Richard Wagner was a versatile musician. He is not only a composer and conductor, but also a playwright, philosopher, critic and social activist. Therefore, Wagner not only occupies an important position in the history of European music, but also has a certain influence in the history of European literature and philosophy.

In May 1813, Wagner was born in Leipzig in the home of an art-loving police officer. His father died less than half a year after his birth. The next summer, my mother remarried Ludwig Gaillard, an accomplished theater actor, and the family moved to Dresden. Wagner's stepfather worked in a theater in Dresden. As a child, Wagner was free to go to the theater and was often enchanted by the theatrical stage. As time went by, the fire of drama creation gradually ignited in the young mind of this future dramatist. His stepfather was very concerned about Wagner and cultivated his interest in painting and drama. This gave Wagner a good artistic accomplishment from an early age and was one of the reasons why he was able to write his own scripts and lyrics when he later created operas. Wagner's artistic talent was revealed very early. When he was in elementary school, he had a strong interest in ancient Greek mythology, Shakespeare's plays, German folklore and poetry. He was also extremely talented in music. At the age of eight, he could memorize excerpts from Weber's opera "Die Freud" and could play its overture and other musical excerpts on the piano. Wagner began writing tragic plays when he entered high school. When he was 15 years old, he was greatly shocked and inspired after listening to Beethoven's symphony, and decided to pursue a career in music. In 1830, Wagner completed his first orchestral work, "Orchestra Overture in B flat major", but the performance failed. From then on, he decided to devote himself to the study of music theory. In 1831, he entered the University of Leipzig to study music. He received careful guidance from the famous teacher Wanlige and mastered strict theoretical knowledge of composition. During this period, he wrote many works, but most of them were internship creations during his student days. Among the more famous ones are "Symphony in C Major" and so on.

Wagner’s greatest artistic achievement was in opera reform and creation. On the one hand, he was disgusted with the superficial and frivolous content and style of Italian and French operas on the German opera stage at that time. On the other hand, he also saw many weaknesses in German national operas, so he used bold methods to implement the art of opera. reform. Based on the principle that opera should integrate drama, art and music, he created a new type of opera that he called "musical drama". In these opera works, art forms such as music and drama are closely combined to create an overall artistic beauty. In addition, in the writing of opera music, he strengthened the expressive power of the orchestra and created a new method of "leading motive" to make the musical image more concrete and distinct. Wagner created a new art form - musical theatre.

Wagner was a great composer. Most of his works are full of religious and mystical colors. Wagner wrote more than ten operas in his lifetime, the most famous of which are "Rienzi", "The Flying Dutchman", "Lohengrin", "Tamnh?user", "Meistersinger of Nuremberg", " "The Ring of the Nibelung" tetralogy, "Tristan and Isolde" and so on. In addition, he also composed many orchestral overtures and piano sonatas.

Wagner's music has special significance in the history of world music. His works have a huge influence, and many composers have followed his creations as examples. Many of the modern music writing techniques of Schoenberg, the founder of the modern "twelve-tone system", were influenced by Wagner's music, especially the opera "Tristan und Isolde".

Wagner played a pioneering and important role in the development of late Romantic music. With Wagner as the leader, the German opera school was formed. Its characteristics are: heavy, vast, symphonic, and a large proportion of instrumental music. These Contrary to the style of Italian operas such as Verdi's (which emphasizes vocal music and despises instrumental music), after the vocal part is removed, it is still a symphony. His works emphasize dramatic conflicts, highlighting the tonal dissociation and fragmentation; the harmony emphasizes color and downplays functionality.

The characteristic of Wagner's music is that the orchestra is its main tool of expression. A symphony consists of a leading motive that is repeated many times. These motives describe the characters, natural phenomena, characters' emotions and events in the play. Many short leading motives alternate, deform, and combine at the same time, developing in the form of a continuous symphony, constituting Wagner's "endless melody" feature. The structural requirements of an opera are: there is the unity of a symphony movement, which is consistently implemented throughout the play and consists of many basic themes scattered throughout the play. These themes contrast with each other, complement each other, change each other, and interweave with each other. The rules for separation and combination of themes are determined according to the needs of plot development.

Wagner is the most representative composer during the climax and decline period of European Romantic music. He is the greatest figure on the German opera stage after Beethoven and Weber. Wagner's life was very tortuous, sometimes wandering and sometimes prosperous, and it was as dramatic as the operas he created. Wagner's creative thoughts are very contradictory. He is brave and innovative and criticizes society; he is also pessimistic and world-weary and religious. In the history of European music, Wagner is a controversial figure. But in any case, he is worthy of being an outstanding innovator in the history of European music in the 19th century.