Nietzsche, Wagner, Europe (Monographien und Texte zur Nietzsche-Forschung, 61)

Main description: Most of Nietzsche?s works are concerned with the present state and future of European culture and humanity, thereby resisting the "nationalist nonsense." Prange analyzes the development of his ideal of European culture based on his musical aesthetics. It does so against the background of contemporary searches for a wider, cultural meaning beyond Europe?s economic-political union. One focus is on Nietzsche?s relation to Wagner?s "German" music

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) supported the unification of Europe and reflected on this like few other philosophers before or after him. Many ofhis works are concerned with the present state and future of European culture and humanity. Resisting the “nationalist nonsense” and “politics of dissolution” of his day, he advocated the birth of “good Europeans,” i.e. “supra-national” individuals and the “amalgamation of nations.”
Nietzsche, Wagner,Europe analyzes the development of Friedrich Nietzsche’s ideal of European culture based on his musical aesthetics. It does so against the background of contemporary searches for a wider, cultural meaning beyond Europe’s economic-political union. The book claims that Nietzsche always propagated the “aestheticization” of Europe, but that his view on how to achieve this changed as a result of his dramatically altering philosophy of music. The main focus is on Nietzsche’s passion for and later aversion to Wagner’s music, and, in direct connection with this, his surprising embrace of Italian operas as new forms of “Dionysian” music and of Goethe as a model of “Good Europeanism.”

Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) supported the unification of Europe and reflected on this like few other philosophers before or after him. Many of his works are concerned with the present state and future of European culture and humanity. Resisting the "nationalist nonsense" and "politics of dissolution" of his day, he advocated the birth of "good Europeans," i.e. "supra-national" individuals and the "amalgamation of nations." Nietzsche, Wagner, Europe analyzes the development of Friedrich Nietzsche's ideal of European culture based on his musical aesthetics. It does so against the background of contemporary searches for a wider, cultural meaning beyond Europe's economic-political union. The book claims that Nietzsche always propagated the "aestheticization" of Europe, but that his view on how to achieve this changed as a result of his dramatically altering philosophy of music. The main focus is on Nietzsche's passion for and later aversion to Wagner's music, and, in direct connection with this, his surprising embrace of Italian operas as new forms of "Dionysian" music and of Goethe as a model of "Good Europeanism." Abbreviations and translations 6 Contents 9 General introduction 13 Part I Aestheticization: Germany as saviour of Europe 29 Chapter 1 Was Nietzsche ever a true Wagnerian? 31 Chapter 2 Germanizing music and culture: Richard Wagner’s ‘Beethoven’ essay 62 Chapter 3 Nietzsche’s reception of Wagner’s ‘Beethoven’ essay in the spirit of Weimar Classicism 105 Chapter 4 The Birth of Tragedy out of Nietzsche’s concern for Wagner’s ‘Graecization’ 139 Part II Dynamic interculturalism: De-Germanization and the ‘Good European’ 177 Chapter 5 Nietzsche’s anti-Wagnerism in the light of his increasing cosmopolitanism 179 Chapter 6 ‘La Gaya Scienza’ in music: Nietzsche’s new musical aesthetics 209 Chapter 7 Goethe as model of the ‘Good European’ 238 Epilogue 268 Bibliography 275 Index 294