Nietzsche and Wagner In terms of artists and their influences, the case of Nietzsche and Wagner has been the focal point of discussion between many great academic minds of the last century. The controversy surrounding the relationship has led many to postulate that the eventual break between the two men may have contributed to the untimely death of Wagner in 1882, and Nietzsche's eight-year writing spurt from 1883 - 1888. While investigating the details of this peculiar relationship, I was struck by the historical and philosophical depth of several discoveries, the fundamental question being this: Why was Nietzsche's perception of both Wagner's music and his character upset simply because Wagner declared his return to God? I envisioned that this question would provide a rather simple essay, one aimed at declaring the cause of the quarrel as a basic Christian vs. Atheist dispute among oversensitive philosophical minds - but this paper has turned out to be a wealth of thought, knowledge, and chance that I can't possibly express in five to eight pages. What struck me as odd throughout my research, aside from many eerie coincidences in the progression of their lives, was how many times the subject of Ludwig van Beethoven appeared in my research, as he was Wagner's first real musical inspiration and various references are made to him. I was able to make many parallels between the life of Nietzsche and Beethoven, and it is in my opinion that the similarities between these two men are even more profound than the parallels between Wagner and Neitzsche. As academic interest in the comparison between these two men is buried beneath an overwhelming amount of material relating Nietzsche and more directly related historical characte... ... middle of paper ... ...rg/archives/AgelessWisdom/aw_bcreincarn.htm 4/27/01. John, Nicholas. English National Opera Guide: Tristan and Isolde, Wagner. Calder: London, 1983. Kaufman, Walter. The Portable Nietzsche. Penguin Books: New York, 1982. -note-this is a collection of Nietzsche's works. Specific work cited by case in parentheses. Rickels, Laurence. http://www.substance.org/52/52-rik~1_R.html , 4/29/01. Schwaegermann, Ingrid. http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Strasse/3732/niebeetpages_e.htm , 4/24/01. Solomon, Maynard. Ludwig van Beethoven. Schirmer Books: New York, 1988. Interesting links. http://www.msubillings.edu/modlang/bplank/quantumnietzsche.htm#tableofcontents http://www.debunker.com/texts/anti_chr.html Nietzsche's Der Antichrist: Looking Back From the Year 100, Robert Sheaffer.
Oppositely influenced by Nietzsche’s thoughts on Christianity it is no surprise concepts used in Martin Luther King Jr.’s Letter from Birmingham Jail can be differentiated between Nietzsche’s Beyond Good and Evil. Nietzsche believed that people in charge set the rules for master and slave morality, he also believed that Christianity is a form of slave morality. Nietzsche thought people should only be treated equal as long as they are equal in force and talent. King argues that Christianity to him means that we are all as people equal to one another.
Johannes Brahms, a striking individual of unmistakable character, is defined by his compositions as meticulous and enlightened. His comprehensive grasp on classical and baroque form, with his familiarity of counterpoint and musical development, allowed him to effortlessly traverse and cultivate upon the musical architecture laid out by the likes of Bach and Beethoven. Born in Hamburg in 1833, he was the son of Johann Jacob Brahms, who travelled from North Germany, in which the family name “Brahms(t)” propagated (Musgrave 4). His father being a musician by profession instigated Brahms into his own domain of music. With Brahms’ first instruments being the violin, cello and the natural horn (predecessor of the French horn), it was discovered that the genius possessed absolute pitch and had also developed a system of notation on his own even before formal introductions into music (Musgrave 9). His astonishing understanding of musical rudiments was further cemented at age seven by his first teacher Otto Friedrich Willibald Cossel, with piano literature ranging from Bach to Schubert to Clementi (Musgrave 10). The young gifted talent quickly matured, with his compositions being sedulously characterized in craft similar to the seasoned taste of aged liquor. Following in the wake of Beethoven, his style of romanticism seemed restrained, and viewed as being confined to classical forms. With his preference towards absolute music, his works demonstrated “as [Ian] McEwan/ [Clive] Linley would have it, at the intersection of emotion and reason” and of “powerful intellect and of passionate expressivity” (Platt and Smith 4). However, being the headstrong romantic that he is, he manipulated the limiting factor into an area of expanse, in which he...
In 1896, he attended the funeral of his friend Clara Schumann who he had known since 1853. On his return, he was seriously ill and died a year later. Generations later, his music and name may still provoke argument in musical circles. However, there can be utterly no doubt that he is included in the first dozen composers of all music history (Weinstock 456). Part of Johannes Brahms’s unique history include the story of his life, his influences, and his exceptional music. Today, his popularity is still continuing to grow and he will remain in music history as a remarkable and outstanding Romantic music composer.
