Re: Wagner, again

[George Robinson <102765.1730...>]

In reply to Jeffrey Schanzer's post, I think you are confusing Nietzsche with
Wagner. Nietzsche was probably not much less anti-Semitic than your average 19th
Century German intellectual, but his anti-Semitism is a reflection of his times
and, in fact, he often denounced anti-Semitism in his writings. His sister,
however, was a vicious anti-Semite who doctored his writings after his death to
make them conform more to the line of her own thinking.

Wagner, on the other hand, was a vocal Jew-hater. No more, no less. He did have
a lengthy correspondence with Mahler that was, I gather, part of a long-term
friendship. Does that redeem him as a person? I don't think so ("Some of my best
conductors are Jewish. . . "). As for the music, you have to make your own
decisions. I finally got rid of almost all my Wagner recordings because I just
felt queasy having them in the house. On the other hand, I still read Ezra
Pound. Go figure.

George Robinson