''La Revue wagnérienne'' was a French magazine covering the artistic and philosophical ideas of German composer Richard Wagner based in Paris, France. It was established by

Édouard Dujardin Édouard Dujardin (10 November 1861 – 31 October 1949) was a French writer, one of the early users of the stream of consciousness literary technique, exemplified by his 1888 novel '' Les Lauriers sont coupés.'' Biography Édouard Émile Loui ...

Téodor de Wyzewa Téodor de Wyzewa, born as Teodor Wyżewski (12 September 1862 – 15 April 1917), was a writer, critic, and translator of Polish descent, born in Kałusik in the Russian sector of Poland near Kamieniec Podolski (Кам'янець-Подільсь� ...

, and

Houston Stewart Chamberlain Houston Stewart Chamberlain (; 9 September 1855 – 9 January 1927) was a British-German philosopher who wrote works about political philosophy and natural science. His writing promoted German ethnonationalism, antisemitism, and scientific ...

. It was first published in February 1885, and thereafter appeared bimonthly from July 1885 to December 1887. The final issue was published in July 1888. It published concert listings, book reviews, translations of Wagner's writings, reprints of pieces on Wagner, correspondence, as well as original analytical essays dealing with topics relating to Wagner in on average about 30 pages a month. The magazine was associated with the

symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: Arts * Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism ** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries ** Russian sym ...

arts movement and provided a space for literary criticism, inspired greatly by

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited ...

's interpretation of Wagner's aesthetic theories. Much of the magazine was dedicated to exploring the links between the musical theories of Wagner and symbolism.

Founding

The ''Revue Wagnérienne'' was conceived by the young Wagner enthusiasts Edouard Dujardin,

and

in the summer of Munich 1884, while in attendance of a production of the

Ring Cycle (''The Ring of the Nibelung''), WWV 86, is a cycle of four German-language epic music dramas composed by Richard Wagner. The works are based loosely on characters from Germanic heroic legend, namely Norse legendary sagas and the ''Nibelun ...

. Returning to Paris, Dujardin would host a dinner with key French Wagnerians such as writer Champfleury, translator Victor Wilder and conductor Charles Larmoureux to discuss the feasibility of the project. In the ensuing months, Dujardin secured the financial backing of industrialist Alfred Bovet, Swiss millionaire Agénor Boissier and jurist Arnold Lascoux. The first edition was sold at the door of the Concerts Lamoureux, a weekly concert series lead by conductor and Wagner champion

Charles Lamoureux Charles Lamoureux (; 28 September 1834 – 21 December 1899) was a French conductor and violinist. Life He was born in Bordeaux, where his father owned a café. He studied the violin with Narcisse Girard at the Paris Conservatoire, taking ...

Circulation

The publication cost 12 francs a year in France, and 13 Francs abroad. Individual issues were sold for one franc, with deluxe printings on Dutch and Japanese paper available for up to 5 francs annually. Though exact circulation figures are not available, receipts from printers indicate that each issue received a print run between 600 and 1 000 copies. Despite its small print run, the ''Revue Wagnérienne'' is seen by some as the "most substantial and significant expression" of French Wagnerism. The magazine also included "timetables and fares for ferry travel between England and France, suggesting an Anglo-French readership." Disagreements on the subject of the direction of the publication between the editors vision for ''La Revue'' and the financiers eventually led to its demise.

Content and Contributors

While ''La Revue Wagnérienne'' included some conventional content such as performance reviews from a number of international correspondents, contributions engaged largely with his aesthetic and philosophical ideas. Rather than musicologist, the key authors came from literary circles. Contributors included poets Stephane Mallarmé, Algernon Charles Swinburne,

Paul Verlaine Paul-Marie Verlaine (; ; 30 March 1844 – 8 January 1896) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement and the Decadent movement. He is considered one of the greatest representatives of the '' fin de siècle'' in international and ...

and

Joris-Karl Huysmans Charles-Marie-Georges Huysmans (, ; 5 February 1848 – 12 May 1907) was a French novelist and art critic who published his works as Joris-Karl Huysmans (, variably abbreviated as J. K. or J.-K.). He is most famous for the novel '' À rebour ...

. who were largely associated with the

movement, and to a lesser extent,

decadent movement The Decadent movement (Fr. ''décadence'', “decay”) was a late-19th-century artistic and literary movement, centered in Western Europe, that followed an aesthetic ideology of excess and artificiality. The Decadent movement first flourishe ...

. The publication also featured lithographs from

Henri Fantin-Latour Henri Fantin-Latour (14 January 1836 – 25 August 1904) was a French painter and lithographer best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers. Biography He was born Ignace Henri Jean Théodore Fantin-La ...

, which helped establish his 'reputation as an antinaturalist painter-printmaker,' symbolist Odilon Redon, and Jaques-Émile Blanche. Due to the relative scarcity of full Wagner performances within contemporary Paris, many contributors had limited exposure to the music itself and largely based their analysis on Wagner's prose output. As such, the ''Revue'' was not always well received, with one commenter saying that it produced 'neither good art nor competent criticism.' Still, Pamela Genova argues that because of the "unusual blend it presents of divergent methodologies and formats, its balance between detailed theoretical pieces and an informal and informative style of journalistic' marks an important example of literary journalism. Though la Revue is principally known for its association with symbolism, contributions were often eclectic in nature, linking Wagner's music and ideas to such diverse topics as Christianity, evolution and socialism. It also featured French translation of several of Wagner's prose works, such as "Une Capitulation" and "Beethoven."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Revue wagnerienne Defunct magazines published in France French-language magazines Magazines established in 1885 Magazines disestablished in 1888 Magazines published in Paris Music magazines published in France Symbolism (arts) Wagner studies Bi-monthly magazines published in France Classical music magazines