Klarinet Archive - Posting 000251.txt from 2005/05

From: "danyel" <rab@-----.de>
Subj: Re: [kl] Possible racist views in music titles (Allies vs. Nazis)
Date: Sat, 14 May 2005 21:59:38 -0400

Living in bloody Germany I have ever so often to avoid concerts, shut down
the radio or reject records including the music of Wagner and other fascist
composers. What escapes me in this indeed very serious and important
discussion (btw. thanks a lot for the detailed and thoughtful contributions,
Sarah and Dan), is "why would anybody WANT to listen to Wagner's music?"
Whether his anti-Judaic obsessions surface in the music or lyrics as such or
not, the music (and lyrics) are both unspeakably vulgar and nothing less
than a musical expression of early or, if you like, proto-fascism. The same
holds true for other disgusting composers like List, Egck or Orff (either
fascists or proto-fascists). It's no surprise to me however: music being an
emanation of thought, what kind of music do you expect a cretin to compose?
And I must object against putting Schubert in the class of Wagner because of
an alleged paedophilia. Even if he was, that would just be a sexual
perversion (unless he would have harassed children which is apparently not
the case), a personal problem as opposed to Wagner's dangerous political and
aesthetical propaganda and its "congenial" reception by the Nazis.
Best wishes,
danyel

----- Original Message -----
From: "sarah elbaz" <sarah@-----.com>
To: <klarinet@-----.org>
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2005 10:21 PM
Subject: RE: [kl] Possible racist views in music titles (Allies vs. Nazis)

