1979.Wagner News. 1–, September–December, 1977–. Chicago: Wagner Society of
America, 1977–. Irregular.
Notices of events and miscellaneous information, focused on the U.S.Letters and Documents
- Wagner, Richard.Selected Letters of Richard Wagner.Trans. and ed. Stewart
Spencer and Barry Millington. New York: Norton, 1988. 1,030p. ISBN 0-393-
02500-4. ML410 .W2 A317.
A collection of about 500 letters, drawn from the 10,000 or so extant letters,
with commentaries. In chronological sequence, with good historical back-
ground essays. The selection of material illustrates the composer’s personality
and his approach to composition. With a fine index.
Prose Works
Wagner’s writings have attracted much scholarly attention. A collective publication
was issued under his own direction (#1981). Wagner’s life as told by himself is
inscribed in two works: Mein Leben(Munich: Bruckmann, 1911; 2v.), best presented
in Martin Grego-Dellin’s critical edition (Munich: List, 1969; 2v.), which covers the
years 1813–1864; and Das braune Buch,published in complete form under the edi-
torship of Joachim Bergfeld (Zurich: Atlantis, 1975) and in English translation by
George Bird, as The Diary of Richard Wagner, 1865–1882: The Brown Book(Lon-
don: Cambridge U.P., 1980). Contents of The Brown Bookinclude diary entries for
1865–1868 and sketches for works—some later completed, like Parsifal,others aban-
doned—with philosophic notes and miscellaneous telegraphic comments. The English
version has 202 footnotes and an index of names, topics, and titles.
- Wagner, Richard. Gesammelte Schriften und Dichtungen. Leipzig: Breitkopf
und Härtel, 1871–1873. 9v. PT2551 .W35.
A revised edition with an additional volume appeared in 1883. Wagner super-
vised the original and revised versions. Reprints in 1887 and 1897 were identi-
fied as the third and fourth editions. The next issue with new material was the
Sämtliche Schriften und Dichtungen,ed. Hans von Wolzogen and Richard
Sternfeld (1911; 12v.). This edition was translated into English by W. A. Ellis
as Richard Wagner’s Prose Works(London: Kegan Paul, Trench, & Trübner,
1883–1899; 8v). Details on the contents of these editions are summarized
clearly by Nicolas Slonimsky (#165). The NGaccount could hardly be more
obscure.
There have been some useful presentations of Wagner’s ideas in topical/historical
formats:
- Wagner, Richard. Wagner on Music and Drama: A Compendium of Richard
Wagner’s Prose Works. Selected and arranged by Albert Goldman and Evert
Sprinchorn. Trans. H. Ashton Ellis. New York: Dutton, 1964. 447p. ML410
.W1 A134.
Described in the introduction as “an integrated presentation of the whole of
Wagner’s thought by means of an arrangement of key pieces in passages drawn
Richard Wagner 369