Wagner

by Barry Millington

Wagner's magnetic and egoistic personality, his theories on art, on revolution, and racial purity are set against his social and cultural background. In his analysis of the music Barry Millington distils the results of the most modern scholarship, making it available to the general reader.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction

352 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1984

Reviews

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This biography of Wagner and his music was pretty straightforward. While I think the biography section could have used more depth and detail, I very much like Millington's approach to discussing the music. He does not give a running description and analysis, which would be very tedious given the length of the operas. Instead, he covers the origins, compositional process, big-picture musical features, and interpretations of the works. Thus the reader can see where the work fits into Wagner's development as a composer and what its significance is. I just wish that Millington didn't go quite so easy on Wagner where his most repugnant qualities are concerned.

[Marybeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not a breath-by-breath biography of Wagner but a succinct overview of his life and work with splendid footnotes and bibliography. It’s extremely insightful in regard to the cultural and historical background against which his life played out.

[Vince C · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was basically a two part book. The first was biographical with a lot of references to Wagner’s autobiography. The other part was all about his works. It would help if the reader can read music…. which unfortunately, I do not.

[Isidore · Rating 4 out of 5]

A splendid introduction to Wagner. Millington writes well, and succinctly conveys a great deal of information without becoming ponderous. His portrait of Wagner is balanced and well considered. A few brief sections assume the reader has some musical training, but these may be skimmed without impairing the overall usefulness of the book. If I dock it a star, it's because Millington's new book, "The Sorcerer of Bayreuth", is an even better introductory tome: not only is it up-to-date, it's a pleasure to read and MAGNIFICENTLY illustrated.