Wagner for kids: his life, his music, and what to play first

Richard Wagner was a German composer who lived from 1813 to 1883. He wrote operas on a giant scale. One set of four operas takes about 15 hours to perform, over four evenings. He wrote his own stories, designed his own theater, and changed the way composers used the orchestra. The best first piece for a child is “The Ride of the Valkyries,” five minutes of galloping brass.

Quick facts

• Born: 1813, in Leipzig, Germany
• Died: 1883, in Venice, Italy
• Era: Romantic
• Played: piano
• Known for: The Ring of the Nibelung, The Flying Dutchman, Lohengrin, and “The Ride of the Valkyries”

The life in short

Wagner grew up around the theater. His stepfather was an actor, and several of his sisters went on the stage. As a boy, he wanted to write plays. At 15, he heard the music of Beethoven and decided that his plays needed music.

He had little formal training. He taught himself by copying out Beethoven’s symphonies by hand.

His early years were a scramble. He worked as a conductor in small theaters, ran up debts, and fled from the people he owed. In 1849, he joined an uprising against the king in Dresden. It failed, and he had to leave Germany for 11 years.

In exile, he began his biggest project: four operas based on old German and Norse myths about gods, giants, dwarves, and a magic ring. He worked on it, on and off, for 26 years.

In 1864, his luck turned. The young king of Bavaria, Ludwig II, loved his operas. The king paid his debts and supported him for the rest of his life.

Wagner then built a theater of his own in the town of Bayreuth, made for his operas alone. It opened in 1876 with the first full performance of the Ring. A festival of his operas is still held there each summer.

What the music sounds like

Wagner’s orchestra is large, and the brass section is at its heart. He even had a new instrument built to fill a gap in the brass sound.

He gave each person, object, and idea in a story its own short tune. A sword has a tune. A dragon has a tune. When the sword appears, or when someone only thinks of it, the orchestra plays the sword’s tune. Film composers use the same idea today. Darth Vader’s march is one example.

His music flows without stopping. There are few places where the singers pause for applause.

Pieces to play first

“The Ride of the Valkyries.” The Valkyries are warrior women who ride flying horses through the sky. The strings swirl, and the horns and trombones call out the famous leaping tune.

Bridal Chorus, from Lohengrin. Most people know it as “Here Comes the Bride.” It has been played at weddings for more than 150 years. Read who wrote the wedding marches.

Overture to The Flying Dutchman. A storm at sea. Horns call out the theme of a ghost ship, and the strings whip up the waves.

Prelude to Act 3 of Lohengrin. Three minutes of joyful, blazing brass.

Siegfried Idyll. A gentle piece for a small orchestra. Wagner wrote it as a birthday present for his wife. On Christmas morning, 1870, the players stood on the stairs of their house and woke her with it.

Things to do together

Ride. Play “The Ride of the Valkyries” and gallop around the room. Leap on the big notes of the brass tune.

Find the tune you know. Play the Bridal Chorus and ask where your child has heard it.

Make a tune for a thing. Pick three things in your house: the cat, the fridge, the front door. Make up a short tune for each. Tell a story and hum the right tune when each thing appears.

Storm at sea. Play the overture to The Flying Dutchman. Rock like a ship and point when you hear the wind.

What parents need to know

Wagner was a great composer and a difficult man. He borrowed money he did not repay and was unkind to friends. He also wrote hateful things about Jewish people. Decades after his death, the Nazis made use of his writings and his music.

People still argue about how to listen to music by a person with ugly ideas. Parents can choose when and how to raise this. With a young child, it is fine to start with the music.

The stories are long

A Wagner opera can last four or five hours. Do not start a child with a whole one. The short orchestra pieces above give the sound without the length. Read opera for kids for better first operas.

Print and play

Fill in a composer study notebook page for Wagner. For a closer listen to one piece, read Ride of the Valkyries for kids. For the instruments at the center of his sound, read brass instruments for kids. For a film composer who uses his method, read John Williams for kids. For a composer who worked for him, read Humperdinck for kids.

For more composers from the same country, read German composers for kids. For more composers by era, see classical composers for kids.