Wagner, a Case History

A century after his death, Richard Wagner remains the subject of fierce argument. Attitudes toward him fall mostly into two camps--violent criticism and canonization. As a composer, he was certainly a revolutionary, but discussion usually focuses on his political standpoint, his alleged anti-Semitism and the way he was idolized by a number of Nazis. The author's stimulating and penetrating study is not only a biography of Wagner in the round, but rather an essay, a documentary and a commentary all in one. The result is a fascinating and original picture of 150 years of Wagnerian history that involves not only Wagner himself, but also such figures as Bakunin, Offenbach, Heine, Richard Strauss, Toscanini, Furtwangler, and Hitler. This book is especially valuable in the way it incorporates material and viewpoints not otherwise available to English-language readers. --Jacket.