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Wagner
While no one would dispute Wagner's ranking among the most significant composers in the history of Western music, his works have been more fiercely attacked than those of any other composer. Alleged to be an unscrupulous womanizer and megalomaniac, undeniably a racist, Wagner's personal qualities and attitudes have often provoked, and continue to provoke, intense hostility that has translated into a mistrust and abhorrence of his music.
In this emphatic, lucid book, Michael Tanner discusses why people feel so passionately about Wagner, for or against, in a way that they do not about other artists who had personal traits no less lamentable than those he is thought to have possessed. Tanner lays out the various arguments made by Wagner's detractors and admirers, and challenges most of them. The author's fascination for the relationships among music, text, and plot generates an illuminating discussion of the operas, in which he persuades us to see many of Wagner's best-known works anew-- The Ring Cycle, Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal . He refrains from lengthy and detailed musical examination, giving instead passionate and unconventional analyses that are accessible to all lovers of music, be they listeners or performers.
In this fiery reassessment of one of the greatest composers in the history of opera, Tanner presents one of the most intelligent and controversial portraits of Wagner to emerge for many years.
In this emphatic, lucid book, Michael Tanner discusses why people feel so passionately about Wagner, for or against, in a way that they do not about other artists who had personal traits no less lamentable than those he is thought to have possessed. Tanner lays out the various arguments made by Wagner's detractors and admirers, and challenges most of them. The author's fascination for the relationships among music, text, and plot generates an illuminating discussion of the operas, in which he persuades us to see many of Wagner's best-known works anew-- The Ring Cycle, Tristan und Isolde, Parsifal . He refrains from lengthy and detailed musical examination, giving instead passionate and unconventional analyses that are accessible to all lovers of music, be they listeners or performers.
In this fiery reassessment of one of the greatest composers in the history of opera, Tanner presents one of the most intelligent and controversial portraits of Wagner to emerge for many years.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published September 16, 1996
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 1, 2019
This is what some might call a 'good book', and not without reason. Tanner is an ideal guide to the music dramas of Wagner, being not only opera critic but also Cambridge philosopher. In the early chapters he provides useful and satisfying rebuttals to those two great scourges of the Wagnerian: the anti-Semitism brigade and the post-Boulez modernists. More tact is deployed in the former case for obvious reasons, and Tanner successfully toes the line between 'separate the art from the artist' vapidities and the somewhat desperate (as he shows them to be) attempts to find Jewish stereotypes in the music dramas. The critique of the unfortunate trends that have infested Wagner productions since Boulez's 1976 Jahrhundertring and is responsible for, amongst other inane spectacles, a segue-mounted futuristic Wotan, anachronistically still wielding his spear, is more callous, as is proper. A true perversion is to be not only soberly refuted but also scorned, and this is just what Tanner does, both prongs of the attack being successful, and indeed the latter being rather good fun.
The rest of the book largely proceeds chronologically opera-wise, exploring the themes and problems Wagner probes. Though this approach is largely a success, one would have liked a bit more biography - the book is understandably brief on this, given its length and the focus on the music dramas themselves, but I defend this by appealing to Tanner's own agreement with Wagner that the man is certainly not to be separated from the music. In particular, the heady days of the late 1840s through to the encounter with Schopenhauer's World as Will and Representation in the mid 1850s seem to me important for understanding the phenomenon that we call Wagner. His thinking in this period is introduced at the appropriate chronological point, but seems to want fleshing out.
After an overture concerning the early operas, The Dutchman and Tannhäuser are given insightful treatments. Importantly, they are not just discussed (and to some extent in the latter case, dismantled) for their own sake, but as introducing one of the great themes which Wagner would return to time and time again in his music dramas: the individual who has committed a terrible wrong and therefore seeks redemption (often through a woman). As in the case of Tannhäuser , as a drama Lohengrin is revealed by Tanner to be not quite a success, but he ends this chapter by reflecting that, in light of the music, his account is "intolerably mean." One wants to say "well, yes and no" - confirming his argument.
