Wagner as Man and Artist

In this 1914 work, Newman attempts 'a complete and impartial psychological estimate' of a complex and frequently misinterpreted genius.

Ernest Newman (Author)

9781108073875, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 22 May 2014

424 pages, 8 b/w illus.
21.6 x 14 x 2.4 cm, 0.54 kg

Ernest Newman (1868–1959) was undoubtedly the greatest Wagnerian critic of his age. (His magisterial four-volume Life of Richard Wagner is also reissued in this series.) In this 1914 work, he attempts 'a complete and impartial psychological estimate' of a complex and frequently misinterpreted genius. He notes that such an attempt would have been impossible before the publication in 1911 of Wagner's autobiographical Mein Leben, but in his opening chapter he also warns against a naïve reading of that work, and of others by people 'who combine the maximum of good intentions with the minimum of critical insight'. He is clear-sighted about the strengths of Wagner the artist, not least his need to be 'the central sun of his universe', which of course led to Wagner the man behaving pettily, selfishly and frequently as a tyrant. This lucid account richly deserves its place in the history of Wagner studies.

Preface
Introduction
1. The man
2. The artist in history
3. The artist in practice
Appendices
Table of Wagner's life and works
Index.

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