RIP British Wagnerite, 89
mainThe philosopher Bryan Magee, author of the hugely influential Aspects of Wagner (1968) and The Tristan Chord: Wagner and Philosophy (2001), died today aged 89.
Comments
MOST READ TODAY:
-
Orchestras
Powerhouse violinist quits in Cleveland
We hear that Stephen Rose, former head of…
-
News
Panic buttons at Cleveland
The steady departure of cherished professors at the…
-
News
These we have lost in 2024
There have been some irreparable losses. Germany mourned…
-
Orchestras
Happy birthday MTT, 80 today
The prolific international conductor Michael Tilson Thomas, diagnosed…
Another huge loss. How very sad. My condolences to his friends and family.
A long and important life of a brilliant and influential man but, Norman, a wagnerite is some sort of phosphate mineral. Shouldn’t it be Wagnerian?
Wagnerite is a proper designation with an illustrious history, most prominently with GB Shaw’s The Perfect Wagnerite. I myself use ‘Wagnerian’ as an adjective (e.g. Hänsel und Gretel is a Wagnerian opera). I refer to Wagner’s operas as Wagner operas. Not all of them are Wagnerian. The earliest of them try, unsuccessfully, to be Bellinian/Weberian.
If Magee was a ‘wagnerian’ he was a selective one, as can be read in his writing on the composer. ‘Real’ wagnerians are fanatics who have succumbed to the Wagnerian sorcery and lost a crucial bit of their intellectual capacities.
George Bernard Shaw wrote “The Perfect Wagnerite!, (a Commentary on the Ring originally published London, 1898) after seeing the second production in Bayreuth in 1896. So I think Norman is fully justified in describing Bryan Magee as a “Wagnerite”. You might almost say “The Perfect Wagnerite” and a great loss indeed.
No. Wagnerite is Shavian. Supposed to be “Perfect”. Magee tried. Bless him. Knowing full well it’s bloody hard …
misspelt own name. sorry!
His two Wagner books are essential reading. Superb scholarship. R.I.P.
His writings on Wagner are among the very best and most inspiring – thoroughly researched, insightful, and they avoid the revisionist biases that disfigure so many others. A writer of lasting importance.
Indeed!
A brilliant man. His ‘Aspects of Wagner’ is the most concise and short booklet on Wagner in existence, and still offers some of the best insights.
Agreed. An excellent read, written by a humanitarian with a wide political a social consciousness
Still the best–and shortest–book on Wagner.
Thank you, John. Good recommendation.
There exist miniature editions of the Koran, which one can only read with a magnifying glass. I look forward to such an edition of Magee’s ‘Aspects of Wagner’, to compensate for the loads of heavy tomes which are still in the process of being produced.
Read his ‘Confessions of a Philosopher’ as well as his brilliant Wagner books. He’s left us all with a great legacy of insights and commentary.
His best book. In fact, one of the most inspiring books i’ve ever read.
RIP and my condolences. I was fascinated by “The Tristan Chord”. A brilliant work.
The New York Times has just posted the obituary of M. Owen Lee, CSB, priest and opera expert, also the author of books on Wagner, including the short but splendid Wagner: The Terrible Man and His Truthful Art.
RIP to both Mr Magee and Fr Lee.
Glad someone mentioned this-surprised Mr. Lebrecht didn’t jump on it as a good example of the dumbing down of the Met opera under Gelb. The old Met intermission features could be fun, but also informative, sometimes as with Father Lee, miniature audio essays. Today the features are pretty much unlistenable. And can we end the practice of these interviews as the breathless singers leave the stage-what junk. Imagine Jon Vickers agreeing to something like that while he was singing Tristan?
Coincidentally, M. Owen Lee, the much-loved author of another indispensable short book on Wagner: “Wagner’s Ring: Turning the Sky Round,” died yesterday in Toronto.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/26/obituaries/father-owen-lee-dead.html
“Aspects of Wagner” – simply brilliant.
I offer my sincere condolences to Mr. Magee’s family and friends.
How extraordinary that The Times obituary made no mention of his writings on Wagner
I’m not surprised by the standard of the presenters they’re employing