Denis Fodor wrote:

>And there are many aspects of the state of music under totalitarian
>regimes.  However odious Hitler's may have been, it still sustained
>Strauss, Furtwaengler, Karajan, Boehm, several dozen orchestras, the
>Berlin and Vienna operas, and much else.  Recordings of that era were
>excellent and the radio (there wasn't any TV then) transmitted a lot of
>classical or operatic music.

It sounds so good, I wish I had been there.  The only problem is that after
I listened to all that great music, I'd get gassed and burned up.

Denis is putting an attractive veneer on what was essentially hell on
earth.  So what, conductors and performers were still allowed to make music
on the radio and in public.  The little punk nazis weren't against music
per se; in fact, they wanted to use it.  So, they used the big names and
halls and radio stations and orchestras to THEIR advantage.

>Music has a way of living a life of its own whatever the
>ramifications--or at least has a knack for adjusting.

Can't agree.  Classical music during Hitler's regime was maintained because
he and his entourage wanted it maintained.  The guy did like classical
music, and HE controlled it.

Don Satz
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