The reception of German instrumental music in France between 1870 and 1914

The reception of German instrumental music in France during the period 1870--1914 reflects France's multi-faceted, often antagonistic relationship with Germany in the years before World War One. The French press's critique of works dominating orchestral repertories in Paris at the time---works by Haydn, Beethoven, Mendelssohn and other German masters---emerged within contexts that stressed national and cultural identity, and which were colored by both perceptions of musical traditions and stereotypes of Germany and France.;Thus, Haydn's and Mozart's music was linked to pre-revolutionary French society and French Classicism. Bach's works, considered complex and even obscure, nevertheless were recognized as the source of subsequent developments in music history. Beethoven was seen as the apex of this history, after which German music divided into two somewhat enervated camps. The first---led by Wagner---appeared initially progressive, but ultimately, degenerate; the second, represented by Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms and other neo-classicistes , offered technical polish, but was deemed an aesthetic cul-de-sac. As Franco-German relations deteriorated shortly before the Great War, these camps became associated with a larger German threat to French sovereignty.;French critics pitted the perfection of German technique against a perceived lack of inspiration, and opposed compositional virtuosity to the ideals of good taste and beauty. Many believed that the loss this signaled for German art was characteristic of a general malaise affecting Germany. As with most aspects of fin-de-siecle France, however, the situation---complicated by a number of contesting ideologies and contradictions---is not so easily explained. Journalists also opposed different strains of Classicism with little motivation beyond nationalistic concerns. Other judgments, moreover, were influenced by cosmopolitan and Romantic outlooks prevalent at the time. And countering all critical opinion was the continuing popularity of German music among the audiences of Paris's orchestras and concert societies.