Karol Berger
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520292758
- eISBN:
- 9780520966130
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520292758.003.0005
- Subject:
- Music, Opera
For those unwilling to follow the erotic utopia of Tristan, a new answer had to be found to the political and ethical questions raised in the Ring. And this is precisely what Wagner provided in his ...
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For those unwilling to follow the erotic utopia of Tristan, a new answer had to be found to the political and ethical questions raised in the Ring. And this is precisely what Wagner provided in his last two projects. Die Meistersinger (1861-67) as an attempt, partly inspired by the nationalism of Fichte, to see whether something of the political optimism of the Ring might still be salvageable after the pessimistic discoveries of Tristan. The answer the opera gives to this question is affirmative, but the specific content of this answer is profoundly disturbing, a utopia of post-political aestheticized metapolitics pregnant with sinister implications for the future.Less
For those unwilling to follow the erotic utopia of Tristan, a new answer had to be found to the political and ethical questions raised in the Ring. And this is precisely what Wagner provided in his last two projects. Die Meistersinger (1861-67) as an attempt, partly inspired by the nationalism of Fichte, to see whether something of the political optimism of the Ring might still be salvageable after the pessimistic discoveries of Tristan. The answer the opera gives to this question is affirmative, but the specific content of this answer is profoundly disturbing, a utopia of post-political aestheticized metapolitics pregnant with sinister implications for the future.
David J. Levin
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- May 2020
- ISBN:
- 9780226656397
- eISBN:
- 9780226656427
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- University of Chicago Press
- DOI:
- 10.7208/chicago/9780226656427.003.0011
- Subject:
- Music, Performing Practice/Studies
This paper explores the dramaturgy of vocality and corporeality in Alexander von Zemlinsky’s one-act opera Der Zwerg (The Dwarf, 1919-1921) via three distinct but interrelated scenes: first, the ...
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This paper explores the dramaturgy of vocality and corporeality in Alexander von Zemlinsky’s one-act opera Der Zwerg (The Dwarf, 1919-1921) via three distinct but interrelated scenes: first, the scene that Richard Wagner sets in his infamous essay “Judaism in Music” of 1850/1869. In Wagner’s pamphlet, the Jewish voice is inflected as monstrous, at once unintentionally comical and tragically deluded. We hear echoes of Wagner’s critique in the soundscape of Der Zwerg, which in turn revisits the famous Prize Song scene in Act Three of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. And beyond the vocal dramaturgy of Zemlinsky’s piece is a central scene of visuality: the dwarf recognizes his hideousness by apprehending his reflection in the mirror. That scene invites reference to the scene of traumatic recognition set by Jacques Lacan in his 1936 lecture on “The Mirror Stage." Lacan’s argument about the constitutive rivenness of the subject helps us to grasp the vocal and corporeal stakes of Der Zwerg. The spectacle of the dwarf’s corporeality figures the predicament of difference in the wake of the Gesamtkunstwerk and the role of the voice in rendering that predicament.Less
This paper explores the dramaturgy of vocality and corporeality in Alexander von Zemlinsky’s one-act opera Der Zwerg (The Dwarf, 1919-1921) via three distinct but interrelated scenes: first, the scene that Richard Wagner sets in his infamous essay “Judaism in Music” of 1850/1869. In Wagner’s pamphlet, the Jewish voice is inflected as monstrous, at once unintentionally comical and tragically deluded. We hear echoes of Wagner’s critique in the soundscape of Der Zwerg, which in turn revisits the famous Prize Song scene in Act Three of Wagner’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. And beyond the vocal dramaturgy of Zemlinsky’s piece is a central scene of visuality: the dwarf recognizes his hideousness by apprehending his reflection in the mirror. That scene invites reference to the scene of traumatic recognition set by Jacques Lacan in his 1936 lecture on “The Mirror Stage." Lacan’s argument about the constitutive rivenness of the subject helps us to grasp the vocal and corporeal stakes of Der Zwerg. The spectacle of the dwarf’s corporeality figures the predicament of difference in the wake of the Gesamtkunstwerk and the role of the voice in rendering that predicament.
