BIOGRAPHIES OF MUSICIANS.
Life of Wagner
BY
LOUIS NOHL
TRANSLATED FROM THE GERMAN
BY
GEORGE P. UPTON.
“Who better than the poet can guide?”
CHICAGO:
JANSEN, MCCLURG & COMPANY.
1884.
Biographies of Musicians.
I.
LIFE OF MOZART, From the German of Dr. Louis Nohl. With Portrait.Price $1.25.
II.
LIFE OF BEETHOVEN, From the German of Dr. Louis Nohl. With Portrait.Price $1.25.
III.
LIFE OF HAYDN, From the German of Dr. Louis Nohl. With Portrait. Price$1.25.
IV.
LIFE OF WAGNER, From the German of Dr. Louis Nohl. With Portrait.Price $1.25.
JANSEN, MCCLURG & CO., Publishers.
COPYRIGHT
By JANSEN, MCCLURG & CO.,
A. D. 1883.
Richard Wagner.PREFACE.
The masters of music, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven, advanced thisart beyond the limits of their predecessors by identifying themselvesmore closely with the development of active life itself. By theircreative power they invested the life of the nation and mankind withprofounder thought, culminating at last in the most sublime of ourpossessions—religion. No artist has followed in their course withmore determined energy than Richard Wagner, as well he might, for withequal intellectual capacity, the foundation of his education wasbroader and deeper than that of the classic masters; while on theother hand the development of our national character during his longactive career, became more vigorous and diversified as the ideas ofthe poets and thinkers were more and more realized and reflected inour life. Wagner’s development was as harmonious as that of the threeclassic masters, and all his struggles, however violent at times, onlycleared his way to that high goal where we stand with him to-day andbehold the free unfolding of all our powers. This goal is the entirecombination of all the phases of art into one great work: themusic-drama, in which is mirrored every form of human existence up tothe highest ideal life. As this music-drama rests historically uponthe opera it is but natural that the second triumvirate of Germanmusic should be composed of the founder of German opera, C. M. vonWeber, the reformer of the old opera, Christoph Wilibald Gluck, andRichard Wagner. To trace therefore the development of the youngest ofthese masters, will lead us to consider theirs as well, and in doingthis the knowledge of what he is will disclose itself to us.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE.
Just as this volume is going to press the announcement comes fromGermany that the prize offered by the Prague Concordia for the bestessay on “Wagner’s Influen