Leitmotif
(Ger.). 'Leading motif': a clearly defined theme
or musical idea, representing or symbolizing a person, object, idea etc,
which returns in its original or an altered form at appropriate points
in a dramatic (mainly operatic) work. The term was coined by F.W.
Jähns in 1871, but the device itself has a long ancestry. Its significance
for Romantic opera was
first appreciated by Weber, and Wagner
elevated it to a position of paramount importance as a
means of both symphonic development and dramatic allusion. Leitmotif
was taken up by Wagner's disciples, including Cornelius and Humperdinck,
and by other composers. Richard Strauss'
use derives both from Wagner and from Liszt's
technique of thematic metamorphosis.