Richard Wagner
New Light on a Musical Life
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About the Book
This is a new biography of the German composer Richard Wagner, 200 years after his birth, re-examining his life in light of new documents and new sensibilities. Since World War II Wagner has often been wrongly associated with Adolf Hitler because Hitler liked Wagner’s music and used it in Nazi propaganda. But Wagner died in 1883—fifty years before Hitler’s regime. It is time to have a fresh look at Wagner’s life without the Nazi associations. His life was a series of abandonments and traumas for the self-destructive but creative genius, as he tried to survive as a freelance composer in the hostile environments of 19th century Germany.
About the Author(s)
Bibliographic Details
John Louis DiGaetani
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 228
Bibliographic Info: 16 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2014
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4544-8
eISBN: 978-0-7864-8502-4
Imprint: McFarland
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ix
Preface 1
Introduction 3
1. A Child of War: 1813–1821 9
2. The Child as Victim: 1821–1830 23
3. Student in Leipzig: 1823–1833 33
4. Minna and Magdeburg: 1833–1840 44
5. Russia, England and Paris (First Sojourn): 1837–1842 54
6. Kapellmeister in Dresden—Premieres of Rienzi,The Flying Dutchman and Tannhäuser: 1840–1849 64
7. Revolution in Dresden: 1848–1850 75
8. Wagner and Liszt—The Premiere of Lohengrin: 1849–1850 82
9. Refuge in Zurich—The Development of Big Plans: 1850–1857 90
10. The Idea of the Ring: Italy: 1857–1858 98
11. The Wesendoncks: 1858–1859 107
12. Venice, Switzerland and Paris: 1859–1861 113
13. Paris and Tannhäuser: 1860–1861 122
14. Vienna, Russia and Matrimonial Crisis: 1861–1864 131
15. The Rescue by King Ludwig II of Bavaria: 1864–1865 139
16. Tristan in Munich: 1864–1865 147
17. The Triangle in Triebschen: 1865–1870 153
18. Meistersinger Premiere in Munich: 1868–1871 162
19. Hans, Cosima and King Ludwig: 1870–1874 169
20. The Idea of Bayreuth—The Premiere of the Ring: 1873–1876 175
21. Wagner and Nietzsche: 1876–1880 182
22. Parsifal: 1881–1882 191
23. Death in Venice: 1883 201
Conclusion: A Life of Extremes 207
Bibliography 211
Index 215
