Box Office Review: American Teens Are Morons
Will This Go to Trial and Move to L.A., too? BART Cop Smashes Drunk Guy's Head through Window
Books for L.A. Nerds: Saints of California
Map of the Day: Outdoor Skating Rinks in Los Angeles
Shag's New Show 'Autumn's Come Undone' at the Corey Helford Gallery
Richard Wagner
But one area politician thinks Wagner's influence is not something to celebrate: "Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich is demanding that Los Angeles Opera discontinue the Ring Festival L.A. planned for next year, calling Richard Wagner a, 'Nazi composer'" reports LA Now. Antonovich sees too powerful an association between the much-lauded works of Wagner and the efforts of Adolf Hitler, noting in a press release:
To specifically honor and glorify the man whose music and racist anti-Semitic writings inspired Hitler and became the de facto soundtrack for the Holocaust in a countywide festival is an affront to those who have suffered or have been impacted by the horrors of Adolf Hitler’s National Socialistic Worker Party.Although initially some interpreted Antovoich's objection to Wagner as a call to cancel the event--for which "singers are in rehearsal, posters are printed and tickets are on sale,"--he is urging LA Opera to substitute the Wagner selections with the work of other composers.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
hey Mikey... why don't you concentrate on the "real" problems instead of barfing moronic #$#%^ like this one.
The Dumbest Person of the Year Award goes to:
Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich!!
Congrats Mike on being a real dummy and blaming the holocaust on a composer that died 50 years prior. But seriously you make me sick, I can believe we have so many idiots like you in public office.
True: LA Opera is partnering with Jewish organizations for the Ring Festival to get all sides.
True: LA Opera also presents Jewish/Nazi-oppressed composers in its Recovered voices series (balance).
True: Some of LA's Ring Cycle's ardent supporters (board members, etc) are Jewish.
True: LA Opera is a private 501c3 that utilizes county facilties, and he can't censor them.
False: Wagner was a Nazi.
This grandstanding is ridiculous.
Wow. People need to do research before they open their mouths.
People who protest screenings of "Birth of a Nation" have much more justification for that than Antonovich does for protesting a very well-known and often played composer!
Curb Your Enthusiasm covered this, I think.
Wagner has inspired millions of people. Both good and bad. Hitler happened to be one of those individuals.
I heard he wanted to cancel any purported Journey reunion concerts.
You know, they used it on the Sopranos finale, and that's equivalent to a staunch "pro-mafioso" endorsement.
Wagner's music has inspired millions as samkim said, but Wagner the despicable anti-semite inspired my abject disdain for ruining the reputation of one of my favorite composers, Felix Mendelssohn, to appease his ambition.
To this day, directly because of Wagner's insidiousness, Mendelssohn is still considered by many to be second-rate.
I'm with ya Mikey: Fuck Wagner.
"To this day, directly because of Wagner's insidiousness, Mendelssohn is still considered by many to be second-rate."
And you no doubt can provide proof that people who hold this opinion do so specifically because of Wagner.
okay, assuming that, Wagner was an evil meritless dick. yet, as the evil man has turned to dust, his music remains. perhaps his musical genius overshadows the dimwitted ideologies in some ways?
that's where the slippery slope begins -
*lots* of evil dicks have created incredible music. if you start axing record collections/scores because of that, where is the line? evils dicks, burn their work. total assholes only allow the hit singles. etc. arrogant assholes, umm well that category's probably 90% of music there.
maybe as a prelude, a collective shout of "fuck your anti-semitism wagner" precedes the begining of each show?
This is one of those things where you have to do a double take. Really now?
While we're at it, why don't we edit out that scene from "Apocalypse Now" featuring "Ride of the Valkyries" and erase the infamously racist Babe Ruth from "Pride of the Yankees." We can go on and on.