Kevin C. Karnes
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199957927
- eISBN:
- 9780199346011
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199957927.003.0005
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
This chapter considers the work of an anomalous Secessionist, Gustav Klimt, whose principal concern was not social reform but psychological or spiritual transformation. It argues that some of Klimt's ...
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This chapter considers the work of an anomalous Secessionist, Gustav Klimt, whose principal concern was not social reform but psychological or spiritual transformation. It argues that some of Klimt's best-known works from his Secession years give voice to longing to still the effects of Schopenhauerian will within the psyche, and it suggests Klimt's source for such ideas was the work of Richard Wagner, and particularly Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. In his Beethoven Frieze (1902), Klimt elaborated a psychological narrative etched with the imagery of Wagner's vision of transcendence. Soon, however Klimt split off his reflections on will from the rest of his painterly work. He glimpsed the will in its purest form in isolated erotic images, while creating other works that contain such eroticism within tapestries of inorganic geometries, or that envision utopian realms innocent of human habitation altogether.Less
This chapter considers the work of an anomalous Secessionist, Gustav Klimt, whose principal concern was not social reform but psychological or spiritual transformation. It argues that some of Klimt's best-known works from his Secession years give voice to longing to still the effects of Schopenhauerian will within the psyche, and it suggests Klimt's source for such ideas was the work of Richard Wagner, and particularly Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. In his Beethoven Frieze (1902), Klimt elaborated a psychological narrative etched with the imagery of Wagner's vision of transcendence. Soon, however Klimt split off his reflections on will from the rest of his painterly work. He glimpsed the will in its purest form in isolated erotic images, while creating other works that contain such eroticism within tapestries of inorganic geometries, or that envision utopian realms innocent of human habitation altogether.
Anna Stoll Knecht
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- November 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190491116
- eISBN:
- 9780190491130
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190491116.003.0010
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
The last chapter offers a reading of the Seventh from the perspective of its association with Wagner’s Meistersinger, which sounds loud and clear in the Finale, and in a more subtle way in other ...
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The last chapter offers a reading of the Seventh from the perspective of its association with Wagner’s Meistersinger, which sounds loud and clear in the Finale, and in a more subtle way in other movements. While the Meistersinger reference has been duly noted, the question of the nature and function of this allusion at the core of the symphony has not been explored in depth. First, this chapter argues that Mahler’s clear gesture toward Meistersinger in the Finale prompts the listener to hear other elements throughout the whole symphony in relation to Wagner’s opera. Mahler’s use of quartal harmony in the first movement, for example, resonates with a particular passage in Meistersinger Act II. Second, the connections between these two works crystallize around the character of Beckmesser, the pedantic critic who initially claims to know what makes art meaningful, but whose own music is ultimately perceived as meaningless.Less
The last chapter offers a reading of the Seventh from the perspective of its association with Wagner’s Meistersinger, which sounds loud and clear in the Finale, and in a more subtle way in other movements. While the Meistersinger reference has been duly noted, the question of the nature and function of this allusion at the core of the symphony has not been explored in depth. First, this chapter argues that Mahler’s clear gesture toward Meistersinger in the Finale prompts the listener to hear other elements throughout the whole symphony in relation to Wagner’s opera. Mahler’s use of quartal harmony in the first movement, for example, resonates with a particular passage in Meistersinger Act II. Second, the connections between these two works crystallize around the character of Beckmesser, the pedantic critic who initially claims to know what makes art meaningful, but whose own music is ultimately perceived as meaningless.
Karol Berger
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- September 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780520292758
- eISBN:
- 9780520966130
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- University of California Press
- DOI:
- 10.1525/california/9780520292758.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, Opera
The book centers on the four music dramas (Der Ring des Nibelungen, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Parsifal) Wagner created in the second half of his career. Two aims are ...
