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)
Music is the purest expression of the will, the direct voice of the inner being.
The meaning of existence is not to be found in answers, but in the questions themselves.
Music is the language of the emotions.
The Jew is the plastic demon of the decline of mankind.
Where the German spirit is to be understood, there is no room for the Jew.
The true artist is a priest of nature.
The deepest secret of art is that it is not art at all, but life.
The most important thing in art is to be true to oneself.
The true artist creates for the people, not for the critics.
The artist is the conscience of society.
The German people are the chosen people of art.
The true artist is a creator, not an imitator.
The artwork of the future will be a synthesis of all arts.
The artist must be a free spirit.
The German language is the most beautiful language in the world.
The true artist is a visionary.
The artwork of the future will be a reflection of the people's soul.
The German nation is the nation of poets and thinkers.
The true artist is a philosopher.
The artwork of the future will be a celebration of life.
Contemporaries of Richard Wagner
Other Musics born within 50 years of Richard Wagner (1813–1883).