Austria-Hungary was known as “the prison of nations,” owing to its incorporation of many ethnic groups that would have preferred to be part of their own states. Vienna was a hotbed of anti-Semitism, but also an important cultural center.

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Fanfare

Opening Theme

Hungarian Dance No. 5 in G minor
Composed in 1869 by Johannes Brahms. Public domain.
Performed by the Fulda Symphonic Orchestra, and used pursuant to an EFF Open Audio License. Details.

Carnival Overture
Composed in 1891 by Antonín Dvořák. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Marine Band. Public domain. Source.

Symphony No. 9 in E minor, “From the New World”
Composed in 1893 by Antonín Dvořák. Public domain.
Performed by the Dupage Symphony Orchestra. Recording used pursuant to a Creative Commons license. Details.

Symphony No. 5
Composed in 1902 by Gustav Mahler. Public domain.
Performed by the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony Orchestra, Jason Weinberger conducting. Recording used pursuant to a Creative Commons license. Details.

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

Austria-Hungary, an unwieldy confederation of ethnic groups (see map) struggles to hold itself together and remain relevant in an age of rising nationalism.

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Fanfare

Opening Theme

Symphony No. 40 in G minor
Composed in 1778 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald (Tales from the Vienna Woods)
Composed in 1868 by Johann Strauss II. Public domain.
Recording used pursuant to a Creative Commons license. Details.

An der schönen blauen Donau (On the Beautiful Blue Danube)
Composed in 1866 by Johann Strauss II. Public domain.
Recording used pursuant to a Creative Commons license. Details.

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

The Wright brothers develop the first airplane, after many others have failed, by using the very twentieth century method of patient, careful experimentation.

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Fanfare

Opening Theme

Overture to The Flying Dutchman
Composed in 1843 by Richard Wagner. Public domain.
Performed by the University of Chicago Orchestra, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons License. Details.

“Flight of the Bumblebee” from The Tale of Tsar Saltan
Composed in 1900 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Army Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

The dream of human flight is ancient in origin. While technologies to make small objects fly existed for a surprisingly long time, the engineering problems of scaling these up to human flight proved a tremendous challenge.

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Fanfare

Opening Theme

Roman Carnival Overture
Composed in 1844 by Hector Berlioz. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Army Band. Public domain recording. Source.

Gymnopédies No. 1
Composed in 1888 by Erik Satie. Public domain.
Performed by Accou. Public domain recording. Source.

Closing Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2016 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5. Enjoy more of David Bovey’s work here.

The 1906 general election gave the Liberals a landslide victory, but it was still an uphill fight to enact the new government’s policies. The working classes and the Labour Party were asserting themselves, and the House of Lords was becoming increasingly activist and obstructionist, a marked change from British tradition. A frustrated women’s suffrage movement grew increasingly militant, even violent, while over everything loomed the Irish Question.

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Fanfare

Opening Theme

Enigma Variations, Theme and Variation V.
Composed in 1899 by Edward Elgar. Public domain.
Performed by the Skidmore College Orchestra. Public domain recording. Source.

“God Defend New Zealand”
Composed in 1876 by John Joseph Woods. Public domain.
Performed by the United States Navy Band. Public Domain recording. Source.

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.

The History of the Twentieth Century is off for the Labor Day holiday, but we will be back next week!

Vaslav Nijinksy bursts onto the scene as a new kind of ballet dancer for a new kind of ballet, becoming the star of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. Over a five year period, 1909-1913, these two men would redefine ballet.

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Fanfare

Opening Theme

Shéhérezade
Composed in 1888 by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Public domain.
Public domain recording. Source.

Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
Composed in 1894 by Claude Debussy. Public domain.
Performed by the Natalia Ensemble, and used pursuant to a Creative Commons license. Details.

Closing Theme

Except when otherwise indicated, the contents of this podcast are © and ℗ 2015, 2016 by Mark Painter, all rights reserved. Some sound effects used by arrangement with Pond 5.