One of the world's most influential and probably controversial composers. He is well known primarily for his enormous operas (story, words and music) as well as his anti-semitic writings which made him the favourite composer of Hitler. It is said that his works were being played at concentration camps. Among his major works are "The Flying Dutchman", "Tannhäuser", "Lohengrin", "Tristan und Isolde", "Parsifal" and his great tetralogy "The Ring of the Nibelung". His opera "Tristan and Isolde" is sometimes described as marking the start of modern music.
His music abilities were not appreciated when he was at school but he was very ambitious and had an extreme confidence in himself, so he succeeded to become a composer by the age of 16. He was then exiled in Zurich and Luzern for many years as a result of his active involvement in the "May Uprising" of 1849 , a leftist revolutionary movement against the King. Whilst in exile, he started developing anti semitic ideas, considering for example that Jewish people were responsible for the decadence of the contemporary art and music. He also demonstrated a fervent dislike of the French composers and their operas, in this way triggering conflict and bitterness. However his creativity and originality have influenced not only music but also drama, visual arts and the theatre of the 20th century.
Wagner was very innovative in his music. His first symphony was performed when he was 20. The "Ring Cycle" composed in the 1850s, was an innovative cycle of 4 operas with a total duration of 18 hours, combining literature, visual elements and music, and established Wagner as a composer ahead of his time. He also invented many of the theatrical conventions that we use today such as the dimming of the lights in the audience to increase the focus and the fact that the orchestra sits below the stage in a theatre "pit" to improve the sound.
Wagner's life was characterised by tumultuous love affairs, political exiles and continuous escapes from his creditors. He suffered from a "borderline personality disorder", according to some of his biographers. His writings in music and politics and his anti semitic tendencies have become the subject of controversies and intense criticism. Despite all this, his work has been an inspiration for future music composers but also for theatre and dramas.
