Pfitzner war ein so guter Komponist, daß das meiste, was er geschrieben hat, die intensivere Betrachtung lohnt. Deshalb werden neben dem Palestrina auch viele andere seiner Werke stets Bewunderer finden und darum "bleiben".
Bruno Walter: "Haben wir nicht in seinem Wesen die seltsamste Mischung von wahrer Größe und Intoleranz, die vielleicht je das Leben eines Menschen von solcher Bedeutung problematisch gemacht hat?" "Von deutscher Seele", "Palestrina", Klavierkonzert -- unglaubliche Musik! Wenn Bruno Walter sich nie seine Liebe zur Musik Pfitzners austreiben ließ, vielleicht schaffen wir auch, seine Musik zu hören und wenigstens, während sie erklingt, sein Denken zu ignorieren.
If you read Michael Kater's and John Williamson's books then make up your mind. Also read his statement Die neue Aesthetik der musikalischen Impotenz: Ein Verwesungssymptom? (The New Aesthetic of Musical Impotence: A Symptom of Decay?). It is mostly about aesthetics and expresses some defence of Jewish people. He maintained such views until the 1940s and had Jewish pupils and friends whom he defended, possibly at some risk from the regime to his own life. He lost alot of his musical work as conductor and lecturer and was forced into retirement. His own life has very tragic elements. Two of his offspring killed themselves, one was killed on the eastern front, one was put into residential care. He and his wife were bombed out in Munich from which time his mental health collapsed close to the end of his life. At this time, whilst mentally ill, he uttered views in support of Nazi policies on race that to my knowledge he had not previously expressed. Some elderly men can become very rigid in their views. His music should definitely be played. We should also get to know Schulhoff's music.
Pfitzner war ein so guter Komponist, daß das meiste, was er geschrieben hat, die intensivere Betrachtung lohnt. Deshalb werden neben dem Palestrina auch viele andere seiner Werke stets Bewunderer finden und darum "bleiben".
Bruno Walter: "Haben wir nicht in seinem Wesen die seltsamste Mischung von wahrer Größe und Intoleranz, die vielleicht je das Leben eines Menschen von solcher Bedeutung problematisch gemacht hat?"
"Von deutscher Seele", "Palestrina", Klavierkonzert -- unglaubliche Musik! Wenn Bruno Walter sich nie seine Liebe zur Musik Pfitzners austreiben ließ, vielleicht schaffen wir auch, seine Musik zu hören und wenigstens, während sie erklingt, sein Denken zu ignorieren.
If you read Michael Kater's and John Williamson's books then make up your mind. Also read his statement Die neue Aesthetik der musikalischen Impotenz: Ein Verwesungssymptom? (The New Aesthetic of Musical Impotence: A Symptom of Decay?). It is mostly about aesthetics and expresses some defence of Jewish people. He maintained such views until the 1940s and had Jewish pupils and friends whom he defended, possibly at some risk from the regime to his own life. He lost alot of his musical work as conductor and lecturer and was forced into retirement.
His own life has very tragic elements. Two of his offspring killed themselves, one was killed on the eastern front, one was put into residential care. He and his wife were bombed out in Munich from which time his mental health collapsed close to the end of his life. At this time, whilst mentally ill, he uttered views in support of Nazi policies on race that to my knowledge he had not previously expressed. Some elderly men can become very rigid in their views.
His music should definitely be played. We should also get to know Schulhoff's music.