Richard Wagner: Crucial Figure In The History Of Nineteenth-Century Music
WAGNER
“One of the crucial figures in the history of nineteenth-century music”
Richard Wagner is, without a doubt one of if not the most controversial figure of the nineteenth-century. Possessed of a large ego , a smooth way with women and music endorsed by Hitler himself in no way makes for a subtle character. There is no middle ground when it comes to Wagner, he is either loved and praised as a genius or scorned and called overrated. Regardless of ones opinion of the man his influence on music and in particular opera is still felt today. His arguably finest work, the tetralogy of The Ring has left an everlasting impact on todays culture. The large lady with blond braids and a viking helmet is still the most recognizable icon of opera to this day. Richard …show more content…
Wagner was born the youngest of nine children in 1813 in Leipzig. Five months preceding the Battle of Leipzig where his father was to be killed. His mother married an actor at the Dresden theatre and it is very well with him that Wagner 's love of drama originated, considering a career as a poet first and then a dramatist.
Wagner was not a musical child prodigy like Mozart in fact he was discouraged to pursue music, “His Latin tutor gave him some piano lessons, but predicted that musically he would come to nothing." (Music With Ease). He and Berlioz were not the norm for composers of that time period as both of them had no great talent on the piano and yet both had such a good grasp of harmony. The single most important event of Wagner 's life (and subsequently nineteenth-century music) was his hearing Beethovens ninth symphony. " 'I fell ill of a fever, ' he says, speaking of this turning point in his life, 'and when I recovered, I was -- a musician." ' (Music With Ease). Beethoven 's ninth symphony was the first symphony to use the voice. Upon reflection of Wagner 's works the symphonic qualities as opposed to the operatic ones are more prominent, giving the orchestra a much larger role then just the accompanist of the voice. A definite influence of Beethoven as opposed to Mozart or Rossini. Unlike how Wagner likes to portray himself as the all knowing genius he did have lessons although only for a relative short time. In 1837 when he was twenty four years of age he had
his first big success with the opera Rienzi. It was staged in Dresdan and that is where Wagner stayed having accepted a post as conductor at the Dresdan Opera until 1848 when he got involved in the Revolution and had to flee after getting proscribed. During his colourful life he had on more then one occasion the need to leave the country be it to avoid debt (for he had expensive taste), avoid death (Revolution of 1848) or to promote his music (his failed attempt in Paris). His travels whether consciously or not had an impact on his music and libretti, for instance his month long boat trip influencing The Flying Dutchman. Always experiencing money problems it was only with the aid of Ludwig the second the king of Bavaria that all his dreams were to be made reality. Starting in 1865 with Tristan and continuing with Der Meistersinger, the Ring of the Nibelung and Parsifal as well as the construction of his theatre in Bayreuth “which he declared to be 'the art center of the world." ' (Music With Ease) Wagner 's career was full of ups and down and it was only his steadfast determination in his abilities that led to his eventual triumph over all composers of the nineteenth century. One of the reasons Wagnerian opera have such an emotional impact is because Wagner wrote the libretti himself. Like Schumann he had a very high literary skill and was able to wed the music with the words as well as the acting, combining all the artforms into what he called Gesamtkunstwerk the pinnacle of human creativity. Another aspect of Wagner that set him apart from other composers was that he lived his work and vice versa, drew from life his inspiration. For example his affair with a married woman named Mathilde is thought to be his main inspiration for his opera Tristan und Isolde. The three children he had with a different woman, Cosima daughter of Liszt he named Isolde, Eva, and Siegfried in reference to some of his works: Tristan und Isolde, Der Meistersinger and the Ring tetralogy. The biggest difference between Wagner 's operas and someone like Verdi 's (who was born in the same year) is that of perception, Wagner did not consider his works operas but “music dramas”. Another aspect of Wagner is his conception of melody. “Wagnerian melody is not subject to the laws of regular symmetrical construction, nor forced to move within the limits of one tonality, nor yet to end with a perfect cadence. Wagner 's melody is free and infinite in the sense of not being finished, that is to say, never ending and always linking itself to another melody, thus admitting of all possible modulations. It is, if you prefer, an uninterrupted sequence of melodic contours, of broken bits of melody having more or less of a vocal character.” (Lavignac) Wagner is known for his great use of chromaticism, he likes to connect unrelated chords by affinity of thirds and the use of common tones. These sequences have a continuous and unfolding melody that keeps on developing until a final cadence. The general lack of an easily singable melody in the vocal parts also sets Wagner apart because he is much more concerned with the sound as a whole and uses the orchestra for lush textures and portrails of the singers inner turmoils. An interesting concept with Wagner is his use of leitmotif, a recurring theme that symbolizes a person, place or thing, for example the sword in The Ring tetralogy. Whether you love him or hate him Wagner 's legacy can be heard reverberating in all classical music after him. His rich full orchestration, his extended use of chromatic harmony, his ever puzzling Tristan chord and his addition to the orchestra with the Wagner tuba all help cement him as “the outstanding composer of German opera, and one of the crucial figures in the history of nineteenth-century music.”(Grout).
Bibliography
“Life of Richard Wagner” Music With Ease. 2005-10.
.
Lavignac, Albert. The Music Dramas of Richard Wagner.
University press, Cambridge, USA. 1898.
