DOCSLIB.ORG

Jahresbericht 1999 Richard Wagner Verband Regensburg E.V

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Jahresbericht 1999 Richard Wagner Verband Regensburg E.V Richard Wagner Verband Regensburg e.V. ************************************************************************* Emil Kerzdörfer, 1. Vorsitzender Kaiser - Friedrich - Allee 46 D - 93051 Regensburg Tel: (0049)-941-95582 Fax: (0049)-941-92655 RWV.Regensburg@t -online.de www.Richard-Wagner -Verband-Regensburg.de ************************************************************************* Jahresbericht 1999 ********************************* 1. Vorsitzender: Emil Kerzdörfer Ehrenmitglied: Verena Lafferentz-Wagner Mitgliederzahl: 350 ========= 18. Januar Weinschenk-Villa Regensburg, 20 Uhr Vortrag Dr. Oswald Georg Bauer: "Die Künstler-Familie Galli Bibiena" (In Zusammenarbeit mit der Dante-Alighieri-Gesellschaft ) 30. Januar Konzertfahrt nach München, Philharmonie am Gasteig, 20 Uhr (Brucknerzyklus) Programm: Mozart: Klavierkonzert A-Dur, KV 488 Bruckner: Sinfonie Nr. 3, d-moll (Richard Wagner gewidmet) Sinfonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks Solist: Murray Perahia, Klavier Dirigent: Lorin Maazel 13. Februar bis Opern- und Kulturreise nach Madrid: 16. Februar Programm: Teatro Real: Richard Wagner: "Tannhäuser" (Inszenierung Werner Herzog) Teatro Real: Konzert des Sinfonieorchesters des Teatro Real mit Werken von Montsalvatge und Glasunov Solistin: Alicia de Larrocha, Klavier Dirigent: Garcia Navarro -2- Tagesausflug nach Toledo (mit Führung) Museumsbesuche: Prado, Reina Sofia, Thyssenmuseum Flamencoabend im Cafe de Chinitas Tagesausflug zum Escorial (mit Führung) Stadtrundfahrt durch Madrid 03. März Regensburg, Kolpinghaus, 20 Uhr Dia-Vortrag Rita Treutinger: "Erinnerungen an unsere Parisreise 1998" 06. März: Regensburg, Theater am Haidplatz, 15:30 Uhr Vortrag Dr. Oswald Georg Bauer: "Verlorene Illusionen und künstlerische Konfirmierung. Richard Wagner und die große Oper in Paris". 14. März Opernfahrt nach München, /Cuvillies-Theater, 20 Uhr Mozart: "Die Gärtnerin aus Liebe" Eine Produktion des Gärtnerplatz-Theaters München. 01. April bis Opern- und Kulturreise nach Berlin: 05. April Programm: Deutsche Oper: Richard Wagner: "Der Fliegende Holländer" Staatsoper: Richard Wagner: "Tannhäuser" Staatsoper: Richard Wagner: "Lohengrin" Konzert des Chicago Symphony Orchestra mit Werken von Richard Strauss. Dirigent: Daniel Barenboim Konzert der Staatskapelle Berlin mit Gustav Mahlers "Lied von der Erde" Dirigent: Pierre Boulez Nächtliche Stadtrundfahrt in Berlin (mit Führung), Museumsbesuche Tagesausflug nach Neuruppin (Fontanes Geburtshaus) Besuch der Neuen Gemäldegalerie 08. April Jahreshauptversammlung 1999 mit Vorstandswahlen. 28. Mai bis Fahrt zum 90jährigen Gründungsjubiläum des RWV Kassel 30.Mai Richard Wagner: "Götterdämmerung" Rahmenprogramm -3- 09. Juni Regensburg, Kolpinghaus, 19:30 Uhr Vortrag: Josef Hellmann, M.A.: "Richard Wagners Faust-Overtüre in d-moll von 1840/54" 20. Juni Regensburg, Auditorium Maximum, 20 Uhr Konzert des Universitätschores und -orchesters unter Leitung von Christian Kroll mit Werken v. Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms und Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (ein Konzert zum Goethe-Jahr 1999) 29. Juni Europäische Festwochen Passau Rittersaal Straubing, 19:30 Uhr Liederabend "Antike Mythologie" Solist: Olaf Bär, Bariton Helmut Deutsch, Klavier Werke von Franz Schubert 14. Juli Regensburg, Kolpinghaus, 19:30 Uhr Vortrag: F.W. Krahl: "Bruckners 5. Sinfonie in B-Dur" 18. Juli Basilika Waldsassen, 17 Uhr Bruckner: 5. Sinfonie in B-Dur Bamberger Symphoniker Dirigent: Herbert Blomstedt 14. September Regensburg, Kolpinghaus, 19:30 Uhr Dia-Vortrag Rita Treutinger: "Reminiszenzen an unsere Kultur-Reise nach Madrid, Toledo und zum Escorial". 09. Oktober bis Kultur-Reise nach Merseburg, Naumburg und Bad Lauchstädt 10. Oktober "Auf den Spuren von J. W. von Goethe und J.S. Bach" Programm: Goethe: "Die Laune des Verliebten" (Goethe-Theater) Mozart: "Figaros Hochzeit" (Goethe-Theater Bad Lauchstädt) Naumburg: Stadtkirche St. Wenzel: Orgelkonzert auf der Hildebrandt-Orgel; Werke von J. S. Bach Besuch des Nietzsche-Hauses und des Naumburger Doms Merseburg: Besuch des Merseburger Doms (mit Führung.) -4- 18. Oktober Regensburg, Weinschenk-Villa, 19:30 Uhr Vortrag Dr. Oswald Georg Bauer "Verdi und Wagner" (In Zusammenarbeit mit der Dante-Alighieri-Gesellschaft ) 24. Oktober Konzertfahrt nach München, Philharmonie am Gasteig, 11 Uhr Richard Strauss Gedenk-Konzert Werke von Richard Strauss Solisten: Ulrich Becker: Oboe Jean Yves Thibaudet, Klavier Edita Gruberova, Sopran Münchner Philharmoniker Dirigent: James Levine 31. Oktober bis 1. Milleniums-Fahrt nach New York 05. Novmeber Programm: Metropolitan Opera: Mascagni: "Cavalleria Rusticana" Leoncavallo: "Bajazzo" Pucini: "Tosca" Mozart: "Le Nozze di Figaro" Museumsbesuche (Frick-Collection, Guggenheim-Museum, Metro- politan-Museum) Stadtführung m. Prof. Arden Denlinger: "New York im Jahr 2000" 05. Dezember Regensburg, Kolpinghaus, 18 Uhr Jahresabschluß-Feier, Vorschau auf die Milleniums-Veranstal- tungen des RWV Regensburg Jeden 1. Mittwoch im Monat Jour Fixe .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Spring 2021 NEWSLETTER : BULLETIN Printemps 2021 President’S Message
    Société d' Opéra National Capital de la Capitale Nationale Opera Society Spring 2021 NEWSLETTER : BULLETIN Printemps 2021 President’s Message It is March 15, 2021 and I am starting to feel viding a virtual Ring festival throughout optimistic that our jail sentences are coming March. The four operas, recorded in 2018, to an end. Spring is in the air and we saw a are streamed each weekend free of charge. In high of 16 C last week. The vaccines are on addition they offer a series of one hour pre- their way!! Phew! It is about time. sentations on subjects such as the History of We have postponed the next Brian Law The Ring, Dining on the Rhine, Feminism, Opera Competition until October 2022 and Grace Bumbry breaking the colour barrier at will start the planning in the fall. Also we Bayreuth etc. The fee to watch all 16 presen- decided to waive membership fees for this tations is US$99. As always, big thanks year. So do not worry about your member- for contributions from David Williams and ship. However, if you would like to make a his team for the newsletter and to Jim Bur- donation to the society, it will be gratefully gess for our website. received. I will provide you a receipt for As soon as everyone feels safe, we Income Tax purposes. should plan on a special face-to-face meet- I have some sad news to share, that one ing where we can embrace, watch opera, eat, of our long-time supporters passed away re- drink and be merry! cently, Tom McCool.
