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)
Art is the most beautiful of all religions.
Where the language of words ends, there begins the language of tones.
The artist must be a man of his time, and must feel the needs of his time.
Music is the breath of God.
The true work of art is that which is understood by all.
The highest form of art is the drama.
Music is the language of emotion.
The artwork of the future is the drama.
Music is the only language in which one can express the inexpressible.
The true artist is a creator.
The people are the true artists.
Music is the most direct expression of the soul.
The artwork of the future will be the work of the united arts.
The artist must be free.
Music is the language of the heart.
The highest art is that which serves humanity.
The artist must be a hero.
Music is the most divine of all arts.
The artwork of the future will be the work of the community.
The artist must be a poet.
Contemporaries of Richard Wagner
Other Musics born within 50 years of Richard Wagner (1813–1883).