- Nietzsche, Friedrich. The Birth of Tragedy and the Case of Wagner.New York:
Vintage, 1967. 223p. B3313 .G42 E55.
This is one of many translations and editions of Nietzsche’s views on the com-
poser, first his friend, then his enemy. They met in 1868 when the philosopher
was 24, and Wagner impressed him greatly. He became an advocate of Wag-
nerian theory, and his Geburt der Tragödie aus dem Geiste der Musik(1870–
1871) was at first criticized as Wagner propaganda. But the value of that trea-
tise lies in its analysis of Greek tragedy; the Wagner section is a minor supple-
ment. When Wagner’s theater in Bayreuth opened in 1876, Nietzsche became
skeptical—he found the Bayreuth atmosphere grandiose—and he turned
against the composer (Der Fall Wagner,1888). He had thought Wagner was
Dionysian but found he was only romantic. An article by Mark Berry, “Niet-
zsche’s Critique of Wagner,” Wagner20–1 (January 1999): 38–48, is a useful
commentary. Another recent study, Joachim Köhler’s Nietzsche and Wagner,
trans. Ronald Taylor (New Haven, Conn.: Yale U.P., 1998), was not seen.- Gloede, Wilhelm. “Zur Verhältnis zwischen den Anfangs und den Endtonarten
in Wagners Musikdramen.” Musica38 (1984): 429–432.
How to explain that most of Wagner’s operas end in a key other than the open-
ing key? Many have wondered this, and nobody has devised a satisfactory
answer. Gloede observes that some of those operas have a closing key one step
higher than the start key, and there is a change from minor to major (Tristan,
Walküre, Siegfried), but the pattern is not explicable on musical grounds.
Indeed, Gloede concludes that any answer to the tonal design question must
have the text as a component. - Petty, Jonathan Christian, and Marshall Tuttle. “The Genealogy of Chaos:
Multiple Coherence in Wagnerian Music Drama.” M&L79 (1998): 72–98.
Explores the use of key-association and tonal relations to respond to the multi-
ple demands of narrative coherence, fidelity to myth, and “psychologizing.”
With 106 notes to related writings, including many recent ones. - Nattiez, Jean-Jacques. Wagner Androgyne: A Study in Interpretation.Trans.
Stewart Spencer. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton U.P., 1993. xx, 359p. ISBN 0-691-
09141-2. ML410 .W13 N3513.
Describes the intellectual world in which Wagner worked, then his changing
ideas on the relation of poetry and music—which were reflected by the chang-
ing relations between men and women in the operas (there was a shift from
male to female domination). Nattiez attacks current critical method, especially
deconstruction; he accepts multiple interpretations but says that some can be
false. He does not go far into gender issues. A question remains about the term
“androgyne” in the title of the book. The author admits “difficulty in explain-
ing Wagnerian androgyny... partly because we do not have a clear theory of
what it is.” Nattiez applies the term widely, to bisexuals, homosexuals, hetero-
sexuals, and cross-dressers, and as a linguistic paradox. - Strohm, Reinhard. “Gedanken zu Wagners Opernouvertüren.” In Wagner-
literatur(#1973), 69–84.
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