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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

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The Essential Wagner
This book is Wagner's seminal essay where he fully explains his principles and opinions regarding opera and music.If you like his operas, this is the one book that is a must have on your reading shelf.

In 1893, the London Wagner Society published an English translation of Wagner's 8 volume collected works.This is volume 2 of that series.It contains the full text of "Oper und Drama", translated as "Opera and Drama".Our old friend, William Ashton Ellis, did the stilted but essential English translations.

Much of what Wagner wrote has nothing to do with music, and quite a large portion is pretty forgettable.However, this book is important, and goes a long way toward helping you understand his music.

READ IT
Well, to sum it up I simply have to say: Wagner wrote it, so you should read it ... Read more

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Dreadful translation, but important texts
The German word "Erdball" means "world". It takes a weird translator to want to render it into English as "Earthball". H Ashton Ellis is that translator, a man who, inlearning German, forgot all his English. Ellis translates German compoundwords not with plain English but with strange Germanic formulations, eg"leg-dancers", or "tone-arranger" for a German wordthat simply means "composer".So while it's good to have theseWagner texts available in English, it's a shame that the re-appearance ofthese awful translations in a modern edition will publishers fromcommissioning a new, competent, plain-English translation discourage. Ellis also makes Wagner's "Das Judentum in Musik" harder toevaluate by introducing antisemitic overtones (perhaps of his own) wherethe Wagner text doesn't justify it. For example, the Ellis text describesMendelsohn as"a Jew composer", which has a hostile, sneering,sound to it. But Wagner's text has "Judaische"; the correcttranslation is the merely descriptive "a Jewish composer". Thereare other, similar examples.

As for Wagner, "Das Judentum inMusik"'s argument is that because [in mod-19th Century Europe] Jewsare partly involved in the cultures amongst which they live, and are partlyseparate and aloof from them, their music and poetry don't have the warmth,depth and humanity that come from having strong folk roots; Jewish art,while Jews remain apart and not assimilated into the mainstream"folk", is likely to be imitative, clever, ironical, and so on,but not deep or passionate.

The essay brings no comfort toWagner-lovers, but not quite as much comfort to Wagner-haters as issometimes claimed.Some people, by no means antisemitic, eg Patrick Magee,defend Wagner's analysis (stripped of its few paragraphs of merely racistwriting). The essay makes an argument about the need for art to have folkroots if it is to be great. Me, I'd say its too easy to findcounter-examples, for Wagner's analysis to stand. Personally, if I were todefend any part of the essay it would be Wagner's valuing of sincereemotional expression in art over irony. We're starting to hear the phrase"post-irony", but it's not yet a reality. I'd welcome a trendback to having the courage to express emotion, in life as well as art,without always hiding behind quote marks. One of Wagner's merits is assupreme non-ironist.

But, point out the detractors, rightly, there's astrong thread of antisemitism in amongst Wagner's discussion of culture andof art in this essay. There is a tone of "balance" in most ofWagner's paragraphs, an assumption of the mask of mere intellectualcuriosity over the odd position of Jewish musicians and poets in themid-19th Century. But in some paragraphs animosity shows throughundisguised.

On the other hand, the essay is not the same thing as thepolitical antisemitism that had its horrifying culmination under the Nazis.Wagner's subject was the arts. And his proposed "remedy" was forJews to assimilate into the mainstream population and lose their separateidentity. That's a despicably racist idea (why should they, if they don'twant to?), but it's diametrically the opposite of what the Nazis called for- racial segregation followed by mass murder.Reading it, you'll find thatthe essay contains specific offensive passages, and is permeated by ideaswe now find offensive, but that it is not simply a screed of racial orreligious bigotry; mostly the text argues about art and music. In sum,anyone who loves Wagner's music will wish he'd never written or published"Das Judentum in Musik". It disfigures the man's posthumousreputation. But nor is it quite the screed of racial vilification it issometimes made out to be. Wagner was a bigot and a crank, but not amonster. The book gets three stars, because though it is an appallingtranslation of a bad essay, it does at least make this infamous essayavailable for people to judge it for themnselves.

Laon ... Read more

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In this classic guide, the foremost Wagner expert of our century discusses ten of Wagner's most beloved operas, illuminates their key themes and the myths and literary sources behind the librettos, and demonstrates how the composer's style changed from work to work. Acclaimed as the most complete and intellectually satisfying analysis of the Wagner operas, the book has met with unreserved enthusiasm from specialist and casual music lover alike. Here, available for the first time in a single paperback volume, is the perfect companion for listening to, or attending, The Flying Dutchman, Tannhuser, Lohengrin, Tristan and Isolde, Die Meistersinger, the four operas of the Ring Cycle, and Parsifal. Newman enriches his treatment of the stories, texts, and music of the operas with biographical and historical materials from the store of knowledge that he acquired while completing his numerous books on Wagner, including the magisterial Life of Richard Wagner. The text of The Wagner Operas is filled with hundreds of musical examples from the scores, and all the important leitmotifs and their interrelationships are made clear in Newman's lucid prose. "This is as fine an introduction as any ever written about a major composer's masterpieces. Newman outlines with unfailing clarity and astuteness each opera's dramatic sources, and he takes the student through the completed opera, step by step, with all manner of incidental insight along the way."--Robert Bailey, New York UniversityAmazon.com Review
Ernest Newman's study of the major Wagner operas (from Derfliegende Holländer onwards) was originally published in 1949and rapidly achieved the status of a classic opera text, which itretains to this day. There are plenty of other, differing treatmentsof the stories of the operas, but none as detailed or as dramaticallyaware as Newman's magisterial volume. Of course, the reprint does notcontain information about the composer and his works that would latercome to light, nor does it traffic in current modes of thought aboutthe operas (in some cases, thankfully). What Newman does is begin witha history of the myth or the tales on which each opera is based,widening that out to a discussion of Wagner's interest in the story,his involvement with its genesis, and an account of how the work inquestion was created and first produced. Since in some cases thisgestation took years, Newman's clear explication does much to lift themists surrounding even the simplest of Wagner's operas. He thendiscusses each opera in detail. The plethora of musical examples andNewman's understanding of Wagner's use of the leitmotif ensure thathis readings are responsive both to the histrionic and musical aspectsof the stories.

Reading the details of the often complex backgrounds of the operas, aswell as what goes on in the opera itself (the discussion of DieMeistersinger von Nürnberg alone runs to more than 110 pagesof text), should immeasurably enrich the listener's opera-goingexperience, even in this age of the surtitle. And an appreciation ofthe range and cogency of Wagner's musical and dramatic genius, whichthis book offers, will serve to balance the unflattering portrait ofWagner the human being that dominates today's thinking about theMaster. --Patrick J. Smith ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

A classic
I won't repeat the praise that other reviewers have expressed for this volume.This book is a classic by a Wagner scholar who really knows what he is talking about.It is an indispensable reference for any Wagner enthusiast.

The best reference I have on the subject.
Scholars and critics say that Herr Wagner's talent was in synthesis. The negative critics, e.g., specialists in a field from which they feel Wagner has stolen, tend to discredit Wagner for that. The grail was not, alas, the cup used at the last supper, prior to the opera "Parsifal" anyway. What's more the Grail theme was plagiarized from Mendelssohn. The plot of the Ring was not, alas, the same plot as the German novel "The Nibelungenlied." Wagnerians like myself, rather, see that synthesis as a symptom of Wagner's genius. He was able to take a series of sources, stories, novels, epics, songs, and cement them into a supreme art form, Gesamptkunstwerk, better than the sum of all the parts.

Newman comments intellegently on all aspects of the operas. He includes musical themes--surely a necessity in the work of that expert user of the leitmotif!--and even the psychological dimensions of the music. (Before I saw "Tristan und Isolde," I attended a presentation of a musicologist who nearly broke into tears as to the depth of the music in that opera. His comments reminded me of those of Newman regarding the same piece, which reminds me of Jung, one, whom you might say, was a product of some of the same Germanic trends of the late 19th century. But, enough on that...)

I read each review before I see the opera to which it applies. I read them again periodically. They are magnificent, allow for reasonable criticism. But they also give the devil his due.

I cannot recommend the book more strongly for anyone interested in Wagner, especially if you plan to hear or see the operas. Then leave the volume next to your bed. It's well worth re-reading, learning all dimensions of the music of perhaps the best composer who ever lived.

Is that extreme? Perhaps. Was Wagner's genius extreme? Off the scale.

Read and enjoy it.

A superb book:astonishing learning, sensible interpretations
Ernest Newman's book remains the best introduction to Wagner's operas.He is astonishingly good on Wagner's sources, and on the draft processes Wagner went through as he transformed source material into his final forms. Other books deal with different aspects of individual operas in moredepth, but this is still one of the books to start with. Everybodyinterested in Wagner should- well, the first thing to do might be tolisten to excerpts from "Die Walku:re", "Tristan" or"Parsifal", say, and be awed by the music - but once you've heardthe music, if you're still interested, you should get this book.

