Re: Trsitan: The First Hundred Years (Zuckerman)

Dear ACD: 

Self-publication is a definite possibility. Various friends have given
me some literature on it, though, ironically, I've been racing to get
the book done and haven't had the time to look over the stuff. Of
course, first, on the off chance I'll have some luck, I'm going to try
those publishers who have a history of doing Wagner stuff. I know from
prior research that there are about 40. Of these, the really big
commercial ones won't look at my work without an intro by an agent.
And even the academic publishers have to be worried nowadays about the
bottom line. My bottom line is, I won't send my manuscript even to the
academics until I've cut it back to about 1/3 to 1/2 its present size.

I'm currently near the end of "Twilight" Act One (which of course
brings me to about the middle of that work, that prologue and first
act being so huge), and I've got a fighting chance of finishing before
I hop on the train on 12/18 to return to my hometown of Annapolis, MD,
for Christmas (the whole town looks like a scene from one of those
highly atmospheric 1950's black and white British Dickens films, ho ho
ho). I've also finished my first draft of the chapters on Dutchman,
Tannhaeuser, and Lohengrin, though I still have to rewrite and edit
them taking into account not only a wealth of editorial commentary
which Derrick provided some time ago, but also new data provided by my
re-reading and new reading of Feuerbach's works (yes, there is no
doubt whatsoever that Feuerbach's ideas directly or indirectly had a
significant influence on at least 'Tannhaeuser' and 'Lohengrin' if not
'Dutchman'). I've just finished re-reading the entirety of
Schopenhauer's work in preparation for launching my last three
remaining studies, on 'Tristan', 'Mastersingers', and 'Parsifal',
which I will complete as soon as I prepare my 'Ring' manuscript and do
the necessary PR for it. Re-reading the complete Nietzsche now that
I'm on a roll, because I need to be prepared for the firestorm which
is likely to follow the publication, official or unofficial, of these
studies.

You'll be glad to hear, I guess, that my 'Ring' study has salvaged and
preserved what I regard as the very best and most well argued insights
of prior commentators such as Shaw, Cooke, Donington, Tanner,
Borchmeyer, Dahlhaus, Nattiez, Paul Lawrence Rose (yes, he has a
couple of good ideas, in spite of being entirely off-base in many
respects), etc, while disgarding a great deal of the wisdom received
from both these writers and others. But I'd estimate these guys
contribute 10-15%. The rest, so far as I know, is my original work,
except that it corresponds with a rather huge and largely overlooked
body of writings and recorded remarks by Wagner himself, from all
periods of his development. I have found some 600 or so parallel
remarks in Feuerbach's four main books which are known to have
influenced Wagner. There are alot of shocks and surprises in store for
Wagner students: can't wait to share the wealth!!!!!

The main thing to remember is that this study is going to take quite a
while for people to absorb because so much of it flies in the face of
what is generally regarded as accepted wisdom on the 'Ring'. I would
caution all potential readers to read the entire study complete,
taking notes as they go, and then to re-read it before launching
critiques (unless of course I simply have gotten a fact wrong which
can be instantly corrected)of the overall interpretation, since it is
my experience that quite, quite often readers will find that I address
their questions and quibbles at some point further along in the study.
But basically I'm asking them to learn an almost entirely new
allegorical frame of reference in which to understand each of the
incidents and textual passages of the 'Ring'. I know, for instance,
that you personally have quibbles with those who would like to
interpret Wagner's works on the basis of his writings, which obviously
may say more about his biography than his artworks themselves, but
nonetheless I think you'll find what I've done quite intriguing. With
each of my hypotheses my first step is to try and demonstrate their
usefulness for explanation straight from the text and music, and then
to support my reading with Wagner's own commentary, and lastly with
parallel ideas expressed by Feuerbach. Those who take the trouble to
really come to grips with what I'm doing will find, I think, enough of
interest to generate several generations worth of violent and not so
violent debate on this and other websites. Looking forward to it, I
say!!!!

