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Wagnerism

Wagnerism

By Alex Ross

Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2020.

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18 mins read

15 Key insights

A brief summary of Wagnerism

An exploration of the immense influence of Richard Wagner, the greatest titan of nineteenth-century music, and how he has reshaped culture far beyond music itself, from the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche to civil rights and cinema.

Key insights in Wagnerism

1
What do you get from this book? A sweeping survey of the legacy of one of history’s most controversial composers
2
Wagner’s life was one of towering artistic achievement, scandal, and controversy—as well as a few love affairs
3
The friendship and feud with philosopher Nietzsche illustrate the turbulent relationships between Wagner and those influenced by him
4
“Wagnerisme” rejuvenated French literature by posing it with a challenge—could poetry ever be as expressive as music?
5
Victorian Britain and Gilded Age America adored Wagner—even if they sanitized or simplified him
6
Powered by his complex religion and spirituality, Wagner’s compositions inspired turn-of-the-century occultists, mystics and artists
7
The great modernist writers Joyce, Woolf and Eliot display the range of responses to Wagner, particularly following World War I
8
Du Bois’s antiracist thought displayed the influence of Wagner’s work, but the composer’s own racism is undeniable
9
Wagner’s relationship with Germany and Ludwig II’s German Empire is complex, with dark implications for the nation’s later history
10
The worldwide adoration of Wagner was complicated by the Nazis’ obsession with him
11
Leitmotifs became the lifeblood of movie soundtracks, while Hitchcock, Coppola and others directly employed Wagner’s music in their films
12
Since WWII, staging Wagner has meant confronting the political and cultural difficulties surrounding his work, as seen at the New Bayreuth
13
Summary of the key insights
14
Selected critiques in brief
15
Final word

Who should read Wagnerism

Classical music fanatics • historians • political enthusiasts • philosophers • artists • anyone intrigued by the impact music has on the world

About the author of Wagnerism

Alex Ross is a music critic, formerly for The New Yorker and The New York Times. He studied music composition at Harvard and is the winner of a MacArthur Fellowship for music writing. His other books include the Pulitzer Prize nominee The Rest is Noise (2007) and Listen to This (2010).

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Alex Ross

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