    [Show full text]
  • Des Reiches Strasse
    Lauchstädt Ein Tempel Weimars Wenn Goethe heute, wie so oft zwischen den Jahren 1791 und 1811, im Sommer nach Lauchstädt fahren würde, um dort den Brunnen zu trinken und das Spiel seiner Weimarer Truppe zu leiten, so müßte er zwischen Freyburg an der Unstrut und seinem Ziel in der Gegend des Geiseltales ein Stück durch die Luft fahren. Die alte Straße hört hier plötzlich auf, und das Erdreich ist tief ausgehöhlt: hier sind die Braunkohlengruben, die das Leunawerk versorgen. Bergbau hat ihn, der selbst in Ilmenau die Silbergruben wieder in Tätigkeit zu bringen versuchte, stets lebhaft interessiert. Er würde also die Anlagen höchst bemerkenswert finden und dafür auch den Umweg in Kauf nehmen, den der neue Straßenzug verlangt. Dann aber würde die Nähe von Lauchstädt ihn freuen, die Dürre der Gegend hört auf, und an dem kleinen Bach, der sich durch Wiesen und Felder zur Saale schlängelt, ist das hohe Wachstum der Bäume von Lauchstädt entfaltet, in deren Hut das kleine Theater liegt, das nach Goethes Angaben hier errichtet wurde. Goethe hat drei Bühnen gebaut: das alte und das neue Komödienhaus in Weimar sowie das Sommertheater in Bad Lauchstädt bei Halle. Der erste Bau brannte nieder, der dann errichtete Neubau wurde zu Beginn unseres Jahrhunderts pietätvoll abgerissen. Ein Zeugnis blieb bestehen: das Goethe-Theater in Lauchstädt. Durch zwei Jahrzehnte, 1791- 1811, hat Goethe – mit kurzer Unterbrechung durch die Kriegsläufte hier Sommer für Sommer die Weimarer Schauspieler gastieren lassen, auf damals kursächsischem Boden, vor einem Publikum, das zumeist aus Halle, dazu aus Leipzig und aus kleinen Städten des östlichen Thüringen kam.
    [Show full text]
  • Goethe's Urfaust and the Enlightenment
    Goethe’s Urfaust and the Enlightenment: Gottsched, Welling and the “Turn to Magic” By Copyright 2014 James Michael Landes Submitted to the graduate degree program in Germanic Languages and Literatures and the Graduate Faculty of the University of Kansas in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. ________________________________ Chairperson Professor Leonie Marx ________________________________ Co-Chairperson Professor Frank Baron ________________________________ Professor Maria Carlson ________________________________ Professor William Keel ________________________________ Professor Per Øhrgaard Date Defended: 10 March 2014 The Dissertation Committee for James Michael Landes certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: Goethe’s Urfaust and the Enlightenment: Gottsched, Welling and the “Turn to Magic” ________________________________ Chairperson Professor Leonie Marx ________________________________ Co-Chairperson Professor Frank Baron Date approved: 10 March 2014 ii Abstract The Urfaust, composed in the early 1770s, is the first draft of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s (1749-1832) masterpiece, Faust, Teil I (1808). While this early draft is relatively unexamined in its own right, an examination of this work in the context of its original creation offers insights into Goethe’s creative processes at the time in relation to the Enlightenment poetic debates of the eighteenth century, through which literary critics, such as J.C. Gottsched (1700-1766) attempted to define the rules by which poetic construction should operate. In examining the Urfaust, one can see how Goethe’s poetic aims transcended those of the Enlightenment debate, going far beyond the Enlightenment critics of Gottsched, such as J.J. Bodmer (1698-1783) and J.J. Breitinger (1701-1776) in making the case for additional room for the fantastic in poetic construction.
    [Show full text]
  • La Jeune France, 3 Mars 1861, P. 52-53. Au Moment Où Le
    La Jeune France, 3 mars 1861, p. 52-53. Au moment où le Tannhäuser va faire en France sa première apparition, il n’est peut-être pas inutile d’étudier, non point les qualités puisque nous ne les connaissons pas encore, mais du moins les tendances musicales de M. Richard Wagner. Cela sera d’autant plus facile que M. Wagner – qui aime beaucoup à faire parler de lui, il faut l’avouer, et qui sait battre la caisse ailleurs que dans son orchestre – a publié il y a quelques mois une Lettre sur la musique dans laquelle il fait connaître ses idées sur la musique dramatique et développe les théories qu’il a cru devoir mettre en pratique dans la composition de ses opéras. Mais d’abord, quelques mots sur l’auteur lui-même et sur sa personnalité. M. Wagner est né à Leipsick, le 22 mai 1813. Encore au berceau, il perdit son père et, un peu plus tard, partit pour Dresde avec sa mère, qui s’était remariée. Il commença ses études littéraires dans cette ville, puis, étant retourné à Leipsick, les termina à l’école Nicolaï ; en même temps il suivait régulièrement les cours du conservatoire musical de Leipsick, établissement fondé par Mendelssohn et l’un des premiers en ce genre que possède l’Allemagne. Il composa à cette époque le poème et la partition d’une pièce rustique dont il avait emprunté l’idée première aux Caprices des amoureux [Die Laune des Verliebten] de Goethe. A la suite d’une maladie grave, il alla passer quelques mois à Würtzburg, auprès de son frère : il composa là son premier opéra : les Fées [Die Feen].
    [Show full text]
  • Tackitt DMA Dissertation Final Document
    Structures in Sound and Word: A Summary of Dissertation Recitals for Winds, Percussion, and Voice by Elliott N. Tackitt A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts (Music: Conducting) in The University of Michigan 2019 Doctoral Committee: Professor Michael Haithcock, Chair Professor Colleen Conway Professor David Jackson Assistant Professor Courtney Snyder Professor Gregory Wakefield Elliott N. Tackitt [email protected] ORCID iD: 0000-0002-3296-8839 ©Elliott N. Tackitt 2019 DEDICATION Firstly, this is dedicated to my grandmother, Sonia June Mayer, who was adamant that the best investment one could make was in one’s own education. She believed knowledge is humanity’s most treasured acquisition. This is also dedicated to my grandmother Dottie Polich, my parents, Patricia and Stephen Tackitt, Amy Tackitt, numerous mentors, friends, and colleagues who have helped shape my thoughts and my musicianship, and of course my most scrupulous four-legged editors, Bruce Wayne and Harley Quinn. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author would like to acknowledge the Rackham Graduate College Fellowships Office for generously supporting the rehearsals and performance of the third recital by way of a Student Research Grant. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iii LIST OF FIGURES vi ABSTRACT vii CHAPTER I. Recital 1: In their Words 1 Recital 1 Program 1 Recital 1 Program Notes 2 Bibliography 19 II. Recital 2: Revisiting Traditions 22 Recital 2 Program 22 Recital 2 Program Notes 23 Bibliography 36 III. Recital 3: Sacred | Profane 38 Recital 3 Program 38 iv Recital 3 Program Notes 39 Bibliography 59 v LIST OF FIGURES FIGURE 1.
    [Show full text]
  • JAS 51.2.Indd
    Volume 51 Number 2 Summer 2018 ournal of ustrian JAStudies Editors Hillary Hope Herzog, University of Kentucky Todd Herzog, University of Cincinnati Book Review Editor Joseph W. Moser, West Chester University Business Manager Katherine Arens, University of Texas–Austin Published by Th e University of Nebraska Press Copyright © 2018 Austrian Studies Association Subscriptions Journal of Austrian Studies (ISSN 2165– 669X) is published quarterly by the Univer- sity of Nebraska Press. For current subscription rates please see our website: www .nebraskapress .unl .edu. If ordering by mail, please make checks payable to the University of Nebraska Press and send to Th e University of Nebraska Press 1111 Lincoln Mall Lincoln NE 68588– 0630 Telephone: 402– 472– 8536 Submissions Send submissions to the editor at journalofaustrianstudies @gmail .com. Original manuscripts in English or German not submitt ed or published elsewhere are wel- come. Send manuscripts as a Microsoft Word .doc fi le or as a Rich Text File (.rtf). Manuscripts should not exceed 30 double- spaced pages including notes and must conform to the current MLA style and the Modern Austrian Literature stylesheet. For more on submissions visit www .journal - of - austrian - studies .org. Book and fi lm reviews are assigned; unsolicited reviews are not accepted. Potential reviewers should write to the book review editor at josephwmoser @gmail .com. All inquiries on subscription, change of address, advertising, and other business communications should be sent to the University of Nebraska Press. Copyright © 2018 Austrian Studies Association All rights reserved Manufactured in the United States of America If you would like to reprint material from Journal of Austrian Studies, please query for permission using our online form, located under the Journals menu heading on our website: www .nebraskapress .unl .edu.
