Wagner: The Artist and Reformer Essay

On his return to Hamburg he ventured, on 21st September 1848, to give a concert on his own account for the first time. The programmed included the adagio and tondo from a concerto by Rosenhain, Dohler?s fantasy on William tell, a serenade for the left hand alone by his master, Marxsen, a study by the fashionable Henri Herz, a Bach fugue, and his own Variations on a Folksong. He early showed as love for the folksong of his fatherland, which he used as themes for some remarkable variations a musical form, by the

Romantic music inspired two smaller movements: nationalistic music and music about legends. Richard Wagner (1813-1883) is a German composer who wrote many pieces on the basis of a story or myth. He revolutionized opera through creativity, discontent with musical formulas and his focus on drama.

He developed the idea of Gesamtkunstwerk, or “total work of art”, which strived to bring music, poetry, visual and dramatic arts together. Wagner was a prolific writer as well as a composers. He made contribution to the practice of conducting as well.

"We could describe (Heinrich) Schliemann's excavations on the hill of Hissarlik and consider their results without speaking of Troy or even alluding to it," Georges Perrot wrote in 1891 in his Journal des Savants. "Even then, they would have added a whole new chapter to the history of civilization, the history of art" (qtd. in Duchêne 87). Heinrich Schliemann's life is the stuff fairy tales are made of. A poor, uneducated, and motherless boy rises through his hard work and parsimonious lifestyle to the heights of wealth (Burg 1,2). He travels the world and learns its languages ("Heinrich Schliemann"), takes a beautiful Greek bride, and together they unearth the treasures of Troy and the citadel of

Wilhelm Reich was born in the Austro-Hungarian Empire on March 24th, 1897. His parents were farmers, and at a young age Reich developed a fascination with the life processes of plants and animals. His formal education at this time was provided by a private tutor.

What's a SUPER, swell, SPECTACULAR, SPLENDID, SERENE, and Superior school? Wagner elementary. Wagner is a elementary school named after Charles Wagner, a German immigrant who in 1871 bought 100 acres of land shortly after he emmigrated to California. And for me, I am John Stamos. I've been to Wagner for a long time, and I can say it shines like gold, diamond, and any other precious mineral you can think of. Why is Wagner so Sensational? The teachers, activities, and academic strategies are some of the many things that make this school the way it just is.

Who is Richard Wagner? Who is John Williams? How did Richard Wagner influence John Williams? What is leitmotif and how did both of these men use the idea of leitmotif? In this paper I am going to talk about whom these men are and what advancements they brought to their era of composition.

Robert Ferdinand Wagner was born in Nastatten, Province Hessen- Nassau, Germany on June 8th of 1877(The Hundred Days 115). He “immigrated with his parents to the United States in 1885 and settled in New York City” (The Hundred Days 115). Wagner “graduated from the College of the City of New York in 1898 and from New York Law School in 1900; admitted to the bar in 1900” (The Hundred Days 115). Wagner didn’t continue with practicing law and decided to enter Democratic party politics instead (West’s Encyclopedia of American Law). In 1904 he won seat in the state legislator and then in 1908 he was elected to the New York State Senate (West’s Encyclopedia of American Law). Per West’s Encyclopedia of American law, Wagner “established himself as

Wagner and Beethoven both differed on how they lived their lives as well, as Wagner was known to accumulate debt in a location until he became hated, then leave that town for another, while Beethoven spent the majority of his life in Vienna,

Mendelssohn was a famous German composer of the Romantic period. Although he was born into a Jewish family and grew up without a religion he soon became a reformed Christian. Mendelssohn was born with the talent to be able to play instruments and make music, but his parents never really supported his talent and didn’t help him to improve his talent. He went on to pursue what he loved to do and that was to compose and conduct music. Mendelssohn was born in Hamburg, Germany, 1809.

Elgar soon traveled to Leipzig Germany and Paris France where he spent most of his time attending concerts. During his travels he became greatly influenced by Richard Wagner who was a famous composer of the time. This inspired Elgar to increase his following and to publish some of his pieces. He often found himself financially unable to accomplish this goal. At age 29 he met Caroline Alice Roberts who was the daughter of General Sir Henry Roberts. She began taking music lessons from him and they married 3 years later. Although she was 8 years older than Elgar, and her parents did not approve, she had faith in him and married below her “class”. With his wife’s support he kept pursuing his dreams of becoming a famous composer.

Like the previous eras, Opera continued to be one of the most important music genre is the 19th century, especially in Italy, German and France. Opera served as a form of entertainment for the people of higher social class. Opera music was also popular among the people of other social classes due to the availability of transcribed opera music for them to enjoy in salons or homes of the middle class. This genre was extensively explored and developed by the Italians and Germans. This paper will discuss how Italian and German opera were developed by comparing each composer’s distinctive compositional traits.

In 1832 he published his first composition which was a piano sonata and symphony that were influenced heavily by Beethoven (Bonds 464). However; in attempting to write these kinds of music he realized he loved theatre music (Bonds 463). Wagner spent a lot of time with the theatre he was able to see Geyer preform and see all the inner workings of the theatre (Jacobs 3). Through his experiences with the theatre he began to develop his own ideas of music. He only valued music for the operatic images that struck him (Jacobs 6). His image of music from the beginning seemed to be very narrow

(1) Franz Schubert composed Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel) in 1814, when he was only seventeen years old. The song is sung by a soprano, and the only accompaniment to the voice is a piano playing a constant rhythmic pattern (“OnMusic”).

Anton Bruckner was born on September 4 1824 in the village of Ansfelden, Austria to a family known for being craftsman and farmers. Bruckner was the first of 11 children. Bruckner’s father was the village schoolmaster in charge of teaching music and also was an organist. Bruckner’s first music professor was his father, but unfortunately his father died when Bruckner was just thirteen years old. He later worked as a teacher assistant and at night worked in village’s dances to supplement his income. An interesting fact about Bruckner according to Floros Constantin author of the book “Anton Bruckner: The Man and the Work” is during the time he was a teacher assistant, he was known as a prankster. This is an interesting fact because, in his later years he was a serious and focus man. Bruckner when to school to become an organist and attended the Augustinian Monastery in St Florian where he study and work for many years until his 40’s. Bruckner study the works of Haydn, Wagner and many other composers. This composer are the biggest influencer of his work. (Constantin 3-6)