Wednesday Talk: November 4, 2026, 10am-12pm – hybrid
November 4 @ 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Speaker: Helmut Reichenbächer, English, OCAD U
Title: “Mendelssohn, Shakespeare, and the Politics of Race: Cultural Programming in the Third Reich”
Abstract: This lecture explores how Nazi racial ideology reshaped cultural life through the suppression of Felix Mendelssohn’s music for A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Drawing on extensive archival research, it traces the final performances of Mendelssohn’s score and the emergence of replacement compositions, revealing the inconsistent application of racial policy in the Third Reich. The lecture also examines the individuals navigating these pressures: theater director Egon Schmid, who continued using Mendelssohn’s music despite his alignment with Nazi doctrine, and composer Edmund Nick, whose substitute score placed him under significant artistic and personal strain. By illuminating the complex interplay between cultural programming and political authority, the talk offers a nuanced view of artistic production under National Socialism.
Bio: Helmut Reichenbächer is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at OCAD University and a Senior Fellow at Massey College. His research explores the shifts in music theatre programming from Weimar Germany to the Third Reich, combining interdisciplinary methodologies from digital humanities, musicology, and theatre studies. His recent publication “From Dreams to Nightmares: The Nazi Suppression of Mendelssohn’s Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night’s Dream” in JAMS has been nominated for the American Musicological Society’s 2026 H. Colin Slim Award.
The link to register is coming soon.
The deadline to register is the Monday before the event at noon. The Zoom link will be sent to registrants only.
