Wagner

Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner (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. He described this vision in a series of essays published 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. The Ring and Parsifal were premiered here and his most important stage works continue to be performed at the annual Bayreuth Festival, run by his descendants. His thoughts on the relative contributions of music and drama in opera were to change again, and he reintroduced some traditional forms into his last few stage works, including Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Mastersingers of Nuremberg).

Until his final years, Wagner's life was characterised by political exile, turbulent love affairs, poverty and repeated flight from his creditors. His controversial writings on music, drama and politics have attracted extensive comment, notably, since the late 20th century, where they express antisemitic sentiments. The effect of his ideas can be traced in many of the arts throughout the 20th century; his influence spread beyond composition into conducting, philosophy, literature, the visual arts and theatre.
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Wagner

Wagner

Wilhelm Richard Wagner (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 rev...
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110 albums
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TANNHAUSER 'Dich Teure Halle'
DER FLIEGENDE HOLLANDER 'Jo ho ho hoe!'
GOTTERDAMMERUNG
Seigfried's funeral music and Brünnhilde's Immolation

Broadcast recording from 1955
Total duration: 38:1

Margaret Harshaw, soprano
Boston Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Charles Munch
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LISZT Les Préludes
WAGNER Parsifal: Prelude to Act I, Good Friday Spell
WAGNER Tristan und Isolde: Prelude to Act I, Liebestod
BRAHMS Hungarian Dances Nos. 5 & 6

Recorded 1925-28
Total duration: 61:46

San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
conducted by Alfred Hertz

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MOZART Symphony No. 39
PROKOFIEV Symphony No. 5
SIBELIUS Symphony No. 2
BEETHOVEN Egmont Overture
WAGNER Lohengrin - Prelude
WAGNER Tristan und Isolde - Prelude and Liebestod

Live recordings, 1957
Total duration: 2hr 29:07

Orquesta Sinfónica de Venezuela
conducted by Jascha Horenstein

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LISZT A Faust Symphony
WAGNER
A Faust Overture

Stereo studio recordings, 1957
Total duration: 77:46

Jascha Horenstein, conductor
Ferdinand Koch
, tenor
Orchestra And Chorus of the Southwest German Radio (SWDR)

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MAHLER  Symphony No. 8 in E flat Major ("Symphony of a Thousand")
WAGNER  
Der fliegende Holländer - Overture
WAGNER  
Tannhäuser - Bacchanale
WAGNER  
Siegfried Idyll
  Siegfried Idyll

Live and studio recordings, 1959 and 1962
Total duration: 2hr 1:13 

Jascha Horenstein, conductor
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

London Symphony Orchestra

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WAGNER Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg  

Live broadcast performance, 1949
Total duration: 4hr 16:47  

Hans Hotter
Günther Treptow
Annelies Kupper
Benno Kusche
Max Proebstl
Franz Klarwein
Karl Hoppe

Chor und Orchester der Bayerischen Staatsoper
Conducted by Eugen Jochum

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