Excerpt from The Life of Richard Wagner, Vol. 3 See Appendix. The musical feuilleton of the Debats being Berlioz' own department, there can be no possible doubt that the signature Of this prefatory note, H. Is his. Presumably Liszt had sent the article to him in March. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

“[An] intriguing exploration of the composer’s life and thought as exemplified by his music. An excellent biography.” —Library Journal Best known for the four-opera cycle The Ring of the Nibelung, Richard Wagner (1813–83) was a conductor, librettist, theater director, and essayist, in addition to being the composer of some of the most enduring operatic works in history. Though his influence on the development of European music is indisputable, Wagner was also quite outspoken on the politics and culture of his time. His ideas traveled beyond musical circles into philosophy, literature, theater staging, and the visual arts. To befit such a dynamic figure, acclaimed biographer Martin Geck offers here a Wagner biography unlike any other, one that strikes a unique balance between the technical musical aspects of Wagner’s compositions and his overarching understanding of aesthetics. A landmark study of one of music’s most important figures “People who would like to know more about Wagner, and people who have loved his music for years . . . will find a great deal in this book to enjoy and to admire.” —Tablet “Geck describes a Wagner who is grounded, focused and even cautious, a savvy realist and ironist rather than a flamboyant, flailing ideologue . . . Suffused with his readings of contemporary productions of the operas, Geck’s musical analyses are succinct and superb” —New York Times “As an editor of Wagner’s Complete Works, Geck brings a deep familiarity with the composer to his task.” —Weekly Standard “A thoroughly approachable yet consistently provocative study.” —Thomas S. Grey, editor of The Cambridge Companion to Wagner

Excerpt from The Life of Richard Wagner, Vol. 1 This volume brings our story down to 1843, an important era in Richard Wagner's life, with his entry, as composer of two successful operas, upon a so-called practical career at one of the principal German theatres. How he fared there, how he turned his back on Dresden and all office-bearing, and how he planned and actually commenced his great artistic reformation, will form the subject of Volume II. (to appear, as I hope, in Volume III. Will follow his changing fortunes, through the last two-thirds of his exile, down to his rescue by King Ludwig. This, I trust, will be ready in 1902; whilst, Subject to Herr Glasenapp's state of forwardness, I expect to complete the Life by a fourth volume in 1903. As I fancy I heard the bell ring, Ladies and Gentlemen, I withdraw to let the curtain rise. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The extensive scope of this collection means that this documentary record of the reception of German literature in England is a valuable scholarly resource. One of the most important features of British literary and intellectual history over the past 250 years is the influence of German literature. From the second half of the 18th Century, through the first decades of the 19th, German books and ideas attracted, then gained the attention of a nation. Despite the acknowledged importance of the influence on writers such as Coleridge and Carlyle the subject, though often alluded to, was rarely studied. This collection provides a guidebook through the masses of periodical and allows the English side of the Anglo-German literary relationship to be explored in detail. In order to make the collection useful to scholars with a wide range of interest, it has been divided into three parts: Part 1 is a chronological presentation of commentary on German literature in general. It also contains collective reviews of multiple German authors, notices of important anthologies and reactions to influential works about Germany and its culture. Part 2 collects reviews of 18th Century individual German authors and Part 3 is devoted to the English reception of Goethe and Schiller. Parts 2 & 3 contain cross-references to the collective reviews of Part 1. Containing over 200 British serials and articles and reviews from all the major English literary periodicals, the collection also includes a broad sampling of opinion from the more general magazines, including some popular religious publications.