[Leica] Peter's article on Wagner is up

[bjq1 at mac.com (Barney Quinn)]

I came to dislike Wagner's music long before I knew anything about  
the political and anti-semitic issues which surround his work and  
long before I knew anything about his less than upstanding private  
life. All taste is taste. It's entirely possible to dislike Wagner's  
music on its own merits. Many people do. I have devoted some time and  
energy to studying his life and work not because I like it or him,  
but because like it it or not, he has had a profound effect on the  
development of both classical music and literature. But, I've also  
read just about every thing Marcel Proust ever wrote. That's just how  
I approach things. You can't come to grips with the corpus of western  
classical music without coming to grips with Wagner. That alone makes  
him a titan of sorts.

To what extent can an artist, particularly a composer, be held  
responsible for what is done with their work and to what extent can  
they be held to account for the the social effects and changes caused  
by their art? This is not a new question, and it is not limited to  
Wagner. I think it is one that each of us have to work out for  
ourselves. Artists, particularly composers and musicians, have the  
ability to access the human subconscious and they have the ability to  
manipulate thought and emotion. Given that, I think that it is  
reasonable to hold them to a higher standard. In fact, I think that  
we have to. I think that Wagner was a genius. Perhaps an evil genius,  
but a genius none the less. He is certainly a genius for whom I do  
not care. He was not an innocent. He knew that words and music had  
effects, and he knew exactly how to use them to advantage. Wagner's  
problem, fair or not, is simple. You are known by the company you  
keep. He may not have kept bad company, but some bad company kept him.

Perhaps he is in a position somewhat similar to the baseball players  
who used steroids. It's a shame his music can't be judged solely on  
its merits. Many people enjoy it, and that's a good thing. Music is  
to be enjoyed. He's dead. This entire conversation effects him not  
one little bit. His anti-semitism has created a situation where there  
is reason to put some big, heavy duty footnotes next to his name. I  
am not in favor of censorship, book burnings, or boycotts. But I am  
in favor of the footnotes next to Wagner's name.

Barney