He taught himself orchestration by copying the parts of the Ninth Symphony. He didn't do small things, and what he did, he did big.

His ego was enormous. He invited the foremost musicians of his time over, to listen to HIM play HIS music. Before you ask what hubris, if they heard what I hear... I would stop and listen too.

He was from another planet.

Orchestra after orchestra plays the Meistersinger Overture without a chorus. Why? The way this overture delivers to the chorus is unequaled. Hire the damned chorus and do it right.

Nobody developed thematic material better than Wagner. His orchestration is also the best, and the only reason the Rimsky Korsakov model prevailed is because it is smaller and more efficient.

His unequaled self taught knowledge of harmony and theory produced an ability to exploit tension to do incredible things with cadences.

His orchestrations have what I call units. This unit does something different from another unit, and and when they converge it isn't what and where you think. The cadence is extended, each unit following its own path to surpassing resolution that may be the most satisfying in music.