Re: war music / Kriegsmusik / musique du la guerre / musica de la guerra

[Cristalle Watson <wcristalle@HOTMAIL.COM>]

Dear Bob Merkin:

Thank you for your thoughtful and insightful post. The topic needed to be
addressed and you have done a good job. A well thought out essay like this
one shows that it is possible to discuss a political issue without frothing
at the mouth over it.

I realize that some other people on this list have made comments that this
topic is an off-list one and that it should not be addressed on this list.
But there is a danger here. It is very tempting for musicians (as well as
all artists and academics and so forth) to withdraw from the world because
they do not want to address its problems. We find it better to pretend that
we are living in a vacuum, or an "ivory tower."

We must remember that music, like all things in life, is linked to the
outside world. We live in an age in which people are more interconnected
than ever. We cannot afford to shut out what is happening.

Why did the great composers -- Beethoven or Bach or Chopin or all the rest
-- compose? Why do the great musicians -- Horowitz or Stern or Glenn Gould
-- play? Was it just to create beauty in an isolated, sterile environment
disconnected from the rest of the world? No. They wanted to affect the
hearts and minds of their listeners, to give them a greater, deeper vision
of what the world was like and what it could be. I remember hearing that
Beethoven composed because he wanted to change the world. He was deeply hurt
by all war, for instance the invasion of Europe by Napoleon. Take the "Ode
to Joy" -- essentially a call for universal friendship and reconciliation of
all people, of all races and countries. If he were here today, could he
possibly remain silent on this topic?

It is one thing to try to avoid a vicious debate. But to avoid all mention
of what could become another world conflict, or at the very least will be a
humanitarian disaster of incredible scale -- to shut our eyes to the images
on television and the sound of bombs over Baghdad and pretend that none of
this is happening -- to desperately discuss Mozart or Gould's recordings or
the latest Sony CD because we are too afraid to mention the topic that looms
in the back of all of our minds -- this is a farce. It is by this sort of
willful inattention by the citizens of a country that the leaders seize an
opportunity to start wars such as this one. What is happening right now will
affect us all, whether we like it or not.

I am not scared of a debate. At the same time I hate the "flaming" and
vicious personal attacks I too often see on the Internet. There are topics
on which it is impossible to remain silent, but this does not mean we have
to scream at one another. I am a supporter of peace, like Bob, and this
includes peace on the F Minor mailing list as much as peace in Iraq. A
debate can be friendly and good-natured, or it can be nasty and vicious. It
is up to us to choose the former.

Bob's comments were constructed in this manner -- they were put forward
gently but firmly. Obviously a great deal of thought went into writing them.
Undoubtedly it also took courage to post his thoughts to a mailing list when
he knew that, not only the comments, but the very fact that they were
"off-topic" would be instantly attacked. Bob's actions were commendable, and
I admire him for what he said. Not everyone knows how to handle a touchy
topic this well. Good work, Bob.

Cristalle


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