Klarinet Archive - Posting 001027.txt from 1998/09

From: "Dan Leeson: LEESON@-----.edu>
Subj: [kl] Re: The clarinet in literature
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1998 03:57:42 -0400

I thank and compliment Lelia Loban on the thoroughness of her
reexamination of an old and almost certainly false tale about
the ancestry of Adolf Hitler. Lelia is clearly a person who
takes a challenge very seriously. And the way she writes is
crisp, articulate, and to the point, too.

I add that the very accusation made about Hitler was also made
about Richard Wagner, though in his case the genealogy would have
been much more present. The argument is about Wagner's father, not
his grandfather. And the impact of the argument is exactly as
Lelia stated, namely, it does not matter what the truth is but
what Wagner (and Hitler) may have thought about that aspect of their
respective father and grandfather.

And now we are back on topic (or almost there) because Wagner
is currently under heavy criticism from some sources not only
for his disgusting racial theories, but for actually including
them (though in disgused form) right in the operas. I was just
asked to write an article for a national publication on the
antisemitic content of Wagner's stage works. It took several
months of hard work and a great deal of reading, but it is all
there for anyone to see if one goes to a performance of the
Ring (except for Die Walkure) or Meistersinger or Parsifal.

When I used to play Meistersinger (generally 3rd clarinet), it
always fascinated me how good a composer Wagner was. He had
"meat" in his music. Now that I know the content of that opera
and the hateful racial messages it contains, I just don't listen
to it any more, and if I were still playing I'm not sure I would
be able to accept a gig to do it. I'm not suggesting that my
perspective should be anyone else's, only stating how I feel about
it. Each player is guided by his or her own conscience.

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Dan Leeson, Los Altos, California
Rosanne Leeson, Los Altos, California
leeson@-----.edu
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