Debussy vs Wagner: should music dissolve or dominate?

Music should be the space between the notes, Richard - a shimmer of light on water, not a hammer on the skull.

Space? I gave audiences the total artwork - myth, orchestra, drama fused into one overwhelming flood that sweeps the soul away.

You drown the listener in four-hour storms; I trust them to hear a single chord and dream their own sea.

And your dream evaporates by morning - my leitmotifs still march through your head, whether you invited them or not.