International Association of Wagner Societies

International music organization

RWVI

International Association of Wagner Societies

Founded| 1991 (1991)
Headquarters| Bayreuth, Germany
Location|

* Germany

Members

| 26,000

Key people

| Dr Harry Leutscher, President
Affiliations| Bayreuth Festival
Website| www.richard-wagner.org/rwvi/en/

The International Association of Wagner Societies (Der Richard-Wagner-Verband International e.V., also known as "Der RWVI") is an affiliation of Wagner societies (Richard Wagner-Verband) that promotes interest and research into the works of Richard Wagner, raises funds for scholarships for young music students, singers, and instrumentalists, and supports the annual Bayreuth Festival. It also sponsors symposia, holds singing competitions for Wagnerian voices, and issues awards for stage direction and stagings of Wagner's operas. The association is a nonprofit organization, governed by a Presidium elected every 5 years, headed by a President.[1]

## History[edit]

The first Richard Wagner society was launched in Mannheim, Germany in 1871, one year after the premiere of the German composer's opera Die Walküre ("The Valkyrie") in Munich. The brainchild of Wagner's longtime friend, the music publisher Emil Heckel, the first society was a simple, locally conceived venue for celebrating Wagner's music. In the wake of Wagner's difficulties in securing interest in the public subscription for his future Bayreuth Festival, Heckel suggested to the composer that he sponsor additional societies to help secure support. Wagner embraced the idea enthusiastically, and by 1872, societies had been established in Vienna, Berlin, Leipzig and London (the latter founded by Edward Dannreuther (1844–1905), the author of Richard Wagner: His Tendencies and Theories published in 1873).

Wagner's dream, as described in a letter written in 1882, was that his Bayreuth Festival would be free for everyone to attend, however this was never possible because of the extremely high costs to organize and produce it. Nonetheless, based on Wagner's desires, societies refocused their efforts and began making it possible for promising talented musicians to attend. Public interest in supporting subscriptions to fund scholarships was initially tepid, but from 1919 forward, the number of societies increased steadily.

The International Association of Wagner Societies was founded in 1991 in Lyon. Today, more than 26,000 members in 147 societies belong to the International Association of Wagner Societies around the globe. The number of groups under the organization's auspices has expanded considerably in the last fifty years. Wagner societies can be found in all parts of the world, including the Netherlands, Venice, Great Britain, Scotland, Shanghai, Tokyo, Lisbon, Melbourne, Adelaide, Ankara, New York City, Toronto, Cape Town, Bangkok, New Zealand, Puerto Rico and the Ottawa/Gatineau area.

The societies are very diverse and offer a wide range of Wagner-related activities, including concerts, lectures, and publishing. The main organization holds a symposium called "Wagner Days in Venice" (Giornate Wagneriane a Venezia) in Italy each autumn.

## Chairs and presidents[edit]

RWVI President Dr Harry Leutscher (left) at Deutsche Oper Berlin with conductor Sir Donald Runnicles

Outgoing RWVI President Rainer Fineske (3rd from left), incoming President, Harry Leutscher (3rd from right), Nike Wagner (rear)

* Mr. drs. Harry Leutscher
* Rainer Fineske
* Horst Eggers
* Nicolaus Richter
* Prof. Alessandra Althoff-Pugliese
* Prof. Dr Hans-Michael Schneider
* Jacques Bouffier
* Prof. Dr Günter Cisek
* Georg Riesner
* Andrea Buchanan
* Selma Guðmundsdóttir
* Gisbert Lehmhaus
* Karl Russwurm
* Dipl.-Ing. Heinz Weyringer
* Christian Ducor
* Dr Matthias Lachenmann

## Richard Wagner International Congress[edit]

Nike Wagner address to the 2024 Symposium Deutsche Oper Berlin

RWVI President Rainer Fineske welcomes Symposium 2024

Congress 2023, Brussels, Assembly of Delegates

'RWVI Congress 2023, Brussels, Gala Dinner

Opening RWVI Congress Munich 2021 President Rainer Fineske

2021 Congress Lenbachplatz farewell

RWVI 2019 Congress Assembly of Delegates at Ca' Vendramin Calergi

RWVI at Teatro La Fenice: Wagner Symphony No 1 & Wesendonck Lieder

2018 Assembly of the Delegates, RWVI Congress at Innsbruck

Eva Wagner-Pasquier address to the 2018 Innsbruck Congress

Every year members of the local Wagner Societies gather for the Richard Wagner International Congress, to share experiences and to plan for the future in sessions. The congress takes place in a different city each year:

* 2024 Berlin[2]
* 2023: Brussels[3]
* 2019: Venice[4]
* 2018: Innsbruck[5]
* 2017: Budapest
* 2016: Strasbourg
* 2015: Dessau
* 2014: Graz
* 2013: Leipzig
* 2012: Prague
* 2011: Wrocław
* 2010: Stralsund
* 2009: Dresden
* 2008: Geneva
* 2007: Weimar
* 2006: Tallinn and Helsinki
* 2005: Leipzig
* 2004: Augsburg
* 2003: Copenhagen
* 2002: Seville
* 2001: Freiburg im Breisgau
* 2000: Berlin
* 1990: Hannover
* 1986: Vienna

