The Music of Richard Wagner

by Robert Greenberg

In these 24 lectures filled with musical excerpts, enjoy a rich and multifaceted exploration of the trailblazing works and outsized life of this historically pivotal composer.

Your immersion in Wagner's art includes the following:

The Flying Dutchman (which illustrates several of Wagner's key compositional innovations)
Tannhäuser (the saga of a medieval knight torn between two worlds)
Tristan and Isolde (Wagner's crowning masterpiece)
And, of course, The Ring of the Nibelung (arguably the single most ambitious theater work ever created)
The sheer outlandishness of Wagner's life makes for an endlessly intriguing story, from his desperate escapades outrunning creditors to his obsessive personal relationships to his utopian artistic schemes. In his writings, letters, and public actions, you investigate the often contradictory - and hypocritical - aspects of his personality. And, reflecting on the nationalist spirit of his time, you track his core desire to make "German Art in the service of a German national identity," even as he created a body of works whose communicative power transcends any national boundary.

With Professor Greenberg's passionate and razor-sharp commentary, you'll plumb the fabulous mystery of a man who gave the world something of deeply compelling and universal resonance: music of great genius and a poetry that reveals the depths of the human psyche.

Genres: Music, Audiobook, Nonfiction

19 pages, Audible Audio

Published January 1, 2010

About the author

Robert M. Greenberg is an American composer, pianist and musicologist. He has composed more than 50 works for a variety of instruments and voices, and has recorded a number of lecture series on music history and music appreciation for The Teaching Company.

Greenberg earned a B.A. in music, magna cum laude, from Princeton University and received a Ph.D. in music composition from the University of California, Berkeley. He has served on the faculties of UC Berkeley, Californiz State University, East Bay, and the San Franciso Conservatory of Music, where he was chairman of the Department of Music History and Literature as well as Director of the Adult Extension Division. Dr. Greenberg is currently Music Historian-in-residence with San Francisco Performances.

Reviews

[Trish · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my continued exploration of one of the biggest names in opera: Richard Wagner. However, since I already read a quite detailed biography that offered wonderful historical context, I wanted to focus more on his actual body of work with this one - and Prof. Greenberg certainly delivered.

For biographical details, please refer to the review of Martin Gregor-Dellin's book that I referred to above.

Now, about Wagner's music. There are 8 works Wagner is most known for (in publication order):

1) The Flying Dutchman
Supposedly, Wagner was inspired to write it thanks to his misbegotten sea journey from Riga to London. *lol*
So yes, it's about a ship that gets trapped in a mighty storm. The ship lands in a bay not far from their home port but while the crew rests, a specter appears. It's the ship of a blasphemous Dutchman who is cursed to sail around the The Cape of Good Hope. The curse states that he may only go on land once every 7 years and the curse can only be broken if he finds a woman who will remain faithful to him. Not gonna spoiler more but the theme is, of course, love and redemption.

2) Tannhäuser
The title is the name of the main character who resides inside a mountain with none other than the goddess Venus (Aphrodite). Here, he enjoys every conceivable pleasure. Nevertheless, he wants to leave and return to his people despite Venus telling him that having given himself to a pagan god will make them reject him. Why he risks it? Why, because of a girl! What else?! ;P Anyway, Venus was right, of course, but Elisabeth's love saves Tannhäuser's life (more than once, perhaps). Again, not too many spoilers, but this, too, is about love and redemption.

3) Tristan and Isolde
This one is about Cornwall being a vassal state of Ireland. During the war for independence. Tristan is the nephew of Cornwall's king and kills the prince of Ireland, Morold. So instead of sending back the taxes Cornwall owes, Tristan sends Morold's head back to Morold's fiancée, Isolde. However, because he's badly wounded and Isolde is famous for her healing skills, he seeks her and her help under a pseudonym. She's nobody's fool, however, so tries to kill him when she realizes he's her finace's murderer - too bad she falls in love with him the instant their eyes meet.
To seal the peace deal between Cornwall and Ireland, Isolde is supposed to marry the king of Cornwall (Tristan's uncle). Shenanigans ensue, there are a lot of misunderstandings ... and death. But love wins the day ... kinda.

