Faust Overture

Thematic reduction of Faust Overture. The tempo markings are incorrect.

The Faust Overture is a concert overture by German composer Richard Wagner. Originally composed between 1839 and 1840, Wagner intended it to be the first movement of a Faust Symphony based on the Faust legend and play by German playwright Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Eventually, Wagner abandoned writing the planned symphony and composed instead a single-movement concert overture, incorporating ideas from the other sketched movements. He made a final revision to the score in 1855. The Faust Overture is one of the few compositions by Wagner which was written for the concert hall, rather than the theatre.

See also

References

  • Westernhagen, Curt von. Wagner: A Biography. Cambridge University Press: New York, NY 1978.
  • Culshaw, John. Wagner: The Man and His Music. Dutton: New York, NY 1978.
  • Oxford Concise Dictionary of Music, 1996 ed. Chief editor Michael Kennedy.
  • Everett, Derrick. Richard Wagner: Chronology at the Wayback Machine (archived February 23, 2008), 2004.
  • Wagner, Irmgard. Where is Wagner's Faust? at the Wayback Machine (archived February 5, 2012), American Goethe Society 2004.


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