I must say though that, after some 40 years of playing in bands and orchestras (grade school, high school, college, and community), I have always liked Wagner's music, particularly "The Flying Dutchman Overture", "Overture from Die Meistersinger von Nurnburg", and portions from "Das Ring des Nibelungen" .. Ride of the Valkyrie specifically .. because of the power behind the notes. Over my 40 years, I have performed Wagner's music on clarinet, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophone, bass clarinet, tuba, and percussion and I have never ceased to be amazed at the amazing scope of the music.
My computer boots up in the morning to "Ride of the Valkyrie" and shuts down to Mozart's "Der Holle Rache Kocht In Meinem Herzen" (Queen of the Night, "The Magic Flute)performed by Kiri Te Kanawa.
It's probably no coincidence that my co-workers look at me a little strangely.
Judging from your profile page, which is one of the most inspiring I've seen, I'm certain it's no coincidence. ;^)
Ride with pride.
What do you expect if you're a tuba player? I always thought I should have played the horn, because Mozart is my Lieblingskomponist. (I sometimes play around on an old King double horn, but I'm sure not up to the Mozart concerti -- tuba is my main instrument) That said, Wagner sure wrote some great tuba parts: the "Ride" of course, "Elsa's Procession" from Lohengrin, the Fliegende Hollander and Meistersinger Overtures you mention, etc.
Overall, though, while I like to play Wagner, I can't say I really like listening to it at length. I enjoyed hearing the entire Das Ring des Nibelungen cylcle many years ago, but have never been tempted to repeat the experience, and don't think I've listened to an entire Wagner opera since.
But for one thing, Wagner would have gone down in history as merely the greatest con artist of all time. He conned friend and foe, monarch and manservant, into providing him with his every need: an opera house (nay, shrine) in which to parade his genius: a press to circulate his manic, self-serving manifestoes; any woman who took his fancy to warm his bed, married or not. That one thing, the quality that made the price Wagner exacted not one cent too high, is the quality of the artwork he produced.-- Alan Rich, The Simon and Schuster Listener's Guide to Opera, 1980.
I LOVE it, pray tell how does one get ones computer to do such things?
Maybe they saw your tagline?