A Study of Wagner (Classic Reprint) - Hardcover

Ernest Newman

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0266563287 ISBN 13: 9780266563280

Publisher: Forgotten Books, 2017

Synopsis

Explore Wagner through a sharp, critical lens that ties his music to his ideas.

This book offers a clear, focused view of Wagner’s practical achievements and his theoretical thoughts, arguing that music is the driving force of his opera. It uses a handy Synthetic Table to lay out Wagner’s life, works, and contemporaneous events in an easy-to-scan format, helping readers connect ideas with dates and pieces.

Ernest Newman presents Wagner as a psychological and aesthetic phenomenon. Rather than recounting a traditional biography, the study probes how Wagner’s mind shaped his music, poetry, and music-d drama, and how his theories influenced the art form as a whole. The discussion balances the composer’s writings with their musical results, offering a grounded look at why Wagner’s ideas remain influential to students of opera and music history.

• Learn how Wagner linked musical form with dramatic meaning and why music remains central throughout his works.
• See how the book treats Wagner’s theory of poetry, music, and drama and its impact on opera as a whole.
• Trace Wagner’s evolving ideas alongside his life events through the Synthetic Table and carefully chosen excerpts.
• Gain a clearer sense of the debates surrounding Wagner’s writings and their place in music history.

Ideal for readers curious about Wagner’s ideas, the history of opera, and music theory through a concise, historian’s lens.

Edition details

• Publisher: Forgotten Books
• Publication date: 2017
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0266563287
• ISBN 13: 9780266563280
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 425