Richard Wagner redefined the relationship between music and drama in his extraordinary operas, whose size and scope were unlike anything that had been experienced to that time—and that still challenge us. He would further revolutionize opera through his concept of the Gesamtkunstwerk, whereby he sought to synthesize the poetic, visual, musical and dramatic arts into a "total work of art," which would reach its fullest expression in the epic 16-hour, four-opera cycle of operas, The Ring of the Nibelung, often known simply as The Ring. Friday afternoon, in honor of Wagner's birthday, Foley Schuler will feature music both by and influenced by this remarkable force in music, including highlights from another of his great masterworks, Tristan und Isolde, as well as some of Glenn Gould's lovingly rendered solo piano transcriptions of Wagner's music.
You can hear Foley Schuler's musical selections—and stories behind the music—every weekday afternoon from 1 until 4 on Blue Lake Public Radio.
