Wagner's Musical Thought and Practice:Exemplified by Tristan and Isolde

Abstract

The studies on <Tristan and Isolde> are very heterogeneous, and most of the articles discussing its relationship with Schopenhauer's philosophy discuss Wagner's connection with Schopenhauer in the time and circumstances of his life or writing. This paper makes more use of the music itself composed by Wagner as material for analysis, taking <Tristan and Isolde> as an example, this article introduces the philosophical ideas implicit in <Tristan and Isolde> and discusses Wagner's philosophical reflections in the light of Schopenhauer's philosophy and its influence on Wagner. The specific use of versmelodie in <Tristan and Isolde> is also analyzed to explore the origin and influence of Wagner's gesamtkunst ideas. This paper using music and textual analysis as the main methods, in order to distinguishes between Wagner's self-expressed ideas in his writings and those embodied in his musical compositions, attempts to explore Wagner's underlying expressive intentions and the reasons for the enduring popularity of Tristan and Isolde.