Comments for The Oceanic Hug Works http://oceanichugworks.wordpress.com Lovably Sailing Through the Sea of Nonsense Since MMVIII Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:53:56 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on Did You Know? by Randall Askins http://oceanichugworks.wordpress.com/2008/07/04/did-you-know/#comment-22 Randall Askins Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:53:56 +0000 http://oceanichugworks.wordpress.com/?p=63#comment-22 Carl Orff was no Nazi, unlike Herbert von Karajan and Elizabeth Schwartzkopf who were both members of the party as well as great musicians, and this is a common misconception about Orff that has unfairly tainted his life and works. Orff was NEVER a member of the party and was in fact a close friend of Kurt Huber, who was executed for being a member of the Nazi resistance movement called The White Rose. Orff was terrified when Huber was arrested by the Gestapo and feared he was next. Some have claimed that Orff used this association to his advantage after the war, but this is controversial. Like all composers, he sought to have his works performed. It is just unfortunate for him that he had to do so under a brutal dictatorship. No one seems to be bothered by the fact that composers like Prokofiev and Shostakovitch were ardent supporters of an equally brutal Communist dictatorship. Orff wrote an opera called Die Kluge (The Clever One)that premiered in 1943 in Nazi Germany. It was about how love and wisdom can triumph over a dictator. Among other things, the characters say that justice is dead in the land, that a tyrant holds the scepter of government, and that it is force that now rules. Whatever you think of Orff or his music, "courageous" is an adjective that certainly could be added. By the way, Die Kluge is going to be performed in English at the Long Beach Opera next year. Here is the link with more information about the opera and about Orff: http://www.longbeachopera.org/index.php/2009-season/emperor-of-atlantis-clever-one Carl Orff was no Nazi, unlike Herbert von Karajan and Elizabeth Schwartzkopf who were both members of the party as well as great musicians, and this is a common misconception about Orff that has unfairly tainted his life and works. Orff was NEVER a member of the party and was in fact a close friend of Kurt Huber, who was executed for being a member of the Nazi resistance movement called The White Rose. Orff was terrified when Huber was arrested by the Gestapo and feared he was next. Some have claimed that Orff used this association to his advantage after the war, but this is controversial.

Like all composers, he sought to have his works performed. It is just unfortunate for him that he had to do so under a brutal dictatorship. No one seems to be bothered by the fact that composers like Prokofiev and Shostakovitch were ardent supporters of an equally brutal Communist dictatorship.

Orff wrote an opera called Die Kluge (The Clever One)that premiered in 1943 in Nazi Germany. It was about how love and wisdom can triumph over a dictator. Among other things, the characters say that justice is dead in the land, that a tyrant holds the scepter of government, and that it is force that now rules.

Whatever you think of Orff or his music, “courageous” is an adjective that certainly could be added.

By the way, Die Kluge is going to be performed in English at the Long Beach Opera next year. Here is the link with more information about the opera and about Orff:
http://www.longbeachopera.org/index.php/2009-season/emperor-of-atlantis-clever-one

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