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The Case of Wagner, Nietzsche Contra Wagner, and Selected Aphorisms.

By Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

(3.5 stars) • 10 reviews

A philosopher examines the seductive yet ultimately damaging influence of a famous composer’s art, questioning the very foundations of European culture.

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Released
2008-04-07
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Summary

"The Case of Wagner, Nietzsche Contra Wagner, and Selected Aphorisms" by Friedrich Nietzsche is a book of essays from the 1800s that analyzes Richard Wagner's work. Nietzsche used to admire Wagner, but these writings show him moving away from that admiration and criticizing Wagner's influence on European culture. Nietzsche believed Wagner's music, though initially captivating, represented a decline in cultural values, pulling people down instead of lifting them up. He writes about his personal journey from being a devoted fan to realizing Wagner's music was harmful to cultural and artistic standards. Nietzsche contrasts Wagner’s work with the music of Bizet, which he sees as a source of strength and cultural revival.

About the Author

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a German classical scholar, philosopher, and critic of culture, who became one of the most influential of all modern thinkers. He began his career as a classical philologist before turning to philosophy. He became the youngest person to hold the Chair of Classical Philology at the University of Basel in Switzerland in 1869, at the age of 24, but resigned in 1879 due to health problems that plagued him most of his life; he completed much of his core writing in the following decade. In 1889, at age 44, he suffered a collapse and afterward a complete loss of his mental faculties, with paralysis and probably vascular dementia. He lived his remaining years in the care of his mother until her death in 1897, and then with his sister Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche. Nietzsche died in 1900, after experiencing pneumonia and multiple strokes.

Average Rating
4.0
Aggregate review score sourced from Goodreads
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Total Reviews
10.0k
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