--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Wagner has some great moments, but a lot…" description: "\"Wagner has some great moments, but a lot of miserable half hours.\" — Mark Twain" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8c/mark-twain-22_great-moments_wagner-has-some-great-moments-but-a-lot_1695030.png" --- # Wagner has some great moments, but a lot of miserable half… ![“Wagner has some great moments, but a lot of miserable half hours.” quote by Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8c/mark-twain-22_great-moments_wagner-has-some-great-moments-but-a-lot_1695030.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8c/mark-twain-22_great-moments_wagner-has-some-great-moments-but-a-lot_1695030.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d8c/mark-twain-22_great-moments_wagner-has-some-great-moments-but-a-lot_1695030.png) > “Wagner has some great moments, but a lot of miserable half hours.” [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He acknowledges Wagner’s brilliance but notes many miserable half‑hours in his work. **In simple terms:** Wagner has highs and long dull stretches Key Takeaway Appreciate talent while recognizing uneven pacing Themes music art criticism creativity Mood thoughtful critical Type evaluative reflective When to use this quote - concert programming - music education - album sequencing - critical review Key Concepts aesthetic theory listener fatigue Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance appreciation of brilliance with critique? - What makes a long artistic work engaging throughout? A Different Perspective Focusing on highlights may overlook overall experience ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Great moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-moments/) [Miserable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [We've been listening to Wagner, which is so great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernadette-peters/we-ve-been-listening-to-wagner-which-is-so-great/) [Bernadette Peters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernadette-peters/) > [To play opera, to play Wagner, it's a great joy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andris-nelsons/to-play-opera-to-play-wagner-it-s-a-great-joy/) [Andris Nelsons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andris-nelsons/) > [I see that a man cannot give himself up to drinking without being miserable one half his days and mad the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-bronte/i-see-that-a-man-cannot-give-himself-up-to-drinking-without-being-2/) [Anne Bronte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-bronte/) > [“Never trust someone who isn’t miserable at least half of the time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-norman/never-trust-someone-who-isn-t-miserable-at-least-half-of-the-time/) [Matthew Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-norman/) > [Richard Wagner: A composer whose music is better than it sounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/richard-wagner-a-composer-whose-music-is-better-than-it-sounds/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I have witnessed and greatly enjoyed the first act of everything which Wagner created, but the effect on me has always been so powerful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-witnessed-and-greatly-enjoyed-the-first-act-of-everything/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [...there isn't often anything in Wagner opera that one would call by such a violent name as acting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-isn-t-often-anything-in-wagner-opera-that-one-would-call-by/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The late Bill Nye once said, 'I have been told that Wagner's music is better than it sounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-late-bill-nye-once-said-i-have-been-told-that-wagner-s-music-is/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [They see me all the time at Bayreuth and think I only like Wagner's music, and it's not true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joachim-sauer/they-see-me-all-the-time-at-bayreuth-and-think-i-only-like-wagner-s/) [Joachim Sauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joachim-sauer/) > [I dig Strauss and Wagner. Those cats are good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimi-hendrix/i-dig-strauss-and-wagner-those-cats-are-good/) [Jimi Hendrix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimi-hendrix/) > [I love Italian opera - it's so reckless. Damn Wagner, and his bellowings at Fate and death. Damn Debussy, and his averted face. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/i-love-italian-opera-it-s-so-reckless-damn-wagner-and-his-bellowings/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [As any opera fan knows, lawyers and judges do not fare well in most operas. Just consider the productions of 'Andrea Chenier,' 'Aida, Norma,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-decrow/as-any-opera-fan-knows-lawyers-and-judges-do-not-fare-well-in-most/) [Karen DeCrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-decrow/) > [“She's sweet on Wagner. I think she'd die for Beethoven. she loves the way Puccini lays down a tune, and Verdi's always creeping from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/electric-light-orchestra/she-s-sweet-on-wagner-i-think-she-d-die-for-beethoven-she-loves-the/) Electric Light Orchestra > [Ah! My dear friend painting is to us what the music of Berlioz and Wagner was before us - a consolatory art for sore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-van-gogh/ah-my-dear-friend-painting-is-to-us-what-the-music-of-berlioz-and/) [Vincent Van Gogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-van-gogh/) > [Up to the age of 14 I had not heard a note of anything before 1750, never heard a note of Bach, never heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-reich/up-to-the-age-of-14-i-had-not-heard-a-note-of-anything-before-1750/) [Steve Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-reich/) ## More by Mark Twain > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [If you had made the acquiring of ignorance the study of your life, you could not have graduated with higher honor than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/if-you-had-made-the-acquiring-of-ignorance-the-study-of-your-life-you/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“The Creator sat upon the throne, thinking. 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I've done it hundreds of times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-s-easy-to-quit-smoking-i-ve-done-it-hundreds-of-times/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [“It is never wrong to do the right thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-never-wrong-to-do-the-right-thing/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A man accustomed to American food and American domestic cookery would not starve to death suddenly in Europe, but I think he would gradually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/a-man-accustomed-to-american-food-and-american-domestic-cookery-would/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There is nothing training can't cannot do. Nothing is above its reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/there-is-nothing-training-can-t-cannot-do-nothing-is-above-its-reach/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I never write Metropolis for seven cents because I can get the same price for city. I never write policeman because I can get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-never-write-metropolis-for-seven-cents-because-i-can-get-the-same/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The higher animals get their teeth without pain or inconvenience. 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I can hold them with one little note in the air, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-rubinstein/i-feel-that-special-secret-current-between-the-public-and-me-i-can/) [Arthur Rubinstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-rubinstein/) > [There have been so many great moments, and I feel so blessed every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vusi-mahlasela/there-have-been-so-many-great-moments-and-i-feel-so-blessed-every-day/) [Vusi Mahlasela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vusi-mahlasela/) > [I suppose that each of us may have a great moment in our life, a month, a week a year, when we are most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-faulks/i-suppose-that-each-of-us-may-have-a-great-moment-in-our-life-a-month/) [Sebastian Faulks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-faulks/) > [When a great moment arises, it is great to be right there!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/when-a-great-moment-arises-it-is-great-to-be-right-there/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I played over 130 matches, including four finals, so there have been many great moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-seedorf/i-played-over-130-matches-including-four-finals-so-there-have-been/) [Clarence Seedorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-seedorf/) > [The perfect life is the combination of great moments and bad ones, and under that point of view, my life is fantastic, because I’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-zanardi/the-perfect-life-is-the-combination-of-great-moments-and-bad-ones-and/) [Alex Zanardi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-zanardi/) > [You can have a good moment with a parent you are estranged from, and you have a great moment, and then the next time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sherman-palladino/you-can-have-a-good-moment-with-a-parent-you-are-estranged-from-and/) [Amy Sherman-Palladino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sherman-palladino/) > [Heaven, on occasion, half opens its arms to us; and that is the great moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/heaven-on-occasion-half-opens-its-arms-to-us-and-that-is-the-great/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [There's no reason to tweet when you are in the midst of a great moment; they are few and far between. 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