Richard Wagner

                         

Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist and conductor. Wagner is mostly known for his operas and musical dramas and unlike most opera composers he wrote both the Libretto (lyrics) and the music for each of his operas. Wagner started out as a composer and came to revolutionize opera through his concept of Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art), by which he sought to combine the poetic, visual, musical and dramatic arts, with music subsidiary to drama, and was announced in a series of essays from 1849 and 1859.

The compositions made during the later years in his life are notable for their complex textures, rich harmonies and orchestration. He advanced the musical language by creating extreme chromaticism and quickly shifting tonal centres, these advances greatly influenced the development of classical music. His most recognizable work would have to be Ride of the Valkyries.  

Richard Wagner’s reforms to opera made it so there was no clear separation between recitative and aria, and ensembles are completely avoided. The orchestra is treated symphonicially, with themes that are combined and developed endlessly during the course of the action.

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wagner

http://www.ipl.org/div/mushist/rom/wagner.html

Here is Ride of the Valkyries

Character self revelation

I am Stanislaus Katczinsky or Kat for short. I am the unofficial leader of the company and have a distinctive sixth sense for identifying trouble and food and am very resourceful. I believe in duty and even though I do not embrace the ideals that drew me to The Great war I will still fight my heart out. My dream is to see an end to the war by having everybody receiving the same food and pay, and then go back to my family and being a cobbler.

Group project

I am sitting in a garden contemplating my life while on leave. Kat, Tjaden, Albert, Westhus, and Mueller are dead with me, Paul being the only one alive. I am thinking about the rumor of the Armistice and am conflicted on how to feel because on one end the war will be over and I will be able to go home to my family and live in peace, but on the other hand I am unable to free myself from the soldier inside me who only knows war and can do nothing else. I feel that if I return home I will come home with a broken will and be hopeless to accomplish anything. Paul is developing greatly in this chapter because he has come to realize that the only ones who understand him will be his generation because they are the ones that fought in the war. The older generations will just act like they know what he is going through or say he needs to man up while the younger generation will just be beguiled to the devastations of war.

Hanseatic League

The Hanseatic League was a commercial and defensive conglomeration of merchant guilds and towns they occupied that ruled the trade areas of the coasts of northern Europe from around the late Middle Ages to the early modern period. It was created to protect the economies and diplomats in the areas that the merchants visited. The cities created their own legal system and maintained an army for protection and aid. Despite this, the League was neither a city-state nor a confederation of city-states only a small percentage of the cities enjoyed independence compared to those of an independent imperial city.

Around the 16^th century the League’s position in the world was getting weaker. With the rising Swedish Empire taking control over the Baltic and Denmark taking control over its’ trade league the League was losing influence. The individual cities which made up the started to set their self-interest before their common Hanseatic interests. Finally the influence of the German Princes was growing and they wanted to constrain people’s independence of free action which the Hanseatic League was included in.

By late 16^th century the League could not deal with its’ own internal politics and with the changes following the Protestant Reformation, the rise of English and Dutch merchants, and with incursions from the Ottoman Empire on trade routes the Hanseatic League was finished and shortly collapsed afterwards.

Sources:

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanseatic_League

project

Question #1 (Mike)
Berlin

-Capital of Germany
-1237 Was eventually taken as the year of founding of Berlin
-"Excavations from 2008 suggest that the city may be even older than was previously assumed: state archaeologists have discovered an oak beam that probably dates back to 1183."(Source)
- The 12th and 13th Centuries were the initial beginning and buildup of the city
-1307 Berlin and Cölln form a union together. They ran as independent cities under a united front.  The advantages of this were that they looked larger to the outside community.
-By the early 1400's the combined population of Berlin and Cölln are around 8,000 people
-In 1576 nearly 4,000 people died of Bubonic Plague.
-Roughly around 1600 there was a combined population of only 12,000 people.
-1618-1648 Thirty Years War, This war was a major conflict in Central Europe(mainly current day Germany) that involved most of the European Countries.  It started as a religious war, then shifted to a political power grab, between a few of the countries.  When all was said and done, Berlin had lost a third of their houses and close to half of their entire population.
-In 1701 Elector Frederick III crowned himself King of Prussia and announced he had deemed Berlin the capital.

