Richard Wagner Biography

Dromo's Den

WAGNER, William Richard, musical composer, born in Leipsic, Germany, May 22, 1813; died in Venice, Italy,, Feb. 13, 1883. He entered the Kreuzschule of Dresden in 1822 and in 1828 took up study at Leipsic. His first musical composition was performed in 1833, though he had previously written music under the stimulating influence of Beethoven. In 1834 he was appointed conductor of the opera at Magdeburg, a position rather honorary than profitable. He married Wilhelmina Planer, an actress at Königsberg, in 1836, and soon after became musical conductor at Riga, Russia. In 1839 he made his first visit to Paris, where he made an unsuccessful attempt to introduce his opera entitled "Rienzi." He became conductor of the Royal Opera of Dresden in 1843, and from that time his career was highly successful. He was exiled from Germany in 1848 on account of his enthusiasm for the revolution, and established his residence for ten years in Zurich, where most of his celebrated musical productions were written.

In 1859 Wagner made a visit to Paris and introduced his "Tannhauser" at the Grand Opera, receiving financial support from the Prince and Princess Metternich, but jealousies caused the venture to become unpopular. He was pardoned for his political offenses in 1861, and soon after settled in Vienna. The "Flying Dutchman," a production based on life in the Netherlands, was successfully presented at Munich in 1864, and a few years later the "Master Singers of Nurnburg" was given with eminent success at the same place. Wagner was now liberally supported by Louis II. of Bavaria, who built a theater especially for the celebrated composer at Baireuth. His last noted production, "Parsifal," based on the legend of the "Holy Grail," was completed at Palermo in 1882. Many of the works of Wagner are popular because they are based on Old German heroic legends, and are so written that they blend music, poetry, and dramatic representations into one well-balanced whole. His ability and versatility place him among the most celebrated of modern composers. Among the productions not named above are "Tristan;" "Lohengrin;" "Siegfried;" "Walkure," and "Ring of Nibelungen." He is the author of several books, including "Oper and Rama;" "Life of Beethoven;" "Knowledge and the Revolution;" "A German Musician in Paris;" "The Knowledge of the Future," and "Autobiographical Sketches."

The Teachers' and Pupils' Cyclopædia, Vol. V. (Kansas City: Bufton Book Co., 1909) 2046-2047.