Also Sprach Trumpstra

Also Sprach Trumpstra

News

norman lebrecht

April 09, 2024

The ugliest presidential campaign ad ever seen proclaims a second coming to the music of Richard Strauss.

On the other hand, is there any chance this might be the eclipse of Donald J Trump?

Comments

  • NYMike says:

    Barf!!!

  • Save the MET says:

    Hate to get political, but he made America worse and committed clear criminal acts while in office. He’s had to go to a public domain work by Strauss, as all living composers don’t want him using their IP. All said, it is a modern recording under copyright which some orchestra and some conductor performed, the proper rights organization will undoubtably go after this and good for them.

    • zandonai says:

      The Democrats made America worse. Look at what California governor Nuisome did to the fast food restaurants and small business owners by mandating minimum wage increase to $20 an hour, not to mention the lawlessness that’s going on in his state.

      America needs a law and order president to enforce the laws without mercy.

      • Barney says:

        Would Trump enforce the laws on himself, wihout mercy? I doubt it.

      • Nydo says:

        If you think that Trump, with his constant lies, clear crimes while in office, and childish intellect, is a “law and order” president, you need to have your head examined.

    • michael moore says:

      So, how was America safer and better economically under Trump? The middle east was better. We had no wars. Or, is Stephen Colbert using a feeding tube into your brain…

    • Jack says:

      Interesting to see the thumbs up – thumbs down vote on this post. Norman, it looks like you have a fair number of Trumpers following your blog.

      • Guy says:

        tr to have a bit more imagination Jack. Trumpers? Hillary is calling them Maga Cult members. I guess that might be better than deplorables.

    • Nicholas Stix says:

      “Hate to get political, but he made America worse and committed clear criminal acts while in office.”
      You didn’t hate to get political, he made America better, and he committed no criminal acts while in office, unlike fake president/real gangster Joe Biden.

  • william osborne says:

    Many ironies in the campaign video. First, it is an exact revival of the Nazi interpretation of the birth of Nietzsche’s Übermensch (Superhuman) who was to cast aside the otherworldly nihilism of Christian values and create humans devoted to the body and “This worldliness.” It was part of Nietzsche’s concept of the death of God, and was eventually combined with concepts of nationalism and racial superiority that were widespread in the USA and Europe even if not quite as virulently as in Germany. All of this already in 1883 followed by Strauss’s work composed in 1896.

    People say the Nazi’s misused Nietzsche’s philosophy, but is the problem perhaps that Nietzsche is just a bit too easy to misuse? The ravings of a madman that attempted to define humanity in purely materialistic terms? Something like Marxism, but instead of promoting collective humanity, focusing instead on the materialist hero-prophet and the Herrenvolk he represented? These idea took hold and influence a wide-range of intellectuals. The eugenic pseudo-philosophy of the Holocaust followed about 50 years later. Beginning in the 1980s, these ideas even had a resurgence in some forms of postmodern thought.

    The irony is that the US Christian community is promoting a politician who is not just Unchristian, but fundamentally anti-Christian in his worldview though few will see the historical connections in this video.

    The third irony is that this ad and the ethos behind it accurately reflects an American sensibility, a country that has killed over 4 million people since WWII in illegal, unjustified wars in the service of hegemony. It’s all part of the daily life of being a Herrenvolk. And I suffer no illusions that Europeans would do the same if they had the means–like Russia.

    Perhaps fascism is an inherent part of the human heart we must always guard against. What would that say about much of the passion and nationalism of Europe’s 19th century classical music? Nothing to think about? Nothing for today’s artists to consider? Shall we just listen to the surface beauty of classical music and think no deeper?

    • Dan Kujala says:

      William, if I were still teaching I’d give you an A+ for psychobabble.

      You could have summarized your treatise simply by saying “Orange Man Bad,” or “DJT” is a Nazi.

      Have you been to a grocery store lately? Filled your car up with gas or charged up your EV?

      Do you have a dictionary? Look up the definition of fascism!

      Using my real name here.

