Description
An Economist Best Book of 2007, Jonathan CarrÕs The Wagner Clan proves, with the sweeping scope of a Wagnerian opera, that the history of Europe and that of the infamous composerÕs family are inextricably intertwined. Carr presents not only Richard Wagner himselfÑ musician, philosopher, philanderer, failed revolutionary, and virulent anti-SemiteÑbut also a colorful cast of historical figures who feature in WagnerÕs story: Franz Liszt (whose illegitimate daughter Cosima married Wagner); Friedrich Nietzsche; Arthur Schopenhauer; Richard Strauss; Gustav Mahler; Arturo Toscanini; Joseph Goebbels; Hermann Gšring; and the ÒWolf Ó himself, Adolf Hitler, a passionate fan of the MasterÕs music and an adopted uncle to WagnerÕs grandchildren. WagnerÕs British-born daughter-in-law, Winifred, was a close friend of HitlerÕs and seemed momentarily positioned to marry him after the death of her husband. All through the war the Bayreuth Festival, begun by the Master himself, was supported by Hitler, who had to fill the audience with fighting men and SS officers. After the warÕs devastation, the festival was dark for a decade until WagnerÕs offspringÑwith characteristic ambition and cunningÑ revived it. The Wagner Clan is a riveting chronicle of the ascent, decline, and rehabilitation of the German nation and its most infamous family.