Nietzsche believed that though life is a struggle, “the arts generally make life worth living.” However, he felt this pessimistic attitude was a problem and came to his conclusion about art after turning his attention
Johannes Brahms was a famous German composer that was born in Hamburg on 7 May 1833. “Beethoven, who was to cast such a long shadow over the mature man, had been dead for six years; Schubert, whom he revered almost as much, for five” (Holmes 7). Brahms’s father was a musician and his everyday repetitions supported boy’s interest to music. The man made a great career as a pianist and composer. Unlike Lizst and Wagner, who represented new movement of a descriptive music, Brahms preferred to use German classical musical compositions as a basis for his works. As the composer opposed the “music of the future” movement, some experts could call him a conservator. However, many authors believe Brahms was a progressive composer. This issue became the main idea of the essay Brahms the Progressive written by Arnold Shoenberg. The author had a purpose to prove this “classicist [and] academician, was a great innovator in the realm of musical language, that, in fact, he was a great progressive” (Shoenberg 56). Brahms’s music was used as a
Fridreich Nietzsche writes in The Gay Science "God is dead....And we have killed him," (99, Existentialist Philosophy) referr...
Berg, Darrell M. "Beethoven, Ludwig Van." The World Book Encyclopedia 1996. Vol. 2. Chicago, IL: World Book, 1996. 213-14. Print.
Richard Wagner was one of the most influential and controversial classical composers of all time. Most of his works were operas and they addressed many aspects of his personal feelings: society, politics, religions, etc. Though many hated (and still hate) him and his work, most revere him to be a multitalented genius that brought 19th Century music to higher levels.
Schubert's instrumental works show development over a long period of time, but some of his greatest songs were composed before he was 20 years old. In Schubert's songs the literary and musical elements are perfectly balanced, composed on the same intellectual and emotional level. Although Schubert composed strophic songs throughout his career, he did not follow set patterns but exploited bold and free forms when the text demanded it. Except for his early training as a child, Schubert the composer, was largely untrained and self-taught. His gift of being able to create melodies that contained both easy naturalness and sophisticated twists at the same time was unprecedented for his time. On this quality rests the reputation that music history finally gave Schubert.
Friedrich Nietzsche’s On Truth and Lies in a Nonmoral Sense represents a deconstruction of the modern epistemological project. Instead of seeking for truth, he suggests that the ultimate truth is that we have to live without such truth, and without a sense of longing for that truth. This revolutionary work of his is divided into two main sections. The first part deals with the question on what is truth? Here he discusses the implication of language to our acquisition of knowledge. The second part deals with the dual nature of man, i.e. the rational and the intuitive. He establishes that neither rational nor intuitive man is ever successful in their pursuit of knowledge due to our illusion of truth. Therefore, Nietzsche concludes that all we can claim to know are interpretations of truth and not truth itself.
I have chosen to look at the biographical information, the musical aspects, and also some similarities as well as differences in composers, Alban Berg and Anton Webern. The two composers had a great impact on musical history between the Romantic era and the Twentieth Century. These two composers have so many similarities as well as differences. They were both successful students of Arnold Schoenberg.
The Merriam – Webster Dictionary defines existentialism as a chiefly 20th century philosophical movement embracing diverse doctrines but centering on analysis of individual existence in an unfathomable universe and the plight of the individual who must assume ultimate responsibility for acts of free will without any certain knowledge of what is right or wrong or good or bad (Merriam, 2011). In other words, an existentialist believes that our natures are the natures we make for ourselves, the meaning of our existence is that we just exist and there may or may not be a meaning for the existence, and we have to individually decide what is right or wrong and good or bad for ourselves. No one can answer any of those things for us. A good example of existentialism is Woody Allen’s movie, Deconstructing Harry. A man is haunted by his past and his past has followed him into the present. He is a wreck not because of the things that happened to him, but because of the choices he made. He is consumed by regret and insecurity and he tries to find blame in his situation with someone other than himself, however he cannot (Barnes, 2011). Throughout the rest of this paper I will be discussing two of the most prominent existentialists, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche.
All of Friedrich Nietzsche quotes were made before the age of 44. For the last 11 years of his life, he had no use of his mental capabilities. While many of Friedrich Nietzsche quotes were focused on religion, or the fallacy of it, it would be interesting to see what he would have written about later in his life and if his opinion would have changed. Although, the statement 'God is dead' did come from him, so there would likely have been no change in how he viewed religion. Many of his quotes are focused on human behavior and existence, and following are some that moved me.
In this essay we will embrace Nietzsche’s philosophy for the sake of the fact that he proposed that God is dead, life is worthless, and fate ultimately surpasses faith. In the end, he provided for many, an alternative philosophy of life that became life affirming. On the other end, the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche has many diversions, for a countless number of reasons. Undoubtedly, most of those in disagreement to Nietzsche’s philosophy base their objections on a misperceived threat to their unwavering doctrine of religious faith. To make this evident, we begin with one of philosophy’s most argumentative, yet widely misunderstood quotes.
Some opera authorities feel Wagner did more than any other composers to change music and drama. Even though his life and music produce passions unlike any other composer’s, his works are both hated and loved by some. However, even those who hate his work have to admit they are great.