Wagner has my full attention now | Wagner: Tannhäuser - Overture | Classical Music Reaction 

Wagner can be quite addictive. Watch out for that, it sometimes happens that people listen to nothing else but Wagner.

the pilgrim's choir theme ... bringing tears to my eyes for 30+ years now

Wagner is incredible beyond the words. BELIEVE THE HYPE!

Wagner is the musician that founded the modern emotion driven and storytelling focused tradition in music. No modern music would be the same without him. The people that made the motif driven music of modern hollywood were directly inspired by Wagner. He can arguably be credited as the inventor of the concept of "movies" in an age before even photography was a thing. He worked his entire life to make his idea of a "ring" cycle and the "Gesamtkunstwerk" a reality. Charming and bothering both kings and peasents to be able to make his revolutionary dream a reality at a relatively old age. It's just amazing to think about all this. Just one tiny revolution of thinking in one mans mind that changed the wests culture and thinking forever.

Such a fun piece to play. Especially as a trombonist 😁 You should do An Alpine Symphony by Strauss someday.

This overture was the first piece of music to absolutely reduce me to tears. Not the dainty, dab-the-eyes, oh-how-lovely tears. No no. The sobbing, gasping-for-air, snot-on-your-chin kind of tears. In a lavish concert hall. I was maybe 13? Mortifying, but to this day I don’t necessarily think it was an overreaction 😂

Wagner is freaking amazing. Glad to see there are people like you who wanna react to it on RU-vid.

I don't even know how many times I've listened to this, but when that crescendo hits at the end it gets me every single time. Truly a spectacular piece of music

