The Music of Richard Wagner

De: Robert Greenberg, The Great Courses

Narrado por: 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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2010 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2010 The Great Courses

A Well-Written book about Richard Wagner

Prof. Greenberg has outdone himself in this book about the operas of a Richard Wagner. Of course, I am biased because I am a Wagner aficionado and enjoy his music immensely. But Prof. Greenberg takes a unique approach to describing several of Wagner's opera. His use of contemporary idioms and examples truly helps one to ultimately grasp the meaning of what Prof. Greenberg is emphasizing.
I would highly recommend this book to those who are as excited about Wagner's operas as I am. Listen to this book and you will have a great understanding of the music, the operas, and the composer.

Fabulous and humorous!

Fascinating and very helpful, thoroughly enjoyable. Excellent balanced account of the rather unpleasant (to put it mildly) Wagner the person vs his glorious, innovative, brilliant music. Highly recommended, but not for the Wagner fanatic

Tour de Force!!!

Thank you, Professor Greenberg, for an incredibly edifying, wholly enjoyable, insightful and entertaining overview of Wagner’s work. The historical, political, artistic and personal dimensions with which you put the person and his work in context, make these lectures truly the time investment. I highly recommend to anyone who is interested in understanding the world we live in today, through the Wagnerian prism which, with all of its terrible influences, also manifests the sublimeness of music.

Wry Good

Maybe too little on the music and a tad too much on Wagner and politics. But very well done.

Excellent

I truly enjoyed this series of lectures on Wagner. It focuses on analyzing Wagner's works in the context of his life, which was illuminating but sometimes dismaying. I'm not sure I'll ever listen to Parsifal (which I love) the same again. A note on the jokes: I REALLY liked them. Wagner and his followers can be incredibly pretentious, which is a big off put for many. The professor nicely lets the air out of some of the least conscionable pretensions, while still giving credit where credit is due for the music. I laughed out loud multiple times. Ultimately, Wagner's works are flawed (the length, the endless narration, Siegried) and acknowledging those flaws helped achieve clarity for his real merits (the music, at least some of the time).