Pop and rock Influences from the West were heard everywhere, because TV and radio that came from the
Klassenfeind (enemy of the working class) could be received in many parts of the east, too (an exception being the area around
Dresden, with its geographically disadvantageous position in the
Elbe valley, giving it the nickname of "
Valley of the Clueless" despite some Western radio being available). As rock music became increasingly popular around the world following the meteoric rise of bands like
The Beatles,
The Rolling Stones, and others, new bands began forming throughout East Germany. However, fearful of "degenerate Western values [corrupting] the young people who listen to [rock]" as well as rock music's tendency to criticize establishments and governments, GDR officials set out to regulate much of the new music. The steps taken to control music included requiring rock bands to sing entirely in German and produce songs of educational value that promoted socialist ideas. Another problem for the authorities was having to check song texts very carefully for anti-state tendencies. The band
Renft, for example, fell foul of the authorities, which eventually led to its being banned and disbanded. State-sanctioned bands such as
Puhdys were given an "Auftrittserlaubnis" (Performance permission) that allowed them to play in East German (and occasionally even West German) clubs, festivals, etc. Failure to obtain this card before a performance could result in the forced separation of a band or even imprisonment. The
Puhdys,
Stern-Combo Meißen and
Karat were popular mainstream bands, managing to hint at critical thoughts in their lyrics without being explicit. Like other mainstream acts, they appeared in youth magazines such as
Neues Leben and
Das Magazin. State-sanctioned recorded rock and other popular music was produced and distributed by the state enterprise
Amiga Records. Despite the heavy censorship, regulation, and repression imposed by the GDR leadership over the East German rock community, the government did, to a certain degree, aid the development of the new music. This included allowing the import of illegal instruments via bands that desperately needed foreign equipment, as well as significant airtime given to female artists. The latter allowed for what historians consider growth in the expression of female identity and sexuality. The state also accepted the formation of more "underground" groups with a decisively western-oriented sound. Most notably, a number of punk and new wave bands such as
Sandow and
Feeling B could produce records with the official company AMIGA. Several East German rock stars left the GDR.
Nina Hagen who published her first hit
Du hast den Farbfilm vergessen in 1974 emigrated in 1976.
Veronika Fischer emigrated in 1981.
Schlager Schlager, light popular music with roots in the nineteen and early twentieth century, which was very popular in the west, also gained a foothold early on in East Germany, and numerous musicians, such as , , and gained national fame.
Frank Schöbel was very successful. From 1962 to 1976, an international schlager festival was held in
Rostock, garnering participants from between 18 and 22 countries each year. The city of
Dresden held a similar international festival for schlager musicians from 1971 until shortly before reunification. There was a national schlager contest hosted yearly in Magdeburg from 1966 to 1971 as well.
Classical Several prestigious ensembles had roots in the pre-War period.
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra was led by
Kurt Masur since 1970. The
Staatskapelle Dresden was led by
Herbert Blomstedt since 1975.
Jean Kurt Forest established the
Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Chamber Orchestra in 1969, and
Hartmut Haenchen led the ensemble. Other ensembles located in East Germany included the
Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, the
Berlin State Opera, the
Komische Oper Berlin, the
Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, the
Staatskapelle Berlin, the
Konzerthausorchester Berlin (Berliner Symphony Orchestra) and the
Staatskapelle Halle. Classical music recordings were recorded issued on the Eterna Record label, a unit of the
VEB Deutsche Schallplatten state music company. Many of the recordings have been issued in the 21st century on the
Berlin Classics label.
Johann Sebastian Bach On a more traditional level, the East German government celebrated the fact that
Johann Sebastian Bach was born in East German territory, and spent a great deal of money converting
his house in Eisenach into a
museum of his life, which, among other things, included more than 300
instruments from Bach's life. In 1980, this museum received more than 70,000 visitors. In
Leipzig, an enormous
archive with recordings of all of Bach's music was compiled, along with many historical
documents and
letters both to and from him.
Werner Neumann founded the
Bach-Archiv Leipzig in 1950. Every second year, school children from across East Germany gathered for a Bach competition held in
East Berlin. Every four years an international Bach competition for
keyboard and
strings was held.
Thomanerchor recorded a number of Bach's works for the GDR's Eterna label.
Jazz German jazz was divided after World War II, with the East German regime having an ambivalent attitude to jazz, which it initially resisted as an American influence on culture, but later accepted as a form of "people's music". The Amiga record label began issuing American jazz recordings in 1963. Klaus Lenz directed a number of bands.
Manfred Krug sang jazz till his emigration in 1977.
Recording establishments There were state recording companies. In 1947
Ernst Busch established
Eterna Records for classical, folk, jazz and church music. For popular music there was Amiga Records. These operations became state-directed in 1953. ==Visual art==