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Richard Wagner

Richard Wagner is a central figure in the history of opera,and one of the most influential composers in the Western musical tradition. Initially self-taught, he later studied briefly at Leipzig University. His early career involved working as a chorus master and conductor in various German opera houses.

At the heart of Wagner’s oeuvre are his operas, which he termed ‘music dramas’, and for which he wrote both the music and librettos. His innovations included the use of leitmotifs (recurring musical themes associated with characters or ideas), an expanded harmonic language, and the concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art), which sought to unify all elements of operatic production. His ideas and music, articulated in such famous works as the four-opera cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen and Tristan und Isolde, have had an enduring influence on later composers and continue to be both celebrated and controversial today.

WAGNER, Richard (1813-1883). Autograph music manuscript, from the concert ending to an excerpt from Scenes I & II of Das Rheingold , WWV 86A Musik VIIb, n.d. [c.1862].

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Autograph manuscript of the concert ending to Siegfried's 'Sword-Forging Song', near the end of Act One of Siegfried , [1862]

Richard Wagner (1813-1883) and Franz Liszt (1811-1886)

Wagner's copy of Beethoven's Symphony No.3 ('Eroica') signed ('Richard Wagner') and inscribed, St Gall, 23 November 1856

WAGNER, Richard (1813-1883). Autograph music manuscript, cello part for the Columbus Overture , [Magdeburg, c. February 1835], autograph title ('Violoncello Columbus'), the music in 16 staves per page (11 staves on last page), one bar cancelled, pencil emendations (perhaps in another hand) to phrasing and accents of eight bars, three pages, folio (354 x 270mm) , the last two on separate leaves backed onto each other with sealing wax (heavy creasing at horizontal fold, minor wear to margins).

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Autograph letter signed ('Richard Wagner') to August Röckel, Zurich, 12 September 1852

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Autograph letter signed (with initials, 'R.W.') to [Heinrich Szadrowsky], n.p., n.d. [?Zurich, mid-1850s]

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Autograph letter signed ('Richard Wagner') to [August Röckel], Zurich, 23 August 1856

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Autograph letter signed ('Richard Wagner') to [Eduard Liszt], Starnberg, 23 May 1864

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Autograph letter signed ('Richard Wagner') to [Ferdinand] Heine, Meudon, 14 October 1841

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Autograph letter signed ('Rich. Wagner') to an unidentified recipient, Munich, 25 May 1865

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Autograph letter signed ('Richard Wagner') to Dr [Theodor Kafka], Lucerne, 7 December 1871

Richard Wagner (1813-1883)

Autograph letter signed ('Richard Wagner') to [Maria Theresia Löw], Bayreuth, 26 May 1872

WAGNER, Richard (1813-1883). Autograph letter signed (‘Rich. Wagner’) to Hans Richter (here grandly entitled ‘Oberhofgeneralmusikdirektor’ on the address panel), n.p. [Munich], ‘Sonntag Abend’ [c.early June 1868], referring to rehearsals for the first performance of Meistersinger , with Gustav Hölzel in the role of Beckmesser, ‘Hölzl [ sic ] kommt morgen – Montag. Ich bitte Sie, Abends um 7 Uhr mit dem nöthigen Klavierauszugsmaterial sich bei mir einzufinden, um die Beckmesserei mit ihm vornehmen zu können (Hölzl comes tomorrow – Monday. I beg you to come to my house at 7 o’clock in the evening with the necessary piano score, so as to be able to deal with the Beckmesser bits [ Beckmesserei ] with him)’, one page, 12mo (140 x 105mm), integral address leaf, remnant of seal (seal tear), framed and glazed, unexamined out of frame; with ten related photographs and other items. Provenance : given to Sir Herbert Hugh Harvey by Edgar Richter, 18 May 1937 (annotation on verso of frame); two signed photographs (one in costume) and a Christmas card signed by Edgar Richter accompany the lot.

WAGNER, Richard (1813-1883). Autograph letter signed ('Richard Wagner') to [the French music publisher Gustave-Alexandre] Flaxland, n.p., n.d. [20 June 1860], one page, 8vo , on a bifolium, fine pink paper; tipped onto guards, with an English translation.