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CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY MUSIC .. ,^_ .9<"'"*" ''nlveralty Library ML 410.W1C44 1897 .Richard Wagner 3 1924 022 322 212 Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924022322212 Richard Wagner All Rights Reserved l:\fuLi HOUSTON STEWART CHAMBERLAIN ^K Richard Wasner TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN By G. AINSLIE HIGHT AND REVISED BY THE AUTHOR WITH PHOTOGRAVURES AND COLLOTYPES, FACSIMILES AND ENGRAVINGS Munich Verlagsanstalt F. Bruckmann A.-G. London Philadelphia B. Lippincott J. M. Dent & Company J. Company 1897 ; Preface to the German Edition my little treatise " Das Drama " ^ IN Richard Wagner s I announced my intention of writing a larger work on the Bayreuth Meister. Just at the moment when my preliminary studies had advanced so far that I could think of attempting the execution of my plan, the publishers, Messrs Friedrich Bruckmann, proposed that I should write the text for an illustrated Life of Wagner. Honourable as this commission was, it had little attraction for me at first. In Carl Friedrich Glasenapp's Life of Richard Wagner the world possesses a classical biography of the great word-tone-poet ; a voluminous autobiography will moreover some day be published; several excellent little popular accounts of his life have been written by various authors. A new biography therefore seemed to me scarcely calculated to meet any real requirement. The publishers however agreed to my proposal to compose, not a biography in the narrower sense of the word, but so to speak a picture; not a chronological enumeration of all the events of his life in proper order, but rather a sketch of the entire thought and work of the great man, and so I felt it my duty to postpone the execution of my first design, and to carry out the present work to the best of my abilities. A work of this kind about Wagner does not exist up to the present time. Shall I return to my former intention at some future date ? By the publication of this work its centre of gravity must of course be seriously displaced. Here I have been led, from first to last, by the wish to view Wagner from ivithin, to represent him and the world as he saw them both. "This is the only way of knowing a man. Truth is an inward light the outer light glances back from the surface and dazzles the spectator 1 Breitkopf und Ha'rtel, 1892. The later, revised and improved French edition is entitled Le Drame IVagnerien (Chailley, 1894). vi Preface to the German Edition but if he take up his position in the shade, and content himself with fan- ning this inner light, the whole form will become translucent. The only object of the present work was Wagner's individuality, which therefore less however is it an had to engage my full, undivided attention ; none the interesting exercise to regard Richard Wagner from without, to trace his position in the history of art and in the development of the human mind, to determine the diagonal resulting from the will and the cognition of a rare genius, on the one hand, and the will and cognition of a hundred thousand less gifted men on the other. Perhaps I shall venture upon it some day. The publishers thoroughly understood and at once accepted my proposal with regard to our undertaking; although the initiative came from them the present form of the book is thus our common work. They also acceded to my wish that all superfluous matter in the way of illustrations, such as portraits of singers, caricatures, etc., should be removed; had they wished to speculate on cheap sensation the material would not have been wanting; but on the other hand they spared no pains or sacrifice to procure everything which was really important, and to carry out the pictorial portion of the work technically in such a way as became the dignity of the subject. The obliging spirit in which they were met at Wahnfried, as well as by the Intendants of various court- theatres, and by the Masters' numerous friends both at home and abroad, is evidenced by the list of illustrations. The fact that the " Wagner Museum " bluntly refused all assistance may be mentioned merely for the benefit of collectors of historical material ; not a single item have we lost in consequence of this refusal, and the more laborious search has brought to light many a precious document which might otherwise have remained unknown to us. In H. Hendrich the publishers secured the assistance of one of the very few painters whose imagination is not misled by the picture on the stage, who are able