Download or read book The Esoteric Wagner written by Michael Besack and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 456 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wagner's Ring is one of the most complex dramatic creations of modern times and its stage presentation requires impossible resources. It also demands an educated audience, without which there is not much justification for a performance. The tetralogy is full of difficult narratives and dialogues that make a prior, in depth reading of the libretto a must. It is not just a matter of figuring out the plot, as in other operas, but of exploring the many levels of meaning through which the Ring unfolds. In addition, the cycle incorporates esoteric themes that have seldom been discussed in connection with Wagner. This background is unknown territory to most people and it is unrealistic to expect sudden enlightenment from the Ring's libretto alone. Every classical journey deals with the promise of a homecoming and it is therefore not surprising that Wotan, the main protagonist in the Ring, eventually reemerges in the Land of the Grail, where he is converted into Titurel by Wagner's poetic imagination. Ernest Newman, Wagner's quintessential biographer, had already noted this odd development, but did not pause long enough to consider the startling implications. One should not look at Wagner in disconnected, narrow ways. The dismal level of today's intellectual discourse on Tragedy makes it impossible to do justice to the composer's apocalyptic vision. In that context, it is important to address the increasingly popular contention that Wagner was Hitler's spiritual father and that the Ring is a dangerous anti-Semitic fantasy. The Holocaust is indeed tragic, but its reduction to a moral failure on the part of Germanic culture understates the metahistorical significance of what actually happened.C.J. Jung once tried to tackle these issues directly in his study of the Wotan archetype (1936), but his analysis has since been buried under the weight of more detailed but less perceptive commentaries. A vigorous reassessment is long overdue.
Download or read book Wagnerism written by Alex Ross and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2020-09-15 with total page 784 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Alex Ross, renowned New Yorker music critic and author of the international bestseller and Pulitzer Prize finalist The Rest Is Noise, reveals how Richard Wagner became the proving ground for modern art and politics—an aesthetic war zone where the Western world wrestled with its capacity for beauty and violence. For better or worse, Wagner is the most widely influential figure in the history of music. Around 1900, the phenomenon known as Wagnerism saturated European and American culture. Such colossal creations as The Ring of the Nibelung, Tristan und Isolde, and Parsifal were models of formal daring, mythmaking, erotic freedom, and mystical speculation. A mighty procession of artists, including Virginia Woolf, Thomas Mann, Paul Cézanne, Isadora Duncan, and Luis Buñuel, felt his impact. Anarchists, occultists, feminists, and gay-rights pioneers saw him as a kindred spirit. Then Adolf Hitler incorporated Wagner into the soundtrack of Nazi Germany, and the composer came to be defined by his ferocious antisemitism. For many, his name is now almost synonymous with artistic evil. In Wagnerism, Alex Ross restores the magnificent confusion of what it means to be a Wagnerian. A pandemonium of geniuses, madmen, charlatans, and prophets do battle over Wagner’s many-sided legacy. As readers of his brilliant articles for The New Yorker have come to expect, Ross ranges thrillingly across artistic disciplines, from the architecture of Louis Sullivan to the novels of Philip K. Dick, from the Zionist writings of Theodor Herzl to the civil-rights essays of W.E.B. Du Bois, from O Pioneers! to Apocalypse Now. In many ways, Wagnerism tells a tragic tale. An artist who might have rivaled Shakespeare in universal reach is undone by an ideology of hate. Still, his shadow lingers over twenty-first century culture, his mythic motifs coursing through superhero films and fantasy fiction. Neither apologia nor condemnation, Wagnerism is a work of passionate discovery, urging us toward a more honest idea of how art acts in the world.
Download or read book Parsifal Unveiled written by Samael Aun Weor and published by Glorian Publishing. This book was released on 2013-11-19 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "When religion becomes artificial, art has a duty to rescue it. Art can show that the symbols which religions would have us believe literally true are actually figurative. Art can idealize those symbols, and so reveal the profound truths they contain." - Richard Wagner Parsifal, the epic, final opera by Richard Wagner, stunned audiences and set the stage for the decline of modern civilization. For more than one hundred years, Parsifal has been one of the most controversial dramatic works in the world, not only moving the world's top composers and writers to tears and inspiring generations of creative geniuses, but it was also admired by Adolf Hitler. Wagner's retelling of the myth of the Holy Grail and the knights who protect it showed the secret path to liberation from suffering, but no one understood it. Wagner himself never explained Parsifal, and in his wake thousands of writers, critics, and artists have attempted to penetrate its mysteries yet have failed, since they were not initiated into the secret tradition it came from. Finally, in this book by Samael Aun Weor, the meaning of Parsifal is fully revealed, and the genius and spiritual accomplishments of Richard Wagner are made radiantly clear. "The year 1914 will always be a memorable date among the remarkable dates of this humanity, because of the explosion of the First World War and the simultaneous debut of Parsifal in all the civilized world." - Samael Aun Weor Features: • A complete exposure of the spiritual archetypes hidden in Parsifal, with examples from other religions and mythologies • Detailed instructions for sexual transmutation, including postures and mantras • Includes the complete libretto of Parsifal
Download or read book Richard Wagner Rudolf Steiner Allegories of the Ring written by George Hastings and published by . This book was released on 2011-01-31 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Like many great artists throughout the millennia, Richard Wagner wrote his operas as allegories which can be represented in ways that range from the mundane to the esoteric. When Wagner's cryptic esoteric messages are deciphered they tell a story about the evolution of human freedom and consciousness that would be told two generations later in a different format, by the physicist/philosopher Rudolf Steiner. The allegories of The Ring bear a message meant for today.