    [Show full text]
  • Reading Goethe
    Reading Goethe Studies in German Literature, Linguistics, and Culture Reading Goethe A Critical Introduction to the Literary Work Martin Swales and Erika Swales Camden House Rochester, New York Copyright © 2002 Martin Swales and Erika Swales All Rights Reserved. Except as permitted under current legislation, no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted, recorded, or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. First published 2002 by Camden House Revised and reprinted in paperback 2007 Camden House is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Inc. 668 Mt. Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USA www.camden-house.com and of Boydell & Brewer Limited www.boydellandbrewer.com PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK Cloth ISBN-10: 1–57113–095–0 Paperback ISBN-13: 978–1–57113–358–8 Paperback ISBN-10: 1–57113–358–5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Swales, Martin. Reading Goethe: a critical introduction to the literary work / Martin and Erika Swales. p. cm. — (Studies in German literature, linguistics, and culture) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1–57113–095–0 (alk. paper) 1. Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von, 1749–1832 — Criticism and interpretation. I. Swales, Erika, 1937– II. Title. III. Studies in German literature, linguistics, and culture (Unnumbered) PT2177.S94 2001 831'.6—dc21 2001037384 A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library This publication is printed on acid-free paper Printed in the United States of America Contents Preface vii Abbreviations x 1: Introduction 1 2: Poetry 22 3: Narrative Fiction 64 4: Drama 95 5: Faust 135 6: Goethe’s Discursive Writings 160 7: Conclusion 179 Notes 183 Works Consulted and Works for Further Reading 187 Index 199 Preface HIS BOOK IS MODEST IN SCOPE, size, and intention.
    [Show full text]
  • Mozarts..Figaros Hochzeit"
    Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Tirol Innsbrucker Nachrichten. 1854-1945 1937 23.2.1937 Mit SemMmöblatt Leuche Dung' und öer illuslr.Monaksstzriß LerglsnS' Geschäftsstelle in Wien : Wien , t., Äiberstraße 17. Für nicht verlangte Einsendungen wird leine Haftung übernom- Fernruf: Schriftleitung Nr. 250 Fernruf: Verwaltung Nr. 751 FernrufR20-0-41. Die Bezngsgebühr ist im vorhinein zu ent¬ Inen, auch eine Verpflichtung zur Rücksendung nicht anerkannt. Bezugspreise : Am Platze in den Abholsiellen monatlich 8 4.SO. Mit Zustellung durch richten. Durch Streiks oder durch höhere Gewalt bedingte Stö¬ Wagnerische Trägerin oder Postmonatlich 8 5.10 , vierteljährlich S 14 .80 . Einzelnummer Eigentümer, Verleger und Drucker: Üniversitäts- rungen in der Zusendung verpflichten uns nicht zur Rückzahlung Sonntagsnummer Deutsches Reich Italien Auchbruckerei, Erlersiraße5. Verantwort!.Schriftleiter: Dr. Josef 25 g, 30 g. monatlich 8 6 .50 . monatlich von Bezugsgebühren. Entgeltliche Ankündigungen im Textteile Lire 45 .—, Einzelnummer: Lire—.80 , Sonntagsnummer Lirel .—. In das übrige Aus¬ Seidl, Erlersiraße s. Für den Anzeigenteil verantwortlich: sind mit einem Kreuze und einer Nummer kenntlich gemackt. Hubert Rück. ErlersiraßeS. Sämtliche in Innsbruck. land monatlich 8 7.50 . — Die Lieferung erfolgt bis zur schriftlichen Abbestellung. 8 5.80 pro Monat , mit Zustellung durchTrägerin oder Post Bei gleichzeitigem Monatsbezug der „Neuesten Zeitung " erhöhen sich die Bezugspreise in Innsbruck zum Abholen um nur 8 4.40 , also auf . um nur 8 4.40 , also auf 8 6 .50 pro Monat. Postsparkassertkonto : 52.677. - Auswärtige Anzeigenannahmestelle : Oesterreichifche Anzeigengesellschaft A. G., Wien , I-, Wollzeile 16 — Schulerstraße 11, Fernruf R 29=5=50. Nummer 44 Dienstag , den 23. Februar 1937 84. Jahrgang Wochenkalender: Montag, 22. Petri Stuhlfeier. Dienstag, 23. Romana.
    [Show full text]
  • Love's Madness, Fairy-Tale Enchantment, and a Sicilian Carnival
    •CHAPTER ONE• Love’s Madness, Fairy-Tale Enchantment, and a Sicilian Carnival DIE HOCHZEIT, DIE FEEN, AND DAS LIEBESVERBOT We must seize our chance and honestly seek to cultivate the age’s new forms, and he will be its master who writes in neither an Italian nor a French—nor even in a German—style. —Richard Wagner, “German Opera” (1834) In 1830 the seventeen-year-old Wagner first turned his hand to writing an opera,1 but beyond the fact that he described it as a “pastoral opera” and that it was modeled on Goethe’s pastoral play of 1768, Die Laune des Verliebten (The caprice of the in- fatuated lover), we know nothing about it, as he quickly abandoned the idea, and no text or music has survived. His next operatic venture (WWV 31) dates from the year of Goethe’s death—1832—and on this occasion Wagner completed the libretto and made a start on the score. Three numbers were set, and these have survived,2 but Wagner later destroyed the libretto on the grounds that his sister Rosalie hated it. (This is entirely plausible, as Rosalie was then working as an actress at the Royal Saxon Court Theater in Leipzig and was therefore in a position of some influence. Wagner evidently hoped for her support in this and other operatic ventures.) In his “Autobiographical Sketch” of 1843, he refers to it as an “operatic text of tragic im- port, although I no longer remember where I found the medieval subject” (GS 1:8). Later, in My Life (ML 75), he recounts the plot of the opera in some detail and states that he had first encountered it in Johann Gustav Gottlieb Büsching’s Ritterzeit und Ritterwesen (The age of chivalry and nature of chivalry), a farrago of fact and fic- tion about the Middle Ages that had been published in Leipzig in 1823 and whose importance for Wagner cannot be overstated, for it was here that he found the seeds of ideas for all his operas based on medieval themes, up to and including Parsifal.