Question #2 (Mohammed)

As you know we are comparing between Berlin and Brandenburg.

I will talk about the populations and the biggest cities on these two states:-

First, let me introduce Berlinto you. “Berlin is the capital city of Germany and one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.5 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city.” Also. Berlin is one of the most multiculturalcities where that carrying foreign passports are more than 470,000 people of the3.4 million people citizenship. There are long periods of time since the residentsof more than 184 countries. In additions, Berlin is located to the east ofGermany in central Europe. However, it is the second biggest city in Europe after Landen city.

Second state is Brandenburg, “It lies in the east of the country and is one of the federal states that was re-created in 1990 upon the reunification of the former West Germany and East Germany. Brandenburg surrounds but does not include the national capital and city-state Berlin”. However, the captil of the state is Potsdam with a population of 2.45 million.

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brandenburg

comparing between Berlin and Brandenburg

Question#3 (Fayez)

Berlin-               Berlin is the capital and the biggest city of Germany. The region is both the capital and city-state of Germany that hosts the German executive office.

-               Political affiliation in Berlin lies between two parties: coalition of the Social Democratic party and the Christian Democratic Union, as well as the Pirate Party. These two parties are responsible for all political activities practiced in the city (Habermas 66).
-              Berlin has many religious groups; however, 60% of locals are not affiliated to any religious group, thereby being described as atheists. With the few believers, majority is comprised of Protestants, followed by Roman Catholics, and Muslims.
-              In terms of culture, the world recognizes Berlin in terms of cultural and creative industries (Habermas 78). Berlin has major cultural institutions with developing music, art scene, and dance in the 21^st century.  Currently, the city is considered one of the entertainment centres of Europe.

Brandenburg-               Brandenburg an der Havel, or simply Brandenburg, is a city in the Brandenburg state. Political affiliations of the region consist in three major parties: the Social Democratic Party of Germany, the Left Party, and the Christian Democratic Union. The three parties are responsible for all political activities happening in the region (Nations Online Project).
-               Most of the citizens of Brandenburg are non-religious, amounting to 79.8% of the locals. However, few are affiliated to Evangelical Church, Roman Catholic, and a small proportion being Muslims.
-               Brandenburg is also considered as a cultural centre. The city has various architectural buildings associated with Prussian royalty. In addition, the city hosts many musical festivals. The diversity in cultural activities within the region helps in building the image of Brandenburg as one of the cultural centres in Germany(Nations Online Project).Works CitedHabermas, Jürgen. A Berlin Republic: Writings on Germany. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1997. Print.Nations Online Project. Brandenburg. n.d. 4 September 2014 <http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/Germany/brandenburg.htm>.

Question#4 (Alex)

Question#5 (Brian)

Most of Berlin's economy runs on the service sector with maybe 80% of all companies offering some sort of service. Some important major industries in Berlin include Life Sciences, transportation, information and communication technologies, media and music, advertising and design, biotechnology, environmental services, construction, e-commerce, retail, hotel business, and medical engineering. Creative arts and entertainment are also major keystone industries in Berlin as it generates "18.6 billion Euros in total revenue." Overall Berlin has a growing economy that will continue to push boundaries and set new standards.

During the industrial revolution Berlin became Germany's main rail hub and a center of locomotive manufacturing. The city was a leader in manufacturing machinery and eventually developed an important Chemical industry. As the end of the 19th century drew near Berlin became a world leader in in the electrical equipment industry. Around the 1930's the city's main industry became weapon production while under the rule of the Nazi's.

