New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-07-31
MUSICAL COMMENT.
WAGNER AS A RENOLUllONiol .
y,vn,c,r1ov OF TIE DRAMATIsTs POLITICAL
COuasEs-HE CARRIED A GUN-A NE"
CANADIAN JOURNAL.

CANADIAN JOURNAL
,,,.,., ,,o most jealous champion Of Richard Was
mar .uy. TODAY IS Mr. william Ashton Ellis. Inns
Gentleman IS not only the editor OF the omcisi os"" VI
IN. London branch OF the Wagner eoc'eN' p"' IL 'o
tie translator OF the prose writings OF the eNa' ""'
col dr1matist His devotion TO the "aehrne 'a'''
., M thot q, the disciples Of thirty and forty years
oc,. Int I'm general, his vehicle OF propAea'uS" !
NOR. esicacious for d rule be permits wagner 10
clad his own cause. No greater service couid oe
don. to the memory VI Wagner aud MS ART 'he''les
than Mr. Ellis Is doing by turning his cfioe"i INV
uh,osophcal works into English. Tie TASK IL one VI
beculsan dlfhcuy and calls for an equipment Po'
se.,od by comparatively few writers on music wig
prose STYLE while forcibe IS neither elegant HOT
c,ar and u foreigner must needs ina IL u'n'"' y"
every case 10 arrive ut the meaning OF his words
this must be added the perpexities winch peSo' o'e
who attempts to find equivalents Tor the Phr"ses VIM
ure nsed by German PHILOSOPHERS and me'aphs siolS
IN this latter respect the tIanslations wh'cn "i' ~
ba ,ssued deserve 10 be called remarkable, anu there
can, be no question that his labOIs will do more 10 Ae
lie thinker Wagner known In England Than those VI
onv o, the reformers earlier champions The aih
Guilty IN the way Of the publication Of WaeneTS com
ple,c prose works Mr. Fiji, has overcome Nv bringing
his transatons out setiay through the agency OF 'o
Londen branch OF tle Wagner Society
The devotion Of Mr. Ellis to Wagner recently
LED him to put aside the work OF translation LOT u
while and write y defence Of his copnecuoh "'1'i "e
political uprising In saxony IN le4e. Inc ''s" wa
suggested by chapter In Ferdinand fraeser' o'0N
Wagner as | Knew Him. which. rs the rcaueis
OF The Tribune have been TOLD mshes "ie PoS"
composers share in that abo'tive reVo'uhou '"o''
much greater than Wagner his other blOgrnphers
seemed willing to admit bt"een the uue "ic" II"
rec rved amnesty and died. Praegers pooN IL see'hs'
hiss been largely quoted by the enemies oi inc
Wagnerlan drama in England and on the strength
ham mazda
personal character These attacks need not De
r, erred TO except for the purpose OF exposing the
bit erncss OF the malice which prompted them. MI.
III Is trverses Mr. Praegers statements and occasion
all proves that or the other Is unnecessarily
lra, bui his chief concern seems to be 10 ac4u'
Giascnapp and other biographers OF the charge Of
having whitewashed" his subject such proceed
ing was hardly called for. II not In ITSELF theh
l.. canse OF what II brought in s train. Wagners CON
section with the MAY revolution If so 1t may be
a. led Is an incident in his life of very grave I'M
20. t,nce and should have been thoroughly, honestly
ard lmparially treated by his chief bosIapher.