Laon

This is the place to start, the one you can count on
Nobody ever wrote more insighfully, brilliantly and accessibly about the titanic contribution of Richard Wagner to western culture than did E. Newman.This is a classic that should be read by all and anyone interestedin what all the fuss is about.It's an old book but it's not dated.Takehis translations seriously.Even though there are a lot of anachronisms(thou sayest...etc), they were anachronisms that RW intended when he wrotethe poem.May I also recommend the Solti Recording of the Ring; theFurtwangler studio recording of Tristan; the Jochum Meistersinger and(gasp) the Levine Parsifal (the Knappertsbusch is sublime in so manyspecial ways you may have to buy both.May I also recommend the RingInteractive CD Rom.It is a blast. ... Read more

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"Andrew Porter's utterly natural, often poetic, faithfully renderedEnglish text should be a revelation...The immediacy of instantcomprehension gives the entire drama an added dimension."—The New YorkTimesRichardWagner's vast Der Ring des Nibelungen cycle comprises fourfull-length operas (Das Rheingold, Die Walkure, Siegfried and Gotterdammerung) and is arguably the most extraordinary achievementin the history of opera. His own libretto to the operas, translated by Andrew Porter, is an intricatesystem of metric patterns, imaginative metaphors and alliteration,combining to produce the music in text. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

This is a lot better than subtitles
I have the Wagner - Der Ring des Nibelungen / Levine, Metropolitan Opera (Complete Ring Cycle) and enjoy watching it periodically. However the after covering the book a couple of times I can enjoy the film without always stopping to read subtitles. I understand some German but am still translating instead of thinking. Now however I am beginning to enjoy the reading its self. The parallel language columns make it easier to follow. The book has a superb 20-page introduction into the plusses and minuses of translation and still matching the music. After the introduction it gets right down to business.

Beautiful Translation
I have not read other translations or versions of this opera but what a pleasure this one is! And having the German on the facing page was an added delight. By the end of the book I had reacquainted myself with many words and phrases that I thought were forgotten forever. This purchase was worth every penny - Also great shipping price.

Wonferdul translation
This is a great volume for any Ring lover. The translations are solid and easy to use with the German original since the phonetic cadences match. Even when listening to the Goodall Ring (which uses the Porter translation) this book keeps me up to speed in situations where the English is difficult to follow.

I also like the typeface and translation of stage directions and settings, as well.

brilliant, almost
For many years, this has been my go-to translation When listening to the Ring. It is very well done stylistically, and makes good reading on its own, which is high praise for any opera libretto translation. This translation preserves the syllables and rhythms of the original German, so it is singable (well, anyway that is what my musically trained friends tell me). It seems to be an excellent translation, but my German is kinda weak, so I have no way to judge the accuracy.

One big problem: it has only the English translation. It does NOT have the German text. However, I have found that if you follow the syllables and who is singing, with a little practice, I can follow along with the Ring just by reading this book, even w/o the German text side-by-side.

absorbing read and fantastically imaginative
I came to this book, because I heard 'The Ring of the Nibelung' was the basis for the 'Lord of the Rings'.Halfway through the first scene, I found it was true.

Written in a poetic rhythm, it was easy to fall into a cadence in my mind as I read.The story is absorbing.

Nibelung is a race of dwarfs in this Opera from Wagner. (pronounced Vagner)A Nibelung steals the gold of the Rhine maidens and has it made into a magic ring.A ring to rule them all (just kidding).Only one ring, but it has the power to enslave the world.The gold is also made into a chaimail (no not mythril), giving the wearer the power to change into any shape.

The ring changes several hands through the story.

Enter in a loose interpretation of Norse Mythology.The character 'Wotan' resembles Odin.The hammer wielding god is called 'Donner'.

And, it wouldn't be an Opera without a tragic love story and a Hero.An incestuous relationship upsets the Goddess Fricka and puts Wotan into an emotional decision, keeping the reader guessing as to how the God will handle his wife's nagging demands.Gods, have it rough, too, eh?

The book itself is dual lingual.One side of the page is German, the English translation is side by side with the German.It was fun to compare the two languages and it shows how true to the translation was the English.

This novel is copyright dated 1976, coming after Tolkien's LOTR.

The story is fantastically imaginative. ... Read more

Product Description
Hard-to-find complete score of first installment of celebrated Ring Cycle encapsulates Wagner’s greatest achievements in shortest, most accessible form. Reproduced in a clear, modern engraving with large, legible notation from authoritative B. Schott’s edition. Virtually nowhere else will you find this great masterpiece in such an eminently usable format. New translation of German frontmatter.
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Customer Reviews (4)

Rheingold score
Suberp.Clear and accurate.I have a bunch of Wagner scores, and this is as good as any of them.Wagner wouldn't be alf as much fun without the full scores.

Excellent reprint of a good first edition of a great work!!
Again, Keith Dillon has taken my words out of my mouth before they could be said!I second all he says about this opera unreservedly.The only reason I can't give this excellent reprint of Schott's first edition a full 5 stars is the same as for the equivalent reproductions of the scores of Siegfried (though there I compromised) and Götterdämmerung

The adventure begins
Wagner's ring is a remarkable achievement. Among other things, it offers filmmakers, such as George Lucas, a model of how to create an epic drama involving multiple generations of characters, which nonetheless holdstogether on stage (or, for Lucas' purposes, on film). To my taste, some ofthe Ring's most memorable moments, both musically and dramatically, arefound in Das Rheingold. Dover reprinted the B. Schott's Sohne edition fromthe late 19th century. Schott's was Wagner's original publisher, ergo, thisedition was subject to approval by Wagner himself. It's a large book, andit might well be possible to conduct from it. The book is, as always withDover, well crafted, easy to read, and printed on acid-free, fade-resistantpaper. There are English translations of the frontismatter, but no Germanglossary of musical terms. In many of my recent Dover reviews, I havefailed to mention that the score is reasonably priced. The reason I haven'tis because with Dover, that simply goes without saying.

The adventure begins
Wagner's ring is a remarkable achievement. Among other things, it offers filmmakers, such as George Lucas, a model of how to create an epic drama involving multiple generations of characters, which nonetheless holdstogether on stage (or, for Lucas' purposes, on film). To my taste, some ofthe Ring's most memorable moments, both musically and dramatically, arefound in Das Rheingold. Dover reprinted the B. Schott's Sohne edition fromthe late 19th century. Schott's was Wagner's original publisher, ergo, thisedition was subject to approval by Wagner himself. It's a large book, andit might well be possible to conduct from it. The book is, as always withDover, well crafted, easy to read, and printed on acid-free, fade-resistantpaper. There are English translations of the frontismatter, but no Germanglossary of musical terms. In many of my recent Dover reviews, I havefailed to mention that the score is reasonably priced. The reason I haven'tis because with Dover, that simply goes without saying. ... Read more

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Wagner's Collected Writings, Volume 8
Late in life, Wagner published his complete writings: Gesammelte Schriften (GS). In the 1890's, William Ashton Ellis translated them and they were published in English in 8 volumes. They were originally published by London:Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co. as "Richard Wagner's Prose Works". In 1995, they were reprinted in this country.Title not withstanding, this is volume 8 of that set. This volume contains various bits and pieces that were not a part of the original GS, and is more like an appendix to the original series. There are some important pieces, but in the end it is not that much more valuable than the other 7 volumes in the series.

1)The first piece is the complete, original prose poem for Siegfried's Tod (50 pages). It has the happy ending where Siegfried and Brunnhilde enter Valhalla together rather than Ragnarok.
2)The next section (200 pages) is labled by Ellis as "Discarded". These are not really discards, but were not included by Wagner probably because he did not have access to them while preparing GS. These works are essays, letters, and articles of little importance (you can probably skip every other sentence while reading them and not miss anything of importance).
3)The next section contains sketches for potential operas: "Die Sarazenin" (25 pages) whose plot bears a striking similarity to Rienzi, "Das Liebesmahl der Apostel" (5 pages) which Wagner composed as an independent choral piece, and "Jesus of Nazareth" (60 pages), Wagner's risible attempt to rewrite the New Testament.
4)The last section (60 pages) is a mish mash of unpublished fragments found in various manuscripts. It begins with "Kunstlerthum der Zukunft" - Artisthood of the Future (20 pages). In spite of its incomplete state, I found this essay to be more decipherable than most of Wagner's other pieces, but only because it contains his main points without the usual rhetorical conflations. You will also find a brief, one page prose sketch for "Die Sieger", another potential opera but this time about Ananda, Prakriti, and Buddha (here, the theme is unrequited love, and the plot is similar to Tristan).

