This is something else, this one comes with a high probability. If you predict something speculative, people may have their doubts.
Yes, she is. In music, in literature, in philosophy, in architecture, in chemistry -- just science overall, in industry, etc.
This is very long, so sorry if someone's already mentioned Martin Luther, Heine, Karl Marx, Freidrich Engels, Rilke, Reich and Brecht, but they're worth twice. Pity about the German novel though! Yawn a line!
No, music in the Western world is much more influenced by Africo-American culture, in other parts of the world, there is almost no German influence at all. Literature is mainly Italian/Greek, partially French/British/Russian influenced, even in the good times of German literature, writers looked at Sophokles or William Shakespeare for inspiration. How many people have German books or how many successful movies are based on German books? Architecture? The best examples of Berlin and Dresden are build or inspired by Italian architecture. There is some more original architecture in the north, but this doesn't even look good, like Backsteingotik, for instance. Fachwerk is a nice example of German architecture, but it is mainly historical. Bauhaus has been an example of successful German architecture, but Bauhaus was more international from the beginning. The old castles look mainly the same through big parts of Europe.
Pharmacy was influenced by Germany, but it's more American meanwhile, partially Swiss and Dutch. German had big chemistry plants and still has, but Germany did not make things much different than other countries in this area. As to industry, Germany was an agrarian country, when England and Belgium already had industrial centers, it was a bit like like Korea like 150 years ago, Germany started a bit late and made good progress.
Are you really claiming that Germanic composers have had no significant influence on the world of music, as it is understood in the Western World? Such an assertion would, of course, be completely and utterly untrue.
Even German music groups often prefer English language and they play something coming from Jazz or Rock'n'Roll or Hip Hop. I liked to watch music channels in Ukraine, where they had little flags beside the names of the bands or singers. There was almost no German music and the few they had was with English texts and could have well been from England or America. There are some exceptions like Tokyo Hotel, which even encouraged people in Russia to learn German, that's what I heard. There are still much more kids in Germany who want to learn English to understand song texts, I guess. If you talk about Wagner, Bach or Beethoven, this is more a niche. The same goes to German folk songs.
Look at EuroVision Song contest, Germany won two years ago, the song was nice, but what was German about it? From only hearing it, you could not have said, which country it was from. This is fine with me.
Volkie, what's going on with you? In e.g. Philisophy, literature overall, Germany stands before everyone else. Or the concept of "rechtsstaat". This is the case for many other fields, as I said before. Besides, the German language was the leading scientific language at the end of the 1800's and the beginning of the 1900's. Psychology -- almost entirely German (historically of course). Nowadays, German cinema is one of the best in the entire world, as is your music. Present-day German culture is not to be underestimated. Besides, Volker, shouldn't you be at Splash! -- the music festival?
Well, there's pop music, which is soon forgotten, and music that has said something important to some of the best of mankind for a very long time, and in which Germany ranks very highly. It is a bit like describing Shakespeare or Michaelangelo as 'niche' to talk of these matters as you do,
Volker,... (and other Germans on PF) -- Germany is actually really good when it comes down to popular culture too. Geez, millions and millions of fans of German music nowadays. To be honest -- has to do with Berlin. Berlin has been declared the "coolest city in the universe" -- Berlin today is what Paris was in the 19th century and New York in the 20th century.
How many people care about philosophy? Literature? Check book sales and best seller lists and tell me, how much of it is German. Who is a popular or influenmtial German writer today? Hesse? Grass? Please. English/French concept, Locke and Montesquieu. None of it holds water. Germany was good in pharmacy and medicine, that's why Japanese copied it around 1900. The copied England in industry and Americans in marketing, they picked the best they found in each field. German classical music is still popular there to, in the niche. Didn't you say this before without bringing some evidence about termini? A lot of words in Computer technology is English, where are the German words in science? Why do scientists still use alll these Latin words, when German as a language was that important at one point? Yes, psychology, somehow part or related to medicine and pharmacy ... What? Please? German cinema? What should this be? They don't even have German movies in Germany, where in the world do they have them? German music? Who plays it outside of Germany? What is present-day German culture? Teenagers taking drugs at Love Parade listening to stupid techno music or getting drunk in Mallorca? Splash! the Hip Hop and Reggae Festival? Do you understand what I talk about? Jamaica has more influence in music than Germany ever had. Not necessarily a bad thing ...
Shakespeare had influence at modern culture, Michelangelo may still have some fans among gay people, I don't know. Classical music may have a market, but it is a niche market. If it was differently, music industry would have less problems.
I liked Pankow and Dirk Zöllner, but these were the eightees. What do they have now? Lisa Bassenge sounds good, but away from it?
LOL! I honestly searched for "Duitser" (= "German") via Google and this popped up. Besides, that's not a gay picture at all -- all I see is a German chap being German at the beach... And even if it was a "gay picture" -- what that even is supposed to be -- I wouldn't see a problem. I constantly need to suffer from "straight pictures". Man up, Volker.
Afro-American music ... barbarous, old-fashioned European music ... not barbarous, is this your point?
No - but it would take more time than I have to give a cultural analysis, and you wouldn't be listening anyway.