The six dramas, The Ring, Tristan and Meistersinger, at the centre of the Wagner corpus are covered chronologically - that is to say, with the latter two discussed between Acts II and III of Siegfried . Though one might fear loss of continuity in the discussion of The Ring, such anxieties would be misplaced, for at least two related reasons. Firstly, Tanner makes us realise that the exploration of the two very different kinds of love in Tristan and Meistersinger informs the task at hand when Wagner comes to complete The Ring. Indeed, Wagner had changed considerably both as artist and man in the twelve years it took Siegfried to get from Fafner's forest to Brünnhilde's rock. Far now from the romantic revolutionary who first devised The Ring the Wagner of 1869 was a committed Schopenhauerian. No longer could it be simply the story of how loving humans supplanted the legalistic gods. A further vindication of this choice comes from the pen of Wagner himself, disclosing that, in spite of the poem itself being complete, he was waiting for the music to tell him what it meant. This brings me to my quarrel with Tanner's treatment of The Ring. As he indicates to an extent, the music of the cycle is painted with a palette of motifs, which by the time we pick up with Act III of Siegfried is positively kaleidoscopic. The leitmotif device is deployed with astonishing effect by Wagner throughout the cycle, but in these latter stages particularly. To my mind it elevates (but certainly does not reduce) the orchestra to a discursive level, a position which is integral to the essence and success of the entire work. Some of the important instances are noted, but to my mind not enough of them (with the caveats mentioned in the case of biography above). Indeed, it is a perfectly Schopenhauerian point that the music should be the true locus of the drama. But Tanner does not want to write a book which requires one to read music, and one cannot be too upset at him for this, nor overemphasise this particular dissatisfaction. Overall, the discussion of The Ring is insightful, and includes illuminating testimony from Wagner's own letters - though in the final analysis I think Tanner errs a bit on the side of caution on the question of just how seriously to take the drama as a philosophical project.
Tristan und Isolde is Wagner's most disturbing and exhausting music drama (though Act I of Siegfried certainly asks for stamina in a different way), in which Wagner pursues the theme of the primacy of love to its almost repulsive logical conclusion. The subconscious is crucial to the piece in multiple ways: through the intense psychology of the eponymous characters, itself illustrated more in music than voice, and in the reception of the audience member, who, whether the experience is one of revulsion or exaltation, cannot pretend not to have been powerfully affected - even if he cannot explain how or why. For this latter reason Tanner presents Tristan as at its core a religious work, because it is the type of work, like Bach's St Matthew Passion, that could quite reasonably influence a conversion. Indeed, it is hard not to speak about Tristan in tones hushed by awe - it feels it would be crass to do otherwise - and it is perhaps not surprising to find Tanner confessing "intense dissatisfaction" with the chapter. If this is a legitimate reflection, it says more about the work than Tanner's discussion, which is sensitive and insightful. The audience member left feeling forever changed by the music drama, and anxious at his inability to understand what has just been done to him, will surely find a beginning to such an understanding thanks to Tanner here, but not that false kind of understanding which deprives the object of its mystery and preconceptual aura.
Die Meistersinger is conspicuous in the Wagner corpus. Departing from the precepts of Opera and Drama totally, it is moreover a comedy. A casual listener might think it is light stuff, but such a casual listener ought to consult Tanner, who will point out that it is in fact Wagner's most explicitly philosophical music drama, with Sachs as a Schopenhauerian - though not a perfect one, for optimism, appropriately qualified, is for him possible within a pessimistic frame. The discussion of art, tradition and authority (which together constitute the chapter title) is intelligent, and the comparison with Tristan, through the reference to King Marke that Wagner treats so lightly, is illuminating, particularly since in just a few pages we return to Siegfried and his quest for Brünnhilde.
As the chapter on The Dutchman and Tannhäuser looked forwards thematically through the corpus of Wagner's mature music dramas, so the closing chapter on Parsifal looks backwards. The eponymous heroes provide one such theme, and Tanner shows what a special character Parsifal is. Though he convincingly dismisses the idea that Wagner's final music drama is on the one hand essentially religious, or on the other hand fundamentally anti-Semitic, one wishes he had said more about what it is about. Still deeply influenced by Schopenhauer, certainly, but the argument leaves one wanting more. Similarly, and as Tanner acknowledges, he says little about the remarkable music of this music drama. But perhaps it speaks for itself. Nonetheless, as one can say of the book in general, Tanner's discussion here is insightful and sensitive.
