Music Set #286 - Wagner - Ride of the Valkyries

Richard Wagner
/ˈvɑːɡnər/ [ˈʁiçaʁt ˈvaːɡnɐ]  (1813 – 1883)

Wagner wrote both the music and libretto for every one of his works. Hitler was a big fan of Wager's dramatic effects.
 

Perhaps the two best-known extracts from his works are: 
- the Wedding March from the opera Lohengrin
- The Ride of the Valkyries in Die Walküre (女武神)

A valkyrie ("chooser of the slain"), in Norse mythology, is one of a host of female figures who decides who falls and dies in battle.  

* In the Apocalypse Now movie 

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Tristan und Isolde  

Wagner referred to this opera (or music drama) not as an opera, but called it "eine Handlung" (literally a drama or a plot). It was notable for Wagner's advanced use of chromaticism, tonality, orchestral colour and harmonic suspension. 

The opera was profoundly influential among Western classical composers and provided inspiration to composers. Many see Tristan as the beginning of the move away from conventional harmony and tonality, and consider that it lays the groundwork for the direction of classical music in the 20th century.

* Prelude and Liebestod