David Given Schwarm

Wagnerism: Art and Politics in the Shadow of Music by Alex Ross My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is a great book. A sprawling review of the influence of Wagner. Sensitive, well-written, balanced, and primarily brilliant in its observations. Honestly, it is one of the top five books on “classical” music that I have read. It is strongly recommended for lovers of Opera (obviously), history of ideas folks, and anyone that fights with art impact on society. It was a relatively slow read for me- there are a lot of details, and it covers many areas that I am not familiar with, but overall, it is strongly recommended. View all my reviews