Musical anti-Semitism?

The announcement that the Israel Chamber Orchestra will perform music by Richard Wagner at Bayreuth, the first time an Israeli orchestra will perform Wagner's music in Germany, rekindles yet again the controversial subject of that composer's anti-Semitism as well as the ban on playing his music in Israel, a sequela of the Nazi's propagandizing use of it in during the Third Reich.

There are numerous lengthy treatises on the topic of anti-Semitism in music. This will not be one of them. However, I was reminded of a letter I had written in 2003 touching on the subject addressed to the management of New York's classical music radio station WQXR. At the time, WQXR was a commercial operation owned and operated by The New York Times. I thought it might be of interest to reproduce that letter here:

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7 October 2003

The Management

WQXR
122 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10011

To Whom It May Concern:

As a lifelong avid listener to WQXR, as well as a reader of The New York Times since grade school, I am writing to express in the strongest terms my utter disapproval of the dismissal in August of announcer Gregg Whiteside, insofar as it has been reported in the media. The main source of public information appears to be an item in the New York Post dated 8/14/03, followed by items on the Musical America and Andante internet news services. While it seems likely that there are details being withheld from the public, I believe the public is entitled to respond according to the information as presented.

I will here state for the record that I have no connection or affiliation with Gregg Whiteside; have never had any contact or communication with him; and therefore have no vested interest, other than as stated herein.

The management of WQXR and its parent company, The New York Times, appear satisfied to leave stand the public perception that Mr. Whiteside has been summarily dismissed without notice or severance benefits, and more to the point, without due process, for having been overheard in private conversation making comments characterized by Toby Usnik, Director of Public Relations for The New York Times, as “inappropriate”, based upon the interpretation of the eavesdropping passerby. Simply stated, this is unacceptable.

There is an evident conflict between the station’s statement that “he admitted making” the undisclosed “inappropriate comments” and Mr. Whiteside’s statement to the New York Post that “they’ve destroyed an innocent man”. Irrespective of that, it was ostensibly a private conversation, not an on-the-air comment, for which he has been dismissed. That this apparent exercise in political correctness resulting in the censure of Mr. Whiteside’s right of free speech emanates from The New York Times strikes me as highly ironic, especially in light of the recent imbroglio over Jayson Blair. Since the unsubstantiated allegation is that Mr. Whiteside’s private comments were “anti-Semitic”, the presumption is that these comments somehow justify his being deemed unworthy to be in the employ of your company. While I do not know the terms of his contract, it is hard to believe that an employee’s personal views, even if expressed aloud in private conversation, can be grounds for termination. That, of course, would be an issue for him and his counsel to consider.

In addition, this appears to be a case of pandering to the company’s bottom-line interests, i.e. the advertisers, rather than to those of its listenership. I know I am not alone in feeling this represents a breach of trust between the radio station and its audience, a betrayal of the good will assiduously courted for so long, and so generously afforded you in return.

If, on the other hand, the issue is indeed anti-Semitism, and that WQXR’s dismissal of Mr. Whiteside is purportedly to somehow protect its listenership from being tainted by any suggestion thereof, then one could contend that WQXR should no longer broadcast the music of such composers as Wagner, of course, but also Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Chopin, Liszt, Rachmaninoff, Mussorgsky, and even Bach, all of whom have been alleged to either be anti-Semitic or to have held attitudes of hostility toward Jews. While it can rationally and logically be argued, and I would agree with the argument, that even if the allegations had validity, such personal views have little or no bearing upon their musical output, WQXR cannot afford to make such a case without exposing as hypocritical its position vis-à-vis Gregg Whiteside, whose comments, whatever they may have been, were made not on the air but in private. You cannot have it both ways.

As a Jew, I am sensitively attuned to suggestions of anti-Semitism; however, as an American who values highly our Constitutionally-protected right of free speech, I cannot condone the evident infringement of Mr. Whiteside’s rights in this matter. Additionally, as a professional musician, I have noted with dismay in recent years the increasingly repetitive, unimaginative, and unadventurous music programming on WQXR*; in view of which, I had come to feel that Mr. Whiteside’s superlative on-air performance remained one of its strongest assets and inducements to continued listening.

It is my opinion that WQXR either owes Gregg Whiteside reinstatement of his employment or owes the public a satisfactory explanation to justify its dismissal of him. Pending one or the other of these, I have determined that, henceforth, I shall no longer be a listener of WQXR.

Respectfully submitted,

Neil D. Schnall

*I have extensive thoughts about this topic, as I have spent many hours a week tuned to WQXR. This would be the subject of a separate letter, however. I would, if solicited to do so, be happy to provide my thoughts - but somehow, I doubt this will happen.