Seeing a common denominator yet? ;)

4) The Ring of the Nibelung which tells one gigantic tale in 4 separate operas (and yes, it was one of Tolkien's main influences for The Lord of the Rings).

=> 4.1) The Rhinegold
The beginning of the saga full of nymphs, a gold treasure in the Rhine. There's a caveat though: if the treasure's owner forsakes love and melts all the gold into a ring, that ring corrupts anyone who owns it and makes all the others covet it to the point of them becoming maniacal murderers (except for the nymphs). A dwarf actually manages to obtain the treasure and fashions the ring. Meanwhile, two giants have built the Hall of the Gods (Valhalla) but the Allfather wants to cheat them out of their prize (Freya) so he tells them of the treasure. The Allfather (Wotan here) steals the treasure from the dwarf and gives it to the giants in exchange for Freya. Wotan is warned of the concequences of his actions in a vision by another goddess so he hints at having devised a plan.

=> 4.2) The Valkyrie
We meet Siegfried's parents (spoiler alert: he's the product of incest!). The other part tells of Wotan instructing the Valkyries to bring every fallen warrior to Valhalla. This way, he intends to build an army to be prepared for the calamity prophesized. The treasure remains with the giant (he has transformed into a dragon by now) though Wotan wants/needs it back, which is why he needs a hero to go obtain it for him. However, Wotan's machinations are so ignominious that his favorite Valkyrie, Brünnhilde, ignores his command and saves Siegfried's father-to-be rather than reaping him for Valhalla. Wotan finds out, takes matters into his own hands but Sieglinde (Siegfried's mother-to-be) is already pregnant. Out of love, she doesn't immediately follow her beloved but first gives birth to his child.

=> 4.3) Siegfried
Guess what? Yep, our hero couldn't be raised by his parents because he's an orphan so he was taken in by a smith ... brother of the dwarf who made the ring. And no, not out of the goodness of his own heart but because he hopes Siegfried will obtain the treasure for him.
dun Dun DUN!
It's also about a broken sword being reforged by the boy who never knew fear. With that, Siegfried fights the dragon. No more shall be said at this point except that Brünnhilde had been sent into a deep sleep by Wotan as punishment but is awoken by a kiss from Siegfried. Yep, Tolkien wasn't the only one stealing ideas from Wagner. *lol*

=> 4.4) Twilight of the Gods
We're introduced to a lord and his sister who are advised by Hagen, a half-human/half-dwarf ... can you guess who his father is and what Hagen is after? Meanwhile, Siegfried and Brünnhilde are an item but have to separate, there are some slightly magical tricks to make Siegfried forget, Brünnhilde is betrayed, there is a forced marriage or two ... and true love is at least trying to win the day before it all goes to shit.

Honestly, I trimmed as much as I could without the plot no longer making sense. These works are deliciously dense with symbolism and full of Norse myths and I'm SO here for it.

5) Parsifal
Wagner's last piece was penned almost until he died writing at his desk in Venice. It's about the Holy Grail and Speer (the grail caught Jesus' blood when he was on the cross, the speer is the one that wounded Jesus to begin with). It's about an evil harem, knights, chastity and betrayal - interspersed with slight magical elements and some bits and pieces of Arthurian legend and the Odyssey.
Like, there is a little boy (pure of spirit) who grew up in the woods by a lake who is taken in by the knights because they hope he will break the curse that has befallen their prince (a never-healing wound). However, getting to that point leads to a loooong journey and all for the hope of redemption and deliverance.

So yes, the major themes always employed by Wagner are pretty much the same and they were so important to him that he often saw himself as one of his titular characters in real life.

Personally, I've not seen all his works yet but I think I shall because they all sound utterly fascinating - even when we don't consider all the radical changes in style Wagner used in his works and the new types of musicality he invented, which were feats of a true master.

