Sibelius & Swastikas

Sibelius (right) at his 70th Birthday Gala
Jessica Duchen penned a lovely little ode to Sibelius in today's Independent. She recaps the case for ranking Sibelius' among the greats, ostensibly "to restore Sibelius to his rightful status".

What could possibly affect his status (aside from the usual garden-variety musical snobbery)?

Nazi admiration, of course. Because the Germans gave him some medal and Adorno subsequently lumped the Finn in with the Fascists, apparently there's a taint on Sibelius.

Rehabilitating composers from their Nazi connections has become quite the cottage industry, and whether it's Soho the Dog wringing his hands over Webern or Dieter Borchmeyer deconstructing Wagner, even the slightest connection to the Third Reich in a composer's legacy inevitably leads to an overreaction.

As Mike Godwin pointed out almost 20 years ago, when any discussion can't free itself of the Nazi issue, it's probably outlived its usefulness. Hitler liked a lot of stuff, from stuffed squab to Siegfried. That shouldn't stop anyone from enjoying either.