For those who are interested in the other 7 volumes of this series, here are the titles: The Art-Work of the Future (volume 1), Opera and Drama (volume 2), Judaism in Music (volume 3), Art and Politics (volume 4), Actors and Singers (volume 5), Religion and Art (volume 6), and Pilgrimage to Beethoven (volume 7). Note that the book titles were assigned by the American publishers (Bison Books), and are merely the name of just one of the essays in the book and do not constitute the entire book's contents.The exception is Opera and Drama, which is a book-length essay constituting the entirety of volume 2.

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO...RICHARD WAGNER?
More than just a dry run for his liturgical Christian music drama PARSIFAL, the German composer's personal look at the life of Christ merges the traditional Passion story with his own brand of revolutionary politics,proving true novelist Reynolds Price's words that "virtually allpost-Gospel lives of Jesus [have] told us far more about their authors thantheir subject."Yet for a man so often identified with anti-Semitism,readers will be surprised that Wagner's mystery play is remarkably free ofracial bias or slurs.Not only are the Jews not scapegoated as theChrist-killers of Medieval lore, but the portrayal of Judas as a heroicfreedom fighter echoes the portrait in Nikos Kazantzakis' THE LASTTEMPTATION OF CHRIST.(One wonders if this interpretation tricked down toKazantzakis during his intensive studies of Wagner friend-turned-foeFriedrich Nietzsche.)

All in all, fascinating material not only formusicologists, historians, and Wagnerites, but for those interested in theChristology as seen though the eyes of historical personages. ... Read more

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How is it possible for a seriously flawed human being to produce art that is good, true, and beautiful? Why is the art of Richard Wagner, a very imperfect man, important and even indispensable to us?

In this volume, Father Owen Lee ventures an answer to those questions by way of a figure in Sophocles - the hero Philoctetes.Gifted by his god with a bow that would always shoot true to the mark and indispensable to his fellow Greeks, he was marked by the same god with an odious wound that made him hateful and hated. Sophocles' powerful insight is that those blessed by the gods and indispensable to men are visited as well with great vulnerability and suffering.

Wagner: The Terrible Man and His Truthful Art traces some of Wagner's extraordinary influence for good and ill on a century of art and politics - on Eliot and Proust as well as on Adolf Hitler - and discusses in detail Wagner's Tannhouser, the work in which the composer first dramatised the Faustian struggle of a creative artist in whom 'two souls dwell.' In the course of this penetrating study, Father Lee argues that Wagner's ambivalent art is indispensable to us, life-enhancing and ultimately healing. ... Read more

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Wagner in a Nutshell...
Well, not really:it is hard to encapsulate one of the greatest artists of all time in a thin volume.But Father Lee,whom many will recall as one of the delights of the Texaco Metropolitcan Opera broad casts, does a very good job.
Fr. Lee puts Wagner's shortcomings as a person -- shortcomings that he generally assumes his audience is well-familiar with -- in the kind of perspective afforded by the Greeks.
Fr. Lee also does a wonderful job of putting Wagner's unfortunate anti-Semitism into context.While not escusing it by any means - and Lee does a masterful, brief exposition on how the Nazis later MISUSED Wagner (predictably for the low-brows the Nazis tended to be, they never did get Wagner right, an important, but frequently overlooked point; and one that Lee implies, rather than states overtly) -- he places it in the context of Wagner's generally odious means of relating to people in general.For far from wishing the Jews to be exterminated, Wagner's solution to the problem of an alien people in the midst of a culture not their own was assimilation.With his own project as the guide leading,not just Jewish Germans, but indeed all Germans, to find within his re-telling of the heroic myths a national identity.That Wagner's solution was as offensive as it was forgotten can only be laid in part to his collossal narcissism.
Wagner lived like the world owed him a living.And the thing that Fr. Lee makes us realize is, the great man, for once, had it absolutely right.

The incurable wound
Father M. Owen Lee, who is known for his erudite commentaries on Metropolitan Opera broadcasts has recently published another book about the Wagner's Ring Cycle, called "Athena Sings. Wagner and the Greeks."Father Lee is a Classics scholar, so it should be no surprise that the Greeks also inhabit "Wagner:The Terrible Man and His Truthful Art."One of the chief characters that Wagner is compared to in this slender book is Philoctetes, who was given a great gift by the god Apollo, but was also maimed with an incurable wound.

The three essays that make up this book were written to be given during the 1998 Larkin-Stuart lectures at the University of Toronto.These lectures are devoted to religious and ethical concerns, and Father Lee took the opportunity to examine the relationship of the artist, Wagner to his art.

The first lecture, "Wagner and the Wound That Would Not Heal" tells the story of Philoctetes, who was shunned by his fellow soldiers because of his unhealing wound.Finally, they exiled him on an island on their way to conquer Troy.In their tenth year of war, after the death of Achilles, the Greeks heard a prophecy "that the city would never be taken unless the wounded Philoctetes was brought to Troy with his bow (the gift from Apollo)."The Greeks sailed back to the island where they had abandoned Philoctetes and persuade the wounded, bitter man to use his gift to help them.

Father Owen is not a Wagner apologist, but he asks us to recognize our debt to the "hateful, wounded man [we] are in need of"---he whose music can penetrate deeply into our psyche and bring us, if not peace, then at least self-knowledge.

The second lecture, "Wagner's Influence: The First Hundred Years" discusses the effect that Wagner exercised, for good and ill, on music, art, literature, politics, and psychology.The author quotes philosopher Bryan Magee as being able to say:"Wagner has had a greater influence than any other single artist on the culture of our age."

Of course, the worm at the core of this lecture is Wagner's "unquestioned influence on Adolf Hitler."There are still people who won't listen to Wagner's music, and Father Lee acknowledges this artist's blatant anti-Semitism:"He probably wreaked more havoc on himself with his essay 'Judaism in Music' than with anything else he wrote."A hundred years later, Goebbels was able to use it as vicious propaganda.

Can we acknowledge this hateful, wounded man and still be pierced by the beauty of his music?The author goes on to quote Leonard Bernstein's article in the 'New York Times,' entitled "Wagner's Music isn't Racist:"

"...And if Wagner wrote great music, as I think he did, why should we not embrace it fully and be nourished by it?"

The third and last lecture that completes this book is entitled, "You Use Works of Art to See Your Soul."Father Owen Lee concentrates on Wagner's early opera, "Tannhäuser" to prove his point, with help from authors such as Baudelaire and Goethe.He is even tempted to wonder if Wagner had Martin Luther in mind when he created his tormented young hero, "who was gifted in song, clashed with the Pope, sought refuge in the Wartburg, defied the society he knew, and profoundly changed it."

Or perhaps, Wagner was thinking of Wagner.

These essays have convinced this reviewer at least, that a seriously flawed human being can produce indispensable, undying, truthful art.

arguably the most information in the least time
Although this book consists of merely three lectures, and can be finishedoff in about 2 or 3 hours without difficulty, it has as much fresh insightas many other titles that take much longer to study.The first lectureexploring the influence of classic Greek mythology and cultural recognitionthrough artistic expression - ie roughly how the Greek society establisheditself through artistic endeavour - gives the reader a pretty clear ideawhat Wagner was trying to accomplish for Germany through his music dramas,and also confirms a pretty outlandish level of self-confidence to even makesuch an attempt. The second lecture has some material which has alreadybeen covered in other books - notably Aspects of Wagner by Magee - but isstill interesting. The final lecture with a detailed study of Tannhauser isexcellent, the most interesting commentary on this opera I have read todate. The choice of Wassily Kandinsky's Die Nacht, inspired by Act II ofTristan und Isolde, for the front cover was very appropriate. Stronglyrecommended.

Yet another great book from M. Owen Lee!
In this book, M. Owen Lee grapples with the issue of whether we can (and should) enjoy Wagner's art, in the knowledge of Wagner's notorious flaws (such as his fiery anti-semitism, etc.)Drawing from classical Greekmythology, Mr. Lee discusses how it is common for great artists to haveflawed personal lives, and that the value of the artwork should thereforebe judged independently of its creator.Indeed, the artist creates his artas an act of self-healing.He therefore encourages the enjoyment of themusic of Richard Wagner.(Yep, the Wagnerholics of the world can nowlisten without guilt. :-)

A lot of the material is taken from the book,"Aspects of Wagner", which M. Owen Lee acknowledges as a source. Since I had read these books back-to-back, the repetition of material waseasy to see.

There is also a discussion of the opera"Tannhauser", which is discussed in about the same level ofdetail as his commentaries on the Ring.