    [Show full text]
  • Goethe-Sammlung Runhild Böhm Im Stadtarchiv Staufen Inhalt Vorwort
    Goethe-Sammlung Runhild Böhm im Stadtarchiv Staufen Inhalt Vorwort ................................................................................................................................................. 2 A: Goethe – Gesamtausgaben .............................................................................................................. 3 B: Goethe – Einzelne Werke ................................................................................................................ 9 C: Goethe – Thematische Auszüge .................................................................................................... 11 D: Goethe – Briefsammlungen .......................................................................................................... 13 E: Goethe – Briefe von der und an die Familie.................................................................................. 14 F: Goethe – Briefe von und an einzelne Personen ............................................................................. 15 G: Goethe – Biographien und Einzelaspekte der Biographie ............................................................ 16 H: Sekundärliteratur ........................................................................................................................... 22 J: Literaturgeschichte ......................................................................................................................... 28 L: Zeitgenossen Goethes ...................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Richard Wagner from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
    Richard Wagner From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Wilhelm Richard Wagner (/ˈvɑːɡnər/; German: [ˈʁiçaʁt ˈvaːɡnɐ]; 22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is primarily known for his operas (or, as some of his later works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the music for each of his stage works. Initially establishing his reputation as a composer of works in the romantic vein of Weber and Meyerbeer, Wagner revolutionised opera through his concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk ("total work of art"), by which he sought to synthesise the poetic, visual, musical and dramatic arts, with music subsidiary to drama, and which was announced in a series of essays between 1849 and 1852. Wagner realised these ideas most fully in the first half of the four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung). His compositions, particularly those of his later period, are notable for their complex textures, rich harmonies and orchestration, and the elaborate use of leitmotifs—musical phrases associated with individual characters, places, ideas or plot elements. His advances in musical language, such as extreme chromaticism and quickly shifting tonal centres, greatly influenced the development of classical music. His Tristan und Isolde is sometimes described as marking the start of modern music. Wagner had his own opera house built, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, which embodied many novel design features. It was here that the Ring and Parsifal received their premieres and where his most important stage works continue to be performed in an annual festival run by his descendants.
    [Show full text]
  • The Cambridge Companion to Wagner Edited by Thomas S
    Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-64299-6 — The Cambridge Companion to Wagner Edited by Thomas S. Grey Frontmatter More Information The Cambridge Companion to Wagner Richard Wagner is remembered as one of the most influential figures in music and theater, but his place in history has been marked by a considerable amount of controversy. His attitudes toward the Jews and the appropriation of his operas by the Nazis, for example, have helped to construct a historical persona that sits uncomfortably with modern sensibilities. Yet Wagner’s absolutely central position in the operatic canon continues. This volume serves as a timely reminder of his ongoing musical, cultural, and political impact. Contributions by specialists from such varied fields as musical history, German literature and cultural studies, opera production, and political science consider a range of topics, from trends and problems in the history of stage production to the representations of nation, race, and sexuality. With the inclusion of invaluable and reliably up-to-date biographical data, this collection will be of great interest to scholars, students, and enthusiasts. © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-64299-6 — The Cambridge Companion to Wagner Edited by Thomas S. Grey Frontmatter More Information © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-64299-6 — The Cambridge Companion to Wagner Edited by Thomas S. Grey Frontmatter More Information The Cambridge Companion to WAGNER ............................ EDITED BY Thomas S. Grey © in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org Cambridge University Press 978-0-521-64299-6 — The Cambridge Companion to Wagner Edited by Thomas S.
    [Show full text]