James Tobin <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>James Zehm responds to me:
>
>>Beethoven was also an antisemit[e],
>
>If true, that would undercut my assertion distressingly, but I don't
>recall any evidence of antisemitism in his correspondence, where I assume
>he would have expressed such sentiments if he held them. ...
You are right Jim, I should, in spite of your good arguments for the sake,
be more informative. I cannot priovide much detailed information anymore,
but I know he wrote rather foul things about the jewish spys to a publisher
(Breitkopf & Haertel?), and some biographers mention his suspicioness to
foreginers, and jews. I am not sure if it now was the jews, but during the
30 years he lived in Vienna he moved to a new house 35 times, so obviously
there was something that disturbed him very much.
- - -
I wonder if you have read the original Beethoven letters or if you
have read the English translations; remamber that often the letters are
"refined" when translated, or even printed. I cant know for sure with the
Beethoven as I dont know what you have read, but I know it could be the
case. As example you can have the letters in which Sergej Prokofijev tells
the truth about the Ruissian musical etablishment. For long these letters
were not printed, and when they were, they have been "refined". So, where
Prokofijev wriites: "This stupid idiot Gauk", it is printed like: "This
[...] Gauk".
Your milage may vary.
James Zehm <[log in to unmask]>
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