WORLD MUSIC FORUM, The Classical Spiegel Affair 02

Ignorance in the Fundamentals of Classical Music

AAR EDITION: Then, of course, the question arose for us: what interest can a newsmagazine have in making a classical composer publicly out to be a fraudster, and we could only think of the answer, that the SPIEGEL had probably printed this denigrating lie, only because their responsible people wanted to lull the president of the German Music Council, Mr. Prof. Dr. Mueller-Heuser, in his unworthy activity into a false sense of security, so that they would be able to do their further investigation more successfully and figure out, what gave this

man and his office the idea, to run such a public denigration campaign against the without doubt most successful classical composer and musicologist of our time.

“The end justifies the accomplished.”
Ovid

CLASSIC-LIFE: But after such a long time one can’t help but think, that obviously the SPIEGEL has no interest to clarify the matter at all, but rather wants to sweep something so explosive straight “under the carpet” – obviously in contrast to its other image-

effective claims.
You will rather have to get used to the idea, that very obviously the news magazine even has a lively interest in actively supporting this defamation campaign of the German Music Council and/or of its president Prof. Dr. Mueller-Heuser against the classical composer and musicologist Peter Hübner, whom you represent as his publisher.

“The deeds receive their titles
by the result.”
Goethe

“To see it with the eyes
is all the world’s evidence.”
Proverbial

And this is all the more documented by the fact that now also other media go and disseminate this SPIEGEL-article with the quoted defamatory lies.
The publisher Aar Edition writes in his publications, that the classical composer and musicologist was officially enrolled at the Music University Cologne but that he was exempted from all

lessons at the same time.
Why do you write that at all? It is relatively the same whether a composer has been at a university or not.

“Every way to the right purpose
is also right in every section of it.”
Goethe

Particularly in the case of a classical composer – all great classical composers known to us have not studied at any music college either, or were enrolled there as students!

AAR EDITION: That is correct. But the classical composer Peter Hübner attacks the music universities by declaring they would not be able of judging musical talent.

“Who acts with caution
achieves what he strives for.”
Arabic proverb

Then these music universities and colleges would of course like to be able to claim that Mr Hübner cannot judge this at all as he himself has never been at such an institution.

CLASSIC-LIFE: That makes sense. If Mr Hübner is right with his judgement, then the music universities and colleges would be confronted with quite some radical changes – discarding many political music offices; therefore Mr Huebner must never have been at a music university.

“The appearance
of eminent people
in any circle
can never be without consequences.”
Goethe

AAR EDITION: Or, he must at least have been there only very briefly and also just on trial and then, ideally, must have been sent away due to musical incapability.

“Who the Gods love,
him they lead to the place
where people need him.”
Goethe