Klarinet Archive - Posting 001194.txt from 1998/09

From: HatNYC62@-----.com
Subj: [kl] Wagner
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1998 18:24:53 -0400

Dan,

It is true what you say about Wagner's insidious racism. However, equally
explicit examples of overt anti-semitism can be found in the writings of
Martin Luther, many of the early Catholic saints and popes and much visual art
of that and previous centuries. Further, while Wagner's music was taken up and
used by Hitler and the 3rd Reich (as were Beethoven's and Bruckner's, by the
way), most of those who took part in the actual exterminations probably never
saw a Wagner opera in their lifetime. And if they had, the symbolism implicit
in the music and text would have escaped their notice anyway, unless it was
specifically brought out by the director.

The fact that Wagner's music was revolutionary and also that it was necessary
for most if not all of what came afterward (particularly R. Strauss,
Schoenberg and his followers, Mahler, Bruckner and the Impressionists) is hard
to dismiss, no matter his beliefs. Great genius often comes in unattractive
packaging, but its greatness is not thereby diminished, nor is its impact on
what follows. It would be easier to erase Brahms, Tchaikovsky Dvorak,
Bruckner, Mahler and R. Strauss from music history than Wagner, so great was
his musical contribution.

David Hattner, NYC

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