The Faust Overture is a concert overture composed by German composer Richard Wagner. Wagner originally composed it from 1839-40, intending it to be the first movement of a Faust Symphony based on the play Faust by German play wright Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Realizing that he would not finish the planned symphony, Wagner revised the piece from 1843-44, incorporating ideas from the other planned movements, and creating instead a single-movement concert overture. He made a final revision in 1855. See also Faust Symphony by Franz Liszt. A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, in one movement in which some extra-musical programme provides a narrative or illustrative element. ... Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813 – February 13, 1883) was an influential German composer, conductor, music theorist, and essayist, primarily known for his operas (or music dramas as he later came to call them). ... Faust: The First Part of the Tragedy is the first part of Goethes Faust. ... Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... The Faust Symphony was written by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt, based on the work Faust of Johann von Goethe. ... Franz Liszt (Hungarian: Liszt Ferenc) (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886) was a Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer. ...
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.
Richard Wagner: Chronology web page [1]
Wagner, Irmgard. Where is Wagner's Faust? American Goethe Society 2004. Web page[2]
Faust or Faustus is the protagonist of a popular German tale that has been used as the basis for many different fictional works.
This identity is not definite, and it may simply be that the name of "Faust" has become attached to any number of legendary tales about a charlatan alchemist (some claim "astrologer and necromancer"), whose pride, vanity, and vile hucksterism would inevitably lead to his doom.
Faust is also the German word for fist, although the name "Faust" may be related to Italian "Fausto" rather than the German word.
Faust rather hysterically compares the medical efforts of his father and himself to the plague ("pest"), not because they really intended to murder anyone but because--as Goethe knew well-- renaissance medicine was more harmful than helpful to patients.
Faust had insisted he would be sincere, and now he is trying to whip himself up into a frenzied passion that will make his declarations sincere; but Mephistopheles' intervention has prevented this self-delusion from working.
Faust is reduced to spluttering protests by this sly remark, which Mephistophles answers with yet another sexually-toned blasphemy, arguing that since God made women to be the partners of men, he was the first pimp.
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