To play or not to play

An emotive debate about music raises new questions about Israel’s identity

May 10th 2001|jerusalem

SHOULD an informal ban be lifted on public performances in Israel of the work of Richard Wagner, an anti-Semitic German composer admired by Adolf Hitler? Democracy, freedom of choice, Holocaust survivors' sensitivities—all are part of the mix of an emotive debate that has troubled Israel for decades but is now back in a fresh guise. The Berlin Staatskapelle, under its maestro Daniel Barenboim, an Argentine-born Jew who grew up Israel, is due to perform one of Wagner's most controversial pieces, the first act of “Die Walküre”, as the centrepiece of a state-sponsored festival in Jerusalem to be held on July 7th.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “To play or not to play”