NationStates Jolt Archive

So all you classical music fans out there. What do you think of Wagner's music as an influence on Hitlers national policy? Should it be banned as NAZI propoganda or should it be praised for its inovative style?

Personally, I think it was an innovative new style.

Yeah that is my opinion as well but I am somewhat disturbed by its pro-arian race messege. Its great music though.

Classical Music should not be soiled with the taint of idiotic political squabblings.

Classical Music should not be soiled with the taint of idiotic political squabblings.

Hehe just interested in peoples viewpoints thats all. Do you like Wagners music Granada?

Music is music, and people will always try to express their view point in it, right or wrong. However I believe we should take into account moral and ethic beleifs to allow this kind of materal. But then again, look at rap; people talking about how they A.) brutally murdered and/or beat their girlfriend/hoe/wife, B.) knocked up some stranger, or C.) rammble on about voilent issues

Music is music, and people will always try to express their view point in it, right or wrong. However I believe we should take into account moral and ethic beleifs to allow this kind of materal. But then again, look at rap; people talking about how they A.) brutally murdered and/or beat their girlfriend/hoe/wife, B.) knocked up some stranger, or C.) rammble on about voilent issues

So do you believe that rap is a reputable form of music?

So all you classical music fans out there. What do you think of Wagner's music as an influence on Hitlers national policy?

No direct influance. Wagner was not as strong of an anti-semite as many seem to think - he believed in assimilation. Plus he was a pacifist.

Should it be banned as NAZI propoganda or should it be praised for its inovative style?

It certainly wasn't Nazi propaganda. For one thing, the Nazi party came into being well after Wagner's death. His music was appropriated for propaganda purposes by Hitler and the party.

No direct influance. Wagner was not as strong of an anti-semite as many seem to think - he believed in assimilation. Plus he was a pacifist.



It certainly wasn't Nazi propaganda. For one thing, the Nazi party came into being well after Wagner's death. His music was appropriated for propaganda purposes by Hitler and the party.


His music was Nazi propaganda because Hitler employed it as such. This doesn't mean Wagner inteneded it to be Nazi propaganda. And thats one of the reasons I don't have a problem listening to it :)

Hehe just interested in peoples viewpoints thats all. Do you like Wagners music Granada?


*nod* very much

So do you believe that rap is a reputable form of music?


Some of it.

Some of it.

Like which if I may ask? I'm a fan of some rap but I think the incessent use of profanity is uneccesary. Of course Wagners music contains plenty of issues (such as incest) that I'm sure were just as bad if not worse at the time than profanity is today.

Like which if I may ask? I'm a fan of some rap but I think the incessent use of profanity is uneccesary. Of course Wagners music contains plenty of issues (such as incest) that I'm sure were just as bad if not worse at the time than profanity is today.



NWA, the Lench Mob.

Brilliantly crafted as a fantasy, plus dr dre and ice cube or whoever wrote their songs were brilliant lyricists and practically poets.

Well, perhaps not poets, perhaps just genius wordsmiths (like, in my opinion, some of the script writers for james bond films).

I consider it to be innocent because it is ludicrous, unlike much of the crafted music of today which genuinely takes itself seriously.

I have finally seen a rap song I somewhat like. The artist, Eminem, wrote something about why people should vote. I think people, wspecially young people should vote because otherwise only the extremists are the only people voting. This is bad.

Classical Music should not be soiled with the taint of idiotic political squabblings.

that's naive at best. bach and his contemporaries wrote for, and were heavily influenced by the church, a prominent political power in those days. tchaikovsky was very much into russian nationalism. schostakovich was alternately lauded and denounced by the soviet regime. copland's compositions are as american as it gets. classical music (and other forms of art as well) is much more "tainted" by the sociopolitical context it arose in than you think or care to admit.

If I'm able to drive an old Volkswagen and admire Dr. Ferry Porsche then I think I can forgive Wagner for having his music listened to by Hitler. You can't always control your audience, I don't believe in total guilt by association.

I have a collection of music banned by the Nazi party.

that's naive at best. bach and his contemporaries wrote for, and were heavily influenced by the church, a prominent political power in those days. tchaikovsky was very much into russian nationalism. schostakovich was alternately lauded and denounced by the soviet regime. copland's compositions are as american as it gets. classical music (and other forms of art as well) is much more "tainted" by the sociopolitical context it arose in than you think or care to admit.

The social issues which shaped much of that music is long dead, and new squabbles do not need to be invented now that the original ones are gone.

copland's compositions are as american as it gets.
Hmmm. Is that because Copland wrote for an American audience, or is it because the American audience embraced his work and thereby made it American? Rodeo is quintessential Americana, but Appalachian Spring is good because it's good, not because it's named after eastern mountains.

Does Wagner's bombastic style accurately reflect the German psyche? Or would it be more accurate to tie that to Strauss waltzes and polkas? (Yeah, I know that's Austrian. Gimme a break, I'm being bombastic here).

I say that Hitler adopted Wagner in the same sense that Clinton adopted Fleetwood Mac. It was something his desired audience could connect to. Cultural influence, certainly. I don't see it as policy influence at all.

Hmmm. Is that because Copland wrote for an American audience, or is it because the American audience embraced his work and thereby made it American? Rodeo is quintessential Americana, but Appalachian Spring is good because it's good, not because it's named after eastern mountains.

Does Wagner's bombastic style accurately reflect the German psyche? Or would it be more accurate to tie that to Strauss waltzes and polkas? (Yeah, I know that's Austrian. Gimme a break, I'm being bombastic here).

I say that Hitler adopted Wagner in the same sense that Clinton adopted Fleetwood Mac. It was something his desired audience could connect to. Cultural influence, certainly. I don't see it as policy influence at all.

Appalachian spring is among my favorite pieces of music.

Hmmm. Is that because Copland wrote for an American audience, or is it because the American audience embraced his work and thereby made it American? Rodeo is quintessential Americana, but Appalachian Spring is good because it's good, not because it's named after eastern mountains.



Copland is concidered American music because he wrote it using American folk tunes.

I say that Hitler adopted Wagner in the same sense that Clinton adopted Fleetwood Mac. It was something his desired audience could connect to. Cultural influence, certainly. I don't see it as policy influence at all.

But do you agree that Wagner was an anti-semite?

Does Wagner's bombastic style accurately reflect the German psyche? Or would it be more accurate to tie that to Strauss waltzes and polkas? (Yeah, I know that's Austrian. Gimme a break, I'm being bombastic here).

I can just see Hitler doing a polka. ;) :D

The social issues which shaped much of that music is long dead, and new squabbles do not need to be invented now that the original ones are gone.
squabbles are not invented for the sake of tainting music. social and political turmoil is occuring every moment, history is continuing to happen. artists are not sequestered from society, and thus are always going to be influenced by what's happening around them. art is a reflection of the times... it provides a unique perspective into history, and understanding historical contexts will allow for a fuller appreciation of the artist's product.