Richard Strauss's tone poem starts like Ginsburg's "Howl" by announcing the death of God (Einleitung) and of the hereafter (Von den Hinterweltlern). Then it invites the audience to reject conventional morality (Von der großen Sehnsucht) and adopt new values of joy and pleasure (Von den Freuden und Leidenschaften). The
opus (action) climaxes and then dissolves into a soft
lied sang by Elvis Presley (Nachtwandlerlied). During the fifties, the CD was unavailable in Israel because its message was classified as
Apikorsi ("Epicurean") and because CD's had yet to be invented.
2 comments:
It seems to me the Israeli founders were Apikorim themselves - they were certainly not frum. That Strauss was German and anti-Semitic didn't help the popularity of his music.
Every generation thinks that it has invented technology. Before CDs there were records, which were just as good if not better. Before text messages there were telegrams.
K
The evidence that Richard Strauss was anti-Semitic is not very strong. He certainly didn't leave Germany, but he never joined the Nazi Party. It has been argued that to the extent that he cooperated with Party officialdom, he did so to protect his daughter-in-law (Jewish) and grandchildren.
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