THE TRUTHFUL ART OF M OWEN LEE
M. Owen Lee is perhaps best known to opera lovers through his appearances on the Texaco Opera broadcasts, some of which have formed the core of two of his previous books. In his latest book, Father Lee demonstrates the personally committed criticism which is characteristic of his radiolectures.This is no mere apologia for Wagner. The author is painfullyaware of Wagner's human failings, not merely the oft-discussedanti-Semitism, and he is troubled by the fact that the music of such amonster could move him so deeply. This book gives us a wonderful insightinto the author's soul as he grapples with this question. I especiallyenjoyed the discussion of "Tannheuser" in the final chapter. (Afew years ago I wrote to him about his love of Wagner, and he cared enoughto write me a detailed letter in response--another sign of his genuinecommitment to the subject). This book tells us not only about Wagner butalso about the author himself, who has a unique capability of engaging thereader in a genuine dialogue. ... Read more

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Few musical works loom as large in Western culture as Richard Wagner's four-part Ring of the Nibelungs. In Finding an Ending, two eminent philosophers, Philip Kitcher and Richard Schacht, offer an illuminating look at this greatest of Wagner's achievements, focusing on its far-reaching and subtle exploration of problems of meanings and endings in this life and world. Kitcher and Schacht plunge the reader into the heart of Wagner's Ring, drawing out the philosophical and human significance of the text and the music. They show how different forms of love, freedom, heroism, authority, and judgment are explored and tested as it unfolds. As they journey across its sweeping musical-dramatic landscape, Kitcher and Schacht lead us to the central concern of the Ring--the problem of endowing life with genuine significance that can be enhanced rather than negated by its ending, if the right sort of ending can be found.The drama originates in Wotan's quest for a transformation of the primordial state of things into a world in which life can be lived more meaningfully. The authors trace the evolution of Wotan's efforts, the intricate problems he confronts, and his failures and defeats. But while the problem Wotan poses for himself proves to be insoluble as he conceives of it, they suggest that his very efforts and failures set the stage for the transformation of his problem, and for the only sort of resolution of it that may be humanly possible--to which it is not Siegfried but rather Brunnhilde who shows the way. The Ring's ending, with its passing of the gods above and destruction of the world below, might seem to be devastating; but Kitcher and Schacht see a kind of meaning in and through the ending revealed to us that is profoundly affirmative, and that has perhaps never been so powerfully and so beautifully expressed. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Superb Philosophic Guide to The Ring
We are currently (2009)working our way through the Ring Cycle in Los Angeles and I find this an invaluable guide to the deeper philosophic meaning of these operas. It has a useful synopsis of the 4 operas at the end of the book including the hidden action between operas. It gives you a brilliant crash course on 19th century German philosophy with accurate discussions of Feuerbach, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche as viewed through the lens of Wagner.If you have no ax to grind about religion and faith you will enjoy the very detailed reading of the text and music in explicating Wotan's growth in understanding of his role as law-giver to the World, gradual acceptance of his ultimate failure and the failure of all "Gods" to impose any solution to the human dilemma.You'll appreciate the poignancy of his attempt to "find an ending," one that allows him to end his quest with dignity and meaning.The style is clear and elegant and I find the book deeply moving and profound.I also come to understand the young Nietzsche's adoration of Wagner whose Ring cycle is nothing short of a re-enactment of our attempt to find meaning out of life without the easy solace of religions and blind faith.

Parenthetically, it also reveals how shallow our LA Ring is and what a travesty Achim Freyer's staging has made of this magnificent work.But that is the subject of another discussion.

Trying to End without Religion or Truth.
As a retired philosopher of religion, I find this book appealing--especially its emphasis on the glorious, soaring, wordless theme with which the Ring ends; and also its finding parallels in the Judgment theme in Mozart's Don Giovanni and inShakespeare's Cordelia in King Lear.Following Nietzsche, however, the authors reject Wagner's last opera, Parsifal, and apparently all religion--Christian, Buddhist, etc.Strange that philosophers that can grasp the meaning in a mytho-poetic work like the Ring reduce religious tradition to simple, literalist fundamentalism!

The Ring, according to the authors, was writtenunder the influence of Feuerbach's secular humanist optimism, complicated by Wagner's own experience of the failure of worldly political utopianism.The ending symbolizes the "death of God," not merely the death of the Idols, astheologians would have it.The atheist pessimism of Schopenhauer came to seem more realistic to Wagner (with his last opera Parsifal??), but not before he finished the Ring with a ringing affirmation of life and love.

In trying to articulate how it is that, in spite of defeat and death, "not everything has been lost," they come surprisingly close, but are finally blocked by the ghost of logical positivism.In Mozart's Don Giovanni, the authors see Nietzsche's Ubermensch; a figure literally beyond good and evil, and not subject to any truth or negative judgment beyond the conflicting prejudices of finite creatures.In the judgment of the authors, the Commendatore, and the transcendent Judgment he symbolizes, is laughable.So also with positive judgment; the final theme of the Ring cannot be "redeemed by Love," but merely "triumph and vindication of Brunnhilde." (In whose eyes? If all judgment and truth are relative?If all who judge are temporary, finite, fallible creatures?If there is no Ideal Observer?)

... Read more

Product Description

How is it possible for a seriously flawed human being to produce art that is good, true, and beautiful? Why is the art of Richard Wagner, a very imperfect man, important and even indispensable to us?

In this volume, Father Owen Lee ventures an answer to those questions by way of a figure in Sophocles - the hero Philoctetes.Gifted by his god with a bow that would always shoot true to the mark and indispensable to his fellow Greeks, he was marked by the same god with an odious wound that made him hateful and hated. Sophocles' powerful insight is that those blessed by the gods and indispensable to men are visited as well with great vulnerability and suffering.

Wagner: The Terrible Man and His Truthful Art traces some of Wagner's extraordinary influence for good and ill on a century of art and politics - on Eliot and Proust as well as on Adolf Hitler - and discusses in detail Wagner's Tannhouser, the work in which the composer first dramatised the Faustian struggle of a creative artist in whom 'two souls dwell.' In the course of this penetrating study, Father Lee argues that Wagner's ambivalent art is indispensable to us, life-enhancing and ultimately healing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Wagner in a Nutshell...
Well, not really:it is hard to encapsulate one of the greatest artists of all time in a thin volume.But Father Lee,whom many will recall as one of the delights of the Texaco Metropolitcan Opera broad casts, does a very good job.
Fr. Lee puts Wagner's shortcomings as a person -- shortcomings that he generally assumes his audience is well-familiar with -- in the kind of perspective afforded by the Greeks.
Fr. Lee also does a wonderful job of putting Wagner's unfortunate anti-Semitism into context.While not escusing it by any means - and Lee does a masterful, brief exposition on how the Nazis later MISUSED Wagner (predictably for the low-brows the Nazis tended to be, they never did get Wagner right, an important, but frequently overlooked point; and one that Lee implies, rather than states overtly) -- he places it in the context of Wagner's generally odious means of relating to people in general.For far from wishing the Jews to be exterminated, Wagner's solution to the problem of an alien people in the midst of a culture not their own was assimilation.With his own project as the guide leading,not just Jewish Germans, but indeed all Germans, to find within his re-telling of the heroic myths a national identity.That Wagner's solution was as offensive as it was forgotten can only be laid in part to his collossal narcissism.
Wagner lived like the world owed him a living.And the thing that Fr. Lee makes us realize is, the great man, for once, had it absolutely right.

The incurable wound
Father M. Owen Lee, who is known for his erudite commentaries on Metropolitan Opera broadcasts has recently published another book about the Wagner's Ring Cycle, called "Athena Sings. Wagner and the Greeks."Father Lee is a Classics scholar, so it should be no surprise that the Greeks also inhabit "Wagner:The Terrible Man and His Truthful Art."One of the chief characters that Wagner is compared to in this slender book is Philoctetes, who was given a great gift by the god Apollo, but was also maimed with an incurable wound.

The three essays that make up this book were written to be given during the 1998 Larkin-Stuart lectures at the University of Toronto.These lectures are devoted to religious and ethical concerns, and Father Lee took the opportunity to examine the relationship of the artist, Wagner to his art.

The first lecture, "Wagner and the Wound That Would Not Heal" tells the story of Philoctetes, who was shunned by his fellow soldiers because of his unhealing wound.Finally, they exiled him on an island on their way to conquer Troy.In their tenth year of war, after the death of Achilles, the Greeks heard a prophecy "that the city would never be taken unless the wounded Philoctetes was brought to Troy with his bow (the gift from Apollo)."The Greeks sailed back to the island where they had abandoned Philoctetes and persuade the wounded, bitter man to use his gift to help them.

Father Owen is not a Wagner apologist, but he asks us to recognize our debt to the "hateful, wounded man [we] are in need of"---he whose music can penetrate deeply into our psyche and bring us, if not peace, then at least self-knowledge.

The second lecture, "Wagner's Influence: The First Hundred Years" discusses the effect that Wagner exercised, for good and ill, on music, art, literature, politics, and psychology.The author quotes philosopher Bryan Magee as being able to say:"Wagner has had a greater influence than any other single artist on the culture of our age."

