Richard Wagner
"Wilhelm Richard Wagner 22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his later works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most opera composers, Wagner wrote both the libretto and the music for each of his stage works. Initially establishing his reputation as a composer of works in the romantic vein of Carl Maria von Weber and Giacomo Meyerbeer, Wagner revolutionised opera through his concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk ("total work of art"), by which he sought to synthesise the poetic, visual, musical and dramatic arts, with music subsidiary to drama. He described this vision in a series of essays published between 1849 and 1852. Wagner realised these ideas most fully in the first half of the four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen (The Ring of the Nibelung).
His compositions, particularly those of his later period, are notable for their complex textures, rich harmonies and orchestration, and the elaborate use of leitmotifs—musical phrases associated with individual characters, places, ideas, or plot elements. His advances in musical language, such as extreme chromaticism and quickly shifting tonal centres, greatly influenced the development of classical music. His Tristan und Isolde is sometimes described as marking the start of modern music.
Wagner had his own opera house built, the Bayreuth Festspielhaus, which embodied many novel design features. The Ring and Parsifal were premiered here and his most important stage works continue to be performed at the annual Bayreuth Festival, run by his descendants. His thoughts on the relative contributions of music and drama in opera were to change again, and he reintroduced some traditional forms into his last few stage works, including Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Mastersingers of Nuremberg).
Until his final years, Wagner's life was characterised by political exile, turbulent love affairs, poverty and repeated flight from his creditors. His controversial writings on music, drama and politics have attracted extensive comment, notably, since the late 20th century, where they express antisemitic sentiments. The effect of his ideas can be traced in many of the arts throughout the 20th century; his influence spread beyond composition into conducting, philosophy, literature, the visual arts and theatre."
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The Statue
"Description:
Marble statue of of Richard Wagner sitting on a chair, the left hand rests on the arm of the chair, while the right fist clenched above a bunch of sheet music. The base is surrounded by characters from Wagner's works:
(front) Wolfram von Eschenbach from the opera Tannhäuser with the lyre in his left hand. The laurel wreath and oak branch at his right foot, refer to eternal glory.
(left) Tannhäuser from the eponymous opera in pilgrim garb is lying down.
(right) Brunhild mourns over Siegfried, who is lying dead before her; from Wagner's opera Der Ring des Nibelungen.
(back) Alberich spanning with his arms the Nibelungen treasure, and one of the daughters of the Rhine who engages in teasing Alberich's beard.
Unveiled 1 September 1903. The monument came rather undamaged through World War II, but because of vandalism and erosion restoration was necessary in the 1980s. Because it was too large to replace by a replica, the monument was in 1987 protected by a canopy, a steel structure in the form of a plexiglass covered barrel vault, design by architect Marianne Wagner.
It was sculpted by Gustav Heinrich Eberlein."
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Mercury Crater Wagner
"Wagner is an impact crater in the south polar region of the planet Mercury. It was named after the German composer Richard Wagner (1813–1883) in 1976, as recognized by the International Astronomical Union. It is located in the Bach quadrangle, between Bach and Chopin.
Wagner is one of several craters on Mercury named after famous composers. Other examples include Brahms (after Johannes Brahms), Scarlatti (after Domenico Scarlatti), and Couperin (after Francois Couperin). A number of Mercurian craters are named after historic cultural figures from different fields, including literature, philosophy, and art, but others feature names from popular culture, including Walt Disney and Muddy Waters."
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