Brandenburg has quite a varied industrial base in Germany with industries like engineering, steelmaking, metalworking, paper production, food processing, petroleum refining, mining, and energy production from Liginite which is a form of coal. Due to Brandenburg completely surrounding Berlin and its rural geography it is also a major transportation hub in central Europe with connections to Eastern and Western Europe. Renewable energies and power equipment are starting to take root as well in Brandenburg.

As of this moment there are no past industries worth noting in Brandenburg's history. This is due to lack of information on the internet, possibly because of destroyed documents during the soviet reign over the region and the recovering economy after the reunification. Overall the information could not be found and is likely nonexistent.

links:
http://www.berlin.de/berlin-im-ueberblick/wirtschaft/berliner_wirtschaft.en.html


http://www.berlin.de/wirtschaft/wirtschaftsstandort/index.en.php


http://www.businesslocationcenter.de/industry-sector?closed=1


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Berlin


http://www.brandenburg.de/cms/detail.php/bb2.c.413681.de


http://www.ccpitbj.org/web/static/articles/catalog_ff8080813909ead701397543fbec0662/article_2c90948a39281916013928191b19000a/ff8080813909ead701398ec0cf5f08dc.pdf
Question#6 (Thomas)

The Golden Twenties Of Berlin

Berlin in the 1920’s was a vibrant city with sophisticated and innovative culture in and around Berlin.  Berlin had a verity of literature, film, music, and painting. These people below were some of the trailblazers in literature, film, and music.

-Literature: Bruno Alfred Döblin (August 10, 1878 – June 26, 1957) Bruno Alfred Döblin was a novelist and a doctor that is best known for his novel Berlin Alexanderplatz. Döblin is one of Germanys most important figures in literary modernism.

-Film: Fritz Lang: (December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976) Fritz Lang was a filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. Fritz is best known for his groundbreaking film Metropolis. He also helped change Hollywood from what it was to what it is now.

-Music: Kurt Weill. (March 2, 1900- April 3, 1950) Kurt Weill was a composer that worked with the likes of Bertolt Brecht. Weill and Brecht were best known for

The Threepenny Opera.

All the names above contributed to what Berlin culture and some of the culture that we know in the United States. These names above are the most important names that came out of Berlin in the 1920’s.

Famous Landmarks in Brandenburg

Brandenburg has a lot of famous landmarks that make the sate what it is.  Theses landmarks give the state a dynamic look and separate’s it from the other state.

-Hunters Gate was built in in 1773 in Potsdam. The gate was a part of the city wall and was used to prevent the smuggling of contraband from entering the city. In 1869 the city wall brought down but the gate remained standing till this day.

-Great Refractor was built in 1899 and is the fourth largest refracting telescope. Albert Einstein said that the Great refractor “ One of the most striking features of science park.”

- Schloss Cecilienhof is the last palace built by the Hohenzllern family, the family ruled Prussia and Germany. This beautiful palace was location of the Potsdam conference in 1945. The conference was a conference that brought Soviet Union, United Kingdom and the United States leaders.

These are some of the famous landmarks that Brandenburg has. These landmarks separate Brandenburg fro the other states in Germany. The Hunters Gate, Great Refractor and Schloss Cecilienhof all are remarkable landmarks that other parts of Germany does not have, this givesBrandenburg a historical feel.

Question #7 (Tatiana)

  

 BERLIN

• IMPACT OF TURKISH CULTURE 

•  FOOD

Due to the fact that it is the capital, there is a diversity of dishes found in Berlin. A sample of this diversity is Mexican food, Turkish food, as well as Brazilian food.

Wiener schnitzel (Viennese veal escalope): This is a dish made of a thin piece of meat, commonly veal but other meats such as beef, chicken, pork can be used. The meat is dipped into beaten eggs and breadcrumbs, then lightly fried.

Picture at http://honest-food.net/2012/12/21/wiener-schnitzel-recipe/

• MUSIC

BRANDENBURG

• IMPACT OF TURKISH CULTURE 

• FOOD

• MUSIC

Expectations

My expectations of my introduction to German culture class is that it will be a hard working class that will be fun

Testing

Testing