Wagner for Beginners

Wagner's operatic works rank with the supreme achievements of western culture. But a century after his death, acceptance of Wagner's musical genius is tempered by feelings of misgiving. Nietzsche described the contagious quality of Wagner's genius as a disease and many believe the composer's underlying ideas to be indefensible. A self-styled social revolutionary, Wagner thought the world could be redeemed through vegetarianism and Aryan philosophy; to this day his music is never heard in Israel without protest.
Introducing Wagner separates the composer's art from the ideas and the arrogant destructive personal behavior of the man. Written by the opera commentator and music critic of the British newspaper - the Independent on Sunday, here is an introduction that presumes nothing except curiosity.

Paperback. English. Allen & Unwin. 1996. Good Condition.