Considering the main body of this book is only 200 pages long it contains an impressive value and depth of insight. Every Wagnerian should read it, and can expect to find themselves consulting it more than once, as I have.
The rest of the book largely proceeds chronologically opera-wise, exploring the themes and problems Wagner probes. Though this approach is largely a success, one would have liked a bit more biography - the book is understandably brief on this, given its length and the focus on the music dramas themselves, but I defend this by appealing to Tanner's own agreement with Wagner that the man is certainly not to be separated from the music. In particular, the heady days of the late 1840s through to the encounter with Schopenhauer's World as Will and Representation in the mid 1850s seem to me important for understanding the phenomenon that we call Wagner. His thinking in this period is introduced at the appropriate chronological point, but seems to want fleshing out.
After an overture concerning the early operas, The Dutchman and Tannhäuser are given insightful treatments. Importantly, they are not just discussed (and to some extent in the latter case, dismantled) for their own sake, but as introducing one of the great themes which Wagner would return to time and time again in his music dramas: the individual who has committed a terrible wrong and therefore seeks redemption (often through a woman). As in the case of Tannhäuser , as a drama Lohengrin is revealed by Tanner to be not quite a success, but he ends this chapter by reflecting that, in light of the music, his account is "intolerably mean." One wants to say "well, yes and no" - confirming his argument.
The six dramas, The Ring, Tristan and Meistersinger, at the centre of the Wagner corpus are covered chronologically - that is to say, with the latter two discussed between Acts II and III of Siegfried . Though one might fear loss of continuity in the discussion of The Ring, such anxieties would be misplaced, for at least two related reasons. Firstly, Tanner makes us realise that the exploration of the two very different kinds of love in Tristan and Meistersinger informs the task at hand when Wagner comes to complete The Ring. Indeed, Wagner had changed considerably both as artist and man in the twelve years it took Siegfried to get from Fafner's forest to Brünnhilde's rock. Far now from the romantic revolutionary who first devised The Ring the Wagner of 1869 was a committed Schopenhauerian. No longer could it be simply the story of how loving humans supplanted the legalistic gods. A further vindication of this choice comes from the pen of Wagner himself, disclosing that, in spite of the poem itself being complete, he was waiting for the music to tell him what it meant. This brings me to my quarrel with Tanner's treatment of The Ring. As he indicates to an extent, the music of the cycle is painted with a palette of motifs, which by the time we pick up with Act III of Siegfried is positively kaleidoscopic. The leitmotif device is deployed with astonishing effect by Wagner throughout the cycle, but in these latter stages particularly. To my mind it elevates (but certainly does not reduce) the orchestra to a discursive level, a position which is integral to the essence and success of the entire work. Some of the important instances are noted, but to my mind not enough of them (with the caveats mentioned in the case of biography above). Indeed, it is a perfectly Schopenhauerian point that the music should be the true locus of the drama. But Tanner does not want to write a book which requires one to read music, and one cannot be too upset at him for this, nor overemphasise this particular dissatisfaction. Overall, the discussion of The Ring is insightful, and includes illuminating testimony from Wagner's own letters - though in the final analysis I think Tanner errs a bit on the side of caution on the question of just how seriously to take the drama as a philosophical project.
Tristan und Isolde is Wagner's most disturbing and exhausting music drama (though Act I of Siegfried certainly asks for stamina in a different way), in which Wagner pursues the theme of the primacy of love to its almost repulsive logical conclusion. The subconscious is crucial to the piece in multiple ways: through the intense psychology of the eponymous characters, itself illustrated more in music than voice, and in the reception of the audience member, who, whether the experience is one of revulsion or exaltation, cannot pretend not to have been powerfully affected - even if he cannot explain how or why. For this latter reason Tanner presents Tristan as at its core a religious work, because it is the type of work, like Bach's St Matthew Passion, that could quite reasonably influence a conversion. Indeed, it is hard not to speak about Tristan in tones hushed by awe - it feels it would be crass to do otherwise - and it is perhaps not surprising to find Tanner confessing "intense dissatisfaction" with the chapter. If this is a legitimate reflection, it says more about the work than Tanner's discussion, which is sensitive and insightful. The audience member left feeling forever changed by the music drama, and anxious at his inability to understand what has just been done to him, will surely find a beginning to such an understanding thanks to Tanner here, but not that false kind of understanding which deprives the object of its mystery and preconceptual aura.