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I never received a reply to this letter, which I thought to be very bad form on their part. They could at least have sent an acknowledgement, even if they were bound by whatever confidentiality agreement they had reached with Whiteside not to disclose any particulars.

The New York Times unloaded WQXR to WNYC in 2009, whereupon it became a public radio station. It is interesting to me, rereading this now, that since the acquisition by WNYC (to which I had turned as a substitute in 2003), I have resumed listening avidly to WQXR. To my great dismay, though, I continue to find the programming choices on WQXR repetitive, unimaginative, and unadventurous. Some things never change.

Couple of addenda:

First, I should add to my follow-up comments that Gregg Whiteside was NOT reinstated, nor was there ever (to my knowledge) any further public statement issued.

Secondly, the following is a link to the page on the current WQXR's website discussing the appearance of the Israel Chamber Orchestra mentioned at the top. A number of the comments contributed by listeners have a bearing on this discussion. There's also a comment by me with some interesting information about Wagner.

http://www.wqxr.org/articles/wqxr-features/2011/jul/25/israeli-orchestra-breaks-cultural-taboo-plays-wagner-germany/

Swami-ji's Gift

It hardly appears to be much of anything, really - a handful of dessicated flowers virtually unrecognizable as such, it actually looks more like excelsior. It is kept in a little porcelain cup with a lid, the kind in which one might place the day's jewelry for the night.

In the summer of 1984, I accompanied Maxine Bernstein to London and Jersey, Channel Islands where the main object was to reconnect with family, no small matter. This particular family included Sidney Bernstein (later Baron Bernstein), the founder with his brother Cecil of the Granada Group, or the antecedents thereof. If I remember correctly, there had originally been about 8 siblings altogether, including a younger brother Max (Maxine's father), who had previously passed away, and a very much alive sister Beryl. When I met Beryl, she referred several times in conversation to "Yehuda" by which she meant Yehudi Menuhin, with whom she had been close friends over the years. I did get to meet Uncle Sidney at a breaking-the-fast supper buffet, as well as dozens more, and although we interacted only briefly, I was pleased that he had been so charming and polite to me.

In her earlier days in London, before moving to NYC, Maxine had been friends with a group of devotees of Swami Ambikananda (1934-1997), a Hindu monk originally from Mauritius (original name Meekaparsad Rambhajun).
http://www.mooncowhq.ch/Swamiji/index.htm

In a sense, Maxine considered Swami-ji to be family, and we motored to his home/ashram in the English countryside one afternoon to meet with him and share a dinner with a group of devotees present. Swami-ji's name for Maxine was "Maxim". I had no idea what to expect, but what I found was a most warm embrace into this world. I remember thinking how ironic that a spiritual leader and guru should be obliged to earn a living as a short-order cook. But this was his home.

The dinner we were served was delicious and plentiful, although I couldn't begin to say what we ate. There was a particular note of sanctity regarding one devotee who had lost her life tragically a short time earlier, having been struck by a vehicle as she stepped off a bus. Her photograph was prominently on display. I remember not a bit of the conversation we had at dinner, but I do recall there was a lot of generalized talk of spirituality. As a non-observant Jew who had been trained into the religion in my earlier years, I was a bit of a fish out of water in a Hindu ashram, but I could at least blow a few bubbles. Swami-ji was entirely solicitous of my modest conversational contributions.

As a parting gesture, Swami-ji presented me a small handful of dried flowers that had been part of the funeral lei of his own guru. Unfortunately, I cannot now recall which specific personage that was, if I ever knew. Clearly, however, it was meant as a gift of significance. It was something that meant something dear to him; and in accepting it, I was taking a little bit of him along with me.

I never did meet Swami-ji again. Some time later, and to my great surprise, I received a message out of the blue on my home answering machine saying "I am Swami Ambikananda, Hindu monk from Mauritius...". I think I must have returned his call at the time, but I don't remember now what it was about. Perhaps he was looking for "Maxim". I kept that message on the tape for quite a while. After all, how often does THAT happen!

I only learned of his passing about a year ago. There continues to be an ashram in England perpetuating his teachings, as one may discern from the internet. I still treasure that little bundle of dried flowers from the lei of the guru of Swami Ambikananda.

Satan, oscillate my metallic sonatas

The palindrome of the title of this first entry is the inspiration for the name of this blog.

The reference is "I Love Me, Vol. I - S. Wordrow's Palindrome Encyclopedia" as revealed and interpreted by Michael Donner. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill 1996. There is a questionable attribution to a Raymond Stuart, and it's described as a heavy metal title.

So be it. I just like it.

Sonatas seem to oscillate a lot throughout musical history, and it is fascinating to explore the almost infinite range of expression achieved by those who used some version of sonata form as their structural basis.