The Wagner Clan: The Saga of Germany's Most Illustrious and Infamous Family (Paperback)

by Jonathan Carr (Author)
Key Phrases: Green Hill, King Ludwig, Richard Wagner (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. The grandiose life of Richard Wagner—the pronouncements on art and the German soul, the petty groveling for money and favors, the intermittently atrocious politics and intermittently glorious music—was a tough act to follow. Carr (Mahler: A Biography) follows Wagner's descendants through three generations as they fight each other for control of the Bayreuth Festival and, at opportune times, embrace, reject or sweep under the rug their forebear's status as Nazism's spiritual godfather. (It's a bum rap, Carr concludes, after a nuanced analysis of Wagner's writings and music that finds his anti-Semitism vile but muddled and probably not eliminationist.) Much of the story belongs to outsiders who married into the family: Wagner's wife, Cosima, a chillingly implacable anti-Semite; his son-in-law Houston Chamberlain, a racist ideologue revered by the Nazis; and his daughter-in-law Winifred, who clasped Hitler—affectionately dubbed Uncle Wolf by her children—to the family's bosom. Carr's sprightly, fluent narrative places the family in its historical and intellectual context without reducing it to the symbolic effigy it has often become. Photos. (Jan.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description

An Economist Best Book of 2007, Jonathan Carr’s The Wagner Clan proves, with the sweeping scope of a Wagnerian opera, that the history of Europe and that of the infamous composer’s family are inextricably intertwined. Carr presents not only Richard Wagner himself— musician, philosopher, philanderer, failed revolutionary, and virulent anti-Semite—but also a colorful cast of historical figures who feature in Wagner’s story: Franz Liszt (whose illegitimate daughter Cosima married Wagner); Friedrich Nietzsche; Arthur Schopenhauer; Richard Strauss; Gustav Mahler; Arturo Toscanini; Joseph Goebbels; Hermann Göring; and the “Wolf ” himself, Adolf Hitler, a passionate fan of the Master’s music and an adopted uncle to Wagner’s grandchildren. Wagner’s British-born daughter-in-law, Winifred, was a close friend of Hitler’s 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 war’s devastation, the festival was dark for a decade until Wagner’s offspring—with characteristic ambition and cunning— revived it. The Wagner Clan is a riveting chronicle of the ascent, decline, and rehabilitation of the German nation and its most infamous family.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (January 6, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802143997
• ISBN-13: 978-0802143990
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #175,500 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reads like "The Godfather", January 25, 2009

By	Peter Dallos "DonPedro1492" (NY, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is an extraordinary book that reads like a saga from the pages of The Godfather. A revelation to anyone thrilled by the majestic, thrilling music of the Master, but also shocking because of the longstanding antisemitism of the Wagner clan, and the unsavory family dramas. One can understand why the Master's music still provokes anguish in Israel despite the soaring notes. As Thomas Mann famously put it: "There is much Hitler in Wagner."
The book is absorbing, well-researched, and reads like a thriller, documenting the backstage drama and unusual characters behind Bayreuth from the time of Wagner to the present. No wonder "The Economist" nominated it as one of the ten best books of 2007.

Two big thumbs up for Jonathan Carr's achievement!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Wagner Clan examines the family of musical genius and horrible human being-Richard Wagner, February 16, 2009

By	C. M Mills "Michael Mills" (Knoxville Tennessee) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Richard Wagner (1813-1883) ranks alongside Italian G. Verdi as the greatest opera composer of all time. Among his gigantic works are "The Ring Cycle (Das Rheingold, The Valkyrie, Siegrfried and Twilight of the Gods), "Der Meistersinger" (his only "comedy"); Tannhaueser, Lohengrin and Parsifal.
Wagner was many things to many people. He was a notorious womanizer being unfaithful to his singer-wife Minna. Among other lovers were Mathilde Wessendock (spouse of an industrialist who gave Wagner money needed to keep composing) and Cosima Wagner (the illegitimate daughter of Franz Liszt and Maria d'Agoult. Wagner married Cosima after she divorced her conductor husband Hans Van Bulow. They had already conceived a daughter named Isolde. Cosima worshipped Richard who was a narcissitic worshipper of himself and his art. Her long diary presents an unsavory picture of Wagner who wrote horrible screeds against Judaism (even though he did have some Jewish friends-Wagner was friendly with anyone he could use for financial or critical support). His daughter Eva wed Houston Chamberlain who was famous for his anti-semetic writings.
Wagner died in 1883 being known for his musical genius, bitter hatred of Jews and love of luxury, women, dogs, fine foods and mooching off of King Ludwig II of Bavaria who supported his work. Cosima took over the Wagner's Bayreuth Festival. She was antisemitic and was a tough cookie in running the show on the Green Hill. She died in 1939.
Her son Siegfried a composer who was a fairly pleasant sort. He married an English woman Winifred who was several years younger than he. When Siegfried died in 1930 it was Winifred who ran Bayreuth. She was a fanatical Nazi who adored Adolf Hitler. Hitler was close to the Wagner family demanding his lackeys attend the festival keeping it financially afloat during the Depression and World War II. Winifred spoke highly of Hitler until her death in 1980.
She and Siegfried were the parents of four children. Daughter Friedelind hated the Nazis and became an American citizen. Daughter Verena married an SS officer and stayed close to Bayreuth. The two sons were very different. Wieland was a dreamy, moody, secretive man who did not serve in World War II. He married a dancer but was unfaithful and difficult to like. He died in 1966. His more practical brother Wolfgang served as a German soldier and became a powerful producer of the Bayreuth festival. He wed twice. Today the children of these two strong men are quarreling over who will head the Bayreuth Festival.
The Wagner family has a tragic history of antisemitism although some members such as Gottfried Wagner (a son of Wolfgang) seek to work with groups seeking peace and justice.He seeks to atone for Germany's responsibility of mass murder in the Holocaust.
Jonathan Carr has done a fine job of presenting a history of the illustrious and notorious Wagners. This is an excellent book for those who love opera, music, and the impact of politics on art. Recommended.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Wagner clan-the saga of Germany's most illustious and infammous family, May 27, 2008

By	J.E.S. "J.E S." (Glendale, Cal. USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Wagner Clan: The Saga of Germany's Most Illustrious and Infamous Family (Hardcover)

Wonderful history of the Wagner family that would be enjoyed by music lovers and non-music lovers alike.