Introducing Wagner: A Graphic Guide

One of the most controversial figures in classical music, Richard Wagner's influence reaches as far as the film Apocalypse Now. Written by leading music critic Michael White, this graphic guide looks at Wagner's complex life, capturing his caprices, cruelties, and anti-semitism.

He has made documentaries about Menotti, Britten and Nielsen and once attempted to explain Wagner's Ring Cycle on TV in half an hour. About the AuthorMichael White was voted Britain’s least boring music critic by listeners of Classic FM. He's the author of two books: Introducing Wagner (Icon) and Opera & Operetta (HarperCollins).

He has made documentaries about Menotti, Britten and Nielsen and once attempted to explain Wagner's Ring Cycle on TV in half an hour. Michael White was voted Britain’s least boring music critic by listeners of Classic FM. He's the author of two books: Introducing Wagner (Icon) and Opera & Operetta (HarperCollins).

"Four Stars" according to Chris J. Sutton. interestingly arranged historical information, connecting Wagner to others of his times. Facile, but fun. There are three unavoidable truths about Wagner: that he was one of the most repellent men who ever lived; that he was one of the greatest geniuses that ever lived; and that people either love him or hate him.Michael White's highly entertaining introduction to this horrifying figure concentrates mostly on the first 'fact' - it is, after all, easier to list someone's biographical failures than explain why the closing symphony of the Gotterdammerung sounds both like the terrible end of the world and the unaccountable essence of sublimity (I'm afraid he gets