Can politics and classical music fit together? Lets take a look at instances where Politics and Classical Music / Opera crossed paths.
Donald Trump praises orchestral music
Donald Trump gave a speech in Warsaw (on July 6th, 2017) saying, “We write symphonies. We pursue innovation. We celebrate our ancient heroes . . .”
Trump’s veneration for orchestral music came as a surprise to many, and the implication that some cultures are incapable of creating symphonies stirred bad memories. Jonathan Capehart compared the passage to white-nationalist rhetoric about the genetic limitations of inferior races. Continue reading…
Useful Links
- Donald Trump’s tweets on classical music are exactly as you’d expect
- Fake news: Trump tweets on classical music
Hitler’s Piano Player: The Rise and Fall of Ernst Hanfstaengl, Confidante of Hitler, Ally of FDR
The book is a real story of an upper class German who became the common link among Adolf Hitler, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Robert Benchley, and others. Hanfstaengl helped finance Mein Kampf, claimed to have devised the chant of “Sieg Heil,” and even attempted to set Hitler up with the American ambassador’s beautiful young daughter. One of Hitler’s earliest friends and supporters, Putzi was later to be put on Hitler’s kill list. Fearing assassination, he fled the country, In the end, he aided the Americans in their pursuit to defeat the Nazis. This book recounts his remarkable life, through declassified documents, interviews with his family members, and writing by himself. [easyazon_link identifier=”078671283X” locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″]Buy Hitler’s Piano Player on Amazon[/easyazon_link].
Ernst “Putzi” Hanfstaengl plays the piano – plays two movements (“Jugend marschiert” and “Deutschland trauert”) from a six-movement suite he composed and recorded on Grammophon in 1934.
Who was Ernst Hanfstaengl?
Ernst Hanfstaengl (Putzi) was court jester, pianist, and foreign press chief for Hitler during his political climb, and later played a lead role in Roosevelt’s top-secret project to use disinformation against the Nazis.
An urbane Harvard-educated German, Putzi helped finance Mein Kampf, and attempted to set Hitler up with the American ambassador’s beautiful young daughter.
But he fell out of Hitler’s graces, fled to Britain where he was interned, and then transferred to America. The star of Roosevelt’s “S-Project,” Putzi provided lots of useful information about Hitler to America. Peter Conradi recounts the remarkable life of history’s personal link between Hitler and FDR.
Towards the end of the book, “Putzi’s” daughter-in-law has reveaed that his autobiography did not sell well, because he was an unsympathetic character. It looks as if the author has developed the man as he really was, and not as history would us like to remember about him (an opportunistic, talented, intelligent but self-centered man).
[easyazon_infoblock align=”none” identifier=”078671283X” locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″]
About the Author
Peter Conradi is the author of The Red Ripper: Inside the Mind of Russia’s Most Brutal Serial Killer, and Mad Vlad: Vladimir Zhirinovsky and the New Russian Nationalism. A graduate of Oxford University, he also studied at Munich’s Ludwig-Maximilian University and knows Hanfstaengl’s hometown well. Conradi is Deputy Foreign Editor of The Sunday Times (London).
Musicians from Syria
Aeham Ahmad – The Pianist of Yarmouk
Videos of Aeham Ahmad playing the piano in the war-torn Yarmouk neighborhood in Damascus (Syria) made the him a symbol of hope. He now lives in a refugee centre in Wiesbaden, Germany and has even published an [easyazon_link identifier=”1501173499″ locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”]autobiography – The Pianist from Syria[/easyazon_link].
Ahmad got introduced to music through his father, a blind cellist. At a young age, he was admitted to the Arab Institute, a music school in Damascus, where he learnt the classics – Czerny, Beethoven, Mozart.
Even though Ahmad didn’t see the point of learning music, his father advised him that, as refugees who could not go back to their own county, they had to be international.
At the height of the war, Ahmad decided to use music as a form of resistance. He played his piano in the middle of the ruins, sometimes joined by his friends/students. His street concerts were filmed and posted on YouTube, and Ahmad became increasingly famous around the world.
In 2015, a jihadist burned down his piano; he tried to continue his personal protest by playing the accordion in the streets, but eventually the fighting, the hunger and the fear became too much for him to bear.
Few months later, he shifted to Germany, where he was already sort of a celebrity; festivals fought for him (as he was already very popular due to his YouTube videos).
14-yr old Syrian refugee teaches herself piano, to perform with the National Concert Orchestra (Ireland)
In less than two years, 14-year-old Alma Harrak (left war-torn Syria for Ireland) has astonished experts by teaching herself to play the piano, and now is all set to perform with the National Concert Orchestra on Culture Night.
Alma, who was introduced to the piano in Mosney, managed to teach herself to play the piano in just six months.
