Siegfried Wagner
Encyclopedia
Siegfried Wagner was a German composer and conductor, the son of Richard Wagner
. He was an opera
composer and the artistic director of the Bayreuth Festival
from 1908 to 1930.
and his wife Cosima
, at Tribschen
on Lake Lucerne
in Switzerland. Through his mother, he was a grandson of Franz Liszt
, from whom he received some instruction in harmony.
Some youthful compositions date from about 1882. After he completed his secondary education in 1889, he studied with Wagner's pupil Engelbert Humperdinck
, but was more strongly drawn to a career as an architect and studied architecture in Berlin and Karlsruhe
.
In 1892 he undertook a trip to Asia with a friend, the English composer Clement Harris
. During the voyage he decided to abandon architecture and commit himself to music. Reputedly, it was also Harris who first aroused his homoerotic impulses.
While on board ship he sketched his first official work, the symphonic poem Sehnsucht, inspired by the poem of the same name by Friedrich Schiller
. This piece was not completed until just before the concert in which Wagner conducted it in London on 6 June 1895. He composed more opera
s than his father. Though his works are numerous, none entered the standard repertory.
He made his conducting debut as an assistant conductor at Bayreuth in 1894; in 1896 he became associate conductor, sharing responsibility for conducting the Ring Cycle with Felix Mottl
and Hans Richter
, who had conducted its premiere 20 years earlier. In 1908 he took over as Artistic Director of the Bayreuth Festival
in succession to his mother, Cosima.
Wagner was bisexual. For years, his mother urged him to marry and provide the Wagner dynasty with heirs, but he fought off her increasingly desperate urgings.
Around 1913, pressure on him increased due to the Harden-Eulenburg Affair
(1907–1909), in which the journalist Maximilian Harden
accused several public figures, most notably Philipp, Prince of Eulenburg-Hertefeld, a friend of Kaiser Wilhelm II, of homosexuality
. In this climate, Siegfried could no longer avoid marriage. The family found a suitable woman in a 17-year-old Englishwoman, Winifred Klindworth
, and at the Bayreuth festival of 1914 she was introduced to the then-45-year-old Wagner. The two married on 22 September 1915.
The couple had four children:
Though the marriage provided for the dynastic succession, the hope that it would also bring an end to his homosexual encounters and the associated costly scandals was disappointed, as Wagner remained sexually active with other men.
Peter Pachl, one of Siegfried's biographers, asserted that in 1901 Siegfried had sired an illegitimate son, Walter Aign (1901–1977). However, that assertion remains controversial as he supplied no evidence. Nonetheless, several recent authors, such as Frederic Spotts and Brigitte Hamann
, have taken it up.
Wagner died in Bayreuth in 1930, having outlived his mother by only four months. Since his two sons were still only adolescents, he was succeeded at the helm of the festival
by Winifred.
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
. He was an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
composer and the artistic director of the Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
from 1908 to 1930.
Life
Siegfried was born in 1869 to Richard WagnerRichard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
and his wife Cosima
Cosima Wagner
Cosima Francesca Gaetana Wagner, née de Flavigny, from 1844 known as Cosima Liszt; was the daughter of Hungarian composer Franz Liszt...
, at Tribschen
Tribschen
Tribschen is a suburb of Lucerne, in the Canton of Lucerne in central Switzerland.Tribschen is best known today as the home of the German composer Richard Wagner from 30 March 1866 to 22 April 1872. When Wagner was obliged to leave Munich in March 1866, he moved to a spacious villa in Tribschen on...
on Lake Lucerne
Lake Lucerne
Lake Lucerne is a lake in central Switzerland and the fourth largest in the country.The lake has a complicated shape, with bends and arms reaching from the city of Lucerne into the mountains. It has a total area of 114 km² , an elevation of 434 m , and a maximum depth of 214 m . Its volume is 11.8...
in Switzerland. Through his mother, he was a grandson of Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
, from whom he received some instruction in harmony.
Some youthful compositions date from about 1882. After he completed his secondary education in 1889, he studied with Wagner's pupil Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck
Engelbert Humperdinck was a German composer, best known for his opera, Hänsel und Gretel. Humperdinck was born at Siegburg in the Rhine Province; at the age of 67 he died in Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.-Life:After receiving piano lessons, Humperdinck produced his first composition...
, but was more strongly drawn to a career as an architect and studied architecture in Berlin and Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe
The City of Karlsruhe is a city in the southwest of Germany, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, located near the French-German border.Karlsruhe was founded in 1715 as Karlsruhe Palace, when Germany was a series of principalities and city states...
.
In 1892 he undertook a trip to Asia with a friend, the English composer Clement Harris
Clement Harris
Clement Hugh Gilbert Harris was an English pianist and composer who studied in Germany and died fighting in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897....
. During the voyage he decided to abandon architecture and commit himself to music. Reputedly, it was also Harris who first aroused his homoerotic impulses.
While on board ship he sketched his first official work, the symphonic poem Sehnsucht, inspired by the poem of the same name by Friedrich Schiller
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and playwright. During the last seventeen years of his life , Schiller struck up a productive, if complicated, friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe...
. This piece was not completed until just before the concert in which Wagner conducted it in London on 6 June 1895. He composed more opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s than his father. Though his works are numerous, none entered the standard repertory.
He made his conducting debut as an assistant conductor at Bayreuth in 1894; in 1896 he became associate conductor, sharing responsibility for conducting the Ring Cycle with Felix Mottl
Felix Mottl
Felix Josef von Mottl was an Austrian conductor and composer. He was regarded as one of the most brilliant conductors of his day. He composed three operas, of which Agnes Bernauer was the most successful, as well as a string quartet and numerous songs and other music...
and Hans Richter
Hans Richter (conductor)
Hans Richter was an Austrian orchestral and operatic conductor.-Biography:Richter was born in Raab , Kingdom of Hungary, Austro-Hungarian Empire. His mother was opera-singer Jozsefa Csazenszky. He studied at the Vienna Conservatory...
