Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature 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 Carl Maria von Weber and Giacomo 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, which was galvanized by the efforts of his wife Cosima Wagner and the family's 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 – particularly since the late 20th century, as 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.
Provided by Wikipedia
581
Published: 1989
Superior document: Beiträge zur Regionalforschung 6
582
Published: [1920?]
583
Published: 2003
Superior document: Wiener Studien des Forschungsvereins für Genossenschaftswesen N.F., 11
584
Published: 1847
585
586
587
Published: [1914]
588
Published: 1997
Superior document: Colloquia Academica / Akademie der Wissenschaften und der Literatur, Mainz : Geisteswissenschaften 1996
589
Published: [1914]
590
591
592
Published: 1985
Superior document: Beiträge zur Regionalforschung 6
593
Published: 2008
594
Published: 1985
Superior document: Führer zu archäologischen Denkmälern in Baden-Württemberg 10
595
596
597
Published: 1918
Superior document: Enthalten in Sitzungsberichte der mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Klasse der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften Wien : Aus der kaiserlich-königlichen Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, in Kommission bei Alfred Hölder, 1918 127. Band, (Jahrgang 1918), 1. Abteilung, 4. und 5. Heft, Seite 95-327
598
599
600
Published: 1907
Superior document: Enthalten in Sitzungsberichte der mathematisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Klasse der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften Wien : Aus der kaiserlich-königlichen Hof- und Staatsdruckerei, in Kommission bei Alfred Hölder, 1907 116. Band (Jahrgang 1907), 1. Abteilung, 1. Heft, Seite 61-82