Once again, a fantastic book, very detailed and meticulously researched, but made accessible by Prof. Greenberg like few other books. For sure, reading this once will likely not be enough to remember all that I've learned, but it is a great start and I can always go back and re-visit certain chapters. Not the best book if you want more about Wagner's own life than his works, but wonderful in combination with the biography I linked to at the beginning.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wagner was a musical genius but a hard man to like, and Greenberg deftly shows how it is possible to love the music and despise the man. He surveys Wagner's life and work in considerable detail, delivering musical highlights and synopses of all of the musical dramas (aka "operas") from the early works that Wagner later disowned to the masterpieces of his mature career. He does not dwell on the less attractive features of Wagner's personality and beliefs, but he does not pass over them either, noting that Wagner devoted a great deal of time and effort to his writing, much of which is morally corrupt. His thoroughgoing antisemitism is important to understand as an undercurrent to his work, as repugnant as it is. But somehow the music makes up for this.

Greenberg's ebullience is on display as usual, and he reels off silly similes "quicker than a caffeinated squirrel." If this is irreverent, well so be it. Some irreverence may be necessary to temper Wagner's egotism and self-indulgence. Greenberg's courses are for novices who often find classical music difficult to approach, and this course offers a fine path toward appreciating a composer who is especially difficult. I'm not sure how far down that path I will successfully tread, but now I'm a few steps closer thanks to Professor G.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Realistically speaking, I listened to this Great Course multiple times: first, as a general survey. Then, in studious preparation of seeing Wagner's Ring Cycle at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. It was
listened in complement to a couple biographies and critical collections, and did not serve as the entirety of my background preparation.
Greenberg's levity and irreverence effectively de-fang Wagner's works, making them approachable to the 'mere' mortal. I can see where the lectures may be ill suited for some, who believe Wagner should be handled with strict seriousness. I've sought Greenberg's other Great Courses, and find them eminently listen-able, entertaining, and informative.

[Illiterate · Rating 2 out of 5]

More biography and plot summaries than musicology and analysis. (I’m not a Wagnerite: his music is too insistent and overheated.)

[Mack · Rating 5 out of 5]

A strange listen. As Prof. Greenberg says, to paraphrase correctly, I hope, Wagner's music is great, but Wagner's "virulent anti-Semitism" is intolerable. It's part of music history, but sometimes it's hard to listen to.

[Lenny Husen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a long-haul and Greenberg was annoying bombastic. However, Wagner and his music were both extremely interesting and stimulating and if Greenberg had talked less and played more of the music, this could have been an enjoyable experience.
For example, the stories of the Operas are not terribly pleasant ones or logical ones. I did not want to hear the blow-by-blow of the Libretto Poems both read AND translated for me by Greenberg into his vernacular.
Also the endless monologues about Wagner's anti-semitism detracted. Yes, Wagner had an irrational hatred of Jews and racism is horrible. No educated person can disagree with that statement. I didn't need to hear it expounded for 2 hours during the course.
This Course should have been cut down to a trim and meaty 16 lectures rather than a larded 24. It was as though Greenberg pulled a Peter Jackson.

POSITIVE STUFF:
This course is great to have on hand and listen to before attending any of Wagner's Operas--just the sections on those particular Music Dramas.
The music excerpts were well-chosen and beautiful. I have a real appreciation and understanding of the motivation behind the creation of such marvelous masterpieces.
I loved finally getting James Herriot's joke about naming his partners in All Creatures Great and Small "Siegfried" and "Tristan."
Also, "Brunhilda" is an amazingly strong, wonderful role model for all of us women. Worth learning about.
Wagner lived a relatively long, and very colourful, remarkable life and is a Composer worth learning about. The subject is a fascinating one.
Really feel I grew from taking the Course on.
I highly recommend listening to the first 8 lectures which cover the Biographical information and early works and after that, use one's judgment and listen to just the lectures on Operas one has an interest in.
Wagner's music reminded me of the Shawshank Redemption quote, "I don't know what those two ladies were singing about. I would like to think they were singing about some thing so beautiful it can't be expressed in words and makes your heart ache because of it."

The words are beside the point.

