Response to 11/2/11 Prompt

"When in this essay I declare war upon Wagner-- and incidentally upon a German "taste"-- when I use harsh words against the cretinism of Bayreuth, the last thing I want to do is start a celebration for any other musicians" (Page 186) Nietzsche goes on to say that if Wagner should be attributed to the "ruin of music", he should not be blamed for its cause of ruin, only for the acceleration. He distinguishes Wagner from other musicians by asserting that Wagner knows and embraces this fate because of his "naivete of decadence" while others-- "hesitate." Brahms only serves as Wagner's antagonist because it is needed, and this antagonist, too, must appeal to the same mass that Wagner has. "He is the melancholy of incapacity; he does not create out of an abundance, he languishes for abundance-- he is a master of imitation-- what remains as specifically his is yearning" (Page 187) He is essentially the polar opposite of Wagner; his melancholy propels his ability to spew out music imitative of happiness while Wagner's material happiness allows him to compose music imitative of melancholy. Nietzsche is addressing the fact that Wagner is not the sole danger to music, but that Brahms is the other half to that puzzle. What Nietzsche demands is a musician who can speak to both: "no god can save music" (Page 189) It really sets the tone for the will to power and the ubermensch.