account
basket
Challenge Records Int. Logo
"To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it's about, but the music the words make." - Truman Capote

Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner was an important innovator of music in his time. He is best known for his operas, which he himself preferred to refer to as musical dramas. He wrote the texts (the libretti) himself and sought to make a Gesamtkunstwerk, the ideal union of text, music and theatre. Over time, this lead to grandiose musical dramas which were performed in a specially built theater for these works in the small town of Bayreuth.

Wagner's greatest critic, the philosopher Nietzsche, named his former friend the "greatest miniaturist of music who in the smallest of space squeezed an endless amount of sense and sweetness". Nietzsche regarded this as a sympton of decadence, yet it does portray the large variety of treasures which can be found in Wagner's music: the mysterious fantasy stories of the love potion of Tristan & Isolde, Wotan's spear, the sea of flames of Brünhilde, the sword of Siegfried... Still the real main character is the orchestra, which shines its light on all the true intentions and feelings of these heroes with great depth. 

Both as a composer and as an individual, Wagner remains a subject of controversy and emotional discussions. By many he is hailed as a hero, and by equally many others completely dismissed. But his influence as a composer and musical innovator is undeniable! 

Featured on

Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner, an Organic Journey - Eight Historical Organ Transcriptions
Laurens de Man
Richard Wagner
The Wagner Project
Kathrin Zukowski & KammerMusikKöln
Richard Wagner
Götterdämmerung
Axel Kober & Duisburger Philharmoniker
Richard Wagner
Siegfried
Axel Kober & Duisburger Philharmoniker
Die Walküre
Axel Kober & Duisburger Philharmoniker
Richard Wagner
Das Rheingold
Axel Kober & Duisburger Philharmoniker
Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner
Dichterliebe Op. 48 / Lenau-Lieder und Requiem Op. 90 / Wesendonck Lieder
Christoph Prégardien / Michael Gees
Various composers
Auf Flügeln des Gesanges - Romantic songs and transcriptions
Cyprien Katsaris | Christoph Prégardien
Piano Transcriptions from Wagner's Operas
Robert Vanderschaaf
Richard Wagner
Parsifal (BluRay+DVD)
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra / Ivan Fischer / Chorus of the Dutch National Opera
Richard Wagner
Wagner Without Words
Llŷr Williams
Richard Wagner
Symphony in C / Tristan und Isolde / Siegfried Idyll
Edo de Waart / Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra
Richard Wagner, Giuseppe Verdi
Wagner & Verdi: Ruhr Piano Festival Edition Vol. 31
Marc-Andre Hamelin etc
De Romantische Klarinet
Joze Ostrack / Jack Brymer / Mozart Festival Orchestra
Various composers
Linkages - Piano music by Brahms, Wagner, Schönberg a.o.
Martin Tchiba
Richard Wagner
Marc Deaton: Wagner
Deaton/bratislava Symphony Orchestra
Richard Wagner
Parsifal
Jaap van Zweden, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Choir & State Male Choir Latvija
Various composers
The Original Recordings 1951-1966
Willem van Otterloo
Richard Wagner
Meistersinger - an orchestral tribute
Edo de Waart / Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra
Der Ring - Tristan und Isolde - Parsifal
Edo de Waart / Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra
Richard Wagner, Richard Strauss, Ludwig van Beethoven
Elisabeth-Maria Wachutka - Soprano: Richard Strauss, Ludwig van Beethoven, Richard Wagner
E.-M.Wachutka, Philharmonie Reutlingen, R. Paternostro
Richard Wagner, Marcel Dupré, Johannes Brahms
The Organ of Westminster
Robert Quinney
Various composers
Opera 4 Hands
Julian Reynolds / Peter Lockwood