominated by Jewish composers and lyricists throughout its history and to a certain extent still today.
WhileJazz is primarily considered an art form with African-American originators, many Jewish musicians have contributed to it including clarinetistsMezz Mezzrow,Shep Fields,[5][6]Benny Goodman andArtie Shaw (the latter twoswing bandleaders made significant contributions in bringingracial integration into the Americanmusic industry[7][8]), saxophonistsMichael Brecker,Kenny G,Stan Getz,Benny Green,Lee Konitz,Ronnie Scott andJoshua Redman, trumpeters and cornetistsRandy Brecker,Ruby Braff,Red Rodney andShorty Rogers, vibraphonistTerry Gibbs, drummersBuddy Rich,Mel Lewis, andVictor Feldman, and singers and pianistsBilly Joel,Al Jolson,Ben Sidran andMel Tormé. Some artists such asHarry Kandel were famous for mixing Jazz with klezmer as is modern Texas klezmer Bill Averbach. Since a great deal of Jazz music consisted of musical cooperation of Jewish and African-American musicians or black musicians funded by Jewish producers, the art form became "the racist's worst nightmare".[9]
Although the earlyrock and roll performers were mostly either African Americans or Southern Whites, Jewish songwriters played a key role:Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller,Carole King andGerry Goffin,Neil Diamond,Neil Sedaka, and nearly all of the otherBrill Building songwriters were Jewish, as wasPhil Spector. With the mid-1960s rise of the singer-songwriter, some (King, Diamond, Sedaka) became performers; others (such asBurt Bacharach) managed to continue to work primarily as songwriters.
Many worked with a mix offolk and rock forms, includingBob Dylan,Lou Reed,David Bromberg,David Grisman,Kinky Friedman,Jorma Kaukonen,Leonard Cohen,Simon and Garfunkel; more purely on the rock side areDavid Lee Roth,Lenny Kravitz, pop bands such asArmy of Lovers and all threeBeastie Boys. Many American rock and metal bands have at least one Jewish musician: bothGene Simmons andPaul Stanley ofKISS,Geddy Lee ofRush,Aerosmith drummerJoey Kramer,Grateful Dead percussionistMickey Hart,Bon Jovi (keyboardistDavid Bryan),the Doors guitaristRobby Krieger,Metallica drummer and co-founderLars Ulrich,Anthrax guitaristScott Ian,Ramones'Joey Ramone andTommy Ramone, andGuns N' Roses drummerSteven Adler, andDisturbed frontmanDavid Draiman. Two prominent UK examples areFleetwood Mac'sPeter Green andMarc Bolan ofT. Rex.
Jewish musicians have also been part of the progressive rock/metal movement, such asKing Crimson bassistTony Levin andRod Morgenstein (drummer for theDixie Dregs).Matisyahu is areggae andrap artist that has used the medium to express religious ideas.
"Popular" music in Europe during the early 20th century would have been considered to be lighter classical forms such asoperetta and entertainments likecabaret, and in these Jewish involvement was very large, especially in Vienna and Paris.Jacques Offenbach, a Roman Catholic convert, was an ethnically Jewish composer of operettas in the second half of the 20th century.Serge Gainsbourg was one of the dominant figures in the evolution of cabaret music.
Popularmusic in Israel has also a been medium for Jewish secular musical expression. Many Israeli secular musicians explore topics such as the Jewish and Israeli people,Zionism andnationalism, agriculture and the land of Israel, and theArab–Israeli conflict. Israeli popular music for the most part uses borrowed American forms likerock andalternative rock, pop,heavy metal,hip hop, rap andtrance. In addition to these and classical music, Israel is host to a wealth of styles ofMizrahi music, featuring the influences and contributions ofArab,Yemenite,Greek andEthiopian Jews.
Israel has, since 1973, participated in the annual eventEurovision Song Contest, an annual, continental pop music event, every year (except when it clashes withHolocaust Memorial Day, as in 1980, 1984 and 1997) It has won four times, in 1978, 1979, 1998 and 2018.