Congresses have also taken place in Frankfurt am Main, Bordeaux, Trier, and Budapest. As a result of the Covid pandemic, congresses planned between 2020 and 2022 in Bonn, Berlin and Madrid had to be cancelled. Originally scheduled to take place in early May in London, the 2024 Congress was moved by the RWVI, first to Madrid, then eventually took place in late May in Berlin, following organisational difficulties.[6] The 2025 Congress will be held in Stockholm.[7][8]

## See also[edit]

* Bayreuth Festival
* Irene Sloan, Wagner Society of Southern California founder
* Richard Wagner
* Ca' Vendramin Calergi (Venice association and Wagner Museum)

## External links[edit]

* Wagner Verband official website – contains links or contact information for all individual societies.
* Richard-Wagner-Verband International e.V. \- Facebook
* International Association of the Wagner Societies. Union of International Associations.

## References[edit]

1. ^ International Association of the Wagner Societies. Union of International Associations.
2. ^ 'Kongress/Congress/Congrès RWVI 2024, Berlin May/June'. wagnerverband-berlin.de/neu/contao/ website.
3. ^ CONGRESS OF THE INTERNATIONAL VERBAND Richard Wagner. November 2-6. Brussels. cerclewagner.be website.
4. ^ Wagner Society of New York: 2019 Richard-Wagner-Verband International Congress: November 28–December 1, 2019. Venice, Italy.
5. ^ Previous Congresses: Innsbruck. 2018. Innsbruck. RWVI official site.
6. ^ ‘THE WAGNER CONGRESSES’. Official website.
7. ^ Wagner Society of Sweden. RWVI member page.
8. ^ Wagner Society of Sweden. Stockholm.

* v
* t
* e

Richard Wagner

* List of works for the stage
* List of compositions

Complete operas|

| Early works|

* Die Feen
* Das Liebesverbot
* Rienzi

|

Romantic operas|

* Der fliegende Holländer
* Tannhäuser
* Lohengrin

|

Music dramas|

| Der Ring des Nibelungen |

* Das Rheingold
* Die Walküre
* Siegfried
* Götterdämmerung

|

* Tristan und Isolde
* Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg
* Parsifal

Non-operatic music|

* Symphony in C major (1832)
* Polonia Overture (1836)
* Das Liebesmahl der Apostel (1843)
* Faust Overture (1844, rev. 1855)
* Wesendonck Lieder (1858)
* Siegfried Idyll (1870)
* Kaisermarsch

Writings|

* "Art and Revolution"
* "The Artwork of the Future"
* "Autobiographic Sketch"
* "A Communication to My Friends"
* "Das Judenthum in der Musik (Jewishness in Music)"
* Leubald
* Mein Leben
* "Music of the Future"
* Opera and Drama

Other opera|

| Opera excerpts|

* "Bridal Chorus"
* "Ride of the Valkyries"
* "Liebestod"

|

Unfinished operas|

* Die Laune des Verliebten (1830)
* Die Hochzeit (1832)
* Männerlist größer als Frauenlist (1838)
* Wieland der Schmied (1850; text only)
* Die Sieger (1858; text only)

|

Inventions|

* Holztrompete
* Wagner tuba

|

Bayreuth Festival|

* Bayreuther Blätter
* Bayreuth canon
* Bayreuth Circle
* Bayreuth Festival
* Bayreuth Festival Orchestra
* Bayreuth Festspielhaus
* Jahrhundertring
* Richard Wagner Foundation

Wagner family|

* Isolde Beidler
* Eva Chamberlain
* Houston Stewart Chamberlain
* Ludwig Geyer
* Cosima Wagner
* Katharina Wagner
* Minna Wagner
* Nike Wagner
* Siegfried Wagner
* Wieland Wagner
* Winifred Wagner
* Wolfgang Wagner
* Eva Wagner-Pasquier

Cultural depictions|

* Wagner Dream (opera)
* Wagner (1983 film)
* Wagner's Dream (2012 film)
* Wahnfried (1986 film)

| Film adaptations|

* Parsifal (1904 film)
* Parsifal (1982 film)

|

Named for Wagner|

* Richard Wagner Monument
* Richard Wagner Memorial
* Wagner (crater)
* Wagner Ice Piedmont
* 3992 Wagner

Related|

* The Case of Wagner
* Gesamtkunstwerk
* International Association of Wagner Societies
* Leitmotif
* List of films using the music of Richard Wagner
* Musikdrama
* Nietzsche contra Wagner
* Parsifal bells
* The Perfect Wagnerite
* Rhinemaidens
* Der Ring in Minden
* Tristan chord
* Controversies
* Wagner-Werk-Verzeichnis
* Museo Wagner
* Richard Wagner Museum, Lucerne
* Wahnfried

* Category
* Audio
* WikiProject

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* Germany
* United States

Other|

* IdRef

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