Richard Wagner (may 19, 1813 – jan 12, 1883)

Description:

essays: The Artwork of the Future (1850)
Opera and Drama (1851)
Gesamtkunstwerk  (complete art work) 
Leitmotif  (leading motive)
"Der Ring
des Nibelungen
Das Rheingold
Die Walküre
Siegfried
Götterdämmerung"

One of the most influential musicians of all time
Born in Leipzig (where Bach once worked) in 1813
Began career writing “traditional” operas; in 1850 and 1851 wrote two influential essays (The Artwork of the Future and Opera and Drama) reconceiving the relationship between music and drama.