Richard Wagner
Revolutionary opera composer, Gesamtkunstwerk
Most quoted
"The error in the art-genre of Opera consists herein: that a Means of expression (Music) has been made the end, while the End of expression (the Drama) has been made a means."
— from Opera and Drama, 1851
"The destiny of us musicians is to be the first artists to disappear from this earth; for after all, what have we got to do with a world from which beauty is vanishing?"
— from Letter
"Where the world is nothing but a dream, there is no need for a world to be. But where the world is a dream, there is a need for a world to be dreamed."
— from Letters
All quotes by Richard Wagner (411)
I am a musician, not a philosopher.
The true artwork is a miracle.
The highest form of love is compassion.
I am not a musician, I am a dramatist.
Nothing is more disagreeable than the sound of a French horn when it is not played by a Frenchman.
The Germans are a nation of thinkers, but they think too much.
The public is an ass.
I have never been able to understand how anyone can be a composer and not be a German.
My music is not nearly as bad as it sounds.
The only true art is that which is created by a genius, and I am a genius.
I am not a revolutionary, I am a reformer.
The French are a nation of dancers, but they dance too much.
I have no desire to be popular; I desire to be understood.
The English are a nation of shopkeepers, but they keep too many shops.
My art is not for the masses, but for the few who understand.
The Italians are a nation of singers, but they sing too much.
I am not a composer, I am a poet.
The only thing worse than a bad opera is a good opera badly performed.
I have never been able to understand how anyone can be a critic and not be a fool.
My music is not for the ears, but for the soul.
Contemporaries of Richard Wagner
Other Musics born within 50 years of Richard Wagner (1813–1883).