The controversial German composer, conductor and music theorist Richard Wagner (1813-1883) is mainly known for his dramatic operas. His music is particularly notable for its lavish harmonies and rich orchestrations. Wagner was of great importance in the history of opera: he realized the concept of the so-called Gesamtkunstwerk - an amalgamation of music, literature, theatre, dance, visual art and (theatre) architecture. His most famous operas include Der Fliegende Hollander, Die Meistersinger, Tannhauser, Der Ring des Nibelungen and Tristan und Isolde. The first wedding march in this edition is from the opera Lohengrin, which Wagner composed in 1848.
Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809-1847) was a versatile German composer of the early Romantic period. He was considered the child prodigy after Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mendelssohn wrote theatre music, choral music, oratorios, piano works (including the well-known Songs Without Words), organ works, chamber music, symphonies, concertos and more. During extensive travels in Europe (from 1830 to 1832) he established his fame as a composer. His main professional commitments were in Leipzig, where he became the director of the Gewandhaus concerts in 1835, and where he founded a conservatory. He led a busy life, despite his weak health. At the young age of 38 Mendelssohn died of a stroke. The wedding march issued in this edition is from Ein Sommernachtstraum (A Midsummer Night's Dream), the overture to which he had already written by the time he was seventeen, but which was only completed in 1842.
