Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...
's "Autobiographic Sketch" (in the original
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany, the country of the Germans and German things
**Germania (Roman era)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, ''Autobiographische Skizze'') was written in 1842. It is the composer's earliest
autobiographical account.
Background
Wagner wrote the "Autobiographic Sketch" following his unsuccessful years in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
(1839–42) at the request of
Heinrich Laube
Heinrich Laube (18 September 1806 – 1 August 1884), German dramatist, novelist and theatre-director, was born at Szprotawa, Sprottau in Prussian Silesia.
Life
He studied theology at university of Halle, Halle and university of Breslau, Breslau ...
, the editor of the magazine ''Zeitung für die Elegante Welt'' (''Journal for Elegant Society''). Wagner submitted it literally as a sketch – the sentences are short and the grammar far less convoluted than his normal writing style – expecting that Laube would expand it. However, Laube published it (in 1843) just as it was, commenting
The storm and stress of Paris have turned the Musician into a Writer. I should only spoil the life-sketch, did I attempt to alter a word of it
Contents
In the first pages, Wagner gives a breezy and self-deprecating account of his early life and ambitions. At the age of 21 he hears for the first time the singer
Wilhelmine Schröder-Devrient in
Vincenzo Bellini
Vincenzo Salvatore Carmelo Francesco Bellini (; ; 3 November 1801 – 23 September 1835) was an Italian opera composer famed for his long, graceful melodies and evocative musical settings. A central figure of the era, he was admired not only ...
's opera of ''
Romeo and Juliet
''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
'' - "I was astounded to witness so extraordinary a rendering of such uttery meaningless music".
A racy description follows of his adventures and misadventures as a
conductor
Conductor or conduction may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear
* Conduction aphasia, a language disorder
Mathematics
* Conductor (ring theory)
* Conductor of an abelian variety
* Cond ...
and
composer
A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music.
Etymology and def ...
in
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
and the
Baltics
The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...
, including the story of a storm off
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...
which he claims inspired his opera ''
The Flying Dutchman''. Finally, he arrives in Paris. He describes the uncertain support he received from
Giacomo Meyerbeer
Giacomo Meyerbeer (born Jakob Liebmann Meyer Beer; 5 September 1791 – 2 May 1864) was a German opera composer, "the most frequently performed opera composer during the nineteenth century, linking Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart and Richard Wa ...
, his uneasy relations with
Hector Berlioz
Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer and conductor. His output includes orchestral works such as the ''Symphonie fantastique'' and ''Harold en Italie, Harold in Italy'' ...
, and his misery working as a
hack
Hack may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Games
* Hack (Unix video game), ''Hack'' (Unix video game), a 1984 roguelike video game
* .hack (video game series), ''.hack'' (video game series), a series of video games by the multimedia fran ...
for the publisher
Maurice Schlesinger.
Leaving Paris in 1842, he concludes:
For the first time I saw the Rhine
The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...
- with hot tears in my eyes, I, poor artist, swore eternal fidelity to my German fatherland [Wagner (1994), 19]
Notes
References
*Wagner, Richard, tr. W. Ashton Ellis (1994), ''The Art-Work of the Future and other Works'', Lincoln and London. . The 'Sketch' appears on pp. 3–20.
External links
Online version of the "Autobiographic Sketch"
{{Authority control
Autobiographical works by Richard Wagner
1842 essays
Essays by Richard Wagner
Works originally published in German magazines