There are two versions of this overture: Dresden and Paris. This is the original, and what I would call the more pure, Dresden version. Tannhäuser was originally written during Wagner’s ‘romantic period’. Other operas written during this period were Der Fliegende Holländer and Lohengrin. A few would also include Wagner’s Rienzi on this list, but structurally it falls within an entirely different genre of opera (Grand Opera). After Lohengrin, Wagner’s entire life was uprooted by unrest in Dresden (the 1848 May Uprising) and, because of his allegiances, he was forced into exile in Switzerland. It was while in Switzerland that he started reading Schopenhauer and his outlook and philosophy took a dramatic shift. This lead to Wagner’s ‘mature’ period during which Der Ring des Nibelungen, Tristan und Isolde, Die Meistersinger von Nürnburg and Parsifal were written. The greeter majority of his ‘mature’ operas were conceived of and written concurrently and some that he started in the 1850’s, such as the four opera Ring cycle, were not completed for almost 20 years. It was at this time that Wagner chose to revisit Tannhäuser. For his entire life Wagner was constantly trying to escape from his creditors and he figured if he rewrote the score to include his more ‘modern’ elements / dramatism, it might play well in the capital of the opera world of the time, Paris, and gain him the fame and prestige he desperately needed to escape his creditors and live the life he dreamed of. One of the biggest changes was to the overture. Instead of the overture flowing from the Pilgrim’s chorus, to the Venusburg music then concluding with a reprise of the Pilgrim’s Chorus, in the Paris version, the overture quickly transitions from the Venusburg music to the Venusburg bacchanal. Dramatically this makes more sense as it better maintains the momentum, moving from the excitement of the Venusburg section of the overture to the absolute pandemonium of the bacchanal (musically it is the closest, I think, an orchestra has ever come to simulating sex as at times there are entire sections of the orchestra thrusting back and forth into each other in a very rhythmic manner it becomes almost undeniable). There is no denying the Paris version has its merits. If you are looking for excitement and for your jaw to drop (or if you are in the 1850’s and want to be scandalized), go and listen to the Paris version. But one of the most beautiful aspects of the Dresden version, in my opinion, is the story it tells. A little bit of background, Tannhäuser is the story of a pious knight with a relationship to a woman named Elizabeth who happens upon a portal to the realm of the Frau Holda (Venus) via Venusburg (the mountain of Venus). There the goddess Venus falls in love with and seduces Tannhäuser (Heinrich) and it is not until he happens to remember his devotion to ‘Maria’, the mother of Jesus, that her spell on him breaks and he is able to escape. He is found by a few of his fellow knights wondering in a daze and of them, his best friend Wolfram, reminds him of Elizabeth, and he immediately returns with them to rekindle his romance with her. Elizabeth’s father calls a singing contest, hence the opera’s not often referenced full title Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg. But unbeknownst to himself Venus still has Tannhäuser under her spell and during the contest he slips up and starts singing a song praising Venus which scandalizes everyone present. It appears a mob is about to form to attack Tannhäuser, but Elizabeth steps in begging for mercy. Tannhäuser is given only one option, follow after the pilgrims to Rome and obtain forgiveness from the pope, or else. Tannhäuser makes the arduous journey to Rome and finally meets the pope. While everyone else in the crowd is forgiven, as soon as the pope hears of Tannhäuser’s confession of having been seduced into visiting the Venusburg, he immediately condemns Tannhäuser for all eternity stating, “Just as this staff in my hand, no more shall bear fresh leaves, from the hot fires of hell, salvation never shall bloom for thee”. This breaks Tannhäuser entirely and he heads back crestfallen to Wartburg. As the group of pilgrims return without Tannhäuser, Elizabeth worries and prays to Mary that if it means she must sacrifice her life to save Tannhäuser’s soul, so be it. She walks off while Wolfram looks on and prays to the night sky for her protection. Eventually Tannhäuser returns, extremely bitter from his experience in Rome, Wolfram encountering him in the wilderness. They exchange angry words when suddenly Frau Holda (Venus) appears to use the opportunity to claim Tannhäuser once again, a fight ensues between Frau Holda and Wolfram for Tannhäuser’s eternal soul and it looks like Venus will succeed until Wolfram explains “only one word can change your heart, Elizabeth!” to which Tannhäuser mournfully responds, “Elizabeth?”. Frau Holda cries out “Lost to me forever!” and disappears all the while a procession passes by carrying Elizabeth’s body. Wolfram seeing Elizabeth’s body cries to Tannhäuser, “an Angel prays for you before God’s throne”, Tannhäuser, seeing Elizabeth’s body breaks down on top of her lifeless body and cries out, “Holy Elizabeth, pray for me.” and dies. As soon as this happens a second group of younger pilgrims comes from the distance, having left Rome after Tannhäuser, carrying a stick, crying out, “Hail! Hail! Hail to the miracle of mercy! Redemption is conferred upon the world. It came to pass in the holy hour of night, the Lord manifested Himself in a miracle. The barren staff in a priest's hand, he decked with fresh green: for the sinner in the fires of hell redemption shall blossom thus afresh! Throughout all lands let it be proclaimed to him who has found forgiveness by this miracle! High above all the world is God, and His Mercy is no mockery!” The opera then ends. So why do I prefer the Dresden version of the overture. Well, if you look at it musically, it is pretty much perfectly summarizes the emotional beats and themes of the entire opera. It starts with the Pilgrims’ Chorus, solemn and a bit stiff, showing both Tannhäuser before Venusburg but also the stiffness of the church, unwilling to budge. But there is still beauty in the church and that is God’s Grace, which is what the Pilgrims’ Chorus builds up to. Then you have the excitement of the Venusburg section of the overture. It contains a little hint of the bacchanal as well as the praises Tannhäuser sings to Frau Holda. Finally the overture resolves back into the Pilgrims’ Chorus. But whereas the initial version of the chorus was a bit heavy and started off very foreboding and grim, this version is very light and almost ethereal. The coda concludes that God’s Grace knows no bounds and ends with the triumph of redemption over all else. It is a microcosm of the entire piece. If you look at it from a psychological standpoint, it is almost as if the argument the original overture was making is that we as humans have both a bit of the worldly and the divine in all of us. And it is by reconciling these two aspects of ourselves that we become a complete being. Sorry for the rant, but I just love Wagner so much and since you seemed to enjoy this piece so much I wanted to share what I knew about it.