Of course, the worm at the core of this lecture is Wagner's "unquestioned influence on Adolf Hitler."There are still people who won't listen to Wagner's music, and Father Lee acknowledges this artist's blatant anti-Semitism:"He probably wreaked more havoc on himself with his essay 'Judaism in Music' than with anything else he wrote."A hundred years later, Goebbels was able to use it as vicious propaganda.

Can we acknowledge this hateful, wounded man and still be pierced by the beauty of his music?The author goes on to quote Leonard Bernstein's article in the 'New York Times,' entitled "Wagner's Music isn't Racist:"

"...And if Wagner wrote great music, as I think he did, why should we not embrace it fully and be nourished by it?"

The third and last lecture that completes this book is entitled, "You Use Works of Art to See Your Soul."Father Owen Lee concentrates on Wagner's early opera, "Tannhäuser" to prove his point, with help from authors such as Baudelaire and Goethe.He is even tempted to wonder if Wagner had Martin Luther in mind when he created his tormented young hero, "who was gifted in song, clashed with the Pope, sought refuge in the Wartburg, defied the society he knew, and profoundly changed it."

Or perhaps, Wagner was thinking of Wagner.

These essays have convinced this reviewer at least, that a seriously flawed human being can produce indispensable, undying, truthful art.

arguably the most information in the least time
Although this book consists of merely three lectures, and can be finishedoff in about 2 or 3 hours without difficulty, it has as much fresh insightas many other titles that take much longer to study.The first lectureexploring the influence of classic Greek mythology and cultural recognitionthrough artistic expression - ie roughly how the Greek society establisheditself through artistic endeavour - gives the reader a pretty clear ideawhat Wagner was trying to accomplish for Germany through his music dramas,and also confirms a pretty outlandish level of self-confidence to even makesuch an attempt. The second lecture has some material which has alreadybeen covered in other books - notably Aspects of Wagner by Magee - but isstill interesting. The final lecture with a detailed study of Tannhauser isexcellent, the most interesting commentary on this opera I have read todate. The choice of Wassily Kandinsky's Die Nacht, inspired by Act II ofTristan und Isolde, for the front cover was very appropriate. Stronglyrecommended.

Yet another great book from M. Owen Lee!
In this book, M. Owen Lee grapples with the issue of whether we can (and should) enjoy Wagner's art, in the knowledge of Wagner's notorious flaws (such as his fiery anti-semitism, etc.)Drawing from classical Greekmythology, Mr. Lee discusses how it is common for great artists to haveflawed personal lives, and that the value of the artwork should thereforebe judged independently of its creator.Indeed, the artist creates his artas an act of self-healing.He therefore encourages the enjoyment of themusic of Richard Wagner.(Yep, the Wagnerholics of the world can nowlisten without guilt. :-)

A lot of the material is taken from the book,"Aspects of Wagner", which M. Owen Lee acknowledges as a source. Since I had read these books back-to-back, the repetition of material waseasy to see.

There is also a discussion of the opera"Tannhauser", which is discussed in about the same level ofdetail as his commentaries on the Ring.

THE TRUTHFUL ART OF M OWEN LEE
M. Owen Lee is perhaps best known to opera lovers through his appearances on the Texaco Opera broadcasts, some of which have formed the core of two of his previous books. In his latest book, Father Lee demonstrates the personally committed criticism which is characteristic of his radiolectures.This is no mere apologia for Wagner. The author is painfullyaware of Wagner's human failings, not merely the oft-discussedanti-Semitism, and he is troubled by the fact that the music of such amonster could move him so deeply. This book gives us a wonderful insightinto the author's soul as he grapples with this question. I especiallyenjoyed the discussion of "Tannheuser" in the final chapter. (Afew years ago I wrote to him about his love of Wagner, and he cared enoughto write me a detailed letter in response--another sign of his genuinecommitment to the subject). This book tells us not only about Wagner butalso about the author himself, who has a unique capability of engaging thereader in a genuine dialogue. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Scholarly work on Wagner's music and thought
A standard biography followed by a discussion of his work, showing how it is grounded in his intellectual and spiritual development.An interesting and valuable work, perhaps a bit difficult for those not well-grounded in philosophy.Especially valuable for his relationship with Nietzche and his influence on Wagner's own prolific literary works.A scholarly work for musicians well worth reading. ... Read more

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Product Description
Few musical works loom as large in Western culture as Richard Wagner's four-part Ring of the Nibelungs. In Finding an Ending, two eminent philosophers, Philip Kitcher and Richard Schacht, offer an illuminating look at this greatest of Wagner's achievements, focusing on its far-reaching and subtle exploration of problems of meanings and endings in this life and world. Kitcher and Schacht plunge the reader into the heart of Wagner's Ring, drawing out the philosophical and human significance of the text and the music. They show how different forms of love, freedom, heroism, authority, and judgment are explored and tested as it unfolds. As they journey across its sweeping musical-dramatic landscape, Kitcher and Schacht lead us to the central concern of the Ring--the problem of endowing life with genuine significance that can be enhanced rather than negated by its ending, if the right sort of ending can be found.The drama originates in Wotan's quest for a transformation of the primordial state of things into a world in which life can be lived more meaningfully. The authors trace the evolution of Wotan's efforts, the intricate problems he confronts, and his failures and defeats. But while the problem Wotan poses for himself proves to be insoluble as he conceives of it, they suggest that his very efforts and failures set the stage for the transformation of his problem, and for the only sort of resolution of it that may be humanly possible--to which it is not Siegfried but rather Brunnhilde who shows the way. The Ring's ending, with its passing of the gods above and destruction of the world below, might seem to be devastating; but Kitcher and Schacht see a kind of meaning in and through the ending revealed to us that is profoundly affirmative, and that has perhaps never been so powerfully and so beautifully expressed. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Superb Philosophic Guide to The Ring
We are currently (2009)working our way through the Ring Cycle in Los Angeles and I find this an invaluable guide to the deeper philosophic meaning of these operas. It has a useful synopsis of the 4 operas at the end of the book including the hidden action between operas. It gives you a brilliant crash course on 19th century German philosophy with accurate discussions of Feuerbach, Schopenhauer and Nietzsche as viewed through the lens of Wagner.If you have no ax to grind about religion and faith you will enjoy the very detailed reading of the text and music in explicating Wotan's growth in understanding of his role as law-giver to the World, gradual acceptance of his ultimate failure and the failure of all "Gods" to impose any solution to the human dilemma.You'll appreciate the poignancy of his attempt to "find an ending," one that allows him to end his quest with dignity and meaning.The style is clear and elegant and I find the book deeply moving and profound.I also come to understand the young Nietzsche's adoration of Wagner whose Ring cycle is nothing short of a re-enactment of our attempt to find meaning out of life without the easy solace of religions and blind faith.

Parenthetically, it also reveals how shallow our LA Ring is and what a travesty Achim Freyer's staging has made of this magnificent work.But that is the subject of another discussion.

Trying to End without Religion or Truth.
As a retired philosopher of religion, I find this book appealing--especially its emphasis on the glorious, soaring, wordless theme with which the Ring ends; and also its finding parallels in the Judgment theme in Mozart's Don Giovanni and inShakespeare's Cordelia in King Lear.Following Nietzsche, however, the authors reject Wagner's last opera, Parsifal, and apparently all religion--Christian, Buddhist, etc.Strange that philosophers that can grasp the meaning in a mytho-poetic work like the Ring reduce religious tradition to simple, literalist fundamentalism!

The Ring, according to the authors, was writtenunder the influence of Feuerbach's secular humanist optimism, complicated by Wagner's own experience of the failure of worldly political utopianism.The ending symbolizes the "death of God," not merely the death of the Idols, astheologians would have it.The atheist pessimism of Schopenhauer came to seem more realistic to Wagner (with his last opera Parsifal??), but not before he finished the Ring with a ringing affirmation of life and love.

In trying to articulate how it is that, in spite of defeat and death, "not everything has been lost," they come surprisingly close, but are finally blocked by the ghost of logical positivism.In Mozart's Don Giovanni, the authors see Nietzsche's Ubermensch; a figure literally beyond good and evil, and not subject to any truth or negative judgment beyond the conflicting prejudices of finite creatures.In the judgment of the authors, the Commendatore, and the transcendent Judgment he symbolizes, is laughable.So also with positive judgment; the final theme of the Ring cannot be "redeemed by Love," but merely "triumph and vindication of Brunnhilde." (In whose eyes? If all judgment and truth are relative?If all who judge are temporary, finite, fallible creatures?If there is no Ideal Observer?)

