1. May 22, 1813 – February 13, 1883 Cheyenne Raderstorf

2. Biography ♪ Wilhelm Richard Wagner was born on May 22, 1813 in Leipzig, Germany. ♪ Wagner was a German composer, conductor, music theorist and essayist, and was primarily known for his operas. ♪ When he was 15, he wrote piano transcriptions of Beethoven’s 9 th Symphony. This is the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Germany in 1884.

3. Biography (cont.) ♪ Throughout his life, he spent most of it composing operas and going through school. ♪ Later in life, he married Wilhelmina (Minna) Planer and had no children. ♪ He then divorced Minna after having a child with Cosima Liszt and married her instead. ♪ On February 13, 1883, Wagner died of a heart attack, leaving his wife and his three children behind. Cosima Lizst Minna Planer

4. Inspirations ♪ Wagner looked up to Beethoven’s music as a child. ♪ He also looked up to Shakespeare’s drama’s. ♪ Not only did he admire, but he was admired by Adolf Hitler, who claims to have seen Wagner’s opera, Reinzi, 40 times. BeethovenBeethoven ShakespeareShakespeare

5. ♪ Wagner was well known for his operas. ♪ His most known operas were Ride of the Valkyrie, Tristan und Isolde, and Tannhäuser. ♪ Ride of the Valkyrie is the beginning of Act III of Die Walküre and was performed in Vienna. ♪ The Valkyrie, or choosers of the slain, were a group of women who decided who lived and who died in a battle. ♪ The music was used for films and advertisements and even the introduction to a popular Rammestein song. Wagner - RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES - Furtwangler - YouTube

6. Sources