The music reviews of Robert Schumann and Richard Wagner are central documents of 19th-century German musical culture. This book takes a closer look at the way these texts were written and explores the significant contributions Schumann and Wagner made to the discourse of musical appraisal. To that effect, the author raises fundamental questions that have thus far remained unaddressed: What textual features characterize the critical writings? How do Schumann and Wagner understand their roles as critics of music? And in what way do they reach out to the reader? Rather than understanding these critical writings exclusively as a gateway to the compositions and musical aesthetics of Schumann and Wagner, this book analyzes the texts through the lens of pragmatics, narratology and discourse analysis. Using this interdisciplinary perspective, the author proposes to understand Schumann and Wagner within the broader medial and discursive context of German ‘Kritik’. He challenges the dominant narrative that brands Schumann and Wagner as elitist Romantic critics, demonstrating instead that they actively encourage their readers to form their own judgements. This volume is an indispensable resource for scholars of German literature, periodicals and music alike.

This book explores the responses of leading European avant-garde painters to the operas of Richard Wagner, the most influential composer of the late nineteenth century. The term avant-garde represents a twenty-first century evaluation of certain nineteenth-century artists working in a variety of advanced styles, rather than a phrase the artists applied to themselves. Chapters are on individual artists or groups, rather than an attempt to survey all of nineteenth-century Wagnerian visual art. They deal with paintings and drawings inspired by Wagner and his operas, not with the composer’s larger cultural influence through his writings and personal example. Thus artists such as Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Gauguin, who knew of Wagner’s music and writings but did not depict scenes from his operas, are not discussed in detail. The emphasis is on the diverse effects Wagner had on the works of leading avant-garde artists, varying according to their personalities and stylistic interests. The period beginning in the 1880s, often associated with post-Impressionism, was characterized by a movement away from realist subject matter to more personal or imaginary themes, a general intellectual trend of the fin-de-siècle. Wagner’s remote quasi-historical or mythological subjects fit well with this escapist tendency in the art and culture of the time, in part a return to the Romantic sensibility that was dominant in Wagner’s youth. Wagner’s influence peaked in the period between his death in 1883 and 1900, though a few long-lived artists continued their Wagnerian explorations from this era well into the early twentieth century. There is no “Wagner style” in art, yet Wagner’s pervasive influence is immediately evident in these works. Artists whose works are discussed include Eugène Delacroix, Henri Fantin-Latour, Odilon Redon, Max Klinger, James Ensor, Fernand Khnopff, John Singer Sargent and Aubrey Beardsley, among others. The book features 60 art reproductions, half of them in color.

Acknowledgements To Users of this Research Guide I. Introduction II. Introducing Wagner: Compendia and Other Survey Studies III. Researching Wagner: Reference Works of Various Kinds IV. The Documentary Legacy V. Wagner's Life and Character VI. Wagner as Composer: Studies in Techniques, Styles, and Influences VII. Wagner as Music-Dramatist VIII. Wagner as Instrumental and Vocal Composer and Arranger IX. Performing Wagner X. Wagner as Poet, Prose Writer, and Philosopher XI. Criticizing Wagner XII. Wagner and Culture, Past and Present XIII. After Wagner: Bayreuth, the Festivals, and Wagner's Descendents Index

What is musical subjectivity? Drawing on philosophy and critical theory, Benedict Taylor investigates this concept in relation to Schumann.

The literature found in the Classics for Students series provides a sequenced course of progression for the pianist who wants to play music of substantial quality. The wide variety of moods, technical features, and colors included in this collection will aid in the development of technique and musicianship and provide hours of personal enjoyment. Titles: * Angels' Voices, Op. 100, No. 21 (Burgmüller) * Arabesque, Op. 100, No. 2 (Burgmüller) * Autumn Song, Op. 47, No. 3 (Heller) * The Avalanche, Op. 45, No. 2 (Heller) * Ballade, Op. 100, No. 15 (Burgmüller) * Berceuse, Op. 45, No. 19 (Heller) * The Clear Stream, Op. 100, No. 7 (Burgmüller) * First Loss, Op. 68, No. 16 (Schumann) * Melody, Op. 68, No. 1 (Schumann) * Sicilienne, Op. 68, No. 11 (Schumann) * Sincerity, Op. 100, No. 1 (Burgmüller) * Soldiers' March, Op. 68, No. 2 (Schumann) * The Stream, Op. 47, No. 2 (Heller) * Wild Rider, Op. 68, No. 8 (Schumann)

The literature found in the Classics for Students series provides a sequenced course of progression for the pianist who wants to play music of substantial quality. The wide variety of moods, technical features, and colors included in this collection will aid in the development of technique and musicianship and provide hours of personal enjoyment. Titles: * At the Brook, Op. 47, No. 8 (Heller) * Ave Maria, Op. 100, No. 19 (Burgmüller) * Cradle Song, Op. 124, No. 6 (Schumann) * Dusk, Op. 138, No. 3 (Heller) * Étude in B-flat Major, Op. 125, No. 13 (Heller) * Fantasy Dance, Op. 124, No. 5 (Schumann) * The Hunter, Op. 138, No. 4 (Heller) * Little Romance, Op. 68, No. 19 (Schumann) * Norse Song, Op. 68, No. 41 (Schumann) * Restlessness, Op. 100, No. 18 (Burgmüller) * The Storm, Op. 109, No. 13 (Burgmüller) * Tarantella, Op. 100, No. 20 (Burgmüller) * Tolling Bell, Op. 125, No. 8 (Heller) * Waltz, Op. 124, No. 4 (Schumann)