Download or read book The Bayreuth Festival during the Third Reich written by Helmut Strauss and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2004-09-02 with total page 19 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seminar paper from the year 2004 in the subject History of Germany - National Socialism, World War II, grade: A (1,0), The New School (Historical Studies), course: Modern Dictatorship and Political Religion, language: English, abstract: [...] Since its founding in 1876, the Bayreuth Festival had been a locus of representation for politically prominent figures; among the guests of the first Festival were the German Emperor Wilhelm I and the Brazilian Emperor Dom Pedro II2. In the years to come, Bayreuth would keep its meaning as a “political symbol“ 3. From 1933 on, the Wagnerian Hitler used the Festival for both the representation of his person and his regime. The Foundations for this appropriation were both ideological and personal: Firstly, after Richard Wagner’s death, his “Bayreuth disciples” 4, grouped in the “Bayreuth Circle” 5 especially Hans von Wolzogen and Houston Stewart Chamberlain6, created the “Bayreuth idea” 7; in this process of formulating their ‘German Wagnerism’ as a völkisch ideology, they focused more on Wagner’s prose writings8, than on his music, and especially emphasized Wagner’s anti-Semitism9. 2 Eger, Manfred: Die Bayreuther Festspiele, in: Müller, Ulrich/Wapnewski, Peter (eds.): Richard-Wagner- Handbuch, Stuttgart 1986, p. 589-624, here: p. 596. 3 Schmidt, Michael: Bayreuth als politisches Symbol. 125 Jahre Richard-Wagner-Festspiele, in: Neue Gesellschaft. Frankfurter Hefte 48 (2001), p. 470-474. 4 Large, David Clay: Wagner’s Bayreuth Disciples, in: Large, David C. & Weber, William (eds.): Wagnerism in European Culture and Politics, Ithaka and London 1984, p. 72-133. 5 Schüler, Winfried: Der Bayreuther Kreis von seiner Entstehung bis zum Ausgang der Wilhelminischen Ära, Münster 1971. 6 The English-born racial theoretician Chamberlain had from 1888 on contact with Wagner‘s widow Cosima; in 1908, he married Eva Wagner, the daughter of Richard and Cosima and moved to Bayreuth; see Large, David Clay: Ein Spiegelbild des Meisters? Die Rassenlehre von Houston Stewart Chamberlain, in: Borchmeyer, Dieter/Maayani, Ami/Vill (eds.), Susanne: Richard Wagner und die Juden, Stuttgart &Weimar 2000., p. 140- 159. 7 Large, Disciples, op.cit., p.133. 8 Large, Disciples, op.cit., p. 133. 9 For a differentiated and instructive analysis of Wagner’s anti-Semitism see Katz, Jacob: The Darker Side og Genius. Richard Wagner’s Anti-Semitism. Hanover & London, 1986.

Download or read book Letters from Bayreuth written by Joseph Bennett and published by . This book was released on 1877 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Bayreuth the Early Years written by Robert Hartford and published by Orion. This book was released on 1980-01-01 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Letters from Bayreuth written by Joseph Bennett and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2015-02-13 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Let us begin with the English Archphilistine, Bennett, in whose Letters from Bayreuth we are told among other funny things that: "we have in Rheingold the continuous flow of formless music" which 'streams along the mind, so to speak, without passing into it, ' and 'offers but little of an intelligible character to lay hold of.' This music 'has no meaning by itself.' The dialogues in "Die Walkure" are 'most terribly wearisome and painful sounds, ' which excite the mind 'to a state of intense irritation.' Nevertheless, there are things in this music-drama which "approach as nearly as possible to that which we commonly know as music." Of the music in the "Gotterdammerung" the memory 'retains an impression definite only with regard to features which produced weariness.' As a music-drama, this work 'disappoints, the more keenly because of the magnificent opportunities supplied by its situations for really sublime musical effect.'" -"Wagner and His Works: The Story of His Life, with Critical Comments," Volume 2