I remember mentioning this piece months ago. It's one of my favourite pieces and I think the most emotionally powerful pieces out there. The whole opera is absolutely magnificent and Wagner is no doubt, a musical genius. Really glad you've listened to this piece and I would recommend the Pilgrim Chorus from Tannhauser.

Yeeeee, Wagner. Finally, bro. You will definitely open the gate of super intense feelings and emotions in his operas) Highly recommend Rienzi or Flying Hollander overture next)

I’m a huge Wagner fan. You should hear an orchestra play it live. It’ll blow your head back.

I firmly believe this is greatest piece of music ever made. It’s as perfect as Western Music can get.

Regarding Wagner I think is enough to say that I look absolutely crazy listening to Die Meistersinger....it goes through my body like distilled ecstasy...cant remember much else that does that to me..

When you think it would be impossible to better the blasting of the main theme with the falling phrases, Wagner just makes with falling scales

If you like Wagner, listen to his greatest masterpiece, Parsifal. The prelude/ending and the Good Friday Music from act 3 is a good place to start.

It's a funny thing, nowadays - most young people associate the sounds of an orchestra with blockbuster adventure movies. There, the soundtrack is fully subservient to the drama. Sure, there are some musical & creative orchestral soundtracks - parts of which may be quite 'listenable' in isolation. But if you listen to actual 'classical' music, you hear something that stands fully on its own, and that builds & releases tension on its own agenda. (That's mostly true also for ballet & opera music, despite it supporting a narrative.)

Bro, I happened to hear this piece this morning and looked up if you had a reaction to it. Unfortunately you didn't. A few hours later you upload this 🤯

Glad you have found Wagner. One of my favorite pieces is the Liebestod from Tristan and Isolde. Try to get Waltraud Meier' from Bayreuth .Heavenly. Also Brunhild's immolation scene with Kirsten Flagstad (my favorite) or Brigit Nielson or Jessie Norman. And the Ring, all four of the operas.

You should listen to the whole opera it’s an incredible peace that changed my way how to think about music and about forgiveness a lot.

This guy is my new favorite RU-vidr. His reaction to 2:45 was funny as hell.

love all Wagner's overtures and preludes... the guy was from another planet. I used to call him the seat sucker... he forced you way back into your chair and breathing was difficult. Always felt well satisfied after listening.

What you said "sounds like a different piece" was a switch from one of what Wagner called leitmotif's to another. These are musical themes Wagner uses to associate with different characters or situations in his musical dramas and they flow one to another in the operas as characters come and go, scenes change and so on. Think of them in modern terms as something like the score of Star Wars where there's a theme that's associated with the Galactic Emperor, one for Darth Vader and so on.

Now you're lost 😀. Lohengrin, Parcifal.... So beautiful!

In addition to other people's recommendations: the Prelude to Act III from Lohengrin might be the most fun 3 minutes in all of Wagner's music. (The most famous bit of Lohengrin is the wedding march... but the Prelude to Act III, which comes just a little before that, is much more exciting.)

My favorite from wagner is "der liebestod" of the opera "tristan and isolde". its amazing. so many tears i left everytime. its the end and hope at the same time. so heartbreaking.

Los seicillos de violin final..cayendo al infinito!!

Que genio es Richard Wagner ❤

@05:40 When you say "Like a different piece" - yup, you got it 100% right. Everything before is about redemption through pure love, everything after is about carnal passion. The two polar opposites between which the titular character is torn.

You are going to have to plunge into Wagner's Ring Cycle eventually! ....start with Solti/Culshaw's trailblazing 1958-1963 first Stereo studio recoding of this great Wagnerian "Music Drama" Cycle. "Die Walkuere" (The Valkyrie) is the wonderful starting point!

I recommend You to listen to the Rienzi overture under the baton of Klaus Tennstedt

Plenty of gorgeous music by Wagner to explore. Please give Bruckner a listen. He is my favorite composer and his music is epic !

Don’t know much Wagner, but I’ve listened to this one like a hundred times. I absolutely love it. Except it annoys me that one of the main motifs sounds exactly like “happy birthday to you” and I can’t get ignore it.