      • Nydo says:

        There is this thing called “inflation”, that happened all over the world, independent of who was President in the US. I have filled up my gas tank here and there for years, and yes, the prices spiked after Covid; again, that had nothing to do with who was the President. They have also come down since then, then gone back up, in response to world oil supply and events around the world; again, not any relationship to actions by the President. The same thing could be said about grocery prices.
        Fascism in its narrow definition wouldn’t be an exact analysis of what is going on on the right currently, but it isn’t too far off the mark. Trump’s aim is the suppression of anyone that doesn’t support him, and he has expressed admiration for the world leaders that do fit that definition. Have a look at the threats of being primaried to any Republican that criticizes him, and the threats do essentially fire the civil service and replace them with his cronies if he is elected again.
        Unfortunately, the US as a country have a significant segment of the population that is much too mentally lazy to actually connect the dots; that is how we end up with a low life like Trump as our president. There are many things that can be criticized about the political actions on the left as well, but they mostly operate outside of the actual government. Open your eyes up, and try to grasp the complexity of the world now, instead of embracing a group that rejects factual analysis and interpretations that aren’t reduced to yes or no.

  • Paul Dawson says:

    Presumably the Strauss is Zarathustra and not what came to be known as ‘the football song’?

  • Uncle Sam says:

    From the Trump’s next interview: “I don’t know why any classical musician would vote for anybody but me. Nobody has done more for classical music than me. And I mean – nobody!”:-)

  • Fred Funk says:

    Well, he looked up. And then the viola players…

  • Petros Linardos says:

    Speaking of Also Spruce Zarathustra and a total solar eclipse, does anyone how last weekend’s Cleveland Orchestra concert went?

    https://www.clevelandorchestra.com/attend/concerts-and-events/2425/other-events/total-eclipse-24/

    Let’s talk about something beautiful instead.

  • professional musician says:

    Riff Raff always supports Riff Raff….1933 in Germany, since 2016 in the US. Nothing new under the the sun…The comedy about a criminal ridiculous con man and his even more ridiculous supporters is absolutely unthinkable in any civilized democracy in Europe.

    • william osborne says:

      I remember when the right wing extremist Joerg Haider won the most votes in the election for the federal chancellor of Austria in 2000. He praised the members of the SS as “heroes,” called the concentration camps “punishment camps,” and praised Hitler’s economic policies. The AfD in Germany is similar and is polling at 20%. The current ruling party of Italy is a direct descendent of Mussolini. Poor politics is always easier to see when it is in someone else’s country.

    • Don Ciccio says:

      Not too familiar with Europe, are you?

  • RW2013 says:

    Biggest loser of all time.

    • Don Ciccio says:

      Maybe not the biggest loser, but certainly someone who does not know how to deal with any setbacks when he does lose.

      But I am afraid he may have the last laugh.

  • Philipp Lord Chandos says:

    This music is in fact the opening soundtrack to “- Also begann Zarathustra’s Untergang”.

    Zarathustra chooses a path diametrically opposed to the path of the rising sun.

    This “Fin de Siècle” symphony is down-hill from the very beginning!

  • John Borstlap says:

    Hilarious…… the makers missed the unintentional point that crazy video makes: when the light goes out, it’s because of Trump.

  • Philipp Lord Chandos says:

    Now the Republicans should consider using “Ein Heldenleben” for their campaign.

    “Des Biden Friedenswerke”

    “Des Biden Weltflucht und Vollendung”

    Or rather “Don Joe”?

  • Thomas M. says:

    Anyone who supports Trump doesn’t qualify as a human being.

    • Helen of Troy says:

      Anyone who supports
      Biden doesn’t qualify as a human being. So there! Whatever you can say, I can say better. Go Nikki in ‘28!

  • Uncle Sam says:

    More from the Trump’s next interview: “Look at what Sleepy Joe Biden did – allowing all those immigrants to take over major US symphony orchestras! As a result, you just can’t walk into the Orchestra Hall in Chicago without risking being robbed by some Finnish guy! On my very first day in office in 2025 I’ll put an end to all this nonsense!” (during that portion of the interview the Fox News will play the clip below in the split screen with Trump talking).:-)))

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0FCftJJ-oA

  • Guy says:

    What orchestra played the music? Maybe we can cancel them.

    • just saying says:

      Seems to be from a 1990s “outer space film music” potpourri (other tracks from Close Encounters, Alien, Stars Trek & Wars); ‘City of Prague Philharmonic’ under Nic Raine. Someone probably found an old cassette under the car seat.

    • Philipp Lord Chandos says:

      Sounds like a British orchestra.

      • Nydo says:

        The brass definitely don’t sound like a British Orchestra. Using the Shazam app , it identifies as the City of Prague Philharmonic, as referenced above.

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