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The book centers on the four music dramas (Der Ring des Nibelungen, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Parsifal) Wagner created in the second half of his career. Two aims are pursued here: first, to penetrate the “secret” of large-scale form in Wagner’s music dramas, the secret the very existence of which was called into question by the composer’s critics, including the most perceptive of those, Nietzsche; second, to see the ideological import of Wagner’s dramas against the background of the worldviews that were current in his lifetime and, in particular, to confront his works with Nietzsche’s critique. What connects the two aims is my conviction that a grasp of Wagner’s large forms affords insights into the dramatic and philosophical implications of his works. The music dramas of Wagner’s later years registered and reacted to every major component in the complex ideological landscape that emerged during his century. Like a number of artists of his time, in his later years Wagner understood himself to be something more than just an artist; rather, he saw himself as a cultural prophet announcing and preparing better, more desirable forms of life for humanity. The specific content of his message never ceased to evolve, but his self-understanding as someone with a message to deliver remained constant. The confrontation with Nietzsche, a rival cultural prophet, takes a particular urgency in this context, since what was at stake in the philosopher’s objections to the artist was precisely the ideological import of Wagner’s works.Less
The book centers on the four music dramas (Der Ring des Nibelungen, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, and Parsifal) Wagner created in the second half of his career. Two aims are pursued here: first, to penetrate the “secret” of large-scale form in Wagner’s music dramas, the secret the very existence of which was called into question by the composer’s critics, including the most perceptive of those, Nietzsche; second, to see the ideological import of Wagner’s dramas against the background of the worldviews that were current in his lifetime and, in particular, to confront his works with Nietzsche’s critique. What connects the two aims is my conviction that a grasp of Wagner’s large forms affords insights into the dramatic and philosophical implications of his works. The music dramas of Wagner’s later years registered and reacted to every major component in the complex ideological landscape that emerged during his century. Like a number of artists of his time, in his later years Wagner understood himself to be something more than just an artist; rather, he saw himself as a cultural prophet announcing and preparing better, more desirable forms of life for humanity. The specific content of his message never ceased to evolve, but his self-understanding as someone with a message to deliver remained constant. The confrontation with Nietzsche, a rival cultural prophet, takes a particular urgency in this context, since what was at stake in the philosopher’s objections to the artist was precisely the ideological import of Wagner’s works.
Anna Stoll Knecht
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- November 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190491116
- eISBN:
- 9780190491130
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190491116.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
Gustav Mahler’s Seventh Symphony stands out as one of the most provocative symphonic statements of the early twentieth century. This book offers a new interpretation of the Seventh based on a ...
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Gustav Mahler’s Seventh Symphony stands out as one of the most provocative symphonic statements of the early twentieth century. This book offers a new interpretation of the Seventh based on a detailed study of Mahler’s compositional materials, combined with a close reading of the finished work. The Seventh has often been heard as “existing in the shadow” of the Sixth Symphony or as “too reminiscent” of Richard Wagner’s opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Focusing on sketches previously considered as “discarded,” this study reveals unexpected connections between the Seventh and both the Sixth and Meistersinger. These connections confirm that Mahler’s compositional project was firmly grounded in a dialogue with works from the past, and that this referential aspect should be taken as an important interpretive key to the work. Providing the first thorough analysis of the sketches and drafts for the Seventh, this book sheds new light on its complex compositional history. Each movement of the symphony is considered from a double perspective, genetic and analytic, showing how sketch studies and analytical approaches can interact with each other. The compositional materials raise the question of Mahler’s reception of Richard Wagner, and thus lead us to rethink issues concerning his own cultural identity. A close reading of the score enlightens these issues by exposing new facets of Mahler’s musical humor. The Seventh moves away from the tragedy of the Sixth toward comedy and shows, in a unique way within Mahler’s output, that humor can be taken as a form of transcendence.Less
Gustav Mahler’s Seventh Symphony stands out as one of the most provocative symphonic statements of the early twentieth century. This book offers a new interpretation of the Seventh based on a detailed study of Mahler’s compositional materials, combined with a close reading of the finished work. The Seventh has often been heard as “existing in the shadow” of the Sixth Symphony or as “too reminiscent” of Richard Wagner’s opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. Focusing on sketches previously considered as “discarded,” this study reveals unexpected connections between the Seventh and both the Sixth and Meistersinger. These connections confirm that Mahler’s compositional project was firmly grounded in a dialogue with works from the past, and that this referential aspect should be taken as an important interpretive key to the work. Providing the first thorough analysis of the sketches and drafts for the Seventh, this book sheds new light on its complex compositional history. Each movement of the symphony is considered from a double perspective, genetic and analytic, showing how sketch studies and analytical approaches can interact with each other. The compositional materials raise the question of Mahler’s reception of Richard Wagner, and thus lead us to rethink issues concerning his own cultural identity. A close reading of the score enlightens these issues by exposing new facets of Mahler’s musical humor. The Seventh moves away from the tragedy of the Sixth toward comedy and shows, in a unique way within Mahler’s output, that humor can be taken as a form of transcendence.
