Introduction
Richard Wagner's Dynastic Dreams
Gustav Mahler's Resurrection and the Apostolic Succession
Of Forked Tongues and Angels: Alban Berg's Violin Concerto
Wilhelm Fürtwangler and the Return of the Muse
Here Comes the Sunset: The Late and the Last Works of Richard
Strauss
Postlude: The Telephone Call
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Chris Walton studied at the universities of Cambridge, Oxford,
Zurich and Munich. He was head of the Music Department of the
Zentralbibliothek
Zürich for ten years before being appointed chair of music at the
University of Pretoria. He moved back to Switzerland in 2008 and
lives today in
Solothurn. He is an Honorary Professor at Africa Open Institute
(Stellenbosch University) and runs two research projects at the
Bern University of the Arts for the Swiss National Science
Foundation. He has published widely on Austro-German and Swiss
music.
Well-cited, the book reads like a crime novel, and each of the five
accounts is told as a story . . . Walton delves into the field of
inspiration and influence, inherently muddy with speculation, clad
with the best possible armor of research and inquiry.
*MUSIC REFERENCE SERVICES QUARTERLY*
An illuminating read where one is transported back to the lives and
times of composers who were, and still are regarded as the greats
in Germanic music.
*STRINGENDO*
Chris Walton's engaging study is concerned instead with inspiration
in its engendering aspect. Having laid a variety of myths to rest,
he is cautious about going too far: 'we should also be prepared to
regard apparent mendacities [. . . ] as allegories that allow us
alternative, symbolic points of access to an understanding of
complex, barely understandable phenomena' (p.133). These are wise
words with which to conclude this excellent and elegantly written
study.
*WAGNER JOURNAL*
His theme is the seeking out of the conflicts and ironies that
arise when musicians attempt to negotiate between their blessedly
non-conceptual chosen medium and the real world in which they
attempt to lead their lives. Walton takes understandable pleasure
in cutting these giants of artistic endeavour down to size. At the
same time, he avoids strenuously moralistic debunking.
*MUSICAL TIMES*
Chris Walton offers a fascinating exploration of the stories his
chosen composers -- German Romantics from Wagner to Strauss -- have
told about inspiration. His conclusion is powerful, even moving,
but no less important are his portraits of these still-looming
figures. --
*Paul Griffiths, author of The Substance of Things Heard: Writings
about Music*
If we are unsurprised to learn that Wagner lied about the sources
of his inspiration in order to intensify the pseudo-religious aura
of his work, we may be disappointed to discover that Berg was
significantly more friendly to Austrofascism than has been
generally recognized, or that Richard Strauss repeatedly reinvented
himself to best profit from the ruling power -- whether the Kaiser,
Hitler, or the Americans. In this important book, Walton debunks
the myths of inspiration invented by composers and their canonizers
in the contexts of power and money. --
*Timothy L. Jackson, Distinguished University Research Professor of
Music, College of Music, University of North Texas*
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