Richard Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries

Richard Wagner: Ride of the Valkyries Richard Wagner was a German composer, theatre director, and conductor who is primarily known for his operas. His music can be heard in many movies and some are very popular. Among his popular music, you can include “Ride of the Valkyries” that is featured in the film “What’s Opera Doc?” Many of Wagner’s pieces of music tended to be more on the dramatic side, which influenced me to choose this classical music as one of my favorites. “Ride of the Valkyries” is a very powerful piece. The strong brass and bass reminds me of going into a battle head on. In fact, I have downloaded this song from iTunes to listen to right before my swim meets. It pumps me up and gets me ready for the races and battles to come. Without the masculine features of this song, it would not be the same. This piece of music has somewhat of a comical side, as seen in some cartoons that it was used in, including Bugs Bunny. This just adds to the overall piece, giving it a little entertaining feature. It gives it more character and speaks rich harmonies and complex textures. This made me like the track more and helped it become one of my favorite pieces of classical music. There are elements in Wagner’s music that cannot be found anywhere else. Wagner’s music is still widely performed. More than a century after his death, his legacy is still debated, his influence still felt in our very conception of Western music. Also, in the contemporary forms of opera and the complete spectrum of theater and literary arts. The music composed by Wagner was usually very dramatic and there are reasons behind that. Wagner’s life was pretty melodramatic in many periods of time, which influenced him to create musical dramas on a scale never attempted in history. “Ride of the Valkyries” is a very popular world-wide theme, and it has reasons to be. Its elements explain a whole different side of classical music. The song allows