Nexus Conference 2010 First Debate: Patapievici, Haenchen, Goehr, MacMillan, Schlöndorff, Tóibín

http://www.nexus-instituut.nl/
During the 2010 Nexus Conference 'What's Next for the West? Superman meets Beethoven', on 11 June in Amsterdam and in front of an audience of over 1100 viewers, Horia-Roman Patapievici, Hartmut Haenchen, Alexander Goehr, Margaret MacMillan, Volker Schlöndorff, and Colm Tóibín joined in a debate chaired by Rob Riemen on Beethoven's music, art, civilization, and barbarism.

All the participants contributed to the Dutch essayist journal Nexus, volume 57.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Nexus
• Institute
• Conference
• 2010
• Alexander
• Goehr
• Colm
• Toibin
• Margaret
• MacMillan
• Volker
• Schlöndorff
• Horia-Roman
• Patapievici
• Hartmut
• Haenchen
• Rob
• Riemen
• art
• civilization
• barbarism
• Beethoven

[melkquelk]

A remark: the comment of Schloendorff at 5:07 which compares Hitler to Wilder(s) (as far as I can distinguish from the audio) is at best preposterous and misinformed. Pity that the Dutch/Flemish participant did not comment on it to sharpen the discussion.

[von1933]

Excellent comment

[mircion]

The only intelligent things here are said by MacMillan and Schloendorff. Patapievici with his invocation of the "soul" (he is probably intoxicated by Berdiaev or Tolstoy?) is a dreadful windbag. As if the SS officers did not listen to Beethoven with "soul". They did it too much and too well! The Holocaust perpetrated by one of the most advanced civilisations on the planet remains a mystery and desaster of human morality, and no cheap appeals to "humanism" will explain it. Think harder!