Richard Wagner

Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813 in Leipzig – February 13, 1883 in Venice) was an influential German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his groundbreaking symphonic-operas (or "music dramas"). His compositions are notable for their continuous contrapuntal texture, rich harmonies and orchestration, and elaborate use of leitmotifs: themes associated with specific characters or situations. Wagner's chromatic musical language prefigured later developments in European classical music, including extreme chromaticism and atonality. He transformed musical thought through his idea of Gesamtkunstwerk ("total art-work"), epitomized by his monumental four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (1876). His concept of leitmotif and integrated musical expression was a strong influence on many 20th century film scores. Wagner is also an extremely controversial figure, both because of his musical and dramatic innovations, and because he was a very public proponent of anti-semitic ideas.

Links and references

Media

• , from Wagner's opera, Die Walküre (ogg format, 19 seconds, 89KB)
• The Wagnerians

Selected readings

• Magee, B., The Tristan Chord: Wagner and Philosophy, Metropolitan Books (2001)
• Tanner, M., Wagner, Princeton University Press (1995)
• Lee, M. Owen. Wagner: The Terrible Man and His Truthful Art. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1998.
• Runciman, J.F., Wagner (1913). Project Gutenberg edition here.
• Dahlhaus, C., Wagners Konzeption des musikalischen Dramas

External links

Wagner and his operas

• Bayreuth Festival
• The humanities.music.composers.wagner FAQ.
• RWagner.net. Contains libretti of Wagner's operas, with English translations.
• Wagner Operas. A comprehensive website featuring photographs of productions, recordings, librettos, and sound files.
• Richard Wagner Web Site. An assortment of articles on Wagner and his operas.
• The Wagner Library. English translations of Wagner's prose works, including some of Wagner's more notable essays.
• Wagner's essay "Das Judenthum in der Musik" or "Judaism in Music"
• Wagner festival in the cave theatre Fertörakos, Hungary
• Richard Wagner: Zenith of German Romanticism
• Archivo Richard Wagner An assortment of articles on Wagner and his operas in Spanish.

Related topics

• The Richard Wagner Postcard-Gallery. A gallery of historic postcards with motives from Richard Wagner's operas.
• Photo of Wagner's manuscript for the Bridal Chorus.
• Richard Wagner Museum in the country manor Triebschen beside Lucerne, Switzerland where he and Cosima lived and worked from 1866 to 1872. The museum has also a large collection of old musical instruments.
• Better to know by Edward Said, Le Monde diplomatique

See also

• Jim Steinman considers Richard Wagner to be his hero and created his own genre, dubbed Wagnerian Rock.
• What's Opera, Doc?. A famous cartoon using Wagner's Ring music, in which the Ride of the Valkyries is sung by Elmer Fudd with the words "Kill the wabbit!"
• Klaus Schulze (German electronic composer and Wagner admirer) dedicated his 1975 album Timewind to Wagner's death (two 30-min tracks, "Bayreuth Return" and "Wahnfried 1883"). He also used the alias Richard Wahnfried for a part of his discography.

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