Zwischen Abstinenz und Aneignung

No German-language poet has been set to music as often as Goethe. However, this does not apply to his most important volume of poetry, the "West-Eastern Divan". With a few exceptions, composers have long avoided this volume. It was not until the 20th century that this was to change, from then on "Divan" settings in particular conspicuously often occupied key positions in the work of the respective composers.
The present anthology examines this finding, which requires explanation. It offers the first musical history of the "West-Eastern Divan", but at the same time poses fundamental questions about the problem of the 'setting' of poems against the background of a not always harmonious relationship between music and literature.

With contributions by
Frieder von Ammon | Hermann Danuser | Felix Diergarten | Jörn Peter Hiekel | Hans-Joachim Hinrichsen | Ludwig Holtmeier | Bernhard Jahn | Thomas Martinec | Andrea Polaschegg | Wolfgang Rathert | Matthias Schmidt | Thomas Seedorf | Christiane Wiesenfeldt