My Life with Wagner - Softcover

Thielemann, Christian

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1780228376 ISBN 13: 9781780228372

Publisher: W&N, 2017

Synopsis

'Idiosyncratic, humorous, enlightening and written by one of the finest conductors alive ... This is the book to buy if you are going to see Wagner or listen to him at home'LITERARY REVIEW

Over a distinguished career conducting some of the world's finest orchestras, Christian Thielemann has earned a reputation as the leading modern interpreter of Richard Wagner.MY LIFE WITH WAGNERchronicles his ardent personal and professional engagement with the composer whose work has shaped his thinking and feeling from early childhood.

Thielemann retraces his journey with Wagner - from Berlin to Bayreuth via Venice, Hamburg and Chicago. Next he takes each opera in turn, his appraisal illuminated by a deep affinity for the music, an intimate knowledge of the scores and the inside perspective of an outstanding practitioner. And yet for all the adulation Wagner's art inspires in him, Thielemann does not shy away from unpalatable truths about the man himself, explaining why today he is venerated and reviled in equal measure. The result is a richly rewarding read for admirers of a composer who continues to fascinate long after his death.

About this title

About the Author:

Christian Thielemann was born in 1959. In 1988 he became Germany's youngest general music director with his appointment at Nuremberg, before returning to the Deutsche Oper in his hometown of Berlin in 1997. More recently he led the Munich Philharmonic from 2004 to 2011. In addition to his current position in Dresden, Thielemann was appointed artistic director of the Salzburg Easter Festival in 2013. In 2000 he made his critically lauded debut at the Bayreuth Festival, to which he has returned year after year. He was appointed music director in July 2015.

Review:

“A sometimes enigmatic and always entertaining memoir, which is also part music history. Drawing on his years of conducting, Thielemann characterizes the evocative beauty and power of each of Wagner’s operas. Thielemann masterfully orchestrates this colorful introduction to Wagner’s music and its themes.”
- Publishers Weekly

“The real hero of the Bayreuth Ring is not Siegfried or Brünnhilde, but the conductor Christian Thielemann.”
- Anthony Tommasini, The New York Times

“Thielemann's revelations about the complexities of conducting are likely to enhance any music lover's listening experiences.”
- Kirkus Reviews

“Besides exploring Wagner’s life and times, Thielemann provides useful commentary on each of the composer’s operas. A compelling take on what it’s like to stand at the podium, ready to set orchestra and singers in motion for a performance created by one of the world’s greatest composers.”
- Library Journal

“Thielemann's musical explorations are wonderful. His writing has achieved something notoriously difficult: the evocation of music in prose. My Life with Wagner has that peculiar, confidential value of a work written not be an academic, but by an artist submerged in the music.”
- The Sunday Telegraph

“An act of homage and a revealing autobiography. An informative guide to the Wagner oeuvre. Thielemann's enthusiasm breathes life into these operas.”
- The Economist

“Viscerally exposes the levels of perfectionism required in a virtuoso. Without alienating the lay reader, he gets across the complexity of a Wagner score and the infinite interpretive possibilities.”
- The Independent (London)

About this edition

• Publisher: W&N
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1780228376
• ISBN 13: 9781780228372
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288