Wagner's Musical Prose: Texts and Contexts

by Thomas S. Grey

Overview

This book is a study of the prose writings of Richard Wagner and their relevance to an understanding of his music and drama, as well as their relation to music criticism and aesthetics in the nineteenth century in general. It looks at central themes in his writings, such as philosophies of musical form and meaning, Wagner's metaphors and terminology, and connects them with analysis of music from his own operas and works by other composers such as Beethoven and Berlioz about whom Wagner wrote.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521417389
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	09/21/1995
Series:	New Perspectives in Music History and Criticism , #3
Pages:	418
Product dimensions:	6.14(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.18(d)

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. Wagner and the problematics of 'absolute music' in the nineteenth century; 2. Beethoven reception and the hermeneutic impulse: 'poetic ideas' and new forms; 3. Engendering music drama: Opera and Drama and its metaphors; 4. The 'poetic-musical period' and the 'evolution' of Wagnerian form; 5. Endless melodies; 6. Motive and motivations: leitmotif and 'symphonic' drama; Appendices; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

"...we are very fortunate to have this new study, which deals with Wagner's writings in an intelligent, authoritative, and probing manner. Thomas S. Grey seems to have read not only everything Wagner wrote but everything written about him from his own day to the present and about the principle aesthetic issues relevant to the Wagner ‘case.'...the scope and command of Grey's book is...magisterial." The Opera Quarterly

"This is a serious study that no Wagnerian scholar should ignore." Warren Darcy, Notes

From the Publisher