Daniel Barenboim: a life in Germany [1]
When Daniel Barenboim [2] was invited by Wilhelm Furtwängler [3] to play in Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra as a young pianist after World War II, his father forbade him to travel to Germany. It was too early for a young Jewish musician to work in Berlin shortly after the war. Barenboim lived with his parents in Israel at that time. In the later years, the conductor Barenboim conducted all over the world, especially in Germany and became one of the most popular musicians and directors.
In 2003, Barenboim won the Grammy for the best opera recording with the Berlin State Orchestra for Richard Wagne’s Tannhäuser [4]. Barenboim’s liking for Wagner is not understandable for many Jewish people. Many people nowadays still associate Wagner’s operas with Naziism. Wagner’s operas picked out Germanic mythology as a center theme and Adolf Hitler supposedly loved Wagner’s operas. That is the reason for many people to associate Wagner with Nazi era. Therefore, Wagner has been boycotted in Israel since the war.
The musician and Wagner lover Barenboim wrote in an article on his life in Germany in Die Zeit [5]. “Germans have contributed so much intellectual wealth to the world, one thinks of Bach, Beethoven, Wagner, Heine, Goethe, just a few examples, but it is probably difficult for a German to put the bad experiences in the Nazi era with his history together as a whole. There are certain things, which belong to the German people, and there are other things, which belong to the world. Both influence the cultural life in Germany. One should not be afraid of these things. I see that as a musician and view it through my personal history: I was born in Argentine, my grand parents were Jews from Russian, I grew up in Israel and have lived my whole life in Europe. I think in the language, which I’m speaking at the moment, and I feel myself a German, if I conduct Beethoven, and an Italian, if I conduct Verdi. And I don’t think I’m being unfaithful to myself. Just opposite.”
At a concert of Berlin State Orchestra at an Israel Festival in Jerusalem in 2001, Barenboim caused a scandal: Barenboim who grew up in Israel, played Richard Wagner’s overture of Tristan and Isolde [6] as an encore after the official program had ended. A few dozen members of audience stormed out angrily from the hall, and in the days followed, Barenboim received harsh criticism from all political directions.
On the evening after the concert, Barenboim gave an interview to the daily newspaper “Haaretz” [7].
H: why was it so important to you, to perform this works by Wagner?
B: “The festival had asked me, to change the program, in which Wagner was originally included. For me that was an expression of a lack of democratic freedom. All in all, Wagner can’t be blamed for all these problems, it is rather the thought association with a minority. Such a thought association between Wagner and the Naziism is horrible. People have the right to make this thought association, but they don’t have the right, to prevent others from listening to Wagner. That is simply not democratic. Paradoxically it would be a kind of triumph for the Nazis, if Wagner were not being played in Israel. I have received letters from many people, who were disappointed, because we removed Wagnar from our original program ...”
H: Wouldn’t there have been a better moment to do it than through the back door like this?
B: “I don’t know. It is not a really sincere debate – today there are people, who allow themselves to decide for others.”
H: How do you feel yourself, when people call you a “fascist” and told you to “go home”?
B: “People who think I’m a fascist, I feel sorry for.”
H: What is the significance of the concert for you, in retrospect?
B: “It was the personal, very private opportunity, to express my view on democracy. So, the minority could not decide for the majority. From now on every orchestra director and every festival have to decide if they want to continue to boycott Wagner in Israel.”
[1]. Translated by me from: p. 228. Daniel Barenboim: Ein Leben in Deutschland. Stationen. Ein Kursbuch für die Mittelstufe. 3rd Edition. Prisca Augustyn & Nikolaus Euba, Cengage Learning, USA, 2015
[2]. Daniel Barenboim. 11/15/1942-
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Barenboim
A classical pianist and conductor based in Berlin, Germany. He conducted the New Year Concerts in Vienna three times in 2009, 2014 and 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Barenboim
[3]. Wilhelm Furtwängler. 1/25/1886-11/30/1954. A German conductor and composer, who is the conductor of Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelm_Furtw%C3%A4ngler
[4]. Tannhäuser. An opera of a medieval chivalric romance with music and text by Richard Wagner in 1845. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tannh%C3%A4user_(opera)
[5]. Die Zeit. Time. A German national weekly newspaper. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Zeit
[6]. Tristan and Isolde. An opera, with music and text by Richard Wagner in 1865.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristan_and_Iseult
[7]. Haaretz. An Israel newspaper. Founded in 1918. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haaretz
“Skandal or chance” by Zipi Shohat, translated to German by Jan Thorn-Prikker. Reprinted by permission of Haaretz Daily Newspaper and the Goethe Institut. Ibid.