Alma went through several how-to videos on YouTube, and fortunately, she had access to a piano in Mosney on which she could practice.
“I mostly play classical music, but since school, and with the Fleadh in Drogheda, I’ve learned some Irish techniques too,” says Alma who reveals that her music is helping her embrace Ireland even more.
Thanks to Alma’s incredible progress on the piano, she has been invited to be a part of a live performance with the RTE Concert Orchestra on Culture Night.
Read more at www.culturenight.ie
‘Echo of Humanity’, inspired by destruction of city of Aleppo
‘Echo of Humanity’ is a global collaborative virtual jam between John Wegner (Australia) and Kaiboard (Germany), inspired by the destruction of city of Aleppo.
The duo first got the idea after seeing a video of a drone flying over the destroyed city of Aleppo and wished to compose something that will capture the loneliness and desperation of the people there.
The composers were alone when they contributed their music (everything was recorded live, but not played at the same time) that expresses a common view on the world.
We started with creating some live played stuff on the keys (mainly using analog synthesizers and sequencers), and some beautiful live guitar was added later.
The musicians say that they’re aware that such videos (footage from Aleppo) are usually published with a political intention, but they do not have any such intentions (no commercial gain). Their only intention is to make people aware of some insane things that’s happening around the world, in today’s times.
It has turned out to be an interesting project, and the music is really touching. Its sad to see these video footage of the destruction in syria (its the daily reality for these people).
A couple of years back, they had done the ‘Throw Me Away’ project, which addressed a similar issue.)
Politics in Instrumental Music
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”. Beethoven originally thought of dedicating this symphony to Napoleon Bonaparte, but when Napoleon proclaimed himself Emperor of France (in May 1804), Beethoven was appalled and dedicated the symphony to Prince Franz Joseph Maximillian Lobkowitz.
Olivier Messiaen’s Quartet for The End of Time. The work was composed and first performed in a prisoner-of-war camp during WWII. This work was first performed by half-starved prisoners on broken instruments, in front of arrogant Nazi prison camp guards and officials, and the people they had enslaved in the name of the Third Reich.
Opera singer and American star Joyce DiDonato (who has worked with conductor Maxim Emelyanychev and ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro) shares her upcoming album In War & Peace: Harmony Through Music.
Korean-American conductor and pianist plans a ONE KOREA orchestra
Korean-American conductor and pianist Myun Whun Chung plans to start ‘One Korea’ orchestra in the country for players aged 19 to 28. He hopes that musicians from the North will also be allowed to join, though it looks unlikely in the short term.
“I have never met one single Korean who doesn’t wish that we could be reconciled. There’s no question that it will happen, we just don’t know how or when.”
Chung (born on January 22, 1953 in Seoul, Korea) began his musical career as a pianist, often performing in the Chung Trio with his sisters Kyung-Wha Chung (violin) and Myung-Wha Chung (cello). He turned to conducting in 1979 (after studying conducting at the Mannes School of Music and the Juilliard School in New York), by working as an assistant to Carlo Maria Giulini at the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He has subsequently conducted most of the world’s greatest orchestras.
“I’ve always felt that after 60 years of age one’s priority must be completely and forever changed. I don’t consider myself so much a professional musician any more. Now my decisions are based almost entirely on personal feelings, and top of the list is what can I do to help the next generation?” says Chung.
Prosecutors in Seoul dropped alleged embezzlement charges against Myun Whun Chung, former music director of the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. The investigation was triggered by a former chief executive of the orchestra with connections to a powerful political caste.
Myung Whun Chung is credited for giving Seoul Philharmonic a world status it never had before. He won it a 10-CD contract with Deutsche Grammophon, a commitment greater than any orchestra in the world, the envy of the Berlin Philharmonic. As a result, the Seoul Philharmonic – for the first time in its history – is reaching music lovers all over the world. But thanks to the petty pranks of jealous Korean power-players & political bullies, the Seoul Philharmonic will quickly roll back into the provincial 3rd rate band it always was. Nobody ever claimed that Chung was Toscanini, but clearly he was the best thing that ever happened to the Seoul Philharmonic, so the ingratitude and disrespect given to him by his countrymen is a flagrant display of the lowest instincts of Korean national character.
External Links
North Korea, Russia co-host piano recital in Pyongyang
North Korea, Russia co-host a piano recital in Pyongyang.
Politics in Opera
Opera has long been a conduit for political and philosophical narrative. Checkout John Adam’s depiction of Nixon’s visit to China. The villain in the ballet embodies capitalism, imperialism, and aggression.
Then there’s Giuseppe Verdi’s ‘Don Carlo,’ based on a dramatic and politically-charged poem by Friedrich Schiller.
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