Beyond Good and Evil · Character

Richard Wagner

The composer whose Romanticism Nietzsche treats as a symptom to be diagnosed, not merely heard — theatre music for the masses, already going extinct.

supporting

Also known as Wagner, Richard Wagner

First appearance: i prejudices of philosophers

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Identified as Schopenhauer's last great German adherent, who concluded his lifework by portraying the saintly/neurotic type (Kundry) on stage, coinciding with modern outbreaks…

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Wagner hovers over Nietzsche's argument as the era's most seductive artistic event, the man whose Tannhäuser is dismissed alongside Freischütz and Hans Heiling as music that belonged to the stage and the crowd rather than to genuine musicians. The tension is generational and personal: what once promised a rebirth of tragedy now reads as second-rate Romanticism, too little noble and too little musical to outlast its moment. His fate matters because Nietzsche uses him to test whether German art can still speak to Europe or is sinking into a merely national affair.

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European Cultural Pantheon
Protagonist
German Intellectual Figures

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Richard Wagner appears across 9 companion beats. Open any chapter in the free preview to see the notes beside the text.

The Religious Neurosis and the Problem of the Saint
Identified as Schopenhauer's last great German adherent, who concluded his lifework by portraying the saintly/neurotic type (Kundry) on stage, coinciding with modern outbreaks like the Salvation Army.
VII: Our Virtues
Mentioned indirectly via 'the Wagnerienne' who experiences the cruel delight of the tragedy 'Tristan and Isolde.'
Chapter 229
Mentioned via 'the Wagnerienne' who experiences the performance of 'Tristan and Isolde' as a form of cruel, ecstatic enjoyment.
240
His overture to 'The Mastersingers' is analyzed as a magnificent but flawed piece of latter-day art, embodying the contradictions of the German soul.
On German Depth
Mentioned as the composer who set the riddles of the German soul to music.
The Twilight of European Taste: From Mozart to Romanticism
Mentioned dismissively; his 'Tannhäuser' is cited as an example of extinct, though not yet forgotten, Romantic music.
Chapter 254
Predicted that French music will increasingly 'Wagnerite' as it adapts to the needs of the modern soul ('âme moderne').
Beyond Good and Evil: A Vision of Super-German Music
Strongly implied target of the critique against German music, given Nietzsche's known views and the context of the work.
Beyond Nationalism: The European Soul in Art
Central figure; his art embodies super-German, European impulses. His creation of Siegfried is analyzed as too free and anti-Catholic for Latin tastes, and his later turn toward Rome is criticized.

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See Richard Wagner in The Religious Neurosis and the Problem of the Saint