Wagner as I Knew Him

The controversial 1892 biography of the great composer which overplayed the author's role in the Wagner's career.

Ferdinand Praeger (Author)

9781108078221, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 13 November 2014

364 pages
21.6 x 14 x 2.1 cm, 0.46 kg

The German composer, performer and critic Ferdinand Praeger (1815–91) moved to London in 1834, and served as the London correspondent of the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik from 1842. A lifelong devotee of Wagner, he helped engage the composer to conduct eight concerts at the Philharmonic Society in 1855. His enthusiasm for Wagner led to the publication of this work in English in 1892, although it was soon claimed that he had greatly overplayed his role in the composer's career. There were accusations of invented stories, distorted facts and altered letters, subsequently supported by evidence obtained by biographers such as William Ashton Ellis, and also by Houston Stewart Chamberlain's comparison of original letters with those featured in this biography. Such negative publicity caused the publishers of the German edition to withdraw the book. Nonetheless, it contains personal impressions which remain of interest, and is now considered less exaggerated than previously thought.

Dedication
1. 'The child is father to the man'
2. His visit to an uncle
3. Wagner enters the Kreuzschule, Dresden
4. Leipzic
5. Revolution and romanticism
6. Life and troubles at Magdeburg
7. First impressions
8. Boulogne, 1839
9. Paris, 1839–42
10. Paris, 1839–42 (cont.)
11. Dresden, 1842–3
12. Hostility of the Dresden press
13. 'Tannhäuser'
14. The Saxon revolution
15. The new chamber of deputies
16. Wagner seeks asylum in Paris
17. 'Judaism in music'
18. Wagner invited to London
19. The 9th Symphony rehearsed
20. Letters of Wagner
21. Zurich 1856
22. Wagner's health shattered
23. Letters from Wagner
24. Munich.

Subject Areas: Classical music [c 1750 to c 1830 AVGC4]