From fulfilling funerary functions, to eulogising friends and fellow artists, or lamenting the waste of war: here are some of the finest examples of music written in mourning.
Drawing on the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art), Wagner is best remembered for his extraordinary music dramas, not least the monumental, 15-hour Ring cycle.
“I've written only one masterpiece. Unfortunately it has no music in it.” To which work was the self-critical Maurice Ravel referring and where does it come in our playlist of the dapper Frenchman’s top ten?
Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.
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