to grasp the central poetic idea, and to reproduce it freely in accordance with the character of their own art. The connection between the thought of the work and the pictures has been supplied by A, Frenz with deep symbolism in his vignettes. As for the text, my thanks are due more particularly to my dear Preface to the German Edition vii and much honoured friend Carl Friedrich Glasenapp for his disinterested help. I also desire here to express publicly my thanks to my former master and friend of many years' standing, Gymnasiallehrer Herr Otto Kuntze in Stettin. To him I owe my command of the German language, and therewith my ability to write the book; besides this he has undertaken the troublesome work of correcting the proofs. And so may this attempt to sketch in a comprehensive form a compre- hensive picture of the great German go forth, and do its part in contribut- ing to a better understanding of one who was a hero both in mind and heart —Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh ; may it find its way to many more hearts. Vienna, November 1895. HOUSTON STEWART CHAMBERLAIN. Abbreviations used in this Translation Roman numerals, i., ii., in., etc., refer— unless some other author is expressly mentioned—to the German edition of Wagner's collected Writings and Poems. The page numbers are those of the large edition, which is always the highest authority. Those who possess the smaller edition will have no difficulty in finding the place with the aid of the comparative tables. E denotes the volume : Entwilrfe, Gedunken, Fragment/-. L the two vols, of Correspondence between Wagner and Liszt. Translated by F. HuefFer. London, 1888. 2 vols. U the vol. of Richard Wagner's Letters to Theodor Uhlig, Wilhelm Fischer, Ferdinand Heine. Translated by J. S. Shelock, etc. London, 1890. R the small collection of Letters to August Roeckel. English translation with Introductory Essay by H. S. Chamberlain (Arrowsmith). The reference in every case is to the original German edition. Table of Contents (Bemraf 3^^^<^^w^^^<^^ Principles, 1 General p. 3 ; Plan of the book, p. 1 ; Sources, p. 12; Liszt, p. 15; Nietzsche, p. 15; Glasenapp, p. 16; Wolzogen and Stein, p. 17; The opponents, p. 20; The German Drama, p. 21 ; To the reader, p. 23. RICHARD WAGNER'S LIFE The Scheme, p. 27; General Symmetry of his life, p. 28; Detailed division, p. 30; Limits of the Scheme, p. 30. First Epoch 1. 1813-1833.—Birth, p. 32 ; First impressions, p. 35 j First essays in art, p. 38. 2. 1833-1839.—Wiirzburg, p. 39; Wagner's nearest relations, p. 40; Years of wandering, p. 40; Influence on his future career, p. 43. 3. 1839- 1 842.—Years of distress, p. 44 ; The new path, p. 45 ; Two important results of the years in Paris, p. 46. 4. 1842-1849.—First successes, p. 47; Wagner and the critics, p. 49; Troubles of a conductor, Speech in the Vaterlandsverein, p. 52 ; Wagner as revolutionist, p- 53 ; p. 55 ; The revolt results of this period, of May in Dresden, p. 55 ; Important p. 58. Second Epoch true friends, 62 Franz Liszt, 1. 1 849- 1 859. — Social intercourse in Zurich, p. 61 ; The p. ; p. 63 ; The first helpers in need, p. 65 ; The first disciples, p. 68 ; Uhlig and Biilow, p. 68 ; Creative work in Zurich, p. 69 ; Wagner's writings, p. 71 ; Schopenhauer, p. 72. 2. 1859-1866.— General view of these years, p. 73; Paris and the performance of Tannhauser, first performance p. 76 ; Vienna, p. 81 ; Munich, p. 83 ; King Ludwig II., p. 85 ; The of Tristan und Isolde, p. 89. b ix ; X Table of Contents The war of 1870, p. 95. 3. 1 866- 1 872. —Wagner's second marriage, p. 92 ; Work, p. 95 ; years of his life, p. Concluding 4. 1872-1883.—The Bayreuth festival plays, p. 96; The last 99; observations, p. 103. Appendix : Chronological Table. First Epoch, p. 106; Second Epoch, p. 108. RICHARD WAGNER'S WRITINGS AND HIS TEACHING Introduction artist's distress, 117 ; Arrange- The artist as author, p. 113 ; Richard Wagner, p. 114; The p. ment of the chapter, p. 120^ Richard Wagner's Politics Poet and politician, Richard Wagner in the year 1849, p. 122 ; Wagner and Beust, p. 125 ; " p. 127; The " plastic contradictions in Wagner's thought, p. 128; Wagner's patriotism, p. 129; Wagner's fundamental political convictions, p. 131; His attitude to religion, p. 132; The monarchy, p. Schiller and Wagner, Our 134 ; The free people, p. 135 ; Wagner as revolutionist, p. 137 ; p. 138 ; Anarchical order, p. 140; Concluding remarks, p. 142. Richard Wagner's Philosophy- Introductory, p. 144; Poet and philosopher, p. 146; Wagner and Feuerbach, p. 147; Wagner and Schopenhauer, p.