Klarinet Archive - Posting 000159.txt from 1998/12

From: mgustav <mgustav@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Wagner's Ring again
Date: Fri, 4 Dec 1998 14:05:42 -0500

The following is a passage from Schoenberg's "Style and Idea" that
adds something to this thread. (Mind you Schoenberg, as well as Mahler,
were more than aware of Wagner's essay Das Judentum in der Musik,"Judaism
in Music"):

"This happened to me. In my development there was a phase during
which I took a negative, even an inimical stand against Wagner, whom I
had previously honored with the highest. It seems that I expressed
myself about it to Mahler with violent and arrogant words. Although
visibly shocked, he replied with impressive calm that he knew such state
of mind, he too had passed through such stages of development. This
would be nothing lasting; for one always comes back again and again to
the truly great ones. They stand unshakably in their places and it
is commendable never to lose our respect for them."

I think these two men were able to separate the man from the music and
I would like think it is possible if not necessary to separate the person
from their art. If one takes the stance that one will not listen to Wagner
or R. Strauss because of what they represent to some politically, then
how does one explain the music of every composer after Wagner? For
every composer after Wagner has been deeply affected by his contribution
to music--either influenced by it by imitating it or by avoiding to be
influenced by it. Debussy used to love to mock Wagner but "Afternoon
of a Faun" is more or less a homage to Wagner. Do we all inherit
Wagner's problem? Where does one draw the line if their isn't a separation
between the man and the music. In addition, I don't see many
people avoiding Beethoven's music yet he made anti-Semitic remarks in his
letters. Wagner is picked on because he dealt with mythology and
Nazi party dealt with mythology and tried to tie his thinking into theirs.
The difference is that Wagner was
creating art whereas the Nazi were destroying lives.

Mark Gustavson
Composer/clarinetist

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