His brother Karl Albert, yet another in the family with musical talent, became a tenor for the theatre in Breslau, and later in Würzburg. His sister Clara, whose voice was described as exceedingly beautiful, was also destined for the stage.

Student protests

By this time, young Richard, who had now taken back his surname of Wagner, had been exposed to the music of Beethoven, and was utterly enthralled by his works. His own compositions during his early period were heavily imitative of Beethoven’s style – they included various piano sonatas (some four-handed) and several overtures. He also became obsessed by the student activities in Leipzig, which were protests and marches against authority. (This period of political unrest, when it seemed the whole world was involved in change and protest against tyranny, marks the beginning of Richard Wagner’s life-long interest in such matters – to the point that Wagner was eventually considered the most German of Germans, the most ardent of nationalists.) In order to become one of these “cocks of the walk”, however, Wagner would have to attend school, pass, and enter university. This impelled him to attend school again – this time the Thomasschule (St Thomas School), but for the briefest of periods (certainly not the two years as mentioned some paragraphs above).

However, his lack of interest in his classes and his lack of diligence in completing the necessary work made failure almost inevitable. Richard took pre-emptive action by telling his family he did not wish to go on to university to study a profession – instead, he wished to become a composer. For this he did not need the high marks required for a degree at university, and he presented himself to the rector of the university as a student of music, for which only a fee was required. His life grew ever wilder as he sought a reputation among the students as a fellow hot-head – he became addicted to gambling, even misappropriating his mother’s pension for the purpose.

Dorn at first light

In 1830, Wagner presented an overture (Overture in B-flat major) to Heinrich Dorn, who was the musical director at Leipzig. Dorn, possibly with the intention of inspiring merriment among the audience, decided to conduct the work at the Königliches Sächsisches Hoftheater (a Christmas performance). It pleased no one, not even Wagner – the insistent beat of the timpani in an odd every-fifth-bar attack was correctly anticipated by the audience members to their baffled amusement, and the abrupt ending left all bewildered. This episode gave Richard something to live down… but he would do so.

Dorn would a year later conduct another of Wagner’s overtures, this time without inspiring amusement. It seems clear that Dorn recognised something in Wagner’s works that was worthy of performance – too, he was friendly towards the youth, a friendship that lasted until what Wagner considered a gross treachery in Riga, years later.