Michael Downes for Story of the Century: Wagner and the creation of The Ring

Michael Downes is a conductor, writer and lecturer. His books include those written both with and about British composer Jonathan Harvey, and a collaboration with Nike Wagner, great-granddaughter of Richard, on the English version of her book, The Wagners: The Dramas of a Musical Dynasty.

In 2008, following two years as Director of Music at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, he was appointed to the same post at the University of St Andrews, where he led the project to develop the multi-award-winning Laidlaw Music Centre.

Michael joins us to talk on his new book Story of the Century, a colourful and concise telling of the fascinating story behind Richard Wagner's extraordinary masterpiece, Ring of the Nibelung.

The Ring is one of the most epic and compelling stories of the nineteenth century, created by a composer who was, alongside Dickens, Tolstoy and Victor-Hugo, also one of the century's master storytellers. But the story of how Wagner created the work is one full of intrigue and triumphs against unlikely odds - as well as controversy, due to the composer's anti-semitic views and popularity with the Nazi party.

In Story of the Century, Michael combines cultural history and biography to offer this accessible and insightful introduction to The Ring and its mythology. He tells the story of how and why this extraordinary masterpiece came into being, why it takes the form it does, why it fascinates and obsesses so many and horrifies others, and why it matters.