RICHARD WAGNER Siegfried Idyll
“ Imagination creates reality .” – Wagner
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Born 1813 in Leipzig , Germany ; died 1883 in Venice , Italy
• Wagner ’ s stepfather , who was an actor and playwright , had a large impact on Wagner ’ s artistic interests . This influence can be seen throughout his career , as he wrote his own libretto ( text and lyrics ) for his operas .
• Wagner was forced to leave several cities throughout his lifetime due to scandalous behavior . In Russia , he amassed so much debt that he needed to flee the country to avoid his creditors . Once back to Germany , he was forced to leave because there was a warrant for his arrest for involvement in a failed uprising .
• But that ’ s not all ! Wagner spent his exile in Zurich , where he befriended a couple , Otto and Mathilde , who financially supported him . But Wagner burned bridges again by having an affair with Mathilde .
• No , that ’ s still not all ! Once his exile was lifted in 1862 , Wagner returned to Germany . He fell in love with the married daughter of one of his peers , Liszt ’ s daughter Cosima . The two had an affair , which caused such a scandal that the King was pressured into asking Wagner to leave Munich . Phew !
• Wagner developed increasingly nationalistic political views throughout his life and published a great deal of nonmusical literature that included anti-Semitic sentiments , leading to protests at some of his performances .
• Wagner revolutionized opera , and he set the trend for many modern-day concert experience traditions , such as dimming the lights at the beginning of a performance and placing the orchestra accompanying an opera in a pit .
FUN FACT
Wagner ’ s music has been used in a multitude of movies and TV shows , including Westworld , The Simpsons , Breaking Bad , and Wedding Crashers .
THE WORLD AT A GLANCE
1869
MUSIC Johannes Brahms ’ Hungarian Dances
LITERATURE Leo Tolstoy ’ s War and Peace is published in its entirety
SPORTS The first professional baseball team is formed , the Cincinnati Red Stockings
ABOUT THE PIECE
• Siegfried Idyll is a symphonic poem written for chamber orchestra in 1869 .
• Wagner wrote the work for his wife Cosima after the birth of their son , Siegfried . Wagner would later incorporate musical themes from Siegfried Idyll into the final scene of his opera Siegfried sung by the iconic character Brünnhilde .
HISTORY The inauguration of the Suez Canal
BSO SESSIONS | FEBRUARY 2021
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