Wagner

Wagner’s antisemitism and use of his works by the Nazis caused him to be banned in Israel: he’s not played on Israeli radio, and playing him in a classical music concert is a sure way to be booed and to be mentioned on the front page in the next day’s newspapers.

As far as i know, Wagner had sick opinions, but didn’t kill anyone.

Now: Will “Let It Be”, “Imagine” and “Jealous Guy”, produced by an alleged murderer, be banned from Israeli radio? Or from BBC? I think not.

2 thoughts on “Wagner

  1. In my opinion the Israeli prohitibion against Wagner’s music is absurd. It deprives young Israelis from exposure to great works of art. It is an insult to the many great Jewish musicians who have performed Wagner’s music and operas for the great art that it is. Think of the early 20th century singers Hermann Weill, Margarita Matzenauer, and more recent musicians such as Leonard Bernstein, James Levine, Loren Maazel, Bruno Walter, George London, Regina Resnik, Georg Solti, and others too numerous to count. It is well known that many of his personal views were reprehensible, and that Hitler was enamored of Wagner’s music and co-opted the Bayreuth Festival for his own political purposes. Wagner’s antisemitism may be understood, though not approved, if viewed through a mid-19th century lens. Upon Napoleon’s release of central Europe’s Jews from their ghettos, Jews rapidly rose economically, politically and culturally, and turned the social status quo upside down. Wagner had to compete for popular acclaim against such figures as Mendelssohn, Meyerbeer, Halevy and Offenbach. Despite these issues, Wagner’s art must be considered on its own merits. I say art, not just music, because like any great work of art Wagner’s music dramas invite continual study, evaluation, and reflection, .

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