I frequently get comments from people suggesting that I collect some of my posts for publication. Of course, I know they mean well, and I don’t doubt the quality of my writing, but I usually take these kinds of remarks with a grain of salt. After all, what long-term worth could Facebook posts, so many of them tailored to promote radio broadcasts or tie-in with other ephemeral events in the world of classical music, possibly hold?
But then on a major birthday anniversary, I’ll do a search and go back over my old posts about Richard Wagner (born on this day in 1813), for instance, and I’ll actually be intimidated by how good they are. How am I supposed to compete against the writer who produced those?
Sure, there are days when I’ll only have time to jot a few sentences, select an image, and include a link; but if I find myself with a good hour while my mind is still fresh in the morning, my goodness, how I can fly! Post after ever-loving post, distinguished by knowledge, wit, and flair. I could cut-and-paste any one of these and then get on with my day. After all, I am getting new readers all the time, and I don’t flatter myself that, even among the regulars, the posts are so memorable that they will linger in anyone’s thoughts after a couple of years. But I do try to keep it fresh and reinvent the wheel, or perhaps build a better mousetrap, when I can.
That said, coming as I am, off COVID, perhaps now would be a good time simply to offer a choice of a few past Wagner posts for you to enjoy as you may. Thank you for reading, and happy birthday, Richard Wagner!
Simon Callow, Wagner’s irrational frothing about the Jews, and migraines (written while suffering from a severe headache)
The ”Siegfried Idyll” and Siegfried Wagner
More on Siegfried, the nicest of the Wagners
Wagner and the movies
Revisiting Hans-Jürgen Syberberg’s “Parsifal”
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1079437736308622&set=a.883855802533484
Reflections on Alex Ross’ “Wagner: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music”
Richard Wagner: Show me the money!
Wagner and Brahms truce for Christmas
Liszt puts Wagner in the grave
Otto Klemperer meltdown after a performance of ”Lohengrin”
”Lohengrin” with dwarfs and drag queens
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1171672253751836&set=a.883855802533484
Wagner roasted by the famous

