New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-02-14

ial then the idol of the pubiIc, the pet OF society
shining in the meridian spieDdor OF his uEcNahlple
career II is not surprising that wagner, 'ookiuf
M TO him from the abasemont OF poverty, as Laz'
1rus might have contempt ted DIVES, shou!u EaFc
urned hitter and resenLful, and fanced that List
lisliked him. when List was only unaware oil III
existence. Afterward Wagner learned how COM
pletey he had misunderstood the greatand generous
artist. and friendship grew up between them which
was never broken At first Berloz attracted Wagner
more than the Others but upon the whole he didnof
ike Berlioz and Berlioz clearly did not understand
Wagner Even the performances at the
Grand Opera were disenchantng. A omit
lant mise-en-scene and the cooperation o.
The most popular singers were employed IN the
Interpretation of the most meretricious works; aho
Wagner became confirmed in the idea wnich 10Y
some time had been developing in his brain, that
the modern opera was specimen OF alt III us de-
cadence and that the true work oil Inc future mu-
stefan was to destroy tand to reconstruct lie maze
few friends in his profession, choosing MS ASSOC
crates chiefly among literary men ana ar'lS'S
Meanwhile he supported life by the most lrkSOme oi
back-wcrk. He wrote sketches for the Gazette
Musicale in which nc described i'll the disguise
of fiction some of his own suferngs and ASPIRATIONS
He made for the publishers " instrumental arrange
ments of every imaginable kind. down to those
for the cornet-a-pston." For a long time he was
Obliged in the hard struggle for existence to give III
every attempt az artistic work When, after nine
months interruption of genuine produc tive en'rl'
he tried to compose again, lie says that ne nau 10
"work himself back into the musical atmosphere
7 hired q piano but when IL had come
walked about it in an agony OF anxiety
feared to find that was no longer musician
One of the compositions of this miserable fdrlS
PERIOD performed at small concert In 1871 was
IN overture having for its subject Columbus DC
FORE and at the Moment of Discovering the New
World" Another was the magnificent ana now
well-known Faust Overture" originally intended
as the first movement of n SYMPHONY lhIs wa'
placed in rehearsal at the Conservatism. but the
orchestra could make nothing of it, and it was with
drawn from the programme.
THE DAWN.
It was ont of the tempestuous voyage from Riga
to London that arose the idea of the opera NJ ne
FLYING Dutchman." That work could never have
been written save by one who had been through the
terrors of the stormy and piuess deep; probably 1t
could not have been written save by one who bad
fas ed also the sorrows OF wandering and exile and
The bitterness of hope deferred. So great was Wag'
ners distress however that after tie lbretto waa
al ready for him he DBL ged to relnqnish IL 1"
another composer, NJ. Dietsch and when he re-
turned TO the subject later he made new text
"Rienzi" In the meantime had been sent to Dres-
den where it was Unexpectedly accepted at the
ROYAL Theatre. and the recommendation OF Meyer
beer soon afterward caused The Frying Dutch-
man 10 be accepted at Berlin. Wagner had writ
ten for the Gazette Musicale under the title of An
End In Paris the story of musician who dreams
away tine richest years of his life in the gay eapi-
tai. dreams of wild. fabulous things out
Of the Arabian Nights; of gods and coz
trabassi. of diamond snuff boxes aud prime donnc
of satin coats aud admring lords. Of songsire'se,
and Gvr-franc pieces ; and dies at last of hunger
proclaming with his last breath. 81 believe IN Tod
Mozart and Beethoven. and IN their disciples an"
apo>tles" How often must he have looked forward
10 the same fate for himself The news from Drrs-
den and Berlin was message Of delivcTancc. IL"
earned the money for his journey home by arrang-
ING for the piano the of lla6yy's Rene de
Cbyprc": and in ~. with tears IN hia eyes, he
| crossed the Rhine.
Renzi,7 with its fine spectacular elects It's
marches ITS ballet, its noble treatment oi the or
che.tra and It's substantial adherence 10 FAMILIAR
oneratic forms. was highly successful when 1t was
brought ont at Dresden in October 1872 under the
| composer. own direction. with Nine. schr0ler-
Deyrient and the tenor Tlchatscheck IN the
principal parts. The first result of this sue
| cess was the appointment OF Wagner ~
| conductor of the ROYAL Opera. The second
| was the acceptance of The Flying Dutch
man at the same theatre where it was produced m
January, 1913, with Nine SchrOIer-Deyrent a
| Senta The result as a bitter disappointment. III"
opera was a total failure. 80 simple, so mcodious,
80 picture que. and thoroughly interesting does
this work appear nearly all audiences at the pres
! ent day that hardly realize the strangenes
II It's novel effects to the audiences of 1888 iva,
| far beyond the uprehension of that time; and
foil Mt
I o"n,oYt ' crushed by VI destruction OF
J his illusions; but it never occurred to him
for nm instant that he could sacrifice his
theories for the sake Of the public, and
earn praises and riches by returning u
the style Of "Rienzi." His imagination was more
fertile than ever; his fund Of melody was not ex-
hausted his control over the orchestra grow inn
more aud more masterful and If he did not write
popnlar operas 1t was because he would not. lie
had now reached clear perception OF the scope and
methods Of his reform. The details were
carried in his latest works TO a length
which he had not dreamed of i'll the carcr but
"rannbanserD shows the whole principle which he
afterward elaborated so fully in his literary writ
lngs. The basis of the change he proposed in the
| oncra was the necessity of "A common simultaneous
| noetic impul,e for words and muse, so that they
sbould combine on equal terms in the expression oil
| a single enoton-tbe sense never to be sacrlhced
! for the sake of an unmeaning display OF vocallsm
and the formal patterns of aria, duo and hnale ~
| be discarded without conjunction when the arr
| matte ideo could be expressed more clearly aud
forcibly without them This is the essence OF Wag
| ner,s REFORM The use Of Leading motives" In the
music, always associa' with certain ideas
| in tho poem. aud recurring slngly or Win
other motives whenever the sentiments they sym
boize enter into the development of the drama. l.
not 70 prominent in "Tannbiuser" rs in the subse-
auent works. but it is nevertheless there. Al all
events, 1t IL not a fundamental part of Wagner
theory.