Wagner's radically forward-thinking music represented a violent upheaval that would set the conditions for impressionism, serialism, jazz and even popular music. His colossal one-off operas like Tristan und Isolde and Parsifal blasted open the Romantic paradigm, birthing a comprehensive approach to drama and a liberation of tonality that features endless melodies, behemoth orchestras and mercurial, spidery harmonies. The far-reaching Ring Cycle, a mythological tale of heroes and villains, showcases flowing, meditative lyricism and moments of grandeur (“Ride of the Valkyries”).