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Hanns Eisler is an anomaly among 20th-century composers in that he managed to merge strident political content with gorgeous music without sounding didactic or preachy. His early worker's anthems, far from being mere propaganda, stand on their own as sophisticated compositions; they're pocket symphonies that you can sing along with. Eisler cut his teeth studying with Schoenberg in the early 1920s, but soon thereafter broke with his teacher, feeling that his high-minded dodecaphony alienated the working man. The irony, however, was that Eisler never totally abandoned these high-art tendencies, instead subtly incorporating them into everything he did. Like Kurt Weill, Eisler's political proclivities brought him into contact with Bertolt Brecht and the two became close collaborators for many years.
Deutsche Sinfonie, written in the mid-30s, finds them paired in one of Eisler's more conservative orchestral settings, blatantly tipping its hat to the 12-tone crew. In this group of vocal pieces, Brecht's lyrics remain scathing, once again slyly subverting the concert hall tradition in true Eisler style.
--Kenneth Goldsmith