Today, NPR aired a story about the American Symphony Orchestra’s upcoming concert of music from the DDR. It was a joy to hear Leon Botstein talk about the music with insight and appreciation. The program features music of Eisler, Dessau, Regeny, Zimmerman and Mathus. Some silliness in the reporting–of course. Margot Adler, in discussing Eisler’s national anthem, asks whether Westerners will be able to hear it without thinking of doped athletes or the Stazi. I dunno, but I certainly don’t think of all of my country’s depradations when I hear our anthem, and ours is not nearly as beautiful as theirs was.
Eisler–like many other left wing artists and intellectuals–returned to what he called Germany, not “East Germany,” not a USSR satellite state. The music was written in a spirit of idealism and patriotism. Ah yes, but it all went horribly wrong, did it not? Still I think of what Kurt Tucholsky said about his nation, in the beautiful poetic essay that concludes his book Deutschland Uber Alles, thumbing his nose at the Junkers and the Nazis and the idiots: It’s our country too, and we love it. You can’t take it away from us.
This illustration by John Heartfield is from Deutschland Uber Alles. The photo comes from A Journey Round My Skull’s photostream at flickr.
I felt that way listening to Obama’s inaugural address–something about sweeping the room clean, living up to our ideals for a change. Especially that part about putting aside childish things. I liked that bit.
