Reply To: Do you separate between person and composer?
Yes, I meant Herrmann’s thorny (often rude) personality, but I realize that’s a different thing than having troublesome political or religious convictions.
I think that are really two different things. If someone is just not an easy person like Herrmann I don’t care that much (Goldsmith is said not to be that easy at times, too). There is a saying that you should never meet your idols as you may be disappointed 😉
If I like a work by someone new I certainly read about that composer in general.
Take Richard Wagner, by all means a “problematic” personality. Yet the problems are not manifest in his music, which is glorious.
It seems the Wagner researcher in general have no agreement if or if not. I don’t know his work good enough. I basically can only listen to the instrumental parts which are glorious (as I am not a big fan of opera singing in general)