Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner (/ˈvɑːɡnər/; German: [ˈʁiçaʁt ˈvaːɡnɐ]; 22 May 1813 – 13 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is primarily 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 Weber and 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, and which was announced in a series of essays 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.
Podcasts:
You
by: WhoYou - you're wasting my time
We're making music we're doing fine
Then a slap in the face takes me back to the starting line
You - your wasting my life
You can't lose what you've already lost
Your arms are open but your legs are crossed
Save me - save me
I'm going down for the third time
Save me - save me
Somebody throw me my next line
Too hot for me to handle
So cold I'm getting nowhere
Pinch me to see if I'm sleeping
Maybe it's only a nightmare
You - why did it have to be you?
Of all those girls I had to choose
You win and I lose
You - you with the poisonous eyes
One look and I'm hooked
One touch and my goose is cooked
Save me - save me
I'm going down for the third time
Save me - save me
Somebody throw me a life line
Too late to change partners
Too late you've got no chance
Too late to change partners
Too late to say I don't dance
You - there's a name for girls like you
You lead me on like a lamb to the slaughter
Then you act like a fish out of water
You - there's a name for girls like you
You've coming on like a steam train
Then you blow me away just like a hurricane
Save me - save me
I'm going down for the last time
Save me - save me
Somebody throw me a lifeline
Save me I'm falling
From the top of the page to the next line
Save me I'm burning
From tips of my toes to my hairline
Too hot for me to handle
So cold I'm getting nowhere
Pinch me to see if I'm sleeping