Music Biography, Opera, Post-Romantic Classical Music (c. 1860 - c. 1900)

The New Grove Wagner

Name: The New Grove Wagner
Author: Barry Millington
ISBN: 9780195169072

by Barry Millington

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Overview

The most controversial musical figure of the 19th century, Wagner was a great literary, philosophical, and political activist whose contribution to the development of German Romanticism was unrivalled by any of his contemporaries. His life and works may be said to crown the musical achievements of German Romanticism but they arouse passions like no other composer's. His works are hated as much as they are worshipped, but no one denies their greatness.
This biography of Richard Wagner is one in a new series of composer biographies, derived and adapted from the second edition of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. These newly written biographies bring the best of the book-length pieces in The New Grove to a wider audience.
Each title provides fresh new insights into the life and works of a major composer, derived from the most recent scholarship. In addition to a detailed and informative view of the subject's life and works, written by an expert in the field, each book includes comprehensive, tabular work-lists and a fully revised and updated bibliography.

About the Author, Barry Millington

Barry Millington is music critic for The Times and reviews editor for BBC Music Magazine. His writings include Wagner in the Master Musicians Series (1984). He has edited The Wagner Compendium (1992) and was co-editor of Wagner in Performance (1992).

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Editorials

Library Journal

In the early 1980s, Grove issued a "Composer Biography" series, with material taken from the first edition of the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Likewise, these slim volumes are spin-offs of the second edition (LJ 3/15/01); consequently, the same new scholarship, fresh perspectives, and updated bibliographies that mark the NGII mark these books the first releases in the new series. For the first time, Stravinsky gets a title of his own. To some extent, the updates have been edited to appeal to a lay audience. For example, in the NGII article on Haydn, there is a section titled "Style, Aesthetics, and Compositional Method," which in the biography is reworded "Style and Method." In the NGII's coverage of Stravinsky, the dictionary section is titled "Posthumous Reputation and Legacy," but here it appears as "Then and Since." However, the texts themselves have not been dumbed down. Each book contains a works list, a bibliography, an index, and 12 pages of black-and-white illustrations (not seen); at press time, the publisher could not confirm whether the illustrations will be the same ones used in the NGII. As with the earlier editions, the work lists include page numbers where pieces are discussed in the text. Excellent for students and scholars, these manageable biographies are recommended for libraries where the earlier editions circulated well. Bonnie Jo Dopp, Univ. of Maryland Libs., College Park Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.