Editing Richard Wagner (section)

=== Opponents and supporters ===
{{further|War of the Romantics|New German School}}
[[File:Hanslick.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|Eduard Hanslick|alt=A balding white man aged about 40 with a moustache]]
Not all reaction to Wagner was positive. For a time, German musical life divided into two factions, supporters of Wagner and supporters of [[Johannes Brahms]]; the latter, with the support of the powerful critic [[Eduard Hanslick]] (of whom Beckmesser in ''Meistersinger'' is in part a caricature), championed traditional forms and led the conservative front against Wagnerian innovations.{{sfn|Millington|2001a|p=26, 127}} They were supported by the conservative leanings of some German music schools, including the [[Music school|conservatories]] at [[University of Music and Theatre Leipzig|Leipzig]] under [[Ignaz Moscheles]] and at [[Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln|Cologne]] under the direction of Ferdinand Hiller.{{sfn|Sietz|Wiegandt|2001}} Another Wagner detractor was the French composer [[Charles-Valentin Alkan]], who wrote to Hiller after attending Wagner's Paris concert on 25 January 1860, at which Wagner conducted the overtures to ''Der fliegende Holländer'' and ''Tannhäuser'', the preludes to ''Lohengrin'' and ''Tristan und Isolde'', and six other extracts from ''Tannhäuser'' and ''Lohengrin'': "I had imagined that I was going to meet music of an innovative kind but was astonished to find a pale imitation of Berlioz&nbsp;... I do not like all the music of Berlioz while appreciating his marvellous understanding of certain instrumental effects&nbsp;... but here he was imitated and caricatured&nbsp;... Wagner is not a musician, he is a disease."<ref>{{harvnb|François-Sappey|1991|p=198}}. Letter from Alkan to Hiller 31 January 1860.</ref>

Even those who, like Debussy, opposed Wagner ("this old poisoner")<ref>Cited in {{harvnb|Lockspeiser|1978|p=179}}. Letter from Claude Debussy to [[Pierre Louÿs]], 17 January 1896</ref> could not deny his influence. Indeed, Debussy was one of many composers, including Tchaikovsky, who felt the need to break with Wagner precisely because his influence was so unmistakable and overwhelming. "Golliwogg's Cakewalk" from Debussy's ''[[Children's Corner]]'' piano suite contains a deliberately tongue-in-cheek quotation from the opening bars of ''Tristan''.{{sfn|Ross|2008|p=101}} Others who proved resistant to Wagner's operas included [[Gioachino Rossini]], who said "Wagner has wonderful moments, and dreadful quarters of an hour."<ref>Cited in {{harvnb|Michotte|1968|pp=135–136}}; conversation between Rossini and Emile Naumann, recorded in {{harvnb|Naumann|1876|loc=IV, p. 5}}</ref> In the 20th century Wagner's music was parodied by [[Paul Hindemith]]{{refn|See ''[[Ouvertüre zum "Fliegenden Holländer", wie sie eine schlechte Kurkapelle morgens um 7 am Brunnen vom Blatt spielt]]''|group=n}} and [[Hanns Eisler]], among others.{{sfn|Deathridge|2008|p=228}}

Wagner's followers (known as Wagnerians or Wagnerites)<ref>cf. {{harvnb|Shaw|1898}}</ref> have formed many societies dedicated to Wagner's life and work.<ref>{{cite web |title=Richard-Wagner-Verband-International |publisher=International Association of the Wagner Societies |url=http://www.richard-wagner-verband.de/english/index.html |access-date=1 February 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605042325/http://www.richard-wagner-verband.de/english/index.html |archive-date=5 June 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref>