Around the Music Festival

Classical specialty channel “Voice of Music” of Israeli public broadcasting association “Kan” broadcasted music of Wagner’s “Götterdämmerung = Twilight of the Gods” on radio on August 31. Then, protests began to flood from the listener to the broadcasting station after broadcasting, and on September 2, “Kan” came into an apology.

In Israel, Wagner is still a composer of anti-Semitism, a favorite composer who preferred the Nazi regime intended to kill the Jews. Although there is no law prohibiting broadcasting and performance, Wagner’s music has never been shed by public broadcasting since the founding of 1948, and this day was the first time. According to stakeholders, a young staff who does not know the controversy over Wagner has been selected as a result of selection without particular intention, but Israel still proves that allergies to Wagner’s music loved by the Nazis are strong It was done.

About the relationship between Israel and Wagner’s work is played in April 1938 at the concerts performed in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem by the Palestine Symphony Orchestra founded in Palestine, the then British mandate ruling territory. This time, Italian renowned conductor Arturo Toscanini conducts. They played the prelude of “Lohengrin”. But in November a large-scale violence incident “Crystal Nacht” happened to Jews throughout Germany. Following that, it was excluded from the repertoire of the orchestra, and the performance became taboo after the war.

Zubin Mehta, the music director of Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, first challenged to break that taboo. Mehta tried to play the prelude of “Tristan und Isolde” as Encore at Tel Aviv ‘s concert in 1981. However, some members refused to play. Also, there was a fist fight among the audience over the performance. Moreover, the survivor of “Holocaust” went up to the stage and opened the shirt and showed scars of Nazi concentration camp, interrupting the performance. A few days later, Mehta tried to play again to Encore, but again after receiving intense protests by the audience, stopping playing in only a few measures.

Then, in 1992, when Daniel Barenboim was invited to Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, he incorporated Wagner’s work into the program. However, even at this time, the program was forced to change by Israeli protests. However, by successfully releasing rehearsals to the public, he succeeded in ringing Wagner’s music.

And in 2000, Wagner work was played in Israel for the first time after the war in an unexpected place. “Siegfried – Idyll” was played at the concert in the city of Rishon lezion in the center of Israel, and the complete taboo was defeated. Mendi Rodan himself, the survivor of the “Holocaust”, conducted this concert.

In the following year’s 2001, Barenboim was invited to the music festival in Tel Aviv. At this time he planned to perform the first act of “Valkyrie” with the Berlin State Opera, where he is a music director, and singers, mainly Pracido Domingo. But the Israeli government is also strongly opposed. He switched the program to Schumann and Stravinsky.

However, Barenboim declaring that “I will play Wagner from now” before Encore’s performance. He explained the reason why he takes up Wagner’s work over 30 minutes to the audience in Hebrew while clapping and angry are interlacing. He tells the opponent “I want you to listen to music anyway” and succeeded in playing the prelude of “Tristan und Isolde”.

However, there has been no progress since that time. In 2012, a concert was also planned taking up Wagner’s work at Tel Aviv University (Conductor is Usher Fish), but it is being forced out by people’s protest.

Photo：Bayreuther Festspiele