Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 July 2017
The article assesses the role of the military in the global dissemination and exchange of music in the long nineteenth century. It shows that, first, Western military music and its instrumentation were influenced by cross-cultural encounters, primarily with the Ottoman Empire. Second, I argue that educational professionalization and instrumental standardization were important vehicles for the global rise of the military band beyond its original purpose. Third, tracing the transnational careers of some German military musicians will make evident that competition with respect to national prestige, rising imperialism, and the increasing commercialization of musical life were crucial features of the spread of military musicians all over the world, making them cultural brokers not only of military music.
Dr. Martin Rempe is a senior research fellow at the DFG Research Group “Global Processes” at the University of Konstanz. His research interests include the social history of music and the history of development. I would like to thank Celia Applegate, Harry Liebersohn, Klaus Nathaus, Jürgen Osterhammel, Kiran Patel, and two anonymous reviewers as well as the Study Group for Global and International History at the University of Konstanz and the participants of the Workshop “The Global Midwest” at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, for their instructive feedback and comments on earlier versions of this article. Special thanks go to Nina Schläfli for preparatory research assistance.