Before theJewish Emancipation, virtually all Jewish music in Europe wassacred music, with the exception of the performances ofklezmorim during weddings and other occasions. The result was a lack of a Jewish presence inEuropean classical music until the 19th century, with very few exceptions, normally enabled by specific aristocratic protection, such asSalamone Rossi (whose work is considered the beginning of "Jewish art music").[10] Although during theClassical period small numbers of Jewish composers were present inAmsterdam, Southern France and Italy, the vast majority of Jewish classical composers were active during the Romantic period (following theFrench Revolution) and even more so in the20th century.[11]Paul Johnson summarizes the dynamics of this cultural pattern:
The Jewish musical tradition, for instance, was far older than anyone else's in Europe. Music remained an element in Jewish services, and thecantor was almost as pivotal a figure in local Jewish society as therabbi. But Jewish musicians, except as converts, had played no part in European musical development. Hence the entry, in considerable numbers, of Jewish composers and performers on the musical scene in the middle decades of the nineteenth century was a phenomenon, and a closely observed one.[12]
Likewise,music historianDavid Conway notes that:
At the start of the nineteenth century there were virtually no Jewish professionals in music and the standard of music in Jewish synagogues was generally appalling. Yet by the end of the same century throughout Europe Jews held leading positions as conductors,soloists, theatrical producer,music publishers andpatrons of music; a Jew [Meyerbeer ] was the most successful opera composer of the century, and the Jews were commonly held, what would have seemed nonsensical a hundred years earlier, to be a 'musical people'.[13]
On the other hand, the origin ofGregorian chant, which was the earliest manifestation of European classical music, was Jewishchoralmusic of theTemple and synagogue, according to a large number of analyticalliturgists[14] andmusic historians.[15]
After Jews were admitted to mainstream society in England (gradually after their return in the 17th century),France,Austria-Hungary, theGerman Empire, andRussia (in that order), the Jewish contribution to the European music scene steadily increased, but in the form of mainstream European music, not specifically Jewish music. Notable examples of Jewish Romantic composers (by country) areCharles-Valentin Alkan,Paul Dukas andFromental Halévy from France,Josef Dessauer,Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst,Karl Goldmark andGustav Mahler from Bohemia (mostAustrian Jews during this time were native not to what is todayAustria but rather the outer provinces of the Empire),Felix Mendelssohn andGiacomo Meyerbeer from Germany, andAnton andNikolai Rubinstein from Russia. Singers includedJohn Braham andGiuditta Pasta. There were very many notable Jewish violin and pianist virtuosi, includingJoseph Joachim,Ferdinand David,Carl Tausig,Henri Herz,Leopold Auer,Jascha Heifetz, andIgnaz Moscheles. During the 20th century the number of Jewish composers and notable instrumentalists increased, as did their geographical distribution. Jewish composers were most heavily concentrated inVienna and other cities in pre-Nazi Austria and Germany. During the late 19th century and early 20th century, after Jews moved out of the Austrian-Hungarian provinces into Vienna, they "comprised a third of the students of the city's conservatories and more than half of its music audiences. Jewish children acquired musical instruction at rates exceeding three times that of the non-Jewish population.[16] Beyond Vienna, Jews were also to a certain extent prominent in Paris and New York City (the latter'sJewish population being heavily multiplied by waves ofimmigration). During the rise of the Nazis in the 1930s, when works by Jews were labelled asdegenerate music (not only because of the Jewish origins of the composers but also their association withModernism), many European Jewish composers emigrated to the United States andArgentina, strengthening classical music in those countries. Sample Jewish 20th-century composers includeArnold Schönberg andAlexander von Zemlinsky from Austria,Hanns Eisler,[17]Kurt Weill andTheodor W. Adorno from Germany,Viktor Ullmann andJaromír Weinberger from Bohemia and later theCzech Republic (the former perished at theAuschwitz extermination camps),George Gershwin,Aaron Copland andSamuel Adler[18] from the United States,Darius Milhaud andAlexandre Tansman from France,Alfred Schnittke[17] andLera Auerbach from Russia,Lalo Schifrin andMario Davidovsky from Argentina andPaul Ben-Haim andShulamit Ran from Israel.
There are some genres and forms of classical music that Jewish composers have been associated with, including notably during the Romantic period FrenchGrand Opera. The most prolific composers of this genre includedGiacomo Meyerbeer,Fromental Halévy, and the laterJacques Offenbach; Halévy'sLa Juive was based onScribe'slibretto very loosely connected to the Jewish experience. While little-known today, this "work by a Jewish composer in which anti-Semitism is a motivating force" was an extremely potent influence onlate Romantic composers fromMahler (who took the story of anti-Semitism and assimilation personally, also calling it "one of the very greatest works ever written"[19]) to theanti-SemiticWagner[20] In the 20th century, Jewish composers were pioneers ofavant-garde andcontemporary music.Arnold Schoenberg in his middle and later periods devised thetwelve-tone technique and was a primary advocate ofatonality, a system of composition which was later used by Jewish composersPaul Dessau andRené Leibowitz.George Rochberg andMilton Babbitt were leading composers in the school ofserialism,Steve Reich andPhilip Glass worked withminimalism,George Perle devised his own form of twelve-tone tonality,Leo Ornstein helped develop thetone cluster,Morton Feldman andArmand Lunel were noted composers ofchance music (the latter is also considered the inventor of spatialization), andMario Davidovsky was famous for writing a series of compositions mixingacoustic andelectronic music. In addition,Lera Auerbach,Alfred Schnittke andJohn Zorn have worked withPolystylism and other forms ofPostmodern music, andModernistMiriam Gideon combined atonalism and Jewish folk motives in her pieces.Samuel Adler's compositions are also noteworthy for using several contemporary techniques including: atonality, serialism,diatonicism andaleatoric music devices.[21]
While orchestral and operatic music works by Jewish composers would in general be considered secular, many Jewish (as well as non-Jewish) composers have incorporated Jewish themes and motives into their music. Sometimes this is done covertly, such as theklezmer band music that many critics and observers believe lies in the third movement ofMahler'sSymphony No. 1 (though ostensibly imitating the sound of a local Moravian town band), and this type of Jewish reference was most common during the 19th century when openly displaying one's Jewishness would most likely hamper a Jew's chances atassimilation. During the 20th century, however, many Jewish composers wrote music with direct Jewish references and themes, e.g.David Amram (Symphony – "Songs of the Soul"),Leonard Bernstein (Kaddish Symphony,Chichester Psalms),Ernest Bloch (Schelomo),Ezra Laderman, (Symphony No. 3 – Jerusalem,And David Wept),[22]Arnold Schoenberg (seebelow),Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (Violin Concerto no. 2)Kurt Weill (The Eternal Road) andHugo Weisgall (Psalm of the Instant Dove). However, even during the 20th century some Jewish composers often quoted Jewish music within non-Jewish contexts; for example,Gershwin usedliturgical melodies and Hebrew songs for a few numbers inPorgy and Bess, and many also believe that the openingclarinetglissando in hisRhapsody in Blue is a reference to klezmer. Finally, many non-Jewish (mostly, but not all, Russian) composers have composed classical music with clear Jewish themes and inspiration, such asMax Bruch (Kol Nidre),Sergei Prokofiev (Overture on Hebrew Themes),Maurice Ravel (Chanson hébraïque inYiddish,Deux mélodies hébraïques – including "Kaddisch" inAramaic and "Fregt di velt di alte kashe" in Yiddish),[23]Dmitri Shostakovich (Second Piano Trio,From Jewish Folk Poetry andSymphony No. 13 "Babi Yar")[24] andIgor Stravinsky (Abraham and Isaac – used theHebrewMasoretic text of a passage ofGenesis, and was dedicated to the Jews and theState of Israel). Many operatic works by non-Jewish composers show a direct connection with and sympathy for the Jewish people and history, likeSaint-Saëns'Samson and Delilah andVerdi'sNabucco.
In addition to composers, many Jews have been prominent music critics,music theorists andmusicologists, such asGuido Adler,Leon Botstein,Eduard Hanslick,Abraham Zevi Idelsohn,Julius Korngold,Hedi Stadlen andRobert Strassburg. Jewish classical performers have most frequently been violinists (as can be expected from the violin's importance in klezmer), pianists and cellists. Notable examples areIsaac Stern,Vladimir Ashkenazy andLeonard Rose, respectively. Beginning withGustav Mahler and most frequently today, Jewish conductors have also been prominent, with many likeLeonard Bernstein achieving international stature. As of January 2006, the principal music directors of the American Symphony Orchestra,Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra/Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra,Boston Symphony Orchestra/Metropolitan Opera,Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Berlin State Opera,National Symphony Orchestra,New York Philharmonic,Pittsburgh Symphony Pops Orchestra,San Francisco Symphony and Tonhalle Orchestra (inZurich) are of Jewish descent (respectivelyLeon Botstein,Mariss Jansons,James Levine,Daniel Barenboim,Leonard Slatkin,Lorin Maazel,Marvin Hamlisch,Michael Tilson Thomas andDavid Zinman). A few notablecantors also worked asopera singers, such asJan Peerce andRichard Tucker. Other vocalists such asSidor Belarsky made contributions as both educators within the halls of academe as well as performers on the international concert hall stage.[25][26][27] Still other operatic virtuosos suchBeverly Sills made their mark by performing on the concert hall stage and also serving as administrators for leading operatic companies such as theMetropolitan Opera andNew York City Opera.[28]
Research regarding the Jewish identity of composers usually focuses on theassimilatedGerman-speakingFelix Mendelssohn andGustav Mahler; the former, although the grandson of themost famous philosopher of theHaskalah, wasbaptized and raised as aReformed Christian, and the latter converted toRoman Catholicism to remove his most powerful obstacle to success (anti-Semitism) in musicalVienna. While in both cases the conversion was made to assimilate with EuropeanChristian society and therefore leave persecution in favor of prosperity, Mendelssohn wrote overtly and unapologetically Christian music (Symphony No. 5 "Reformation",St. PaulOratorio and numerous chamber and other vocal pieces), and on one occasion he evenchanged his appearance to avoid looking like related Jewish composerMeyerbeer. Mahler also wrote Christian-inspired music in the fifth movement of theSecond Symphony (although this highly spiritual piece has also been interpreted as fundamentally Jewish at its core[29]), the fifth movement of theThird Symphony, the fourth movement of theFourth Symphony and hisEighth Symphony.
However, the issue in both cases is not so simple: although his father urged him to drop the name "Mendelssohn" in concert programs to purge any reference to his Jewish past, Felix "retained the name... despite his father's protests, and though undoubtedly a sincere Lutheran, retained a respect for his Jewish history. His professional and social success may have emboldened him to be more forthrightly pro-Jewish than other converts".[30] Mahler wrote what have been perceived as Jewish references in his works, including klezmer-like passages in the third movement of theFirst Symphony and first movement of theThird; in addition, the previously mentioned fifth movement of the Second Symphony includes a passage that many believe imitatesshofar blasts with aprogrammatic text resembling theUnetanneh Tokef prayer.
