Description
Book SynopsisFew musical works loom as large in Western culture as Richard Wagner's four-part "Ring of the Nibelung". This work looks at this greatest of Wagner's achievements, focusing on its far-reaching and subtle exploration of problems of meanings and endings in this life and world.
Trade Review"In Finding an Ending Kitcher and Schacht break free from the contemporary clichés of producers determined to show Wotan as nothing more than a capitalist crook, and of commentators more interested in Wagner's political and ideological opinions than in his surpassing artistic achievement. It is the latter that they are exclusively concerned with, and they argue their case with style and passion. The result is the most rewarding new account of the Ring that I have read in many years, and it will surely take its place as one of the classics of Wagner criticism." --Michael Tanner, Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University, and author of Wagner
"Eloquent...there is none of the extreme tone which so dominates both anti-Wagner tirades and expressions of Wagner idolatry. Instead, the mood introduced at the outset and maintained throughout is dignified and circumspect.... An analytic gem...[Kitcher and Schacht's] definitions and explanations [are] crystal clear.... Their discussion on the Ring teems with intimate references to musical movements, some of them truly moving.... This book will surely satisfy Wagner aficionados as much as it will make those who are new to the Ring feel welcome."--Nicholas Vazsonyi, Wagner Notes
"This book examines the richness and complexity of Der Ring des Nibelungen. I particularly enjoyed the careful analysis of each of the important characters in their society, their psychological undercurrents, and their reactions to others. Philip Kitcher and Richard Schacht demonstrate how these mythological gods and heroes are ultimately recognizable as purely human." --Jane Eaglen
"Each chapter contains thought-provoking discussions that will intellectually engage readers, even those who are unmoved, or perhaps repelled, by Wagner's music and ideas.... This book plunges more deeply into the intricacies of character development in the Ring itself, touching more lightly upon the details of philosophical inquiry. Recommended for all collections."--Library Journal
"Determined like no other composer to 'fathom the depths of philosophy,' Wagner wrote operas exploring the elemental passions and conflicts of the human condition. Kitcher and Schacht, distinguished philosophers in their own right, present a profound analysis of the guiding ideas of the Ring which enables us to grasp as never before the power of Wagner's most ambitious work." --Charles E. Larmore, University of Chicago Law School
"A strikingly successful reading of Wagner's music drama as a philosophical meditation on the meaning of human existence and freedom." --Paul Boghossian, New York University
