Climaxes

On my morning walk today, Tristan and Isolde (Liebestod) came up on my iPod "Shuffle Songs". I remembered what my friend, P.C., the conductor (now deceased, alas!), once told me. He said something like, "When performing music, it's important to shape the architecture of the music. For example, build to a climax. Building to a climax creates musical tension, then release when one gets to the climax and after it."

As I listened to Wagner's music, I thought about what a genius he was -- in this music, for example, he created climax upon climax upon climax. This music is ecstatic. Just when you think it's the top, he drives you higher upward!