This is a multi-session seminar and must be taken as a series.
In 2013 we celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Richard Wagner (1813–1883). Perhaps no other composer so changed the course of music history through the way he reconceived the nature of opera and the way he stretched the boundaries of tonality. Many composers who followed found themselves swept up in these new approaches to form and harmony. Four classes will consider Wagner in terms of both biography and music. The first two will provide an overview of Wagner’s life, including his background and education, his practical experience in the opera house, and the creation and establishment of the Wagner festival in Bayreuth. In addition, these sessions will briefly discuss selected operas, focusing on the musical techniques that Wagner employed. The final sessions will examine Wagner’s radical new principles in the four operas that make up The Ring Cycle.
Cost: $85
