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.