Continuation and completion of the edition Richard Wagner: Complete letters

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Andreas Haug
• Subject Area: Musicology
• Term: from 2005 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5452457

In addition to his musical oeuvre and his writings, Richard Wagner left behind a correspondence of nearly 10,000 letters. The Wagner edition of letters provides the first scholarly, critical edition of all letters of the composer. These are essential sources for our knowledge of Wagner's biography and for a better understanding of his oeuvre. Additionally, they are central sources on the cultural history of the nineteenth century. The present goal of the project is to complete the edition (begun in 1967) within a reasonable period of time. The resumption of editorial work with a new concept relies upon a previously created letter database (published in print in Wiesbaden, 1998) and a source archive that has been simultaneously developed. The primary focus of the editorial work is its extensive commentary, dedicated not only to individual letters, but also to larger thematic contexts.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants