The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #45426   Message #673852
Posted By: Wilfried Schaum
22-Mar-02 - 03:25 AM
Thread Name: german marches
Subject: RE: german marches
toadfrog,

the Hohenfriedberger (composed by the late Frederick II, king in Prussia) is on several CDs containing collections of German or international marches. Im writing from my office, will look it up this evening and post again on Monday.
The Prussian Musikmaster General A. Piefke used it as trio of his March Prussia's Glory (too much brass for my taste). In a wider sense you can subsume the Austrians under Germany, too. Nevertheless they formed a separate nation since 1803 and left the German Federation in 1866. After WWI, when they lost the non German parts of their empire, there was a strong movement to reunite with the German Reich; they named their new republic: German-Austria, but were soon cured of their longings when annected by Nazi Germany. To name the Radetzky March a German march is not utterly wrong, but to call it Austrian is better because of the great differences between the Prussian (Lots of brass an boom boom) and the Austrain (and other South German) marches, which are lighter and sometimes remind of dances (Strauss wrote a wonderful march using quadrilles, a form of joyous dances).
Nr 8 on your list was composed by Beethoven, first dedicated to Napoleon I, later on he changed his mind and dedicated it to General Yorck von Wartenburg. Originally it was called Zapfenstreichmarsch (tattoo march) Nr 1.
In assuming that the Groessten means the best or best known you are right.

Wilfried The Horst-Wessel-Lied is not a bad song only because it is Nazi stuff; from the standpoint of literary criticism it can be compared with the best tradition of traditional soldier songs. I hate Nazidom for all what they have to Germany, friends, and my family, but I stand to my judgment.

Big John,

Nr 10 in your list should read Gruss an Kiel (greatings to Kiel). Whenever you have to write this letter, dissolve it into two ss. By the way, the a, o, and us with dots you can dissolve into ae, oe, ue. It's a lot easier for your transatlantic Keyboard.