Superbook Archive

Audio News for July 26, 2016

by Audiophile Audition | Jul 26, 2016 | Audio News

Responding to Catastrophe wth Culture – Politics intrusion on culture can be unnerving. Stalin restricted the work of Shostakovich, The Third Reich’s appropriation of Wagner prompted Israel to adopt an unofficial ban on his music. The ban was set aside in 2001 by Daniel Barenboim, who also set up the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, comprised principally of Israelis and Palestinians. Shostakovich’s Festive Overture is remembered today as a towering symbol of freedom from musical dictatorship. After the attack in Nice, Sakari Oramo, conductor of the first night of the BBC Proms, preceded his scheduled program with a rendition of La Marseillaise. The entire Albert Hall audience rose to its feet at the end with rapturous applause, reminiscent of the scene in Casablanca when La Maseillaise was sung by everyone else at Rick’s club, overpowering the voices of the Nazis. And this was not the first time the Proms had altered their program in the wake of catastrophe. After 9/11, the BBC added Beethoven’s Ode to Joy to their final night celebrations. No single national anthem can serve to rally us all. Paris and Ansbach were attacks on culture, focusing on musical events; Nice was an assault on identity. Both culture and […]