Richard Wagner was a 19th century German composer. Born in
1813 and died in 1883. Beside being a composer he was an
conductor, music theorist, and essayist among others. His musical
influence is still noticeable in today's music. Wagner was a rather
controversial figure, and very outspoken. He
has been accused of being anti-semitic by some historians. He composed his first
opera at age 19 called "Die Hochzeit" or "The Wedding". He did not complete it however, and left it untouched from 1832. He completed several operas after this period with his first being Der fliegende Holländer, which is one of his most famous pieces. The premiere of
Der fliegende Holländer was in 1843 in Dresden. Many claim that
Tristan und Isolde is his masterpiece. The style of composition was
a clear Wagner structure. Most of Wagner's pieces were based or
inspired by Northern European legends.
Wagner Operas
Here are some of Wagner's operas:
Die Feen
Der fliegende Holländer
Tannhäuser
Tristan und Isolde
Die Walküre
Götterdämmerung
Parsifal
Wagner's influence on music and art in general is tremendous.
His compositions provided inspiration to many famous composers.
Modern day groups such as Rammstein are strongly influenced
by Richard Wagner.