Nietzsche opposed Wagner

Author: Friedrich Nietzsche
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-11-01
Features: In Wagner's music, in his creed, in his entire understanding of art, Nietzsche saw how he exacerbated, propelled, and even encouraged the decadence and decline that had already spread across Europe. For this reason, it can be observed that on the eve of Nietzsche's spiritual death, he was still warning people to formally break with the musician and artist Wagner—even though until the very end of his life, he still loved this man, this friend. Nietzsche was highly accomplished in music. During his youth, his elders were unsure whether he should receive specialized education to pursue a musical career, as he was simply too talented in this art. If his mother had not secured the six-year scholarship provided by the prestigious Pforta for her son, Nietzsche, the scholar and philosopher, might have become an outstanding composer. Therefore, when speaking of music, he knew exactly what he was talking about. Moreover, when he specifically mentioned Wagner's music, the simple fact that he had spent long years in close proximity to Wagner during his time in Toruń was enough to guarantee his deep understanding of the topic. Today, Nietzsche is one of the earliest people to recognize the following truth: artistic principles are closely intertwined with the laws of life; aesthetic beliefs can either enhance or suppress vitality, and a painting, a symphony, a poem, or a statue can be as pessimistic, anarchic, Christian, or revolutionary as philosophy or science. Thus, for Nietzsche, it was a perfectly normal association to link a certain kind of music with cultural decline, and this is precisely why Nietzsche's philosophy consistently emphasizes aesthetic considerations.