![]() Wagner was at the helm of this German nationalism. Composers tried to define the features of their own national style. Citizens sought identity in an “ imagined community” of shared ethnicity and heritage. In mid-19th century Europe, nationalism had taken root in the vacuum left by the church. Pure and spiritual, he argued, German art was profound where Italian and French music was superficial. ![]() In other writings, Richard Wagner declared that German music was superior to any other. German Nationalism Die Meistersinger set design, 1957, via Deutsche Fotothek Wagner was harnessing this for his own ends. At the time, a populist strain of anti-semitism was growing in Germany. Critics had implied Wagner was copying Meyerbeer, and a resentful Wagner wanted to assert his independence from his Jewish forerunner. In a tirade, Wagner argued that their music was weak because it was Jewish, and therefore lacked a national style. The virulent anti-semitic text attacked two Jewish composers, Meyerbeer and Mendelssohn - both of whom had influenced Wagner deeply. Most abhorrent of these was Das Judenthum in der Musik (Jewishness in Music). In the lull of his exile, the loose-tongued composer dipped his toes into philosophy, writing a host of essays. An ally of the failed Dresden Uprising, he fled Germany for Zurich in 1849. Wagner was not one to shy away from controversy. Many of his ideas - particularly on German nationalism - foreshadowed Nazi ideology. His body was taken by gondola and train to Bayreuth for its final resting place.Richard Wagner’s Writings and Ideas Portrait of Richard Wagner, via The British Museum, Londonįancying himself a philosopher, Richard Wagner wrote prolifically on music, religion, and politics. Today, people from all parts of the world travel to Bayreuth to see and hear performances of that masterpiece.ĭuring his lifetime, Richard Wagner lived in many European cities outside of his home country, Germany: Paris, France Lucerne, Switzerland Zurich, Switzerland London, England and Venice, Italy, where he died of heart trouble. A special house was designed by Wagner and built in Bayreuth, Germany so that there would be a home for The Ring to be performed. It took Wagner 22 years to complete The Ring! It remains one of the most remarkable opera compositions of all time. In his operas, he liked to create tension between good and evil. It is made of four separate operas and about 18 hours of music that includes themes that have specific meanings. He moved from place to place and took several types of jobs so that he and his wife could pay the rent, have food to eat, and money to compose and produce his operas.Īt the age of 27 Richard Wagner began work on his monumental cycle of four musical dramas: Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelungs). It was based on a novel and staged in Dresden, Germany in 1842 and was a success! However, as did many other composers of his time, Wagner had severe financial problems. It was there that he composed the opera Rienzi, the Last of the Tribunes. Wagner married the singer Minna Planer in 1836 and they moved to a small city in Germany where he could be the musical director at the local theater. While his very first opera, Die Feen was never heard, very soon he was considered the master of German opera! His first symphony was written and performed in 1832. Later in his teenage years, he attended Leipzig University to study and as a result he became more interested in music composition. ![]() At age 15 he wrote a play and at 16 his first music compositions. As a boy, he was interested in literature and loved the plays of William Shakespeare. His name has been linked to almost all the significant historical events of the 19th and 20th centuries. ![]() Richard Wagner is known as one of the most progressive composers in history. ![]()
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