II ut Mr.. Ellis is profoundly convinced OF this Nc
dem mstrates by the with which he champions the
caas. Of the people in the chapter Of his little
book entitled "ls49 vindicauoa" which has Just
co'ae from tho press Of Kegan Paul Trench Trnebner
& TO-. London
7, an American wagners conduct behind the Drcs-
DEL b,rrcade, needs neither defence nor vndcston
The ccaduct Of the cabinet In dssoving tile saxon
Assembly and refusing 10 proclaim the Imperial Con
situation perldious In the extreme. The action
was plain. due 10 the ambition and craft OF COUNT
Bcust, VINO had the King completely in his power
Wagner Il member OF one OF the pol'ncsi eihOS
which had spmDg into existence all over Germany
under the inspiration Of tie ideas OF constitutional gov
elT;ncut and Il united empire. His mind was fun VI
plans for reforming the theatres Of the Kingdom: he
was primarily "a revOluonist for The SAFE OF tue
theatre" but vi heart he was also fervld lover OF
liberty a sincere believer In the rights Of man, Be
fore his club he read paper In which he gave voice
to toe popular demand for a republic. but urged that
the King be made President. Impaoucsble as such
a no,n was fautastcsl 1t seems in the light Of the
Subsequent conduct Of the saxon King Wagner ad-
vsnced IL with great earnestness. Let MS abolish
monarchy altogether" lie says In his address 10 the
Fatherland Union, "as autocracy, G., soe-reignng
becomes impossible by the strong opposition OF democ
iacy-the reign OF the msny-but. on the other mana
let Us sea agalns, this the complete emancipation OF
ROYALTY Al the head Of the free state, the republic
IN. King by lineal descent will be what he In the
robes. sense should be. viz: the hrs u the peppie'
the feeet of Tie free - (Praeser, page l04) ids
a.lress and a letter found the person OF one OF
the leaders Of the uprising were the principal eVl
dences OF the participation in the sedtious disturb
an o, Oh which the for his arrest Was Issued
Hut It is lncontestabe that he took charge oil the
br.agng OF cOnvOys Of peasants from outside the city
wi hin the barricades, and also that lie was armed
In seeking to do the wholly unnecessary thing VI ex
tenuating the latter Circumstance Mr. Ellis becomes
exceedingly ingenious. Max Weber. Of
the composer of Der Freischuetz,' had told MI.
Paegcr that lie was present during the revolution and
saw Wagner shoulder his mlisket"a not improbable
event. comments Mr. Ellis, as Wagner engaged
in escort work and would necessarily require firearms
for his protectonbut shoulderng neither presenting
firing"
such an argument some OF the Homestead rioters
who are confronted with the errors Of the law would
like to think convincing We fancy ii would not
have endured long had Wagner not made good his
escape from Dresden 80 soon It was plain that the
cause Of righteousness and the people lost He
fed 10 Wemar thence Paris, and thence went into
that Swiss exile from which hr sent ont the principal
prose works (which Mr.. Ellis is now giving u English
readers. For u while. if Praeger Is to lie believed lie
goried In the part which he had taken In the up
rising thereafter developed unwillingness
TO talk about II, and ever thereafter did his best "
minimize the part which he had played In this
there is little 70 wonder at. Wagner was convinced
that the regeneration Of society could be accomplished
through the drama. Circumstances forced him into
The Dresden outbreak. After its failure he could only
think Of for carrying ont bis icformatory IDEAS
He had not been leader In any sense and had
done no more than thousands Of Others. lie WAS
willing and even eager to have the chapter erased
from the history Of his life. This feeling may not
add Ahe nobility Of hts moral character. but In the
Of his consciousness Of the great mission before
him. IL is easily enough comprehended. Mr. Eilss
"vindioauon" helps TO convince Of this by printing
letter written by Wagner to the nendent Luetchau,
Of the Court Theatre two days after the publication Of
the Fathcrland Union address on the Abolition Of
tie Monarchy in which he explains his political
course and plainly seeks to nuIlify the effect or his
address ly arguing that II was, In fact, enlogy
Of the King. and had been Rad to
check tho growing demand for all abolition OF the
klngship lie did wish a rupture with the powers
that be- and after he had Informed the ntendant that
he had promised his wife never again W take per
sonnl part in the QUESTIONS OF the day" he ended his
I.t ulf Id the niLcr my