Introduction

The Introduction to The Oxford Handbook of Faust in Music overviews the theme of the magician Faust and the history of the theme’s musical adaptation. The publication of the Spies Faust Book in 1587, a turning point in early modern culture, lay the ground for generations of adaptations of the Faust theme, including Christopher Marlowe’s tragedy, Doctor Faustus, and the Faust puppet plays that would prove inspirational to the work of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe but also composers such as Richard Wagner, Ferruccio Busoni, Hanns Eisler, Josef Berg, and Henri Pousseur. At the center of most of the compositions discussed in this book is Goethe’s Faust, a masterwork at once comic and tragic that has inspired a wide range of music. The music discussed here falls into three categories: symphonic, choral, chamber, and solo Faust works; Faust in opera; and Faust in ballet and musical theater.