Our systems are now restored following recent technical disruption, and we’re working hard to catch up on publishing. We apologise for the inconvenience caused. Find out more

Recommended product

Popular links

Popular links


The Aesthetic System of François Delsarte and Richard Wagner

The Aesthetic System of François Delsarte and Richard Wagner

The Aesthetic System of François Delsarte and Richard Wagner

Catholicism, Romanticism, and Ancient Music
Bradley Hoover, University of Oxford
May 2025
Available
Hardback
9781009608770
$64.99
USD
Hardback
USD
Paperback

    On 17 September 1839, Richard Wagner arrived in Paris. Although scholars agree that the composer learned a great deal about aesthetics during his first sojourn in the city, what has not been known is exactly what he learned and from whom. This Element explores the striking similarities between Wagner's early aesthetic writings and François Delsarte's 'Cours d'esthétique appliquée', a theoretical and practical training course for artists which Delsarte began teaching in Paris in May 1839. This Element also details the rise of Delsarte as a celebrated teacher of aesthetics and interpreter of Gluck's repertoire during the same years that Wagner lived in the city. By comparing historical timelines, published documents, and manuscript sources and by analysing Wagner's treatises, Das Kunstwerk der Zukunft and Oper und Drama, and the essay 'Über Schauspieler und Sänger', the author shows that Delsarte's course is the most likely source of Wagner's aesthetic transformation in Paris.

    Product details

    May 2025
    Hardback
    9781009608770
    76 pages
    229 × 152 × 6 mm
    0.249kg
    Available

    Table of Contents

    • Introduction
    • 1. Delsarte's 'cours d'esthétique appliquée'
    • 2. Delsarte's teaching: Pedagogy and press
    • 3. Delsarte's rise to fame in Paris
    • 4. Delsarte's principle of the trinity in Wagner's das kunstwerk der Zukunft
    • 5. Delsarte's psychological 'chart of man' in Wagner's oper und drama
    • 6. Schröder-devrient plays the role of Delsarte in Wagner's 'Uber schauspieler und sänger'
    • Conclusion.
      Author
    • Bradley Hoover , University of Oxford