Grout - quote taken from assignment sheet
“One of the crucial figures in the history of nineteenth-century music”
Richard Wagner is, without a doubt one of if not the most controversial figure of the nineteenth-century. Possessed of a large ego , a smooth way with women and music endorsed by Hitler himself in no way makes for a subtle character. There is no middle ground when it comes to Wagner, he is either loved and praised as a genius or scorned and called overrated. Regardless of ones opinion of the man his influence on music and in particular opera is still felt today. His arguably finest work, the tetralogy of The Ring has left an everlasting impact on todays culture. The large lady with blond braids and a viking helmet is still the most recognizable icon of opera to this day. Richard …show more content…
Wagner was born the youngest of nine children in 1813 in Leipzig. Five months preceding the Battle of Leipzig where his father was to be killed. His mother married an actor at the Dresden theatre and it is very well with him that Wagner 's love of drama originated, considering a career as a poet first and then a dramatist.
Wagner was not a musical child prodigy like Mozart in fact he was discouraged to pursue music, “His Latin tutor gave him some piano lessons, but predicted that musically he would come to nothing." (Music With Ease). He and Berlioz were not the norm for composers of that time period as both of them had no great talent on the piano and yet both had such a good grasp of harmony. The single most important event of Wagner 's life (and subsequently nineteenth-century music) was his hearing Beethovens ninth symphony. " 'I fell ill of a fever, ' he says, speaking of this turning point in his life, 'and when I recovered, I was -- a musician." ' (Music With Ease). Beethoven 's ninth symphony was the first symphony to use the voice. Upon reflection of Wagner 's works the symphonic qualities as opposed to the operatic ones are more prominent, giving the orchestra a much larger role then just the accompanist of the voice. A definite influence of Beethoven as opposed to Mozart or Rossini. Unlike how Wagner likes to portray himself as the all knowing genius he did have lessons although only for a relative short time. In 1837 when he was twenty four years of age he had
his first big success with the opera Rienzi. It was staged in Dresdan and that is where Wagner stayed having accepted a post as conductor at the Dresdan Opera until 1848 when he got involved in the Revolution and had to flee after getting proscribed. During his colourful life he had on more then one occasion the need to leave the country be it to avoid debt (for he had expensive taste), avoid death (Revolution of 1848) or to promote his music (his failed attempt in Paris). His travels whether consciously or not had an impact on his music and libretti, for instance his month long boat trip influencing The Flying Dutchman. Always experiencing money problems it was only with the aid of Ludwig the second the king of Bavaria that all his dreams were to be made reality. Starting in 1865 with Tristan and continuing with Der Meistersinger, the Ring of the Nibelung and Parsifal as well as the construction of his theatre in Bayreuth “which he declared to be 'the art center of the world." ' (Music With Ease) Wagner 's career was full of ups and down and it was only his steadfast determination in his abilities that led to his eventual triumph over all composers of the nineteenth century. One of the reasons Wagnerian opera have such an emotional impact is because Wagner wrote the libretti himself. Like Schumann he had a very high literary skill and was able to wed the music with the words as well as the acting, combining all the artforms into what he called Gesamtkunstwerk the pinnacle of human creativity. Another aspect of Wagner that set him apart from other composers was that he lived his work and vice versa, drew from life his inspiration. For example his affair with a married woman named Mathilde is thought to be his main inspiration for his opera Tristan und Isolde. The three children he had with a different woman, Cosima daughter of Liszt he named Isolde, Eva, and Siegfried in reference to some of his works: Tristan und Isolde, Der Meistersinger and the Ring tetralogy. The biggest difference between Wagner 's operas and someone like Verdi 's (who was born in the same year) is that of perception, Wagner did not consider his works operas but “music dramas”. Another aspect of Wagner is his conception of melody. “Wagnerian melody is not subject to the laws of regular symmetrical construction, nor forced to move within the limits of one tonality, nor yet to end with a perfect cadence. Wagner 's melody is free and infinite in the sense of not being finished, that is to say, never ending and always linking itself to another melody, thus admitting of all possible modulations. It is, if you prefer, an uninterrupted sequence of melodic contours, of broken bits of melody having more or less of a vocal character.” (Lavignac) Wagner is known for his great use of chromaticism, he likes to connect unrelated chords by affinity of thirds and the use of common tones. These sequences have a continuous and unfolding melody that keeps on developing until a final cadence. The general lack of an easily singable melody in the vocal parts also sets Wagner apart because he is much more concerned with the sound as a whole and uses the orchestra for lush textures and portrails of the singers inner turmoils. An interesting concept with Wagner is his use of leitmotif, a recurring theme that symbolizes a person, place or thing, for example the sword in The Ring tetralogy. Whether you love him or hate him Wagner 's legacy can be heard reverberating in all classical music after him. His rich full orchestration, his extended use of chromatic harmony, his ever puzzling Tristan chord and his addition to the orchestra with the Wagner tuba all help cement him as “the outstanding composer of German opera, and one of the crucial figures in the history of nineteenth-century music.”(Grout).
Bibliography
“Life of Richard Wagner” Music With Ease. 2005-10.
.
Lavignac, Albert. The Music Dramas of Richard Wagner.
University press, Cambridge, USA. 1898.
Grout - quote taken from assignment sheet