Anna Stoll Knecht
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- November 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190491116
- eISBN:
- 9780190491130
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190491116.003.0002
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
Chapter 1 retraces the reception history of the Seventh Symphony from its premiere in 1908 in order to determine when the work began to be considered as “problematic,” since early accounts report ...
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Chapter 1 retraces the reception history of the Seventh Symphony from its premiere in 1908 in order to determine when the work began to be considered as “problematic,” since early accounts report that it had been initially rather well received. Two aspects that are central in the negative perception of the work are then examined: the Seventh’s close relationship to the Sixth Symphony, and the noisy Finale, clearly alluding to Wagner’s opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. The view of the Seventh as a problematic work is emphatically connected with its highly intertextual character, and as shown in the following chapters, Mahler’s preliminary sketches throw new light on the referential aspect of the work.Less
Chapter 1 retraces the reception history of the Seventh Symphony from its premiere in 1908 in order to determine when the work began to be considered as “problematic,” since early accounts report that it had been initially rather well received. Two aspects that are central in the negative perception of the work are then examined: the Seventh’s close relationship to the Sixth Symphony, and the noisy Finale, clearly alluding to Wagner’s opera Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg. The view of the Seventh as a problematic work is emphatically connected with its highly intertextual character, and as shown in the following chapters, Mahler’s preliminary sketches throw new light on the referential aspect of the work.
Anna Stoll Knecht
- Published in print:
- 2019
- Published Online:
- November 2019
- ISBN:
- 9780190491116
- eISBN:
- 9780190491130
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780190491116.003.0003
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
How do genesis, structure, and interpretation relate to each other? This chapter first examines the structure of the Seventh in five movements, beginning with an overview of its tonal trajectory, ...
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How do genesis, structure, and interpretation relate to each other? This chapter first examines the structure of the Seventh in five movements, beginning with an overview of its tonal trajectory, before outlining its inner connections. The five movements of the Seventh are not unified by a program, but the subtle links that relate these movements to each other challenge the idea that the work lacks coherence. These inner connections are counterbalanced by a centrifugal force, pointing toward other works, inside and outside the Mahlerian corpus (Mahler’s Sixth Symphony, Wagner’s Meistersinger and Parsifal). The second section presents the web of interpretive leads pursued in this study. It concludes with some reflections about what constitutes the genesis of a work and how the genetic history relates to issues of interpretation.Less
How do genesis, structure, and interpretation relate to each other? This chapter first examines the structure of the Seventh in five movements, beginning with an overview of its tonal trajectory, before outlining its inner connections. The five movements of the Seventh are not unified by a program, but the subtle links that relate these movements to each other challenge the idea that the work lacks coherence. These inner connections are counterbalanced by a centrifugal force, pointing toward other works, inside and outside the Mahlerian corpus (Mahler’s Sixth Symphony, Wagner’s Meistersinger and Parsifal). The second section presents the web of interpretive leads pursued in this study. It concludes with some reflections about what constitutes the genesis of a work and how the genetic history relates to issues of interpretation.