Download or read book An Introduction to Richard Wagner s Der Ring Des Nibelungen written by William O. Cord and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Today, more than a century after its first performance, Richard Wagner's The Ring of Nibelung endures as one of the most significant artistic creations in the history of opera. This monumental work not only altered previously accepted concepts of music and drama but also inspired creative and intellectual efforts far beyond the field of opera. Previous studies of the Ring have appealed only to those already acquainted in some way with the Wagnerian art. For the uninitiated, Wagner and his landmark creation have seemed forbidding, and those eager to learn about the masterpiece have faced a vast and frequently esoteric body of commentary. Professor Cord addresses the interests of the non-specialist by taking the reader first into Wagner's unique intent, and then through the complete history of the Ring. Cord, who has attended forty performances of the Ring, considers the conception of the poem, its development into a music-drama exemplifying Wagnerian thought, its introduction to the world, and the reactions and interpretation it elicits.
Download or read book The Rest Is Noise written by Alex Ross and published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. This book was released on 2007-10-16 with total page 706 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of the 2007 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism A New York Times Book Review Top Ten Book of the Year Time magazine Top Ten Nonfiction Book of 2007 Newsweek Favorite Books of 2007 A Washington Post Book World Best Book of 2007 In this sweeping and dramatic narrative, Alex Ross, music critic for The New Yorker, weaves together the histories of the twentieth century and its music, from Vienna before the First World War to Paris in the twenties; from Hitler's Germany and Stalin's Russia to downtown New York in the sixties and seventies up to the present. Taking readers into the labyrinth of modern style, Ross draws revelatory connections between the century's most influential composers and the wider culture. The Rest Is Noise is an astonishing history of the twentieth century as told through its music.
Download or read book Wagner Without Fear written by William Berger and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2010-06-16 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you cringe when your opera-loving friends start raving about the latest production of Tristan? Do you feel faint just thinking about the six-hour performance of Parsifal you were given tickets to? Does your mate accuse you of having a Tannhäuser complex? If you're baffled by the behavior of Wagner worshipers, if you've longed to fathom the mysteries of Wagner's ever-increasing popularity, or if you just want to better understand and enjoy the performances you're attending, you'll find this delightful book indispensable. William Berger is the most helpful guide one could hope to find for navigating the strange and beautiful world of the most controversial artist who ever lived. He tells you all you need to know to become a true Wagnerite--from story lines to historical background; from when to visit the rest room to how to sound smart during intermission; from the Jewish legend that possibly inspired Lohengrin to the tragic death of the first Tristan. Funny, informative, and always a pleasure to read, Wagner Without Fear proves that the art of Wagner can be accessible to everyone. Includes: - The strange life of Richard Wagner--German patriot (and exile), friend (and enemy) of Liszt and Nietzsche - Essential opera lore and "lobby talk" - A scene-by-scene analysis of each opera - What to listen for to get the most from the music - Recommended recordings, films, and sound tracks
Download or read book The Esoteric written by and published by . This book was released on 1896 with total page 592 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Esoteric written by Hiram Erastus Butler and published by . This book was released on 1896 with total page 590 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Decoding Wagner written by Thomas Robert May and published by Hal Leonard Corporation. This book was released on 2004 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unlock the world of Richard Wagner and his works, his monumental achievements, and, ultimately, the great emotional power inherent in his art. The accompanying book provides a fresh overview of his significance for contemporary audiences and culture. 2 CDs.
