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)
The only true revolution is the revolution of the spirit.
I am not a politician, I am an artist.
The Germans are a nation of musicians, but they play too much.
My art is not for entertainment, but for enlightenment.
The only thing worse than a bad conductor is a good conductor who thinks he is a genius.
I have never been able to understand how anyone can be a conductor and not be a tyrant.
My music is not for the mind, but for the heart.
The only true freedom is the freedom of the artist.
I am not a philosopher, I am a composer.
The French are a nation of gourmets, but they eat too much.
My art is not for profit, but for passion.
The only thing worse than a bad singer is a good singer who thinks they are an actor.
I have never been able to understand how anyone can be a singer and not be a narcissist.
My music is not for the stage, but for the imagination.
The only true beauty is the beauty of the ideal.
I am not a moralist, I am an artist.
The English are a nation of eccentrics, but they are too eccentric.
My art is not for the present, but for the future.
The only thing worse than a bad orchestra is a good orchestra that plays like a bad one.
I have never been able to understand how anyone can be an orchestral musician and not be a slave.
Contemporaries of Richard Wagner
Other Musics born within 50 years of Richard Wagner (1813–1883).