... Read more

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“The most stimulating study of Wagner to have been published for years. An enthralling read.”—Barry Millington

In this new biography of Richard Wagner, Joachim Köhler draws on social and political analysis, documentary interpretation, and psychological insights to paint a rounded picture of Wagner as both a controversial historical phenomenon and a complex human being.

Köhler’s reading of the letters, diaries, and other documents of the main protagonists, some of them unfamiliar even to seasoned Wagnerians, results in some breathtaking but convincing reappraisals. He examines Wagner’s love affairs with Jessie Laussot, Mathilde Wesendonck, and Judith Gautier and assesses their lasting emotional effect. He re-evaluates Wagner’s relationships with his mother, step-father, sister, and—most revealingly—his wife, Cosima, a relationship seen as based on fear rather than love. Köhler explores the philosophical roots of Wagner’s work, which the composer himself deliberately obfuscated. And he analyzes Wagner’s relationship with King Ludwig, whom Wagner is revealed to have blackmailed, and with Nietzsche, whom he tried to destroy.

The traumas of his youth haunted Wagner throughout his life, as his emotional development underlay his notorious anti-semitism. Köhler’s interpretation of Wagner’s dreams, as recorded in Cosima’s diaries, offers astonishing insights into the paranoia and insecurity of a man who was one of the leading composers of his age.

Joachim Köhler is the author of Nietzsche and Wagner: A Lesson in Subjugation, and Zarathustra’s Secret: The Interior Life of Friedrich Nietzsche, both published by Yale University Press. He is also the author of Wagner’s Hitler. Stewart Spencer is editor of The Selected Letters of Richard Wagner, Wagner’s Ring, and Wagner Remembered.
... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

More Unconscionable Rubbish From a Thoroughly Discredited Writer
If you are genuinely interested in reading what you hope is a good, informative biography of Richard Wagner, then I advise that you do one thing before picking this one up: have a look at some of the reviews Köhler's earlier books have generated here on Amazon. Read, for instance, what Laon has to say about this German journalist's screed on "Wagner and Hitler." And if you think Amazon's reviewers are not to be trusted (as in some cases they clearly aren't), then have a look at the response Köhler has been met with in the academic press: derision and dismissal. The man is a mountebank, lacking a conscience. His first 'controversial' book sought to 'prove' that Nietzsche was gay, in the absence of all concrete evidence. Nietzsche scholars just shook their heads with a bemused smile on their faces. He then went on to portray the problematic, but at least for a while undoubtedly genuine friendship between Nietzsche and Wagner, seeing in it nothing more than a base exercise in subjugation and sadism. Again, scholars wondered what was up with this crackpot, who seemed to present his harebrained theories without the slightest compunction about all the evidence that contradicted him. After this, there was the Hitler-Wagner book, which exposed Hitler as doing nothing more than following the orders of his 'Master.' Historians couldn't have cared less, and nobody took this by now thoroughly discredited hack seriously. You will even see this sordid background referred to by some of the other reviewers of the book currently under discussion: Joseph Kimsey begins by noting that 'Kohler has made a career out of writing intellectually dishonest, crass books on both Richard Wagner and Friedrich Nietzsche.' Kimsey then goes on to offer some reserved praise for this biography, awarding it three stars, and apparently thinking it considerably better than Köhler's earlier efforts. But how many strikes does a writer have before he is finally out? If the verdict is in that all of Köhler's previous books are 'intellectually dishonest' - and the verdict *is* in - then what trust can we possibly have in whatever else he feels the inclination to write after that? 'Intellectually dishonest' - that's pretty much a death sentence for a would-be writer of history. And with so many other biographies of Wagner around, many of which have received favorable reactions from laymen and professional scholars alike, do you really want this tome to be the first extended treatment of Wagner's life you encounter?

Köhler's main trick for fooling his readers into taking him seriously is to give the impression that he is the first writer to deal extensively, or even critically, with Wagner's anti-Semitism, which he consequently dwells on with an obsession that matches the composer's own. But anyone familiar with the secondary literature on Wagner will know full well that this is in fact a topic that has been debated endlessly by now. In the preface, Köhler accuses a number of more reputable scholars of being too close to the alleged power center of Bayreuth to be able to speak freely about this; pretty much insinuating that they have been bought off by Wolfgang Wagner (who was at that time still in charge of the festival). But while there are some German authors who may still try to soft-pedal Wagner's anti-Semitism, there is also a large group of scholars who have no hesitation whatsoever in exposing the composer's bigotry. The most judicious account remains "The Darker Side of Genius" by the eminent Jewish historian Jacob Katz, whom to accuse of 'apology' would border on obscenity. Köhler, let there be no doubt about it, has absolutely no claim whatsoever to novelty on this score. He is a late-comer who has tried to compensate for his belatedness by going even farther with some of his accusations. In all of this he is wildly inaccurate and unfair, and impossible to take seriously.

Ernest Newman, probably the greatest of Wagner's many biographers, notes at one point that Wagner's tender love for his stepfather Ludwig Geyer, which he expressed on many, many occasions, is one of the most appealing traits in his character. That certainly wouldn't do for Köhler, according to whom there was nothing appealing whatsoever in Wagner's character. Instead, he portrays Wagner's relationship with Geyer as one that was steeped in fear and loathing - something he needs for his preposterous theory that Wagner's anti-Semitism was based in large part on his 'hatred' for this man, whom Köhler suggests Wagner thought was Jewish. All of this has been thoroughly discredited elsewhere, but Köhler serves it up yet again.

Though the title of Köhler's book is rather catchy, the reader should note that it is meant ironically. As Professor John Louis DiGaetani points out in one scathing review: "Köhler likes to embarrass Wagner any chance he gets - for example, pointing out Wagner's recurrent complaints about stomach problems so that he can present the composer as farting a lot." Köhler's Wagner is no titan, but a repugnant clown. Indeed, reading Köhler it is rather difficult to see why we even bother about Wagner's music any longer, which this biographer mostly portrays as derivative, bombastic, and generally mediocre.

It is certainly true, however, that Wagner was in many respects not a particularly likable man. Yet one of the most unpleasant aspects of Köhler's cynical approach is that virtually all of the many people the composer came into contact with are automatically reduced to pawns in the author's struggle to drag Wagner in the mud. Almost all of them appear only as victims, devoid of their own personality and will. There is no genuine sympathy, for instance, for men like Carl Tausig or Joseph Rubinstein, who were both artists of the highest order - all their value for Köhler is as 'self-hating Jews,' a highly problematic characterization that itself smacks of anti-Semitism. For Köhler, these figures are only means to an end, never ends in themselves.

In the scholarly community, the name Joachim Köhler already belongs to the past. Let us hope that the relatively large section of the general reading public that has an interest in Richard Wagner will soon have forgotten his name as well.

Some Interesting Insights into Wagner's Violent Racism
There are some worthwhile parts in the book.His analysis of Schopenhauer's place in Wagner's philosophy and art is quite interesting.He also lays out some of Wagner's thoughts on Germany and Judaism.Here is a brief summary:The heroic race of Aryans had grown weak and the 'demons of egosim' crucified Christ and bent his message with the 'terrors of Jehovah'.They also took control of money and power. If the Aryans did not want to perish, and that's what those of the 'Mosaic faith' desired, then 'consequences would have to be drawn'.What were the consequences?Wagner describes it as his 'ultimate insight', 'Only when the demon who gathers around him these maniacs in the madness of their partisan struggle is no longer able to find a where or when to lurk among us will there then no longer be any Jews."And Wagner described this as his 'great solution' to the Jewish problem.This sent chills down my spine knowing how important Wagner was to Hitler.Did Hitler's final solution originate with Wagner's solution?We'll never know for sure, but it sure is creepy.Wagner goes on to exhort Germans to cast aside modesty and conscience when attacking their fellow humans (Jews) because they are 'demons'.Again, knowing how Hitler consciously disposed of his conscience and feelings of empathy when he gave the order for genocide, it made me wonder if Wagner's exhortations were partly to blame.

But there are parts of the book that were not very satisfying.When it comes to biographies I like very clear and logical conclusions.I don't want a fanciful near fiction account, nor do I want fantastical extrapolations.And about half of this book is just that. I want reasoned conclusions with footnotes and quotes. Here is an example: "But she was Wagner's blank sheet of paper.And soon this sheet contained familiar features, for Mathilde, formerly known as Agnes, resembled Wagner's lost lover Jessie in every way and hence was the archetype of the heroic sister.Like Rosalie and Jessie, Mathilde played Beethoven and may have sung his songs.Above all, she yearned for the brotherly genius who would fly to her side and free her.For art alone could make her loveless life endurable."Sure it's poetic, but its not very convincing.

