Nike Wagner
Encyclopedia
Nike Wagner is the director of an arts festival held annually at Weimar
, Germany (known as ‘Pèlerinages’ — Kunstfest Weimar, in 2006 held from 25 August to 17 September), and a noteworthy collaborator in the Bayreuth Festival
, founded in 1876 by Richard Wagner
, her paternal great-grandfather. Her parents are the theatre director Wieland Wagner
, who directed the Bayreuth Festival until his death in 1966, and the choreographer Gertrud Reissiger; she is also the great-great‑granddaughter of Franz Liszt
(in 2004 she renamed the Weimar festival in his honour — ‘Pèlerinages’ evokes Liszt’s Années de pèlerinage
).
Nike Wagner holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University
in Evanston, Illinois, obtained in 1980 under the direction of Erich Heller
, and is the author of several important books on a variety of subjects, which include Karl Kraus
(Geist und Geschlecht: Karl Kraus und die Erotik der Wiener Moderne, Frankfurt am Main, Suhrkamp, 1982 — a work based on her doctoral dissertation) and the Wagner family (The Wagners: The Dramas of a Musical Dynasty, Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 2001). Her article questioning the propriety of public subsidies given to glamorous cultural events in general and the Bayreuth Festival in particular (at present c.US$6.5 million annually), ‘Im Fadenkreuz der Kulturpolitik’, published in the July 2006 issue of Cicero: Magazin für politische Kultur, engendered a storm of controversy within Germany. She lives in Vienna.
In August 2011, she suggested that the Bayreuth Festival might be better off without members of the Wagner family in charge .
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
, Germany (known as ‘Pèlerinages’ — Kunstfest Weimar, in 2006 held from 25 August to 17 September), and a noteworthy collaborator in the Bayreuth Festival
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
, founded in 1876 by Richard Wagner
Richard Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director, philosopher, music theorist, poet, essayist and writer primarily known for his operas...
, her paternal great-grandfather. Her parents are the theatre director Wieland Wagner
Wieland Wagner
Wieland Wagner was a German opera director.- Life :Wieland was the elder of two sons of Siegfried and Winifred Wagner and grandson of composer Richard Wagner....
, who directed the Bayreuth Festival until his death in 1966, and the choreographer Gertrud Reissiger; she is also the great-great‑granddaughter of Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
(in 2004 she renamed the Weimar festival in his honour — ‘Pèlerinages’ evokes Liszt’s Années de pèlerinage
Années de Pèlerinage
Années de pèlerinage is a set of three suites by Franz Liszt for solo piano. Liszt's complete musical style is evident in this masterwork, which ranges from virtuosic fireworks to sincerely moving emotional statements. His musical maturity can be seen evolving through his experience and travel...
).
Nike Wagner holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
in Evanston, Illinois, obtained in 1980 under the direction of Erich Heller
Erich Heller
Erich Heller was a British essayist, known particularly for his critical studies in German-language philosophy and literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.- Biography :...
, and is the author of several important books on a variety of subjects, which include Karl Kraus
Karl Kraus
Karl Kraus was an Austrian writer and journalist, known as a satirist, essayist, aphorist, playwright and poet. He is regarded as one of the foremost German-language satirists of the 20th century, especially for his witty criticism of the press, German culture, and German and Austrian...
(Geist und Geschlecht: Karl Kraus und die Erotik der Wiener Moderne, Frankfurt am Main, Suhrkamp, 1982 — a work based on her doctoral dissertation) and the Wagner family (The Wagners: The Dramas of a Musical Dynasty, Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton University Press, 2001). Her article questioning the propriety of public subsidies given to glamorous cultural events in general and the Bayreuth Festival in particular (at present c.US$6.5 million annually), ‘Im Fadenkreuz der Kulturpolitik’, published in the July 2006 issue of Cicero: Magazin für politische Kultur, engendered a storm of controversy within Germany. She lives in Vienna.
In August 2011, she suggested that the Bayreuth Festival might be better off without members of the Wagner family in charge .
Other publications
- Nike Wagner, et al., Mann, sei nicht so hysterisch (Munich, Matthes und Seitz, 1991).
- Nike Wagner, Wagner-Theater (Frankfurt am Main, Insel-Verlag, 1998).
- Nike Wagner, Traumtheater: Szenarien der Moderne (Frankfurt am Main, Insel-Verlag, 2001).
Further reading
- Carr, JonathanJonathan Carr (writer)Jonathan Carr was a British journalist and author, who lived and worked primarily in Germany.He was born in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire....
: The Wagner Clan: The Saga of Germany's Most Illustrious and Infamous Family. Atlantic Monthly Press, 2007. ISBN 0871139758
See also
- Erich HellerErich HellerErich Heller was a British essayist, known particularly for his critical studies in German-language philosophy and literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.- Biography :...
- Wagner family treeWagner family treeThe family of the composer Richard WagnerCarl Friedrich Wilhelm Wagner, * 1770 † 1813, police actuary, ∞ 1798 Johanna Rosine Pätz * 1778 † 1848, daughter of a baker .# Albert Wagner, * 1799 † 1874, opera singer and...