Letters to the Editor
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This is best read. . .
with the Tannhäuser Overture played in the background.
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Laura Miller nails it again
Terrific review - it reminds me of Glenn Gould's "Data Bank on the Upward-scuttling Mahler," a review of the massive Henry-Louis de la Grange biography (v. 1). The question of an artist's life and works has always troubled me, from Wagner to Miles - I'm still looking for an answer.
This is my first letter to Salon, but I just want to say that I am a huge Laura Miller fan and I will read anything she writes! Her interests seem to lie so close to my own that it's almost eerie.
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Yeah, I use Wagner
It scares the hell out of the slopes.
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Excotic Germany...
Sorry, but the Germany described by Laura Miller bears no resemblance to the one I currently live in. Now admittedly personal impressions of a country can differ wildely, but I think there are at least a few things which can be eliminated rather quickly: Of course in Germany there is only a small percentage of people who actually like classical music, only some of them like Wagner and only a subset of those might think of him as Germany's greatest composer. (I suspect quite a few might prefer Bach or Beethoven - among fans of classical music these guys are rather popular, too.) So considering this, I think you might find that there are not many people left who could be bothered to worship Wagner as a god.
I'm also not sure where you are going with Scheel - the guy gave a speech 32 years ago, and the reactions of the audience are relevant how? I guess I should check a German paper tomorrow and see if I find an article about the hippie culture in the US.
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Thanks for the dirty bits but ...
Ms. Miller, when you suggested, in more or less typical blog snakr, than true fans of Wagner's music would suggest that all the sleaze of his descendants is irrelevant to Wagner's gift to posterity of 2 darn good "grand" operas [Lohengrin & to a lesser extent Tannhauser, tho the latter has his rip-roaringest overture] 3 masterpieces [Tristan & Isolde - the best musical representation ever of the height of the peaks & the depths of the valley of doin' the forbidden nasty; The Mastersingers of Nuremburg - a perfect portrait of a guy confronting his middle age crisis & ending up handling it with class, rolled in as good a small town character comedy as one could ever hope for, with just alarmingly frank but thankfully short appeal to racial purity at the end but even then drowned out by the ultimate big happy feel finish; Parsifal, as you write intended by Wagner to serve as "subscribers' privilege" to his Bayreuth festival & I have to admit one of the all time great experiences on a quiet Sunday with 4 consecutive hours of quiet available regardless its religiotic theme [Why is that so many of these hard livin' hard lovin' practical secularist composers chose a reliotic theme for the swansong? Hedging? At least Verdi lived long enough to overcome the error and finish Falstaff.]& one that's pretty difficult to categorize so let's just call it the greatest artistic achievement in human history - And that's coming from a confirmed Mozart fan who wouldn't put Wagner's facility with just music alone within the top 50 composers ever - especially when you realize you have to factor in Paul Simon].
You know, a part of me actually likes the fact that you did a Xtra trash piece on the Wagner heirs because ignoramuses who think the music died with Elvis don't have a clue of the wonders of pre-20th century - hell, pre-1950s - music, so this spicy stuff might leave a hint those wonders. But the adult in me says most of those who read this will take their delight from the kind of jolly's losers get when they see their supposed "betters" being taken down a notch or ten. Sort of like what a several dozens of neofascist evolution denying antiscience intolerant Christo eating numbskulls must have felt like when Ken Starr got to hold up Monica's dress.
But then the fun kid in me has the last word- because Ms. Miller you know as well as I do that the all the stuff that happens in the Ring Cycle plot puts the Wagner heirs' secrets in their place as mere human foibles. How about the Biggest Theft ever followed by the same stash being the subject of the Biggest Swindle Ever followed by the same stash being Rescued by having to kill a frickin' dragon, with people sleeping with people their not married to & big horny giants fighting over a helpless nymphet & incest on incest & a king who makes Mitt Romney's forefathers look like pikers & the hero getting taken out in a low down dirty sneak attack to end all low down dirty sneak attacks & then the best funeral music EVER - so good you almost wish it was YOU it was written for - and then your ever lovin' foreever loyal girl friend .... sort of ... is so pissed at your death SHE BURNS DOWN THE FRICKIN' WORLD! Arson murder grand incest larceny bigamy torture - and 17 hours of it.
Kinda makes Wagners' heirs look like Ma & Pa Kettle & the kin.
Hey that was FUN doing opera shots! Do it again soon!
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"In Germany, Wagner is worshiped like a god"
What?
I just don't believe this to be true. As StefanMuc pointed out, I'm sure you could identify a band of Wagner obsessives - as you could in some other countries - but as a generalization it's just not true.
In fact, I'm not sure what the point of this article is. It's not really 'about' Wagner, or about music, or about Bayreuth. Maybe some people like this sort of stuff but to me it's just a selection of slightly up-market scurrilous gossip.
There's scope for an interesting article about and around Wagner, but this wasn't it.
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What's Opera, Doc?
Is the best Wagner of all time.
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But . . .
Everything disappears when that music starts.
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From a lover of the Baroque.
To me, Wagner is simply too wild and unrestrained. Besides, when I listen to his music, I immediately start humming the tune to "Kill the Wabbit."
I must admit, however, that the Wagnerian link with Naziism in particular and anti-Semitism in
general does come to min when I hear his music.