After playing the music of Richard Wagner, israeli radio apologizes
Israel’s public broadcaster has apologized to listeners after audio by Richard Wagner was played for the radio.
The 19th-Century German composer is still controversial in the country because involving his virulent anti-Semitism and because Hitler was a great fan.
But about Friday a leading classical music train station played a part of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods).
In its apology, often the broadcaster said the editor had erred within the “artistic choice” and Wagner would definitely not be played.
The Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation added that it recognized often the pain such a broadcast would bring about among Holocaust survivors.
Wagner’s work consists of views on racial purity. The composer was also the author of a new pamphlet entitled Judaism in Music, throughout which he said that “the Jew” seemed to be “incapable of artistic expression”.
Wagner’s music is not prohibited in Israel but is not enjoyed due to the widespread public opposition.
On Friday the presenter on the Kol Hamusica station played a recording involving the final act of Götterdämmerung.
The piece was directed by Daniel Barenboim – who is Jewish – and even performed at the Bayreuth Festival, which in turn celebrates Wagner, in 1991.
The following apology was criticized by those which argue that his abhorrent views perform not invalidate his work.
“There are just as many Holocaust survivors who love the music as there are those who object to it. You have to listen to his music and his music is absolutely beautiful,” Jonathan Livny the head of the Israel Wagner Society mentioned in the statement.
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