The Tristan Chord: Wagner and Philosophy

About this book

A profoundly searching investigation that reveals for the first time the philosophical foundations of Wagners art Richard Wagners devotees have ranged from the subtlest minds (Proust) to the most brutal (Hitler). The enduring fascination of his works arises from his singular fusion of musical innovation and theatrical daring but also from his largely overlooked engagement with the boldest investigations of modern philosophy. Now in this radically clarifying book Bryan Magee traces the Wagners involvement in the intellectual quests of his age from his youthful embrace of revolutionary socialism to a Schopenhauerian rejection of the world as illusion to the near-Buddhist resignation of his final years. Mapping the influence of ideas on Wagners art Magee shows how abstract thought can permeate musical work and stimulate creations of great power and beauty. And he unflinchingly confronts the Wagner whose paranoia egocentricity and anti-Semitism are as repugnant as his achievements are glorious. At once a biography of the composer an overview of his times an account of 19th century opera and an insight into the intellectual and technical aspects of music Magees lucid study offers the best explanation of W. H. Audens judgment that Wagner for all his notorious difficulties was "perhaps the greatest genius that ever lived.