This article discusses the deep symbolic ramifications of musical quotations and leitmotivs. According to Kirchmeyer, quotations and leitmotivs possess demagogical powers or properties. He feels that composers of the German school such as Mahler, Schoenberg, and particularly Wagner were highly aware of these demagogical powers and properties, and consequently exploited them through the use of quotations and/or leitmotivs in their compositions. Kirchmeyer discusses the way in which these three German composers strengthen the symbolic meanings of their works through the use of quotations and leitmotivs.

Index Classifications: General, 1800s, 1900s

Contributed by: Lee Ann Roripaugh