Re: Music and "politics"

[Susan Lerner <meydele...>]

I am not yet ready to respond to the incredible cri de couer we have received 
from Francesco, it requires some thinking time and careful writing, but I do 
want to respond to the general discussion about whether there should be a 
discussion.

I am somewhat surprised by the strain of "New Criticism" or neo-aristotelian 
approach which is being espoused on this list.  You know, the approach which 
says it is only the work which comes down to us so you look only at the work, 
not at its context.  That theory is at least 50 years old and certainly not 
widely current.

How interesting that no one raised the objection that we were discussing 
politics and not Jewish music during the extensive postings (somewhere around 
40 in 3-4 days) in late February and early March,2000 on Germans and klezmer.  
From my point of view, it was one of the most interesting and in-depth 
discussions during the 3 or 4 years I've been on this list.  I've still got the 
postings in a separate folder in my email program.

The idea that we can divorce the social and political from the musical, 
particularly in the context of discussing what is, essentially an ethnically 
and culturally-derived  (as opposed to academically or 
classically/aesthetically-derived ) music is truly perplexing to me.  Religious 
influences okay, social/political not?  Where does that leave secularists like 
me?  Forming a splinter list?  How much thinner and poorer the discussion and 
the sharing of ideas, if that is so.  Although I have limited interest in 
liturgical music, I have nonetheless learned interesting things from postings 
relating to liturgical music.

But more pertinently, is discussing the effect that Stalinist restrictions had 
on Prokofiev's or Shostakovitch's compositions not discussing the music? What 
about the raging debate in the last 5-10 years on just that point in the 
classical music world? Can we seriously divorce the political from the musical 
in discussing Brahms' German Requiem? What about Beethoven's Fidelio? Do we 
avoid discussions of music relating to or coming out of the Holocaust because 
it is generally discussed in the context of social and political factors? Or is 
only a discussion of harmonic structure really "about" the music?  Gee, I guess 
my bias is pretty clear...

I hope that we on the list are not restricted to perfectly valid but 
essentially limited inquiries like whether a particular composer of a 
particular piece on a recording is or isn't Jewish,  or debating whether a 
particular melody found in a specific classical composition is or is not 
derived from a Jewish melody.  All perfectly valid inquiries, and I would not 
have them stop in any way, but perhaps not of burning interest to the entire 
list.  And certainly only a part, not the totality, of "Jewish music."

There are lots of threads on this list that don't interest me.  I don't read 
them. I delete them.  I don't even complain when they repeatedly include copies 
of an entire day's digest, back and forth (well, maybe once, but it had no 
effect :-) ).  I most assuredly do not try to condemn the entire discourse.  

I don't believe that any of the exchanges on the Yiddish Radio Project or 
Francesco's posting have been inflammatory, disrespectful or "off-topic" in the 
sense of wholly unrelated to Jewish music and concerned only with politics.  If 
I have over-stated my case in this message, it is my "New Yorker" intensity and 
not any intent to be personal or offensive.  I just argue hard (where do we 
think that comes from ;-) )?

Those who are not interested in discussions of the political and social factors 
which influence the music which we all love, listen to, perform or promote in 
some manner or another should exercise that most exquisite and powerful 
commentary: don't pay any attention.  We're all pretty good about including a 
topic on our postings.  

As that great Jewish chanteuse sang: "Don't rain on my parade!"

Shira Lerner
Yiddishkayt LA