Die Meistersinger is conspicuous in the Wagner corpus. Departing from the precepts of Opera and Drama totally, it is moreover a comedy. A casual listener might think it is light stuff, but such a casual listener ought to consult Tanner, who will point out that it is in fact Wagner's most explicitly philosophical music drama, with Sachs as a Schopenhauerian - though not a perfect one, for optimism, appropriately qualified, is for him possible within a pessimistic frame. The discussion of art, tradition and authority (which together constitute the chapter title) is intelligent, and the comparison with Tristan, through the reference to King Marke that Wagner treats so lightly, is illuminating, particularly since in just a few pages we return to Siegfried and his quest for Brünnhilde.
As the chapter on The Dutchman and Tannhäuser looked forwards thematically through the corpus of Wagner's mature music dramas, so the closing chapter on Parsifal looks backwards. The eponymous heroes provide one such theme, and Tanner shows what a special character Parsifal is. Though he convincingly dismisses the idea that Wagner's final music drama is on the one hand essentially religious, or on the other hand fundamentally anti-Semitic, one wishes he had said more about what it is about. Still deeply influenced by Schopenhauer, certainly, but the argument leaves one wanting more. Similarly, and as Tanner acknowledges, he says little about the remarkable music of this music drama. But perhaps it speaks for itself. Nonetheless, as one can say of the book in general, Tanner's discussion here is insightful and sensitive.
Considering the main body of this book is only 200 pages long it contains an impressive value and depth of insight. Every Wagnerian should read it, and can expect to find themselves consulting it more than once, as I have.
October 16, 2013
I have been reading this book on and off for about a month but only just remembered yesterday I hadn't added it to my goodreads list. However this book really doesn't fit its billing.
It is not a biography at all but more a thesis on the themes contained within Wagner's work with critism. The analysis of the composers work is not particularly new and doesn't break new ground in the slightest. The writing style used doesn't really flow either, these points coupled with the lack of discussion on the arguments and common misunderstandings on Wagner make for a book on his music and not the man.
I would get this out of the library before paying out for this book.
It is not a biography at all but more a thesis on the themes contained within Wagner's work with critism. The analysis of the composers work is not particularly new and doesn't break new ground in the slightest. The writing style used doesn't really flow either, these points coupled with the lack of discussion on the arguments and common misunderstandings on Wagner make for a book on his music and not the man.
I would get this out of the library before paying out for this book.
August 27, 2018
Oh dear, a book to put you off Wagner for life! The author writes in a despairingly turgid style. There is no caveat he can think of that he can't resist inserting, producing highly convoluted sentences. The end result comes over like an inept translation from German, which I don't think is the case.
September 13, 2023
A superb short reflection on Wagner by a convinced Wagnerian. Tanner starts with some general points, including positions taken by anti-Wagnerians. He then provides a short summary of each opera in the order they were written from a literary and dramatic criticism point of view (with little or no musical analysis). For providing a viewpoint on what Wagner is potentially trying to "say" in each opera and some provocative thoughts on how to approach receiving each, Tanner is excellent. Look somewhere else though if you want to understand the musical theory.
December 29, 2019
What a dread. Loads of philosophizing on whether mr. Wagner was a good or bad guy etc. etc. etc. Who cares.
February 5, 2025
It is routinely claimed that there are more books on Wagner than an anyone who has ever lived, except for Jesus Christ and Adolf Hitler.
This is a spirited and unapologetic study of one of the greatest composers in the history of opera.
This is a spirited and unapologetic study of one of the greatest composers in the history of opera.
May 1, 2009
I have been struggling through this book for days and admit to scanning some pages. The problem I had with the book was that it was more critique than biography and that really annoyed me.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews