I'm a relative newcomer to Tristan und Isolde. By that I mean I have been listening to it for two years but still have not got to the bottom of it's genius, still (honestly) don't fully understand the plot, and am still finding subtle metaphorical meanings all over the place. Despite this, Tristan und Isolde has become one of the greatest loves of my life. The strings that rotate and impose on you, the brass that emerges from beneath the surface and pierces your soul, the motifs that haunt you for hours. Philosophical meaning aside, Tristan und Isolde is remarkable music and after listening to it, its' sounds will never escape you. You don't need to be interested in 19th century European antisemitism or philosophy to enjoy Tristan, just embrace the amazing sounds.
The genius of Tristan und Isolde is its ability to be incredibly high-brow but incredibly universal. There's little art in the world simultaneously loved by peasants and aristocrats alike (in this case ardent wagnerians and non-wagnerians). But Tristan achieves this. It's revolutionary sound with the use of semitones is completely non-conventional to normal forms of harmony and melody even by today's standards, yet it clenches your heart. The 2nd Viennese school was yes, non-conventional, but it failed to clench your heart, and that is probably why the people love Wagner and do not love Webern. My point isn't so much that your average person on the street is a Wagner lover, but that his music (particularly in Tristan) is attractive to the standard ear, despite it's enormous artistic merit and avant garde nature.
My favorite analysis of Tristan und Isolde described how the opera links with Schopenhauer's philosophy. The depressing tones (largerly represented in the prelude (particularly the 'Tristan Chord')) are a representation of the ambiguous and the dream-like. Although cynical they are on the ultimate romantic plane. The most simple grouping for these ideas is the idea of 'night'. The creative, romantic and depressing thrive the most at night and Wagner's dark ambiguous tones codify this into music. Day is represented through the naive, happy (Mozart like) tones in the opera. This is clearly represented in the last movement of the 1st act. Wagner is intentionally being ironic here, it is an exaggerated front of harmony. Almost mocking the idea of love (in this circumstance). Mahler is often pointed to as the greatest user of musical irony, but I think Wagner demonstrates a superior ability in Tristan. These exaggerated, 'painted-on', joyous melodies are an expression of the lies we tell ourselves and others. Putting on a front, an act of harmony, whilst living remarkably disharmonious lives. This is where the genius of Tristan und Isolde lies. This is one interpretation that can be applied to many ideas of what the most crucial theme of the opera is, whether it be an all encompassing philosophy to life, an ode to longing, or just a story of sexual lust.
It is arguable that Wagner's operas marked the pinnacle of romantic music. In fact, it is arguable that Wagner's operas mark the pinnacle of the miracle of music full stop. Although The Ring is a more comprehensive, all-encompassing demonstration of Wagner's genius, Tristan shows a more profound musical innovation, and because of this I think it is fair to see it as his flagship. To justify my initial point, I am of the opinion that Wagner struck the perfect balance between constraint and expression/romance. Although incredibly long and world crushingly emotive, his music never feels excessive (again, a bizarre thing to say about a composer of 6 hour long operas) but I think it is a fair comment. This is what I mean by striking the perfect balance. Beethoven set the ball of romanticism rolling, his music was massively innovative (as we're told constantly) and established the foundations that Wagner, Mahler and Bruckner built upon. What makes Wagner more tasteful than the other post-Beethoven composers is again, his balance. I think it is fair to say that Mahler was excessive. Mahler's music is never vacuous, but the course of his music can sometimes be random and volatile. It could be seen as incoherent. Random romantic harp solos jump out of full-blown scherzos, impromptu ecstatic holy choirs appear after comedy chamber-like sections. It can be rather strange. I am a Mahler lover, but the randomness of his music sometimes leaves me feeling cold. Bruckner's music lacks the clear defined purpose of Wagner's operas. Although stirring, the intentions of Bruckner's symphonies can be quite vague. Wagner's intentions are always 100% clear and on point. Completely comprehensible and always hard-hitting. I see all these attributes of Wagner contained in Tristan und Isolde. Attributes of who I see to be the greatest romantic composer. Bach invented musical conventions, Beethoven pushed them, and Wagner drove them to their limits, completing the genre for good. For this, I think it is worth sacrificing 4 hours this Christmas to listen to Tristan und Isolde.
If you are knew to this piece here is a very brief guide to the recordings you should be aware of:
Furtwangler - The most fundamental recording. Regarded as one of the greatest recordings of any classical piece ever. It established the modern conventions of how to perform this piece, and therefore it should be your first destination.
Carlos Klieber - Anything Klieber touches is gold, and this is no exception. Personally, it is my go to recording
Karajan (1972) - Classic Karajan. Melodic and beautiful. Karajan's Wagner recordings are often overlooked but they are gems and should not be overlooked.
The genius of Tristan und Isolde is its ability to be incredibly high-brow but incredibly universal. There's little art in the world simultaneously loved by peasants and aristocrats alike (in this case ardent wagnerians and non-wagnerians). But Tristan achieves this. It's revolutionary sound with the use of semitones is completely non-conventional to normal forms of harmony and melody even by today's standards, yet it clenches your heart. The 2nd Viennese school was yes, non-conventional, but it failed to clench your heart, and that is probably why the people love Wagner and do not love Webern. My point isn't so much that your average person on the street is a Wagner lover, but that his music (particularly in Tristan) is attractive to the standard ear, despite it's enormous artistic merit and avant garde nature.
My favorite analysis of Tristan und Isolde described how the opera links with Schopenhauer's philosophy. The depressing tones (largerly represented in the prelude (particularly the 'Tristan Chord')) are a representation of the ambiguous and the dream-like. Although cynical they are on the ultimate romantic plane. The most simple grouping for these ideas is the idea of 'night'. The creative, romantic and depressing thrive the most at night and Wagner's dark ambiguous tones codify this into music. Day is represented through the naive, happy (Mozart like) tones in the opera. This is clearly represented in the last movement of the 1st act. Wagner is intentionally being ironic here, it is an exaggerated front of harmony. Almost mocking the idea of love (in this circumstance). Mahler is often pointed to as the greatest user of musical irony, but I think Wagner demonstrates a superior ability in Tristan. These exaggerated, 'painted-on', joyous melodies are an expression of the lies we tell ourselves and others. Putting on a front, an act of harmony, whilst living remarkably disharmonious lives. This is where the genius of Tristan und Isolde lies. This is one interpretation that can be applied to many ideas of what the most crucial theme of the opera is, whether it be an all encompassing philosophy to life, an ode to longing, or just a story of sexual lust.
It is arguable that Wagner's operas marked the pinnacle of romantic music. In fact, it is arguable that Wagner's operas mark the pinnacle of the miracle of music full stop. Although The Ring is a more comprehensive, all-encompassing demonstration of Wagner's genius, Tristan shows a more profound musical innovation, and because of this I think it is fair to see it as his flagship. To justify my initial point, I am of the opinion that Wagner struck the perfect balance between constraint and expression/romance. Although incredibly long and world crushingly emotive, his music never feels excessive (again, a bizarre thing to say about a composer of 6 hour long operas) but I think it is a fair comment. This is what I mean by striking the perfect balance. Beethoven set the ball of romanticism rolling, his music was massively innovative (as we're told constantly) and established the foundations that Wagner, Mahler and Bruckner built upon. What makes Wagner more tasteful than the other post-Beethoven composers is again, his balance. I think it is fair to say that Mahler was excessive. Mahler's music is never vacuous, but the course of his music can sometimes be random and volatile. It could be seen as incoherent. Random romantic harp solos jump out of full-blown scherzos, impromptu ecstatic holy choirs appear after comedy chamber-like sections. It can be rather strange. I am a Mahler lover, but the randomness of his music sometimes leaves me feeling cold. Bruckner's music lacks the clear defined purpose of Wagner's operas. Although stirring, the intentions of Bruckner's symphonies can be quite vague. Wagner's intentions are always 100% clear and on point. Completely comprehensible and always hard-hitting. I see all these attributes of Wagner contained in Tristan und Isolde. Attributes of who I see to be the greatest romantic composer. Bach invented musical conventions, Beethoven pushed them, and Wagner drove them to their limits, completing the genre for good. For this, I think it is worth sacrificing 4 hours this Christmas to listen to Tristan und Isolde.
If you are knew to this piece here is a very brief guide to the recordings you should be aware of:
Furtwangler - The most fundamental recording. Regarded as one of the greatest recordings of any classical piece ever. It established the modern conventions of how to perform this piece, and therefore it should be your first destination.
Carlos Klieber - Anything Klieber touches is gold, and this is no exception. Personally, it is my go to recording
Karajan (1972) - Classic Karajan. Melodic and beautiful. Karajan's Wagner recordings are often overlooked but they are gems and should not be overlooked.
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