Download or read book Mean Deviation written by Jeff Wagner and published by Bazillion Points Books. This book was released on 2010 with total page 404 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Revered former Metal Maniacs editor Jeff Wagner analyses the heady side of metal in this exhaustive narrative history of a relentlessly ambitious musical subculture. Beginning with the hugely influential mid-1970s efforts of progressive rock acts Rush and King Crimson, Wagner unfurls a vast colourful tapestry of sounds and styles, from the 'Big 3' of Queensryche, Fates Warning and Dream Theater to the extreme prog pioneers Voivod, Watchtower, Celtic Frost and others.
Download or read book Ice Moon written by Jan Costin Wagner and published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This book was released on 2007 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Loss and the infinite ways we attempt to come to terms with it permeate this absorbing psychological mystery set in the Finnish town of Turku. A week after his wife dies, Det. Kimmo Joentaa feels compelled to return to work to investigate the murder of a young woman smothered in her own bed while her husband was away. Only a valueless painting appears to have been stolen. A second murder, just as puzzling, occurs in a youth hostel where a young man is killed while others slept all around him.
Download or read book A Life with Colour written by Caroline Chanter and published by Rudolf Steiner Press. This book was released on 2021-10-28 with total page 666 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Life with Colour is the first complete survey of Gerard Wagner’s biography and his artistic intentions, featuring dozens of illustrations and more than 120 colour plates. The life and work of Gerard Wagner (1906-1999) were closely aligned to the artistic-spiritual stream connected with the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. He first heard of the Goetheanum – and of its destruction by fire at New Year 1922/23 – whilst still a youth. In 1926, he made his first visit to Dornach, but his intended stay of a week turned into a lifelong sojourn of over 73 years. He found there an active, striving community with which he felt intimately connected. From the start, Gerard Wagner immersed himself in the various artistic impulses that Rudolf Steiner had instigated. This, together with an intensive study of anthroposophy, formed the basis upon which he forged his own approach to painting. The many years he spent in colour experimentation led him to discover objective principles within the language of colour and form that are an inspiration to many today. His paintings, first shown at the Goetheanum in the early 1940s, were exhibited internationally, most notably at the Menshikov Palace, Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia, in 1997. ‘[Wagner’s] whole being bowed before the mystery of colour in a loving, joyful yet serious way, full of devotion and dignity. His life and work itself became a living metaphor of the creative power of colour.’ – Christian Hitsch ‘ Caroline Chanter has not only accomplished a great and seminal study that illuminates the life and work of Gerard Wagner, but has done a great service also to the Goetheanum and its School of Spiritual Science.’ – Peter Selg ‘[Gerard Wagner was] a soul which on earth was devoted so selflessly and in such purity to the beings that are revealed… in forms and colours. He helped them to utterance and manifestation in this world of ours.’ – Sergei O. Prokofieff
Download or read book The Occult Arts of Music written by David Huckvale and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2013-09-21 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Occult traditions have inspired musical ingenuity for centuries. From the Pythagorean concept of a music of the spheres to the occult subculture of 20th-century pop and rock, music has often attempted to express mystical states of mind, cosmic harmony, the demonic and the divine--nowhere more so, perhaps, than in the music for films such as The Mephisto Waltz, The Devil Rides Out, Star Trek, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Omen and The Exorcist. This survey explores how such film music works and uncovers its origins in Pythagorean and Platonic ideas about the divine order of the universe and its essentially numerical/musical nature. Chapters trace the influence of esoteric Freemasonry on Mozart and Beethoven, the birth of "demonic" music in the 19th century with composers such as Weber, Berlioz and Liszt, Wagner's racial mysticism, Schoenberg's numerical superstition, the impact of synesthesia on art music and film, the effect of theosophical ideas on composers such as Scriabin and Holst, supernatural opera and ballet, fairy music and, finally, popular music in the 1960s and '70s.
Download or read book Wagner s Ring and the Germanic Tradition written by Collin Cleary and published by . This book was released on 2020-12-21 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this remarkable book, Collin Cleary defends Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen against the claim that it "distorts" Germanic mythology. Wagner was a serious student of the myths and sagas of Northern Europe, and the Ring is surprisingly faithful to them. Wagner retells the traditional stories, revealing new layers of meaning. Indeed, of all the works that have preserved Germanic mythology, Wagner's Ring is the most beautiful and the most profound. Cleary includes a detailed account of the composer's use of the traditional sources. In addition, he offers a complete interpretation of the Ring, demonstrating Wagner's synthesis of German myth and German philosophy.
Download or read book Wagner and Russia written by Rosamund Bartlett and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1995-02-02 with total page 442 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the influence of the composer Richard Wagner on Russian writers, musicians and artists.
Download or read book The Mystical Idea in Wagner written by Edouard Schuré and published by . This book was released on 1910 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
