Great-grandson of famous composer visits for lectures

A very distinguished guest will be lecturing at IU this week. Dr. Gottfried H. Wagner, the great-grandson of German operatic composer Richard Wagner and great-great-grandson of the piano virtuoso and composer Franz Liszt, will lecture on several topics, including the controversy surrounding his great-grandfather's operas tonight and Wednesday evening.\nGottfried Wagner studied music, German philology and philosophy at the University of Vienna, where he received his Ph.D. in 1977. His dissertation of the music of Weill and Brecht has been published as a book. He also has produced several publications about German political and social philosophy, music, and the controversy of anti-Semitism surrounding Richard Wagner's operas. His autobiography, "Twilight of the Wagners: The Unveiling of a Family's Legacy," gained him international attention. He currently lives in Italy, where he works as a multimedia lecturer, director, music historian and writer.\nAccording to the IU School of Music's publication "Fanfare," Gottfried Wagner's lecture at 7:30 p.m. tonight in room 124 of Jordan Hall will cover what is known as the "Wagner controversy." Richard Wagner's music served as an inspiration and a role model for Hitler and the Third Reich. His opera cycle "The Ring" contains elements of anti-Semitism and captures Richard Wagner's visions of a future when a racially superior German race brings redemption to mankind. \nGottfried Wagner's lecture focuses on how one can discuss the ideas behind his ancestor's operas in today's post-Holocaust political climate. The topics to be covered by the lecture include Richard Wagner's philosophy and world-view, his impact on international art and politics, and Richard Wagner's reception in the period after World War II, as well as how to approach the man, his ideas and his works in the future.\nThe lecture at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the Indiana Memorial Union Faculty Club is titled "Weill and Brecht: Two Worlds in Collaboration." It is based on Gottfried Wagner's dissertation on the music of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht. Since all Weill's scholarship was dominated by the Brecht Foundation in East Germany, Weill's music tended to be interpreted through Brecht's Marxist ideology. \nThe Weill Foundation in New York accepted this view, which prevailed until the fall of communism. Gottfried Wagner dismantles this idea, citing as evidence Weill's and Brecht's very different philosophical views as well as their personal dislike for one other. The music and libretti in each composer's respective works demonstrates how different the ideologies really are.\nThe IU School of Music in collaboration with the Institute of German Studies, the Departments of Germanic and Jewish Studies and the Office of International Programs are sponsoring both lectures.