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Zigfrid VagnerGerman conductor and composer. Son of composer Richard Wagner.
Date of Birth: 06.06.1869
Country:  Germany |
Content:
Biography of Siegfried Wagner
German Conductor and ComposerSiegfried Wagner, the son of composer Richard Wagner, was a German conductor and composer. He was born as the third child of Richard Wagner and Cosima, the daughter of Franz Liszt. Initially, he planned to become an architect but later turned to music. One of his teachers was Engelbert Humperdinck. Siegfried Wagner made his conducting debut in 1893. In 1906, his mother Cosima Wagner handed over the leadership of the Bayreuth Festival to him (officially assuming the position in 1908). Siegfried Wagner proved himself as a talented administrator, conductor, and director. In 1911, he extensively utilized the possibilities of lighting in the production of "Parsifal" and staged a new production of "Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg". In 1914, he directed "The Flying Dutchman", in 1927 - "Tristan und Isolde", and in 1930 - "Tannhäuser". In 1923, Siegfried embarked on a concert tour in America to raise funds for the 1924 festival, the first one after the war. In 1930, Siegfried Wagner died of a heart attack that occurred during a rehearsal. His sons Wieland (1917-1966) and Wolfgang (*1919) took over the leadership of the Bayreuth Festival after World War II. Siegfried Wagner was the author of 17 operas on fairy tale plots (he wrote the librettos himself, following his father's example) as well as instrumental compositions. His opera "The Bearskin" enjoyed great success and was performed, among other places, at the Vienna Court Opera (under the direction of Gustav Mahler). However, his overall body of work remains relatively unknown outside of Germany.
Selected Works
Symphonic Poem "Yearning" (Sehnsucht), 1894Operas
- "The Bearskin" (Der Bärenhäuter), 1898
- "The Kobold" (Der Kobold), 1903
- "The Kingdom of the Black Swans" (Schwarzschwanenreich), 1910
- "The Pagan King" (Der Heidenkönig), 1913
- "The Angel of Peace" (Der Friedensengel), 1914
- "The Smith of Marienburg" (Der Schmied von Marienburg), 1920
- "The Sacred Linden Tree" (Die heilige Linde), 1927