The most compelling reason why Mendelssohn and Mahler are commonly considered Jewish composers are because they have been repeatedly identified as such both byanti-Semites and Jews. In both cases contemporaries (respectively,Richard Wagner in hisDas Judenthum in der Musik, and the virulent Vienna press and Austrian anti-Semites such as Rudolph Louis[31]) argued that no matter how much the composer in question attempted to pass himself off as a good Austrian/German and a good Christian, he and his music would remain fundamentally and unalterably Jewish (in the context, with an obviously negative connotation). Therefore, whenNazi Germany suppressed what they considered "degenerate music", both Mendelssohn and Mahler were banned as Jewish composers; they were contrasted with "good" German composers likeBeethoven,Bruckner andWagner[32] (to a lesser degree concerning Wagner but especially in the case of Beethoven, the fact that the Nazipropagandists claimed that deceased, and therefore unable to object composers are personifications of their ideology does not mean that they would have approved of such a label). The claim of "fundamental Jewishness" was repeated, but with a completely opposite meaning, by 20th century Jews likeLeonard Bernstein (regarding Mahler), who viewed that the dual Jewishness and success of the composers is something to be championed and celebrated.[33] A persuasive argument to the Jewishness of Mahler comes from his wife,Alma Mahler:
He [Gustav] was not a man who ever deceived himself, and he knew that people would not forget he was a Jew.... Nor did he wish it forgotten.... He never denied his Jewish origin. Rather he emphasized it.[34]
Regarding Wagner himself, it often seems ironic to some that many of the most influential and popular interpreters of his work have been Jewish conductors such as the aforementioned Mahler and Bernstein, as well asDaniel Barenboim,Arthur Fiedler,Asher Fisch,Otto Klemperer,Erich Leinsdorf,James Levine,Hermann Levi (who was chosen by Wagner to conduct the premiere ofParsifal[35]Lorin Maazel,Eugene Ormandy,Fritz Reiner,Sir Georg Solti,George Szell andBruno Walter. It has been noted that there is a "love of contemporary Jewish conductors for Wagner".[36] While much has been written about Wagner's anti-Semitism in his writings and music, and the Nazi appropriation of his music, research in recent years has analyzed the possibility that Wagner was himself of Jewish ancestry, and explored Wagner's interaction with and attitude towards the Jews through a multi-sided perspective.[37]
Much less complex and disputed is the Jewishness ofArnold Schoenberg. Although he was brought up as aCatholic and converted toProtestantism in 1898, during the rise of the Nazis in 1933 he openly embraced and returned to Judaism. The result was a number of later works dealing with Judaism and theHolocaust, such asA Survivor from Warsaw,Kol Nidre andMoses und Aron. During this time Schoenberg also began to concern himself with the historical situation of the Jewish people in his essays and other writings.
Both Mahler and Schoenberg were Jewish composers who converted to a form of Christianity to avoid anti-Semitism, but were still attacked by the anti-Semitic elements ofViennese society as fundamentally Jewish and therefore a corrupting and perverse influence. According toPaul Johnson,
The feeling of cultural outrage was much more important than anti-Semitism as such; or rather, it turned into anti-Semites, at any rate for the moment, people who normally never expressed such feelings. It was he Jew-as-Iconoclast which aroused the really deep rage... Mahler had begun it; Schönberg carried it on; both were Jews, and they corrupted youngAryan composers likeBerg – so the argument went.[38]
Again, although these critics meant their identifications of Mahler and Schoenberg as Jewish in an offensive way, this context provides a legitimate reason to claim them as Jewish composers today, though now in a neutral or positive sense. Despite the three above examples, however, a majority of Jewish artists and intellectuals in Austria, Germany and France during the 19th century and early 20th century assimilated culturally either by keeping the Jewish religion but living a mainstream European lifestyle (asMoses Mendelssohn had wished in earlier decades) or renouncing religion in favor ofsecularism, but retained at least the identification of Jewishness. It is the dual existence of people who disassociated themselves with Judaism yet remained affiliated with the Jewish people, and those who wished to retain the Jewish religion but eliminate any distinct Jewish culture by blending intoGentile society in this region and period (as opposed to Eastern Europe at the same time, where both theJewish peoplehood and religion were preserved) that show the complexities of both Judaism and secular Jewish culture.