To all of you, with holiday greetings, from that incorrigible
Wagnerian

Paul alias Alberich00 

PS. Thanks to Tauser and Cruz Tijerina for their interest. Can't wait
to hear what Derrick, Laon, Monte, and others have to say about the
finished product, as soon as I can put it out there!!!!!

"A.C. Douglas" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> "Alberich00" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> 
> > [snipped - original post is below]
> ---------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Thanks, Paul, and congratulations on finishing your Magnum Opus.
> 
> Have you thought of going the self-pub route?  That sort of book is going to be
> a real tough sell in the established commercial marketplace no matter how good
> it may be.
> 
> --
> ACD
> http://acdouglas.com
> ------------------- original post -------------------
> "Alberich00" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> 
> > "A.C. Douglas" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
>  news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...
> > > "Laon" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> > >
> > > > [snipped - original post is below]
> > > ---------------------------------------------------------
> >
> > Dear ACD:
> >
> > I've hardly had any time at all in two years to contribute any
> > comments to this site, but I'm within a few weeks of finishing my
> > first draft of my entire comprehensive study of the "Ring", conceptual
> > and motival (thanks in large part to Allen Dunning's collaboration
> > with me), and I do recall reading a quote of Verdi's (no idea where),
> > in which he said something like: All other operas known to me are to
> > one degree or another beautiful, etc., but "Tristan" alone fills me
> > with dread and awe. This is an extremely loose paraphrase, but that
> > was the general tone of his remark. No idea where or when I read it.
> > Of course Gutman records Verdi's remark, to Ricordi, at Wagner's
> > death, that Wagner had made a great mark on the history of opera, and
> > then reconsidered and wrote instead "Very great", Potentissima, or
> > something like that.
> >
> > Anyway, thought you'd be amused to hear also that my "Ring" study of
> > thirty some years is nearly done. It will be when complete about 850
> > single spaced pages long, and takes into account not only the entire
> > text of the "Ring", line by line, but also the entirety of Wagner's
> > own writings and recorded remarks which are of either direct or
> > indirect relevance to grasping what he was about in the "Ring", and
> > also the entirety of Feuerbach's relevant writings. It is also, thanks
> > to Allen Dunning's comprehensive work with me to figure out each
> > separate appearance of every single identifiable musical motive within
> > the poetic text (as found in the orchestral score, in which my
> > contribution is mimimal, Allen's maximal), I believe the most
> > comprehensive effort ever undertaken to relate the motifs to the
> > development of the plot from a conceptual standpoint. This coming
> > year, opportunity and time permitting (I'm 14k in debt and have to
> > find work before doom's day), I'm going to devote to PR work on
> > getting it published, giving talks on it, writing articles based on
> > it, reducing it to a marketable form, etc. Anyway, just reporting in.
> >
> >
> > Paul alias Alberich00
> > >
> > > Many thanks, Laon.  Good of you to take the time.
> > >
> > > It's really bugging me now.  I know I read it somewhere, but now that you've
> > > confirmed that that encyclopedic work makes no mention of  Verdi owning a
> > > _Tristan_ score, I wonder how much that other reference, that we both seem
>  to
> > > have read which does make note of it, can be trusted.  The only saving thing
>  is
> > > that the Budden is not, strictly speaking, a biography, and therefore may
>  not
> > > have deemed such mention pertinent (yes, I know that's a stretch)..
> > >
> > > Tantalizing -- and frustrating.
> > >
> > > --
> > > ACD
> > > http://acdouglas.com
> > > ------------------- original post -------------------
> > > "Laon" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
> > > news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > > > I've looked up each reference to _Tristan_ in Julian Budden's
> > > > three-volume _The Operas of Verdi_. There's no reference to Verdi
> > > > having the _Tristan_ score.
> > > >
> > > > The idea that Verdi had a _Tristan_ score does ring a faint bell, but
> > > > I can't remember where I might have read it. Anyway, for what it's
> > > > worth, you can rule out Budden's _The Operas of Verdi_ as well.
> > > >
> > > > Good luck!
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Laon