Nuremberg, Germany: Wagner Plaza

Richard Wagner was one of Germany's greatest composers. - famous for his operas, in which his motto could have been "the bigger, the better." Indeed, he revolutionized the musical form with his approach. Wagner's Ring cycle of four operas are famous. But he did pretty well in other areas too.

Wagner was born in Leipzig in 1813, and he did some early work in Germany until his late 20s. Then he move to Latvia, only to run up some debts and be forced to flee from creditors. During his return to Germany Wagner is said to have taken up arms in 1849 in Dresden, forcing him to be on the move again.  Eventually Wagner landed in Zurich, where he wrote the Ring operas. Eventually he came home in 1864 to finish out his life.

Wagner's music was more or less adopted as the soundtrack for Hitler and the Nazis. That, mixed with some possible anti-Semitic beliefs, has made him a controversial figure to this day. A radio station in Israel apologized in September 2018 for playing his music on the air.

Strauss is saluted in Nuremburg for his work with this statue. It sits in Richard Wagner Plaza.

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