Introduction

Lohengrin, Act III: Prelude (excerpt)

Composer: Richard Wagner

Ensemble: Russian State Symphony Orchestra

Conductor: John McGlinn

On laying the foundation stone of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 22 May 1872, Richard Wagner - who turned 59 years old that day - declared: 'I need a theatre such as I alone can build…'

String Quartet No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 131: V. Presto (excerpt)

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

Ensemble: Kodály Quartet

An extract from Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartet in C sharp minor, Op. 131 is a useful place to start to sketch Wagner's life history.

Symphony in C Major: I. Sostenuto e maestoso - Allegro con brio (excerpt)

Composer: Richard Wagner

Ensemble: MDR Sinfonieorchester

Conductor: Jun Märkl

Given his family's theatrical pursuits, it is perhaps no surprise that Wagner turned his attention from the concert hall to the stage.

Die Feen (The Fairies), Act I: Overture (excerpt)

Composer: Richard Wagner

Ensemble: MDR Sinfonieorchester

Conductor: Jun Märkl

Wagner's second completed opera Das Liebesverbot ('The Ban on Love'), a comic opera in two acts modelled on Shakespeare's Measure for Measure, was written during the composer's brief tenure as…

Rienzi, Act II: Chor der Friedensboten (Chorus of the Messengers of Peace) (excerpt)

Composer: Richard Wagner

Ensemble: Royal Swedish Opera Chorus

Conductor: Leif Segerstam

Triumph, however, did not ensue. Rather, calamity, disillusionment and failure.

Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman), Act I: Aria: Die Frist ist um (The time has come) (excerpt)

Composer: Richard Wagner

Ensemble: Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien

Performer: Alfred Muff

Conductor: Pinchas Steinberg

Success with Rienzi brought immediate benefits, not least the premiere on 2 January 1843 - also at the Dresden Hoftheater - of The Flying Dutchman…

Lohengrin, Act I: Prelude (excerpt)

Composer: Richard Wagner

Ensemble: Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor: Michael Halász

There was a reason that Wagner did not conduct, or even attend, the Weimar premiere of Lohengrin in the late summer of 1850.

Die Walküre (The Valkyrie), Act III: Ride of the Valkyries (excerpt)

Composer: Richard Wagner

Ensemble: Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra

Conductor: Uwe Mund

It would be some time before music such as this, Ride of the Valkyries from Wagner's Die Walküre, would be heard in the theatre.

Das Rheingold (The Rhinegold), Scene 4: Weiche, Wotan, weiche! Flieh' des Ringes Fluch! (Yield, Wotan, yield! Escape from the ring's curse!) (excerpt)

Composer: Richard Wagner

Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

Performer: Deborah Humble

Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

Wagner's symphonic-style orchestral writing has been thought to betray the influence of a composer mentioned at the start of this biography: Beethoven.

Tristan und Isolde, Act I: Prelude (excerpt)

Composer: Richard Wagner

Ensemble: Seattle Symphony

Conductor: Gerard Schwarz

A second major work by Wagner created during the lengthy hiatus in the composition of the Ring provided a stark contrast: this was Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg…

Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (The Mastersingers of Nuremberg), Act III: Wacht auf, es nahet gen den Tag (Awake! The dawn of day is nearing) (excerpt)

Composer: Richard Wagner

Ensemble: Royal Opera Chorus, Covent Garden Royal Opera House Orchestra

Conductor: Bernard Haitink

Wagner had begun the music to Die Meistersinger in February 1862 while living temporarily in Mainz.

Tannhäuser, Act I: Venusberg Music (Paris 1861 version) (excerpt)

Composer: Richard Wagner

Ensemble: Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor: Michael Halász

A period of relative calm and contentment was to ensue, thanks entirely to the intervention of the eighteen-year-old Ludwig II, King of Bavaria.

Götterdämmerung (Twilight of the Gods), Act III Scene 2: Siegfrieds Trauermarsch (Siegfried's Funeral March) (excerpt)

Composer: Richard Wagner

Ensemble: Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor: Jaap van Zweden

Following the premiere of the complete Ring cycle - comprising no less than sixteen hours of music extended over four evenings in mid-August 1876 - Wagner remained for the rest of his life…

Parsifal, Act III: Höchsten Heiles Wunder! (Highest holy Wonder!) (excerpt)

Composer: Richard Wagner

Ensemble: Teatro La Fenice Orchestra

Conductor: Gabor Ötvös