[Brett Linsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this looking for good sources to recommend to people interested in learning about Wagner for the first time. The primary objective of this course is to give an introduction to each of Wagner's operas. It does an excellent job of exploring the major themes of these operas and gives a great sense of the many, sometimes divergent, readings available of these works. I took a college course on Wagner and found this to be a better introduction. My only critique regards Greenberg's reading of Wagner's anti-semitism. Any person who wants to learn about Wagner needs to address the uncomfortable question of his vicious anti-semitism and consider its relationship to 20th century history. But this is far from simple as it is not always clear how that anti-semitism seeps into Wagner's works or how it influenced those who came after him. With regard to Das Rheingold and Parsifal, in particular, Greenberg takes for granted that these works are primarily anti-semitic in nature. More-so, he argues for a very blanket form of anti-semitism lacking nuance which does a disservice to those who really want to struggle with this sad and controversial piece of music history. Purely anti-semitic readings are worth exploring and arguing but these are readings hotly contested by many scholars. In the least case, Greenberg might have explored Wagner's belief in "redeeming the Jews," an abhorrant idea to be sure but one that distinguishes his reputation from German anti-semites in the Hitlerian vein. This makes the question of Wagner's anti-semitism even more disturbing in my mind precisely because it feels more innocuous than Hitler's. Still, even Greenberg's one-dimensional readings are delivered in an engaging way that is very informative on that perspective. Highly recommend for first-comers to Wagner with the caveat mentioned.

[Stacie · Rating 1 out of 5]

It turns out that I still passionately hate Opera. I really like Greenberg as a lecturer but I just couldn't slog through something that presented Operatic clips in every 30 minute lecture. If you like, or are even indifferent to, Opera I'd suggest giving this a try.

[Rosemary Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many terrible jokes. Still, a good overview of Wagner's works. I'd have liked more of a conclusion; while there's attention to Wagner's life and thoughts related to his compositions, it really seemed to have been edited too much to suit the format.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have liked to hear more analysis of Wagner's music at the expense
of detail of the plots of the operas. The shortness of some of the audio clips ruins the cohesiveness.

[Tamminh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Professor Greenberg had such an entertaining way to describe Wagner's musical dramas that I was thoroughly amused while, as with other books by him, being educated effectively.

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

3+

[Sher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have listened to every one of Professor Greenberg’s lectures on music—except this one. For so long I just couldn’t bring myself to it. I find Richard Wagner the man to be repugnant and egotistical, and, with a few exceptions, I don’t care for his music. I just didn’t relish the thought of listening for hours and hours to someone telling me how great Wagner was, even if that someone was Robert Greenberg. But curiosity got the best of me, and I finally broke down and listened.

What I learned:
I could probably sit through “Tristan and Isolde” if I had to.
There were reasons Wagner was the way he was.
Greenberg did not sugarcoat Wagner the man too much.
Wagner was very innovative. But then, so was John Cage.

Things I did not change my mind about:
His ego is beyond belief.
By and large, his music doesn’t go anywhere for me.
If you want to sing in one of his operas you better have a super powerful voice because the orchestras you have to sing over are gi-normous. That’s why Wagnerian sopranos have the reputation of being, shall we say, rather on the huge side.
You could not pay me enough to sit through the “Ring” cycle!
He was unapologetically racist.
He was not a nice man.

I realize one of his great goals was to write “music dramas,” wherein the story just keeps going. And going and going etc. Which means to me two things
1. It is all recitative. There are no great songs in any of Wagner’s music dramas, nothing to look forward to or take away with you. It all just drones on and on and on. Which brings me to
2. If you go see a Wagnerian opera, take your lunch. And your dinner. And some snacks. Because they are very very very long. Did I mention that they are long? Like days long.

Oh, there is a #3. All the plots of all of his operas are the same with slight changes. They are autobiographical and the main characters are given problems that can’t be solved. The main characters usually end up dying for unexplained reasons.

I think it’s only fair that I make a list of the music by Wagner that I like:
Ride of the Valkyries
Overture to the Flying Dutchman (sounds a lot like Ride of the Valkyries)
The Pilgrims’ Chorus from Tannhäuser
Overture to Die Meistersinger von Nürnburg.
There may be a couple of others, but I can’t think of them.

Bottom line. Let’s say on a scale of 1 to 100, 1 being pure puke and 100 being, oh I don’t know, Bach or Beethoven or since we are talking about opera here because THAT IS THE ONLY THING WAGNER EVER WROTE, we’ll include Verdi, before listening to this course, I would have given RW a solid 20. Since listening to it, my opinion of him has shot up to at least a 22.

Sorry Wagner fans. I tried. .

[Joshua Duran]

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