tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717274106260594383.post4390514843737031501..comments2024-01-10T17:22:13.898-08:00Comments on Mary Kunz Goldman - Music Critic: More Strauss by moonlightHoward Goldman http://www.blogger.com/profile/11835068305524570405noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717274106260594383.post-61667362693837833682012-06-22T14:46:00.042-07:002012-06-22T14:46:00.042-07:00To take a bit of a swerve from Strauss, I adore op...To take a bit of a swerve from Strauss, I adore opera. So why do I weep hearing "Vissi d'arte" and yawn hearing lieder (unless Mary convinces me otherwise)?Solange De Santishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01584045582749238772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717274106260594383.post-43422205584247144052012-06-21T04:21:35.544-07:002012-06-21T04:21:35.544-07:00I'm not sure whether Wagner was a vegetarian, ...I'm not sure whether Wagner was a vegetarian, but he promoted it, at least for a while. As for Strauss not wanting to be great, I'm not sure how to take that. He had a good general education and was brought up in a mostly stable environment (although I think his mother became a mental case toward the end), and he was successful right from the beginning. Also, his father was a professional musician, which may have helped create a "market" for Richard's career and composition. So he may have accepted greatness as a matter of course without thinking about it. I confess I don't know his operas outside of Salome (I have the blind spot about opera that your friend Solange has about art song), but they were successful for the most part, and that was the easiest way to become great in music in those days; symphonies and other forms didn't get as much press. Am I right?Prof G.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717274106260594383.post-6268094650823747062012-06-20T20:41:54.587-07:002012-06-20T20:41:54.587-07:00Prof. G, I only just now saw this comment... I don...Prof. G, I only just now saw this comment... I don't know how I missed it! I think Strauss became great by not trying to be great. I didn't know Wagner was a vegetarian. Was he? You're right in that it's funny they were both Wagnerians and thought so differently. I hadn't seen it that way.Mary Kunz Goldmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02691118577179541037noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717274106260594383.post-59256591779726466292012-06-13T05:47:24.117-07:002012-06-13T05:47:24.117-07:00It's interesting that two devoted Wagnerians t...It's interesting that two devoted Wagnerians thought so differently. Mahler was following in RW's footsteps by seeking redemption through art. Wagner really did believe that his "total art work" would save mankind from itself. Mahler, when he was young also went through a Wagnerian vegetarian regimen (Wagner wrote about vegetarianism, anti-vivisection, and a lot of other things). Strauss was really more modern-minded and was vilified as a materialist by holdover Romantics who believed artists should starve for art. But in spite of his clear headedness, Strauss carried a score of Tristan with him on all his travels as a kind of talisman, and he felt that Tristan was the greatest achievement and completion of Western art and culture; a view that Bayreuth shared.Prof G.noreply@blogger.com