Getting ready to build up to the Wagnerian peaks...🙂...... The Ring Cycle, Meistersingers, Tristan and Parsifal. This is the ultimate musical wormhole! I am so glad that you started out with a purely orchestral piece; a famed conductor/commentator (can't quite remember who) said that peak Wagner could be fine with a world class orchestra and competent singers, but the reverse was not true. happy listenings.

Ah yes, that sudden 'I think my head may blow off' reaction 2.48!

Legendary. Thanks for showing up on my feed.

There is a fantastic piano transcription of this by Liszt. It’s definitely with a listen!

Now you need to listen to the whole Ring !

I highly recommend reacting to Solti's Flying Dutchman Ouverture by Wagner. It's just fantastic! You already reacted in a live streaming to a recording by karajan, which was really low and heavy, and you did not like it. I bet you would love Solti's version!

It sounds like a bunch of different pieces because overtures are a bit like trailers for operas: you get a brief snippet of the highlights from the next three (or four or ten for Wagner) hours of your life.

As a wee taster for future joys....here's a video of Welsh soprano Gwyneth Jones in the final scene from Twilight of the Gods. Happy listening .... "ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jxDJ3ixLX6Q.html". I think this is from Covent Garden under conductor Colin Davis, but not sure.

Or this piece: Wagner Götterdämmerung - Siegfried's death and Funeral march Klaus Tennstedt London Philharmonic

Nice thing about Wagner: In contrast to the early Romantics, tension doesn't necessarily equal diminished chords. He's just modern enough to have other tools in his toolbox.

Very early Heavy Rock 👍 and then some.

fire

If THAT hit you you may be ready for more Wagner but you've got to listen to the scenes from the operas (with singing when there is singing--the overtures, of course, are orchestral only): -- Entrance of the gods into Valhalla from Das Rhinegold -- Siegfried forging Notung (his sword) from Siegfried -- Siegfried/Brunnhilde duet and Siegfried's Rhine Journey from Die Gotterdammerung -- Siegfried's Funeral March from Die Gotterdammerug -- Brunnhilde's Immolation from Die Gotterdammerung -- Wedding March from Lohengrin -- Overture to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg -- Overture and/or Steersman's song from Der Fliegende Hollander These should get you going. I think you've done the Liebestodt from Tristan und Isolde but that too if you haven't.

need more wagner

It took me 50+ years to "get" Wagner. It happened when watching BBC Proms 3rd movement of Die Walküre and now I'm addicted: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-sNXJcIjSGgI.html His Overtures are pretty accessible and magnificent, for the complete operas you surely need to know the plot before and the translation while listening. Also there is a very interesting life "trial" on Verdi vs Wagner (in english): ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-16noW1H0yq8.html

Down the rabbit hole...

Nice reaction. If you listen to Harold in Italy by Héctor Berlioz, you will understand from where Wagner comes

Now listen to the Pilgrims' Chorus from the same opera.

Ayooo

I'm genuinely curious. Have the record labels not come knocking for a piece of the pie for these videos?

Next is Parcifal

Fliegender Holländer Overture might be even better...

The fucking masterpiece from Wanger men!!!! You must be listing to Christa Ludwig singing Venus in this opera❤

I've never really liked Solti's conducting of Wagner. The brass is usually too brash, the strings too strident, it always sounds too harsh and irritating to me. Notably, in the opera house that Wagner had built in Bayreuth just to play his operas, the audience does not hear the orchestra directly, instead hearing a reflection from the front wall of the covered orchestra pit, which is then reflected a second time from the back walls and ceiling of the stage before reaching the audience, which greatly softens the sound in ways that Solti undoes.

I have always said this piece of music is the pinnacle of Western civilisation. #WagnerDidNothingWrong and the good guys lost WW2. That is all.

Berlioz, symphony fantastique next

Wagner was an awful person, but his music is transcendant. As long as that awfulness of his person doesn't leak into his music, we should celebrate it while qualifying the man.