Following clues from the young reader, Nietzsche, with regards to his intense and passionate relationship with music, we can historically approach his initial involvement in the Wagnerian cause during the late 1860s and early 1870s. The ideas and writings of Richard Wagner echoed Nietzschian concerns in his search for a style, for the sonorous quality in words, and for the enthusiasm of the reader. In his correspondence and in his writings, we see a young philologist (philosopher) excited, but sometimes suspicious: does Wagner represent an alternative to a new cultural model for the Germans in the second half of the 19th century? Could a musician teach a nation to establish new relationships through words? Could he teach a more artistic manner of reading?
Young Nietzsche; Reading history; 19th century; Tragic quality