> Dan,
> Wagner is not played in any orchestra in Israel, and not even tought at
the Music Academy
> (except of a little course some times). With all the respect my note not
did not suggest that the problem is not profound, and the boycott did start
with the recital of Heifetz.
>
> When WW2 ended, people in Israel (and around the world) didn't know how
big was the disaster -it took years. No one knew that Wagners music was
played for the people in the long lines for the Gaz Chambers. The young
Israel was fighting its indipendance war (BTW - today is the 57th
indipandance day of Israel)and the local community was ashamed of the
millions that did not fight.
>
> I've been in the concert when Mehta played Wagner and I've also been in
the concert in Jerusalem
> when Barenboim played Wagner with the Munich Philharmonic- even after the
decision of the Supreme Court that Wagner will not be played. I was
interested to see if any of the players in the orchestra will get up and
say- I am not playing!- It didn't happen.
>
> I wasn't trying to give an historical review of the boycott - thats your
job , Dan, and you always know better.
> Sarah
>
> -------Original Message-------
> > From: "dnleeson"
> > Subject: RE: Fwd: Re: [kl] Possible racist views in music titles (Allies
vs. Nazis)
> > Sent: 11 May 2005 12:35:38
> >
> > Sarah Elbaz posted on the boyott of Wagner's music in Israel,
> > suggesting that its origin may be traced to an attack on a Jascha
> > Heifetz performance of Richard Strauss music in 1952.
> >
> > This matter is so serious that any deviation from the historical
> > events leading up to the 1938 banning of Wagner's music by the
> > Israel Philharmonic Orchestra needs to be contradicted at once.
> > One enters a minefield of emotion with this subject and I would
> > like to state in as unemotional a way as I can what the facts of
> > the matter are.
> >
> > Today, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra does not play Wagner's
> > music, though it is incorrect to suggest that they never did.
> > Arturo Toscanini included the preludes to Acts I and III of
> > Lohengrin, Jascha Horenstein the overture to Tannhauser, and
> > Bronislav Szulc the overture to The Flying Dutchman all before
> > 1938.
> >
> > The ban on performance of Wagner's music by the Palestine
> > Orchestra (later the Palestine Philharmonic and, still later, the
> > Israel Philharmonic Orchestra), began on Nov. 12, 1938. The
> > closing work of the program was to have been the prelude to The
> > Master Singers of Nuremberg. Following the intermission of that
> > concert, the chairman of the orchestral association announced
> > that "because of the antisemitic excesses and disturbances in
> > Germany," the Wagner work had been removed from the program by
> > public demand, and Weber's overture to the opera Oberon had been
> > substituted.
> >
> > The most significant factor in this action was due, not to
> > Wagner, but to Kristallnacht which had taken place three days
> > earlier, Nov. 9, 1938. It would appear that the use of the name
> > "Nuremberg" and its connection with both Nazi party conventions
> > and anti-Jewish laws was the aggravating factor; i.e., the
> > restrictive ordinances were made by the Nazis in that city in
> > explicit deference to Wagner's opera. As such, this was not a
> > wholesale condemnation of Wagner by the management or the
> > personnel of the Palestine Orchestra, and for the fourth concert
> > of the season, the orchestra played the "Bacchanal" from Wagner's
> > Tannhauser, though not in Palestine but on tour in Egypt.
> > However, from Nov. 12, 1939 and for 67 years in Palestine, later
> > Israel, the orchestra, with one well- publicized exception, has
> > performed no music of Wagner.
> >
> > That exception occurred in 1981 when the conductor, Zubin Mehta,
> > unsuccessfully tried to heal the wounds with an unscheduled
> > Wagner encore. Some orchestral musicians refused to participate,
> > many older members of the audience left before the work - an
> > excerpt from Tristan and Isolde - was played, and there was
> > considerable commotion during the encore from those who remained.
> > Unwilling to repeat the reaction, and aware of a poll in which
> > 50% (later 30%) of those sampled were against the playing of
> > Wagner's music, performances of his works by the IPO were put
> > aside. The public performance by Barenboim of Wagner's music in
> > Israel was not with the Israel Philharmonic, and this was also
> > greeted in Israel with considerable conflict.
> >
> > On June 7, 1998, the English version of the Israeli newpaper
> > Ha'aretz reported emotional outbursts at the Tel Aviv Performing
> > Arts Center where a symposium entitled "Wagner: An Artist or a
> > Symbol," was being held. Sponsored by the New Israel Opera and
> > attended by the composer's great grandson, Dr. Gottfried Wagner,
> > the discussion pitted Zalman Shoval, chairman of the NIO's board,
> > against Asher Fisch, NIO Music Director who wished to perform
> > Wagner's operas in Israel. When Fisch, on piano, tried to
> > accompany a baritone in a monologue from The Flying Dutchman,
> > dozens of people left the hall in protest, shouting, "This is
> > unthinkable!," "Rape!," and "In the name of culture, you are
> > patronizing everyone."
> >
> > For many music lovers the emotions associated with performing or
> > listening to Wagner's music have a built in safety valve invoked
> > with variations of the following statement of justification:
> > "Certainly Wagner was an antisemite. However, Schubert's alleged
> > pedophilia does not change my perspective of his music's beauty,
> > nor does Mozart's scatology, Beethoven's poor hygiene, Delius'
> > sexual promiscuity, or Grainger's whipping fetish. Besides,
> > other composers also held loathsome antisemitic views. So,
> > despite Wagner's offensive declarations, his opinions are
> > irrelevant to an admiration of his operas and one must not permit
> > his abhorrent personal creed to be an impediment to an
> > appreciation of his musical genius."
> >
> > In summary, the fact that Wagner was a Jew hater is seen by some
> > as irrelevant to performances of his music. And this attitude is
> > accompanied by a key sentiment asserting that there is no
> > evidence of Wagner's enmity towards Jews present in his operas.
> > Furthermore, his music dramas have no Jewish characters and there
> > are no references to Jews, pejorative or otherwise, anywhere in
> > his music.
> >
> > Therefore, contemporary listeners divorce their revulsion at his
> > shameless antisemitism from his art.
> >
> > So, as you can see Sarah, the problem is much deeper and also
> > much more broad than Heifetz's performance of musis of Richard
> > Strauss in Israel.
> >
> > Dan Leeson
> > DNLeeson@-----.net

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