Also his readings of the operas themselves are painful to read.It reminded me why I dislike critical theory so much.Here is an example from his 100 page explanation Der Ring, this part is about Siegfried: "Although the lovers [Brunhilde and Siegfried] have created the new God-man through their union, they do not understand what this means.Their self-awareness has experienced the self in the union of 'I' and 'you' but does not know the history that has led to this point.Yet they need to experience this history before they can reconcile it within themselves.And experience always meansexperience of the other--that is the splitting and tearing apart of the self.History that is experienced is the history of suffering.It was not his knowledge that made Jesus the Son of God but his passion."I have yet to read an analysis of the meaning of the ring that doesn't devolve into mumbo-jumbo.



Anyway, in between the fantastical leaps of logic and interminable operatic analysis is some interesting and well documented material.I just wish the signal to noise ratio was better.

Richard Wagner: The Last of the Titans
I have read a couple of other biographies on Wagner and this on is by far the most complete and detailed account of his life and works. Be prepared to slug through some dense writing but its all worth the effort. If you are new to Wagner this book might be more than you can handle. However be warned that whatever you read in the other biographies won't be as accurate as Wagner and his wife Cosima did a amazing job of recasting the details of his life to suit their idealized image of his life and legacy.

Richard Wagner The Last of the Titans
The most thorough, most complete treatise concerning this master of German Opera I have ever encountered.

Not as bad as I thought it would be, but....
Joachim Kohler has made a career out of writing intellectually dishonest, crass books on both Richard Wagner and Friedrich Nietzsche, and while I expected more of the same here, this weighty tome actually possesses some merit.

As far as reliable biography goes, Kohler's book is more responsible than Gutman's Richard Wagner: The Man, His Mind, and His Music (but, again, that's not saying all that much), and Kohler does present some interesting analysis regarding Wagner's phobias, dreams and obsessions. The problem that arises here, though, is one that plagues all such psycho-biographies; that is Kohler's conclusions are purely subjective & cannot be conclusively proven.

Some of the reviewers here have made the remark that this is more of a philosophy book than a biography, and this is entirely correct. If one has little desire to wade through the theorizing of Feuerbach, Schopenhauer, Schelling, Hegel and Kant, then that person would be much better served in reading either Watson's or Millington's bios on Wagner. But if you are interested in seeing the philosophical backbone of Wagner's work, Kohler's book can be stimulating. I think Kohler is correct in discerning Schelling's influence in Wagner's thought, as well as his emphasis on Hegel's ideas on Wagner. Kohler is incorrect, in my opinion, in stating that Schopenhauer's thought had virtually no impact on Wagner. While it's true that Wagner's most "Schopenhauerian" work, Tristan und Isolde, is just as much in debt to Feuerbach, Schopenhauer's negation of the individual consciousness and the primacy of the Will are indeed pervasive presences in the opera. Wagner's Meistersinger & Parsifal are even more patently Schopenhauerian.

Kohler's views on Der Ring are also interesting, but again, those views are entirely subjective, and one can easily argue against them.

Having discussed the book's merits, there are also some major flaws. Nietzsche & King Ludwig are both portrayed as hapless victims of Wagner's megalomania, and Liszt is portrayed as an artist whom Wagner shamelessly [...] and blatantly copied. There is no doubt that Nietzsche & Ludwig were both psychologically wounded by Wagner (the man was quite a pill, after all), but neither men were utter victims, and both profited from their association with Wagner, and said as much. In regards to Liszt, Wagner was definitely influenced by him, but by the time of Die Walkure, Wagner had far surpassed his mentor.

Kohler addresses Wagner's notorious anti-Semitism, and it must be said, Kohler's murky analysis of Wagner's worst vice is almost as murky as Wagner's anti-Semitism. There are much more responsible (and clearer) examinations of Wagner's ugly hatred in the books The Darker Side of Genius, The Tristan Chord, and Ring of Myths. I recommend reading these first, and then coming back to this book.

Finally, we have Cosima. I never liked her, and it's easy to agree with Kohler's assessment of her as a self-righteous, manipulative woman. But I think it's also fair to say that she adored her husband (a quick glance through her diaries will prove that), and Kohler is off the beam in stating that their relationship was based primarily on fear.

Anyway, if you have the time and patience, this is a worthy read, but if you aren't inclined to wade through 700 pages of subjective psycho-biography and philosophical meanderings, then I would stick with a more manageable volume. In any event, I'm off to listen to Act II of Tristan. ... Read more

Product Description
Music professor Jean-Jacques Nattiez examines Wagner's concept of himself as both man and woman. "Nattiez's synthetic approach to Wagner's theory and practice . . . coupled with his profound understanding of the composer's life, make this volume a major contribution to Wagnerian studies. . . . It is a highly enriching and most comprehensive treatment of Wagner the artist and the human being".--Steven R. Cerf, WAGNER NOTES. ... Read more

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Commentary on and a concise, lucid interpretation of the opera world's most complex masterwork, expanded from the author's popular intermission talks during Met Opera broadcasts. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (22)

Evolution and consciousness
This well known and fascinating little book by M. Owen Lee contains a wealth of thought-provoking insights into Wagner's 'Ring', perhaps the most monumental work of art in human history. As Lee observes, 'The Ring' uses "external nature to tell us about our inner selves...it takes place outside of time, in the human imagination and memory. On the landscape of your soul, as you listen." It is about evolution, writes Lee, but is "as far in advance of Darwin's theory than myth has always been in advance of science."

To give an example of Lee's insight, he points out the similarities between the opening scene of 'Das Rhinegold' and the 'Forest Murmurs' scene from 'Siegfried', with the forest taking the place of the water as a symbol of the unconscious. The song of the woodbird even echoes the same melody as that of the Rhine Maidens. I must have been blind not to see this before Lee pointed it out! It's so obvious!

Lee is to be congratulated for writing such a deep and philosophical, yet highly accessible book. From reading reviews of opera DVDs on Amazon, it would appear that most lovers of classical music these days no longer wish to understand music with their blood. To them it is just beautiful, highly sophisticated sound, but with no deeper meaning. Wagner would have despised these soulless cretins, or 'cultured philistines' as Nietzsche called them.

Although Lee's interpretation of Wagner becomes too 'psychological' at times, rather than spiritual (even stooping to Freudian theories in a couple of places), it IS fasincating to learn that Siegfried's maturation process matches EXACTLY the three archetypal forces Jung held that a male must face before achieving wholeness (i.e. the attainment of the Self - and after Siegfried has faced these forces, he must then confront Wotan, who tells him "I am your Self").

All of the musical Leitmotifs in the Ring can be divided into two categories: those connected with unconscious nature, and those connected with conscious man. The opening song of the Rhine maidens ("Weia, Waga! Woge du Welle," etc.)can be seen as a kind of 'baby talk', where consciousness arises from the depths and learns to order things for the first time. The Rhinegold itself is the light of consciousness, hidden in the dark waters of the unconscious. With the light of consciousness comes the free choice between what is good and what Father Lee calls 'evil', although Nietzscheans may prefer 'degenerative' or some similar word. Alberich "steals away the golden eye and uses it for evil", yet "a noble, unforgettable theme" sounds when he does so. Lee thinks this is because although "the wresting of consciousness from nature is associated with guilt, the step had to be taken if the human race was to break its bond with mothering nature, the bond that kept it unaware, unthinking, merely intuitive like the animals." This breaking away brought with it knowledge, but also the awareness of death.

In Lee's interpretation Wotan's sacrifice of an eye gives him perfect outward vision, but means he can't see inwardly into his own soul. This is where Brünnhilde comes in. The ending signifies "the transformation of Brünnhilde, Wotan's Wiile (will), into what the whole of Wagner's Ring is striving to create - a new world. It is Wotan's will that the world of Wille (will) be destroyed and transformed into something newer and purer."

The ending of the Ring is not a "return to the beginning", it is a transformation. If it was a return, then Wagner would have brought it back to its original key of E flat, but instead after "a series of awe-inspiring chord progressions", it ends in D flat. So the consciousness of Wotan yields to "the next evolutionary development in human nature." As to what that development will be, Lee's guess is as good as yours or mine.

No Wagnerian should miss out on this book, which also contains an annotated list of further reading, and transcriptions of the most significant musical motifs in the cycle.

you will enjoy learning to understand and love Wagner's Ring
At this writing, there are some reviews saying this is the greatest book ever on Wagner's Ring, and others that claim it is superficial. So, what is it?

It is a clearly-thought-out analysis of the Ring, that takes the Ring set work by work, not only describing the story line and characters of each work, but also how it fits into the total, including the overall meaning of the Ring and its parts. Now that's quite a mouthful, isn't it? Seems as if it would require a huge tome of a thousand or more pages--yet M. Lee Owen requires barely a hundred. Is such an achievement possible? Yes. Rather than wander afield on various tangents, Owen sticks to telling the story of the Ring, but filling in what the music adds, what Wagner wrote at the times of composition, and the aim of a work that occupied most of this great composer's life.

