Herbert Von Karajan was the Deputy minister of Culture in Nazi Germany, a devout Nazi, but also a "leading" conductor of Orchestras. Some twenty years or so ago he was invited to conduct in Boston and agreed to an interview, as long as no question about his role in the "purification" of German culture not be discussed. He is recognized as a "great musician", but as far as I am concerned, no one can be a great musician without a moral backbone. He sold his soul to the devil. To his credit, his activities led to the creation of one of the better orchestras in the world, the Israeli Philharmonic, founded in 1933-34 by the top musicians Germany had to offer. Arturo Toscannini, a really great musician refused to shake his hands, and to show his despise, conducted the first concert played by the Israeli Philharmonic (he also fled Mussolini's Italy to become the cherished conductor of the NBC orchestra) All the above, from memory, so some of the facts might be embellished <VBG>.
Zeev |
