Hans von Wolzogen
Encyclopedia
Baron Hans Paul von Wolzogen (13 November 1848 in Potsdam
– 2 June 1938 in Bayreuth), was a German
man of letters, editor
and publisher. He is best known for his connection with Richard Wagner
.
; his mother (a daughter of the famous architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel
) died when her son was two years old. As a schoolboy, Wolzogen was already interested in music
and the theatre
.
It was while on his honeymoon in 1872 that he first visited Bayreuth, where shortly before, on 22 May (Wagner's birthday), the foundation-stone had been laid for the Bayreuth Festspielhaus
.
; Wolzogen stayed in that post until his death.
From 1878 he lived in the Schillerstrasse, not far from Wagner's house Wahnfried
.
After Wagner's death Wolzogen became a central figure of the so-called 'Wahnfried circle', which tried to load the dead master's work with pseudo-religious meaning.
of Wagner and several essays. He was also the editor of three volumes of Wagner's letters and poems. Perhaps his most significant achievement, however, was his series of 'thematic guides' to Wagner's later dramas. In these publications he identified many of the so-called 'leading motives' and gave them names that in many cases are still in use today.
Wolzogen's small book 'A Guide Through the Music of Richard Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung ' was published in 1878, two years after the original production of the tetralogy at Bayreuth.
He identified with the Nazi party and joined Alfred Rosenberg
's Militant League for German Culture
even before the Nazis took power in 1933.
Potsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
– 2 June 1938 in Bayreuth), was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
man of letters, editor
Editor in chief
An editor-in-chief is a publication's primary editor, having final responsibility for the operations and policies. Additionally, the editor-in-chief is held accountable for delegating tasks to staff members as well as keeping up with the time it takes them to complete their task...
and publisher. He is best known for his connection with Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
.
Childhood
Wolzogen's father, Alfred von Wolzogen, was a court theatrical director in SchwerinSchwerin
Schwerin is the capital and second-largest city of the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The population, as of end of 2009, was 95,041.-History:...
; his mother (a daughter of the famous architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Karl Friedrich Schinkel
Karl Friedrich Schinkel was a Prussian architect, city planner, and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassical and neogothic buildings.-Biography:Schinkel was born in Neuruppin, Margraviate of...
) died when her son was two years old. As a schoolboy, Wolzogen was already interested in music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and the theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
.
It was while on his honeymoon in 1872 that he first visited Bayreuth, where shortly before, on 22 May (Wagner's birthday), the foundation-stone had been laid for the Bayreuth Festspielhaus
Bayreuth Festspielhaus
The or Bayreuth Festival Theatre is an opera house north of Bayreuth, Germany, dedicated solely to the performance of operas by the 19th-century German composer Richard Wagner...
.
In Bayreuth
It was Wagner who invited Wolzogen to Bayreuth in 1877 in order that he would edit the Wagnerian publication Bayreuther BlätterBayreuther Blätter
Bayreuther Blätter was a monthly newsletter founded in 1878 by its editor Hans von Wolzogen, with the encouragement of Richard Wagner, for visitors to the Bayreuth Festival in Bavaria, which celebrates Wagner's operas...
; Wolzogen stayed in that post until his death.
From 1878 he lived in the Schillerstrasse, not far from Wagner's house Wahnfried
Wahnfried
Wahnfried may refer to:*Wahnfried, Richard Wagner's villa in Bayreuth*Richard Wahnfried , the long-time alias for German composer and musician Klaus Schulze...
.
After Wagner's death Wolzogen became a central figure of the so-called 'Wahnfried circle', which tried to load the dead master's work with pseudo-religious meaning.
Literary work
Wolzogen produced a biographyBiography
A biography is a detailed description or account of someone's life. More than a list of basic facts , biography also portrays the subject's experience of those events...
of Wagner and several essays. He was also the editor of three volumes of Wagner's letters and poems. Perhaps his most significant achievement, however, was his series of 'thematic guides' to Wagner's later dramas. In these publications he identified many of the so-called 'leading motives' and gave them names that in many cases are still in use today.
Wolzogen's small book 'A Guide Through the Music of Richard Wagner's Ring of the Nibelung ' was published in 1878, two years after the original production of the tetralogy at Bayreuth.
He identified with the Nazi party and joined Alfred Rosenberg
Alfred Rosenberg
' was an early and intellectually influential member of the Nazi Party. Rosenberg was first introduced to Adolf Hitler by Dietrich Eckart; he later held several important posts in the Nazi government...
's Militant League for German Culture
Militant League for German Culture
The Militant League for German Culture [German: Kampfbund für deutsche Kultur ], was a nationalist-minded anti-Semtic political society during the Weimar Republic and the Nazi era...
even before the Nazis took power in 1933.