Wagner's autobiography, first published by Constable in 1911, tells, as no one else possibly could, the real nature of the great composer, whose music continues to hypnotize millions. My Life is celebrated for its frankness - it is the self-confession of a genius. But it is also the sole source of information about many aspects of Wagner's life and work, about the origin and inspiration of his great masterworks from Rienzi to Parsifal. The continuing intrinsic importance of this book is emphasized in Lord Harewood's foreword. 'What music expresses,' writes Wagner, 'is eternal, infinite and it does not express the passion, love or longing of such and such an individual but passion, love or longing in itself and this it presents in that unlimited variety of motivations which is the exclusive and particular characteristic of music, foreign and inexpressible to any other language.'
