Richard Wagner: A Life in Music“[An] intriguing exploration of the composer’s life and thought as exemplified by his music. An excellent biography.” —Library Journal Best known for the four-opera cycle The Ring of the Nibelung, Richard Wagner (1813–83) was a conductor, librettist, theater director, and essayist, in addition to being the composer of some of the most enduring operatic works in history. Though his influence on the development of European music is indisputable, Wagner was also quite outspoken on the politics and culture of his time. His ideas traveled beyond musical circles into philosophy, literature, theater staging, and the visual arts. To befit such a dynamic figure, acclaimed biographer Martin Geck offers here a Wagner biography unlike any other, one that strikes a unique balance between the technical musical aspects of Wagner’s compositions and his overarching understanding of aesthetics. A landmark study of one of music’s most important figures “People who would like to know more about Wagner, and people who have loved his music for years . . . will find a great deal in this book to enjoy and to admire.” —Tablet “Geck describes a Wagner who is grounded, focused and even cautious, a savvy realist and ironist rather than a flamboyant, flailing ideologue . . . Suffused with his readings of contemporary productions of the operas, Geck’s musical analyses are succinct and superb” —New York Times “As an editor of Wagner’s Complete Works, Geck brings a deep familiarity with the composer to his task.” —Weekly Standard “A thoroughly approachable yet consistently provocative study.” —Thomas S. Grey, editor of The Cambridge Companion to Wagner |
Contents
| 1 | |
Das Liebesverbot And Rienzi | 23 |
Chapter Three Deep shock and a violent change of direction Der Fliegende Holländer | 47 |
Chapter Four Rituals to Combat Fear and Loneliness Tannhäuser Und Der Sängerkrieg Auf Wartburg | 69 |
Chapter Five A Bedtime Story with Dire Consequences Lohengrin | 97 |
Achilles Jesus of Nazareth Siegfrieds Death And Wieland The Smith | 127 |
The Ring As A NineteenthCentury Myth | 147 |
The Art of the Ring Seen from the beginning | 173 |
Chapter Ten A mystical pit giving pleasure to individuals Tristan Und Isolde | 229 |
Chapter Eleven A magnificent overcharged heavy late art Die Meistersinger Von Nürnberg | 263 |
Chapter Twelve Theyre hurrying on toward their end though they think they will last for ever The Art of the Ring Seen From The End | 291 |
Chapter Thirteen You will see diminshed sevenths were just not possible Parsifal | 319 |
Chapter Fourteen Wagner as the Sleuth of Modernism | 357 |
Notes | 367 |
| 425 | |
| 439 | |
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Common terms and phrases
action Adorno Alberich already artist audiences Bayreuth Beethoven Bloch Briinnhilde Carl Dahlhaus characters composer context Cosima Das Rheingold Die Meistersinger difficult Dresden Dutchman elements emended Engl entry Ernst Bloch expression feeling figure final finally find first fliegende Holla'nder Frankfurt Friedrich German Go'tterda'mmerung Grail Hagen hero idea interpretation Kundry later leitmotifs letter libretto listeners Liszt Lohengrin Ludwig Martin Geck Mathilde Wesendonck Mazzino Montinari Meistersinger modern motif Munich music example musical drama Musik myth Nietzsche ofthe onstage Opera and Drama orchestral Parsifal Parsifal’s passage plot poem political prelude redemption reflects Revolution Rheingold Rhinedaughters Richard Wagner Rienzi Ring des Nibelungen role Sa'mtliche Werke scene score sense Senta’s Siegfried Siegfried’s Death significant song specific stage Symphony Tannha'user Tannhauser’s theater theme Thomas Mann tion total artwork trans translated Tristan und Isolde Udo Bermbach Valhalla Verlag Wagner’s music Walku're words work’s Wotan writing