Das Judenthum in der Musik

Das Judenthum in der Musik. This polemical essay, written by the composer Richard Wagner, was first published anonymously in 1850 in the Leipzig-based journal Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, which was then edited by Franz Brendel. It represents one of the most explicit and influential articulations of Antisemitism in 19th-century European cultural discourse, attacking the presence and influence of Jews in German music. The treatise specifically targeted the composers Felix Mendelssohn and Giacomo Meyerbeer, arguing that Jewish artists could only produce shallow, imitative work and were fundamentally alien to the German spirit.

Background and publication

The essay emerged from the tumultuous artistic and political climate following the Revolutions of 1848–1849, during which Wagner was exiled from Germany for his involvement in the Dresden Uprising. Residing in Zürich, Wagner was influenced by the burgeoning nationalist and völkisch ideologies, as well as the writings of philosophers like Arthur Schopenhauer and polemicists such as Paul de Lagarde. His personal resentments, particularly towards the success of Giacomo Meyerbeer, who had earlier assisted him in Paris, fueled his vitriol. The initial 1850 publication was under the pseudonym "K. Freigedank" ("K. Freethought") in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik, a leading publication associated with the New German School of composition. Wagner later republished it under his own name in an expanded edition in 1869, partly in response to the acclaim for the Jewish conductor Hermann Levi during the premiere of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in Munich.

Content and arguments

Wagner's core argument posits that Jews, being rootless and speaking European languages only as a detached "jargon," are incapable of creating authentic, profound art. He asserts that Jewish composers, exemplified by Felix Mendelssohn, possess technical skill but lack true creative genius and emotional depth, producing only a "smooth and pretty" superficiality. He saves his most scathing critique for Giacomo Meyerbeer, whom he accuses of cynical commercialism and creating a "monstrous" hybrid of empty effects in operas like Les Huguenots and Le Prophète. Wagner frames Jewish influence as a corrupting, decomposing force within German culture, describing it as an "involuntary" and "repellent" element. The essay employs pseudoscientific and racial terminology, linking artistic expression to blood and soil, and calls for the "redemption" of Jews through their self-annihilation, a concept later echoed in National Socialist ideology.

Reception and controversy

The initial anonymous publication caused an immediate scandal within European musical circles. It was vehemently condemned by critics and fellow musicians, including Robert Schumann and the poet Heinrich Heine. The Jewish community in Germany and beyond recognized it as a dangerous escalation of cultural Antisemitism. When Wagner republished it under his name in 1869, the controversy intensified, solidifying his reputation as a leading antisemitic intellectual. The essay provoked public protests, such as those during Wagner's concerts in Vienna, and fueled decades of debate in publications like the Allgemeine Zeitung des Judentums. Figures like the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, initially a Wagner admirer, later expressed profound disgust with the treatise, referencing it in works like On the Genealogy of Morality.

Influence and legacy

The essay provided a foundational text for racial Antisemitism, directly influencing later ideologues like Houston Stewart Chamberlain, the British-born German writer who married Wagner's daughter Eva, and Alfred Rosenberg, the chief philosopher of the Nazi Party. Its ideas were systematically propagated by the Bayreuth Circle, the circle of Wagner's family and disciples led by his widow Cosima Wagner and later his son Siegfried Wagner. The National Socialist regime, particularly under Adolf Hitler, who was a devoted admirer of Wagner, used the essay to justify cultural policies, including the Nazi boycott of Jewish businesses and the purge of Jewish artists from institutions like the Berlin Philharmonic. The enduring association between Wagner's music and Nazi Germany remains a central ethical dilemma in performances of works like Der Ring des Nibelungen and Tristan und Isolde at festivals including the Bayreuth Festival.

Editions and translations

The original 1850 version appeared solely in the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. The 1869 authorized edition, published as a pamphlet, included a lengthy supplementary introduction where Wagner defiantly stood by his views. Important modern scholarly editions appear in the collected works, such as the Richard Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis. The first English translation was published in the late 19th century, with more recent critical translations available in anthologies like *Wagner's "Judaism in Music"* edited by Leon Botstein. The essay has been translated into numerous languages, including French, Italian, and Hebrew, often accompanied by extensive critical commentary analyzing its role in the history of European prejudice.

Category:1850 essays Category:Works by Richard Wagner Category:Antisemitic publications