I've read many biographies of Wagner, and many works about his music, and I've watched every performance I could manage of his Ring. I have to tell you that this short, easy-to-read book helped me put together a far greater understanding for and appreciation of this, the greatest work of art of Western Civilization. I strongly recommend it to all those wishing to better understand and enjoy Wagner's magnificent Ring.

learning to understand and love Wagner's Ring
At this writing, there are some reviews saying this is the greatest book ever on Wagner's Ring, and others that claim it is superficial. So, what is it?

It is a clearly-thought-out analysis of the Ring, that takes the Ring set work by work, not only describing the story line and characters of each work, but also how it fits into the total, including the overall meaning of the Ring and its parts. Now that's quite a mouthful, isn't it? Seems as if it would require a huge tome of a thousand or more pages--yet M. Lee Owen requires barely a hundred. Is such an achievement possible? Yes. Rather than wander afield on various tangents, Owen sticks to telling the story of the Ring, but filling in what the music adds, what Wagner wrote at the times of composition, and the aim of a work that occupied most of this great composer's life.

I've read many biographies of Wagner, and many works about his music, and I've watched every performance I could manage of his Ring. I have to tell you that this short, easy-to-read book helped me put together a far greater understanding for and appreciation of this, the greatest work of art of Western Civilization. I strongly recommend it to all those wishing to better understand and enjoy Wagner's magnificent Ring.

good, what there is of it
I prefer this book over the Shaw opus. Shaw also argues that the Ring is a political comment on events happening at the time and an allegory on philosophical ideas prevailing at the time. Shaw doe not back up his claims, but this author does.

Some of the author's claims would be difficult to prove or disprove, however. Wagner foretelling Freud and Jung? Maybe, maybe not.

The author also briefly mentions Darwin. Since the Ring presents gods, demigods, and dwarfs inhabiting the earth from earliest times, it could only be Darwinian on a deeply symbolic level.

I was disappointed with the appendix containing motifs in musical notation. Out of more than a hundred motifs, it contains only 24.

good, what there is of it
I prefer this book over the Shaw opus. Shaw also argues that the Ring is a political comment on events happening at the time and an allegory on philosophical ideas prevailing at the time. Shaw doe not back up his claims, but this author does.

Some of the author's claims would be difficult to prove or disprove, however. Wagner foretelling Freud and Jung? Maybe, maybe not.

The author also briefly mentions Darwin. Since the Ring presents gods, demigods, and dwarfs inhabiting the earth from earliest times, it could only be Darwinian on a deeply symbolic level.

I was disappointed with the appendix containing motifs in musical notation. Out of more than a hundred motifs, it contains only 24. ... Read more

Product Description

Product Description
It is well known that Richard Wagner, the renowned and controversial 19th century composer, exhibited intense anti-Semitism. The evidence is everywhere in his writings as well as in conversations his second wife recorded in her diaries. In his infamous essay "Judaism in Music," Wagner forever cemented his unpleasant reputation with his assertion that Jews were incapable of either creating or appreciating great art.

Wagner's close ties with many talented Jews, then, are surprising. Most writers have dismissed these connections as cynical manipulations and rank hypocrisy. Examination of the original sources, however, reveals something different: unmistakeable, undeniable empathy and friendship between Wagner and the Jews in his life. Indeed, the composer had warm relationships with numerous individual Jews. Two of them resided frequently over extended periods in his home. One of these, the rabbi's son Hermann Levi, conducted Wagner's final opera--Parsifal, based on Christian legend--at Wagner's request; no one, Wagner declared, understood his work so well. Even in death his Jewish friends were by his side; two were among his twelve pallbearers.

The contradictions between Wagner's antipathy toward the amorphous entity "The Jews" and his genuine friendships with individual Jews are the subject of this book. Drawing on extensive sources in both German and English, including Wagner's autobiography and diary and the diaries of his second wife, this comprehensive treatment of Wagner's anti-Semitism is the first to place it in perspective with his life and work. Included in the text are portions of unpublished letters exchanged between Wagner and Hermann Levi. Altogether, the book reveals astonishing complexities in a man long known as much for his prejudice as for his epic contributions to opera. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Illuminating!
Every Jewish fanatic who thinks they know everything about Wagner's relationships w/Jews and who base their opinions on the fact that he was an anti-semite ought to read this book.Loads of stuff not previously known, at least not by me. jww

One Of The Very Best Books About Wagner
Despite a few notable exceptions, Milton Brener's Richard Wagner and the Jews is nearly the only book that deals fairly with the famed opera composer's anti-Semitism; and as such, this book is a welcome corrective to some of the more shrill anti-Wagner screeds of the last few decades. Brener does not intend to excuse Wagner; he merely comes closer than most in explaining him.

Besides being probably the greatest artist who ever lived, Wagner was also a bundle of contradictions. However, this bundle of contradictions never seemed to be able to realize that he was just that. Indeed, Wagner did possess anti-Semitic attitudes, but his anti-Semitism was of a different stripe than that espoused by the Nazis. Wagner called for Jewish assimilation within the German population, which certainly did not conform with later Nazi policy. Like many a 19th-Century anti-Semite, Wagner seems to have seen Jewishness as almost an abstract, metaphysical concept. Of course, that does not excuse him. He did indeed say vile things about Jews, and he needs to be held accountable for those attitudes, but to simply (and wrongly) call him a proto-Nazi is not only intellectually dishonest, it wrongly stains the reputation of an artist who created stupendous, deeply human works-of-art.

As Brener also points out, there is nothing inherently anti-Semitic in any of Wagner's great works of art. Unfortunately, some writers, such as Robert Gutman, seem to have a compulsion to find even the most tenuous, implausible Anti-Semitic connections in Wagner's work. It is simply impossible to find such links. There is not the slightest overt connection to anti-Semitism in any of Wagner's works, and if there are any such covert links, then one would have had to have entered the composer's mind to see them. Wagner's many genuine friendships with Jews complicate Gutman's position even more.

This is simply a fabulous book. And, along with The Darker Side of Genius and The Ring of Myths, it is also the most responsible volume available that deals specifically with Wagner's most famous character flaw.

Also included, as an appendix, is the composer's infamous essay, "Judaism in Music". While the essay is bitter and paranoid, it is helpful for a frame of reference to the preceding 300 pages. Needless to say, I find Wagner's argument that Jews are incapable of generating higher culture to be utterly worthless. Schoenberg & Mahler (and many other Jewish artists) obviously dismantle that argument, and as for Wagner's claim that Jews are incapable of high art because they are "rootless", we only need to look at Aaron Copland, a man of Lithuanian Jewish heritage, who used Appalachian & Mexican melodies and rhythms to create incredible works of art.

Wagner gets his day in court
Having read many books on the life of Wagner over the years, I can safely say that this biographical sketch by Brener ranks among the best.The author is a retired attorney who is also a music and art critic.Like most of us who love Wagner's music, Brener is troubled by the composer's less than admirable traits -- his manipulation of his friends, his skipping out on debts, and particularly his anti-Semitism.How could a man who wrote some of the most moving music and insightful music dramas in Western civiilzation be such a defective human being?Brener sets out to understand Wagner the man in human perspective and succeeds admirably.He focuses mainly on Wagner's public views of "the Jews" and his private, long-standing and meaningful friendships with many individual Jews.A retired lawyer, he has done his homework, deposed all the key witnesses, and developed an argument that leaves no stone unturned.Brener makes a compelling case for Wagner as a nuanced human being rather than the black and white monster as some biographers portray him.In addition, the book is extremely well written and hard to put down.I came away with a greater appreciation of Wagner and a deeper understanding of the nature of prejudice.Highly recommended.

A solid, readable study
This is not the usual diatribe that we expect on Wagner's Antisemitism. Instead it is a biography focusing on the composer's relations with the Jews. Brener makes a sharp distinction between "the Jews" in Roman type and the same phrase in italic, the former representing Wagner's Jewish friends, the latter the Jewish community that he despised.

The main characters are Karl Tausig, Heinrich Porges, Joseph Rubinstein, and Hermann Levi--all close associates of Wagner and all Jewish. The chapters on Levi are especially revealing, a sharp challenge to orthodox opinion by such scholars as Peter Gay. The analysis of Wagner's major tract on the subject, "Judaism in Music," is adequate.

Brener is a good writer with a refined sense of tone and wit. He knows the primary literature backwards and forwards. His mastery of the secondary sources seems less secure but still sufficient for his purposes. Obviously he has visited most of the places he discusses, for his descriptions of them (both then and now) are vivid.

His theme is summed up in a concise sentence that concludes his preface: "I do not beleive that, at the deeper levels, the man who created Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal, and Der Ring des Nibelungen could possibly have been the monster that so many have painted." He proves his point well.

I enjoyed this book and learned much from it. I recommend it wholeheartedly to fellow Wagnerians. ... Read more

Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more