28 Tracks, 1:10:27
- 00:091. Introduction
- 01:322. Lohengrin WWV 75: Prelude to Act III (Excerpt)
- 07:073. "On laying the foundation stone of the Bayreuth Festspielhaus on 22 May 1872, Richard Wagner – who turned 59 years old that day – declared: 'I need a theatre such as I alone can build...'"
- 00:434. L. v. Beethoven: String Quartet No. 14 in C sharp minor op. 131 – V. Presto (Excerpt)
- 02:195. "An extract from Ludwig van Beethoven's String Quartet in C sharp minor, Op. 131 is a useful place to start to sketch Wagner’s life history..."
- 00:526. Symphony in C major WWV 29: I. Sostenuto e maestoso – Allegro con brio (Excerpt)
- 02:387. "Given his family's theatrical pursuits, it is perhaps no surprise that Wagner turned his attention from the concert hall to the stage..."
- 01:248. Die Feen WWV 32: Overture (Excerpt)
- 04:479. "Wagner's second completed opera Das Liebesverbot ('The Ban on Love'), a comic opera in two acts modelled on Shakespeare's Measure for Measure..."
- 01:1410. Rienzi, der Letzte der Tribunen WWV 49: 'Ihr Römer, hört die Kunde' (Chor der Friedensboten, Act II) (Excerpt)
- 03:4611. "Triumph, however, did not ensue. Rather, calamity, disillusionment and failure..."
- 02:0312. Der fliegende Holländer WWV 63: 'Die Frist ist um' (Holländer, Mannschaft des Holländers, Act I) (Excerpt)
- 03:2613. "Success with Rienzi brought immediate benefits, not least the premiere on 2 January 1843 – also at the Dresden Hoftheater – of The Flying Dutchman..."
- 01:2914. Lohengrin WWV 75: Prelude to Act I (Excerpt)
- 02:4715. "There was a reason that Wagner did not conduct, or even attend, the Weimar premiere of Lohengrin in the late summer of 1850..."
- 01:1116. Die Walküre WWV 86B: Prelude to Act III "Ride of the Valkyries" (Excerpt)
- 04:4917. "It would be some time before music such as this, Ride of the Valkyries from Wagner's Die Walküre, would be heard in the theatre..."
- 01:4718. Das Rheingold WWV 86A: 'Weiche, Wotan! Weiche! Flieh des Ringes Fluch!' (Erda, Wotan, Fricka, Froh) (Excerpt)
- 04:3819. "Wagner's symphonic-style orchestral writing has been thought to betray the influence of a composer mentioned at the start of this biography: Beethoven..."
- 02:2520. Tristan und Isolde WWV 90: Prelude (Act I) (Excerpt)
- 01:1821. "A second major work by Wagner created during the lengthy hiatus in the composition of the Ring provided a stark contrast: this was Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg..."
- 02:2822. Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg WWV 96: 'Wach auf! Es nahet gen den Tag' (Chorus, Act III) (Excerpt)
- 02:1923. "Wagner had begun the music to Die Meistersinger in February 1862 while living temporarily in Mainz..."
- 00:5824. Tannhäuser WWV 70: Bacchanale (Venusberg Music, Act I) (Paris Version) (Excerpt)
- 05:4425. "A period of relative calm and contentment was to ensue, thanks entirely to the intervention of the eighteen-year-old Ludwig II, King of Bavaria..."
- 01:1426. Götterdämmerung WWV 86D: Siegfrieds Trauermarsch (Siegfried's Funeral March, Act III) (Excerpt)
- 03:2127. "Following the premiere of the complete Ring cycle – comprising no less than sixteen hours of music extended over four evenings in mid-August 1876..."
- 01:5928. Parsifal WWV 111: Höchsten Heiles Wunder (Act III) (Excerpt)