The Tristan Chord: Wagner and Philosophy

The author

Bryan Magee (1930–2019) was a British philosopher, critic and one-time Member of Parliament, celebrated for popular BBC television series that made philosophy accessible to a wide public. His books include The Story of Philosophy and The Philosophy of Schopenhauer, and he brought both a philosopher's rigor and a music lover's devotion to Wagner.

The book

The Tristan Chord — published in Britain as Wagner and Philosophy — argues that Wagner's serious study of philosophy profoundly shaped his music dramas. Across seventeen chapters Magee follows Wagner's shifting worldview, gives a clear account of Schopenhauer's thought and Wagner's conversion to it, and confronts the composer's ugly personal failings alongside his artistic greatness.

How to read it

Read it as an intellectual biography and an unusually good popular introduction to Schopenhauer. It's even-handed about Wagner the man, refusing both hagiography and easy dismissal. No technical musical knowledge is required, though a passing acquaintance with the operas deepens it.

For more context

It extends Magee's earlier Aspects of Wagner and his standalone study of Schopenhauer, both natural next reads.

Sources

• Amazon listing
• Google Books
• Goodreads