, who had conducted its premiere 20 years earlier. In 1908 he took over as Artistic Director of the Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
in succession to his mother, Cosima.
Wagner was bisexual. For years, his mother urged him to marry and provide the Wagner dynasty with heirs, but he fought off her increasingly desperate urgings.
Around 1913, pressure on him increased due to the Harden-Eulenburg Affair
Harden-Eulenburg Affair
The Harden-Eulenburg affair, often simply Eulenburg affair, was the controversy surrounding a series of courts-martial and five civil trials regarding accusations of homosexual conduct, and accompanying libel trials, among prominent members of Kaiser Wilhelm II's cabinet and entourage during...
(1907–1909), in which the journalist Maximilian Harden
Maximilian Harden
Maximilian Harden was an influential German journalist and editor.- Biography :...
accused several public figures, most notably Philipp, Prince of Eulenburg-Hertefeld, a friend of Kaiser Wilhelm II, of homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. In this climate, Siegfried could no longer avoid marriage. The family found a suitable woman in a 17-year-old Englishwoman, Winifred Klindworth
Winifred Wagner
Winifred Wagner was an English woman married to Siegfried Wagner, Richard Wagner's son. She was the effective head of the Wagner family from 1930 to 1945, and a close friend of German dictator Adolf Hitler....
, and at the Bayreuth festival of 1914 she was introduced to the then-45-year-old Wagner. The two married on 22 September 1915.
The couple had four children:
- WielandWieland WagnerWieland Wagner was a German opera director.- Life :Wieland was the elder of two sons of Siegfried and Winifred Wagner and grandson of composer Richard Wagner....
(1917–1966) - FriedlindeFriedlinde WagnerFriedelind Wagner was the daughter of German opera composer Siegfried Wagner and his Welsh wife, Winifred Williams and the granddaughter of the famous composer Richard Wagner. Born in Bayreuth, she was known by the nickname "Maus" or "Mausi"...
(1918–1991) - WolfgangWolfgang WagnerWolfgang Wagner was a German opera director. He is best known as the director of the Bayreuth Festival, a position he initially assumed alongside his brother Wieland in 1951 until the latter's death in 1966...
(1919–2010) - VerenaVerena WagnerVerena Wagner is the fourth child and youngest daughter of Winifred and Siegfried Wagner and the granddaughter of German composer Richard Wagner....
(born 1920)
Though the marriage provided for the dynastic succession, the hope that it would also bring an end to his homosexual encounters and the associated costly scandals was disappointed, as Wagner remained sexually active with other men.
Peter Pachl, one of Siegfried's biographers, asserted that in 1901 Siegfried had sired an illegitimate son, Walter Aign (1901–1977). However, that assertion remains controversial as he supplied no evidence. Nonetheless, several recent authors, such as Frederic Spotts and Brigitte Hamann
Brigitte Hamann
Brigitte Hamann Ph.D., is a German-Austrian author and historian based in Vienna.Born Brigitte Deitert in Essen, Germany, she studied history in Münster and Vienna and for a time worked as a journalist in her native Essen...
, have taken it up.
Wagner died in Bayreuth in 1930, having outlived his mother by only four months. Since his two sons were still only adolescents, he was succeeded at the helm of the festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
by Winifred.
Orchestral works
- March for Gottfried der Spielmann (c. 1882)
- Orchestration of Ekloge from Liszt's Années de Pèlerinage (1890)
- Sehnsucht, symphonic poem after Schiller (1892–5)
- Concertino for flute and small orchestra (1913)
- Violin Concerto (1915)
- Und wenn die Welt voll Teufel wär, scherzo for orchestra (1922)
- Glück, symphonic poem (1922–23) [dedicated to the memory of Clement Harris]
- Symphony in C major (1925, rev. 1927). (First version used the Prelude to Der Friedensengel as the slow movement, whereas a new movement was composed for the revised version. The scherzo is based on the sketches for an unfinished orchestral tone-poem, Hans im Glück)
Vocal music
- 1890 Abend auf dem Meere, for soprano and piano – text: Henry Thode
- 1890 Frühlingsglaube, for soprano and piano – text: Ludwig UhlandLudwig UhlandJohann Ludwig Uhland , was a German poet, philologist and literary historian.-Biography:He was born in Tübingen, then Duchy of Württemberg, and studied jurisprudence at the university there, but also took an interest in medieval literature, especially old German and French poetry...
- 1890 Abend am Meer – text: Alfred MeissnerAlfred MeissnerAlfred Meissner was an Austrian poet.-Biography:He is a grandson of the voluminous miscellaneous author August Gottlieb Meissner . He studied medicine, taking his degree at Prague in 1846. To elude the Austrian censorship, he published in the same year at Leipzig his epic poem Ziska...
- 1897 Schäfer und Schäferin
- 1913 Das Märchen vom dicken fetten Pfannekuchen, for solo voice and orchestra
- 1918 Wahnfried-Idyll
- 1919 Nacht am Narocz, for tenor and piano – text: Günther Holstein
- 1922 Ein Hochzeitslied für unseren Erich und seine liebe "Dusi"
- 1927 Dryadenlied
- 1927 Weihnacht
- Frühlingsblick – text: Nikolaus LenauNikolaus LenauNikolaus Lenau was the nom de plume of Nikolaus Franz Niembsch Edler von Strehlenau , was a German language Austrian poet.-Biography:...
- Frühlingstod – text: Nikolaus Lenau