Aspects of Wagner

This is a fun little book. Can be read quickly and has many quirky and interesting observations. Love the author’s philosophical interviews on YouTube.

This is a short book of 6 essays, less than 90 pages of text. Yet it covers Wagner's career as composer and dramatist and traces his enormous influence on music after him. It is very well written, as might be expected from an Oxford philosopher, novelist, Member of Parliament, BBC personality and - above all else, he says (elsewhere) - music lover.Among the subjects he covers in this short compass, is Wagner's notorious anti-Semitism, which has played a significant role in his acceptance or rejection over the years, especially when it was put about that his music really turned Hitler on. Of course Wagner was long dead by then - he died six years before Hitler was born - and cannot be blamed for what use others made of his music. But it seems still to be an issue today, and Magee confronts it directly.Magee quotes Wagner (p. 24): "Mendelssohn has shown us that a Jew can have the richest abundance of specific talents, be a man of the broadest yet most refined culture, of the loftiest, most impeccable integrity, and yet not be able - not even once, with the help of all these qualities - to produce in us that deep, heart-seizing, soul-searching experience that we expect from art." Now, Mendelssohn was Christian - he was baptized while quite young - and therefore could only be deemed Jewish by race, and Magee correctly notes that Jews do not possess the genetic characteristics of a race. In a way, Jews are defined by anti-Semitism, and there was surely enough of that in 19th century Germany - and that really is the point, not that someone of Jewish heritage could not achieve the highest level of art, but that in Germany someone of Jewish heritage would not be accepted by the arbiters of great art. In other words, Wagner's opinion of Mendelssohn's art says more about Germany, and indeed about Wagner, than it does about Mendelssohn - or about great art.We have an example of Jewish accomplishment in music in a country where the air is not suffused with anti-Semitism, and it demonstrates that where Jews are accepted, their achievements are not inferior to that of people of other heritages. I mean of course the United States and Irving Berlin (God Bless America, White Christmas, Easter Parade), Jerome Kern (Show Boat), George Gershwin (Porgy and Bess), Richard Rodgers (Oklahoma, Carousel, South Pacific), Leonard Bernstein (West Side Story), Stephen Sondheim, and more. Indeed, even in Germany, during Wagner's life, the poet Heinrich Heine, like Mendelssohn a Christian of Jewish heritage, attained the highest and deepest levels of German art, many of his poems so embedded in German culture and spirit, that they seem like folk art, as the Nazis called them - they couldn't ban all the songs Schubert and Schumann among others set to Heine's verse so they attributed them to "Unbekannte Dichter" (unknown poet). Indeed, Wagner got his inspiration for The Flying Dutchman, his first successful opera, from a novel by Heine. In other words, Wagner knew better.But in the end, I would argue, it doesn't really matter. Wagner was a great composer and should be judged by musical not moral standards, especially as I cannot find a bar of anti-Semitism (if music can be anti-Semitic) or for that matter an anti-Jewish word in the entirety of Wagner's artistic output. It is past time to drop the issue and judge Wagner by the same standards one would judge Bach (who incidentally set some viciously anti-Semitic texts, like the St. John's Passion), Mozart, Beethoven, Verdi or Puccini. I for one prefer La Bohème to Das Rheingold, and I would do so were Wagner a rabbi.All these essays are enjoyable, informative, and even inspiring - that is, if you don't know Wagner, Magee may well inspire you to make his acquaintance; and you can only be richer for that. Highly recommended.

Small book. I found this book expensive given the poor printing quality.Arrived in time to Colombia.

Bryan Magee's writing here are a few short essays on the great composer and thinker. It deals succinctly with some areas of the composer's life and times that have great insight. The perfect gift for the Wagner hater that will change their minds.Essential reading on this composer.

This is another great book from Professor Magee which is a must readfor any Wagnerian. Although less than 100 pages, it is Insightful and scholarly. In the intelligent opinion of true scholars that know what they are taking about (something rare nowadays) Wagner is the greatest genius who ever lived. This book offers further proof, although no further proof is needed. Do not miss it!

Excellent read, Magee writes in a very approachable style and is obviously well versed in Wagner and his music

Wonderful insight to a very complex artist. Read with the Tristian Chord by the same author.

terrific little book; a must for Wagnerians and might be's

In reading bio's of Ludwig II (L), and given the central role of Wagner (in Ludwig' life) I purchased this collection of essays on themes pertaining to Wagner (W). I'm afraid poor L rates a single mention as a worshipper of W, he does not otherwise fit most of the essays subjects. As such, this puts L into perspective as W's private bank, enabling W to become the composer he knew he could be. An essay on the W/L dynamic would have been interesting as interpreted by Bryan Magee, but I'm biased.The essays represent condensed, sometimes challenging interpretations of W's philosophies, inspiration, musical theories and impact.This applies particularly regarding his contemporaries in the arts arena, in the creation of his operas.I would suggest you read a standard bio' of W before approaching these essays, this would enhance your understanding of this work.

This is a short, but stimulating, incisive, illuminating and well-informed book of essays about various aspects of Wagner. Warmly recommended for any Wagnerian.

The story that more books have been written about Wagner than about anyone other than Jesus or Napoleon is undoubtedly apocryphal, nevertheless there are an awful lot to choose from! This is one of the shortest, and also, I believe, one of the best. Bryan Magee tackles head on some of the most striking and perplexing issues surrounding Wagner and his works. He traces the quite phenomenal influence that Wagner has had on music and also in the arts more widely. He describes, and attempts to account for, the extreme love ("Wagnerolatry") and loathing ("Wagnerphobia") that Wagner and his works have inspired and continue to inspire. He also sheds some light on the important and disturbing question of Wagner's anti-Semitism. One chapter is devoted to the controversial question of how to stage Wagner's operas today. Perhaps most interestingly of all he offers an explanation for the uncanny potency of Wagner's music: how it induces in some feelings of ecstasy, sometimes likened to being in love, and in others feelings of disgust, whilst it has (allegedly) driven some people to madness. If you want to know more about Wagner's music and its influence, read this book.

Have really enjoyed reading this book. It clearly states the main issues and points of interest of Wagner's life in a very concise form. Definitely recommend for anyone interested in an informative introduction to Wagner in general.

I have not yet read this but I gave it to my husband who says it is both a readable and helpful and well informed book about Wagner's thinking and background.