The Case of Wagner / Complete Works, Volume 8

Name: The Case of Wagner / Complete Works, Volume 8
Author: Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

By Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

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Music Philosophy & Ethics

About This Book

A sustained philosophical critique targets a prominent composer and the cultural forces his work embodies, arguing that his music privileges theatrical effect, rhetorical gesture, and psychological suggestion over musical form and truth. The author diagnoses these aesthetic choices as intertwined with moral and religious tendencies he regards as decadent, and scrutinizes techniques such as leitmotifs and stage-driven plotting as tools of manipulation rather than genuine musical invention. Alongside polemical essays, the volume includes sharp aphorisms and a reflective essay on philology, presenting a personal and intellectual rupture that reads music as symptomatic of wider cultural and ethical decline.

About the Author

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German philosopher, cultural critic, and poet, known for his profound and often provocative ideas on morality, religion, and the nature of existence. His works challenge conventional beliefs and explore themes of individualism and the will to power. Nietzsche's notable book, "Beyond Good and Evil," critiques traditional moral values and presents his vision of a philosophy that transcends conventional dichotomies. His writings, including "Human, All Too Human" and "The Antichrist," have had a lasting impact on modern philosophy, literature, and psychology, influencing thinkers across various disciplines.