See Also: leitmotiv(dictionary)
leitmotiv(encyclopedia)

leitmotiv (sh)




In music, a melodic idea associated with a character or an important dramatic element.

It is associated particularly with the operas of Richard Wagner, most of which rely on a dense web of associative leitmotifs. Most composers after Wagner (and some of his immediate predecessors) continued to use this musico-dramatic principle, but few as rigorously as he did.