Christoph von Dohnányi talks to Norman Lebrecht about the sham Nazi trial that sentenced to death his father Hans, jurist, Resistance fighter, rescuer of Jews, Righteous Among the Nations.
Maestro von Dohnányi, in that charming accent of his, also spoke to Uncle Normy about lighter subjects: his grandfather playing for Brahms, his first job in music, his invitation at Bayreuth by Wieland Wagner ("I would never go back... this family business is disgusting for me"), Georg Solti's character, Fritz Reiner being a d0uche, Lenny on Mahler ("He is an end, not a beginning", he told CvD), George Szell ("He was a teacher, people don't like teachers very much"), about having the "education" to resign from an orchestra post to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest (quite lollersome by today's standards!), about how a forte is not a fortissimo and if you play it as forte people will think you're boring, and the notion of success in the music world ("If you make a lot of money, people think you're great").
Three days left to listen (or, you know, download the podcast) so hurry up.