DVD Review: Wagner’s Jews

Wagner’s Jews is a truly interesting documentary about composer Richard Wagner’s anti-Semitism and his close associations with Jewish people, particularly in relation to his music in our post-World War II world. It addresses the question about the ability to separate the art from the artist. The film opens with Uri Chanoch (Deputy Chairman of The Central Organization of Holocaust Survivors in Israel) saying: “As long as I live and participate in public affairs, I will make sure that Wagner is not played in Israel.” Then we’re introduced to Jonathan Livny, founder of Israel Wagner Society, who planned a Wagner concert, which was then canceled due to letters from Holocaust survivors.

The film gives us some of the history of the relationship between Wagner and the Nazis, including a snippet from a 1940 Nazi propaganda film that quotes Wagner as saying, “The Jew is the shape-shifting demon behind mankind’s downfall.” And then the film begins to delve into another side of the issue, that being the history of Wagner’s close association with Jewish people. Zubin Mehta (Music Director, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra) tells us that during Wager’s lifetime “The Jews in Germany were some of the greatest admirers and backers of Wagner.”

Giacomo Meyerbeer was Wagner’s first Jewish patron, and he arranged for the premier of Wagner’s first opera, which was actually an homage to Meyerbeer’s own work. An interesting theory regarding Wagner’s anti-Semitism is that Wagner came to demonize Meyerbeer in order to separate himself from him. Wagner was also well aware of the fact that Jews supported him and made up a significant portion of his audience.

Leon Botstein (musicologist and conductor) makes an interesting point: “Since anti-Semitism was so commonplace, it’s very hard for us to understand the Jewish audience paid as little attention as possible to his anti-Semitism. We look back always at Jewish history through the lens of the Holocaust, as if everything led up to Auschwitz, and that’s a distortion.” Wagner in fact died before Hitler was born.

The film treats us to some of Wagner’s writing on Jews, as well as his correspondence, which is delivered as voice over. There is even a portion of his first wife’s letter to him on the subject of his anti-Semitism.

Bonus Features

The DVD contains lots of bonus material, including three extended interviews. The first is with Dina Porat, who has some interesting things to say about the relation of Wagner’s music to Hitler, and why Wagner’s music isn’t played in official channels in Israel. The second is with Zubin Mehta, who talks about musicians playing Wagner, and the third is with Israeli politician Yossi Beilin.

There is also a musical performance by Roman Rabinovich of Parsifal, arranged for piano by Joseph Rubinstein. And a deleted scene about Wagner’s time in Venice is included. The final special feature is portions of interviews with the filmmaker Hilan Warshaw, the first from a film festival in Tel Aviv in May of 2014, the second from a panel discussion of the film in September of 2013.

Wagner’s Jews was written and directed by Hilan Warshaw, and was released on DVD on October 7, 2014 through First Run Features.