Posted by Aubrey Foard on July 04, 2002 at 00:38:14:
In Reply to: Re: why play wagner? posted by Guy in Georgia on July 03, 2002 at 23:47:14:
Hi,
Wagner may have been a very bad man, but he did much to advance the cause of then-contemporary avante-garde music and was greatly admired by other composers, including Bruckner. The music is generally agreed to be brilliant. Also he did no more to advance Nazi-ist ideals than Richard Strauss or Hindemith (who both worked for the Nazis, but often antagonized them. I heard somewhere that Strauss was also Jewish). I could never agree with his ideals, but most people have found themselves able to forgive. Look at Daniel Barenboim and how much Wagner he has programmed and conducted.
Thanks,
Aubrey