Richard Georg Strauss (11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
composerA composer is a person who creates music, usually by musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of...
of the late
RomanticRomantic music is a musicological term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in European music history, from about 1800 to 1900....
and early modern eras, particularly of
operaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s,
Lied is a German word, meaning literally "song"; among English speakers, however, the word is used primarily as a term for European romantic music songs, also known as art songs...
er and tone poems. Strauss was also a prominent
conductorConducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. Orchestras, choirs, concert bands and other musical ensembles often have conductors.-Nomenclature:...
.
To Richard Strauss went the honour of being the composer of the music on the first
compact discA Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store sound recordings exclusively, but later it also allowed the preservation of other types of data. Audio CDs have been commercially available since October 1982...
ever commercially released:
Herbert von KarajanHerbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor and one of the most renowned conductors in music history. His obituary in The New York Times described him as "probably the world's best-known conductor and one of the most powerful figures in classical music." Karajan conducted...
's 1980 recording of the
Alpine Symphony, released by
Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label, now part of the Universal Music Group. It is also UMG's oldest active label.-History:...
in 1983.
Early life
Strauss was born on 11 June 1864, in
MunichMunich is the capital city of Bavaria, Germany. It is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps. Munich is the third largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Hamburg...
, the son of
Franz StraussFranz Strauss is perhaps most famous for being the father of the well-known composer Richard Strauss. He was himself an accomplished musician and composer, playing the guitar and clarinet, among other instruments.Strauss is remembered most often today as a horn player. However, he was not just any...
, who was the principal
hornThe horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
player at the Court Opera in Munich. He received a thorough, but conservative, musical education from his father in his youth, writing his first music at the age of six. He continued to write music almost until his death.
During his boyhood he had the good fortune to be able to attend orchestra rehearsals of the Munich Court Orchestra, and he also received private instruction in music theory and orchestration from an assistant conductor there. In 1874 Strauss heard his first
WagnerWilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas...
operas,
LohengrinLohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
and
TannhäuserTannhäuser is an opera in three acts, music and text by Richard Wagner, based on the two Germanic legends of Tannhäuser and the song contest at Wartburg...
; the influence of Wagner's music on Strauss's style was to be profound, but at first his father forbade him to study it: it was not until the age of 16 that he was able to obtain a score of
Tristan und IsoldeTristan und Isolde is an opera, or music drama, in three acts by Richard Wagner to a German libretto by the composer, based largely on the romance by Gottfried von Straßburg...
. Indeed, in the Strauss household the music of
Richard WagnerWilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas...
was considered inferior. Later in life, Richard Strauss said and wrote that he deeply regretted this.
In 1882 he entered Munich University, where he studied philosophy and art history, but not music. Nevertheless, he left a year later to go to Berlin, where he studied briefly before securing a post as assistant conductor to
Hans von BülowHans Guido Freiherr von Bülow was a German conductor, virtuoso pianist, and composer of the Romantic era...
, taking over from him at Meiningen when von Bülow resigned in 1885. His compositions around this time were quite conservative, in the style of
Robert SchumannRobert Schumann, sometimes given as Robert Alexander Schumann, was a German composer, aesthete and influential music critic...
or
Felix MendelssohnJakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born, and generally known in English-speaking countries, as Felix Mendelssohn was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period....
, true to his father's teachings. His Horn Concerto No. 1 (1882–1883) is representative of this period and is still regularly played.
Richard Strauss married soprano
Pauline de AhnaPauline Maria de Ahna was a German operatic soprano. She is best remembered today as the wife of composer Richard Strauss who wrote several of his works for her.-Biography:...
on 10 September 1894. She was famous for being bossy, ill-tempered, eccentric and outspoken, but the marriage, to all appearances, was essentially happy and she was a great source of inspiration to him. Throughout his life, from his earliest songs to the final
Four Last SongsThe Four Last Songs for soprano and orchestra were the final completed works of Richard Strauss, composed in 1948 when the composer was 84. The premiere was given in London on 22 May 1950 by the soprano Kirsten Flagstad accompanied by the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler...
of 1948, he would prefer the soprano voice to all others. Nearly every major operatic role that Strauss wrote is for a soprano.
Tone poems
Strauss's style began to change when he met
Alexander RitterAlexander Sascha Ritter was a German composer and violinist.He was born in Narva, Estonia. He studied in Frankfurt am Main under Joachim Raff. In 1854 he married Wagner's niece Franziska...
, a noted composer and
violinThe violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings usually tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and cello....
ist, and the husband of one of
Richard WagnerWilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas...
's nieces. It was Ritter who persuaded Strauss to abandon the conservative style of his youth, and begin writing tone poems; he also introduced Strauss to the essays of Richard Wagner and the writings of
SchopenhauerArthur Schopenhauer was a German philosopher known for his atheistic pessimism and philosophical clarity...
. Strauss went on to conduct one of Ritter's operas, and later Ritter wrote a poem based on Strauss's own
Death and Transfiguration (
Tod und Verklärung).
This newly found interest resulted in what is widely regarded as Strauss's first piece to show his mature personality, the tone poem
Don JuanDon Juan, op.20 is a tone poem for large orchestra by the German composer Richard Strauss, which was written in 1888. The composer conducted its premier on 11 November 1889 with the orchestra of the Weimar Opera, where he served as Court Kapellmeister....
. Strauss went on to write a series of other tone poems, including
Death and Transfiguration, 1888–1889),
Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks (
Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, 1894–95),
Also sprach ZarathustraAlso sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 is a tone poem by Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical treatise of the same name....
(
Thus Spoke Zarathustra, 1896),
Don QuixoteDon Quixote, op. 35, is a composition by Richard Strauss for cello, viola and large orchestra. Subtitled "Phantastische Variationen über ein Thema ritterlichen Charakters" , the work is based on the novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. Strauss composed this work in Munich in 1897...
(1897),
Ein HeldenlebenEin Heldenleben, Op. 40, is a tone poem by Richard Strauss. The work was completed in 1898, and heralds the composer’s more mature period in this genre. Strauss dedicated the piece to the 27-year old Willem Mengelberg and the Concertgebouw Orchestra...
(
A Hero's Life, 1897–98),
Sinfonia DomesticaSinfonia Domestica, Op. 53 is a tone poem for large orchestra by Richard Strauss. The work is a musical reflection of the secure domestic life so valued by the composer himself and, as such, harmoniously conveys daily events and family life.-History and composition:In 1898, Strauss became the...
(
Domestic Symphony, 1902–03) and
An Alpine Symphony (
Eine Alpensinfonie), (1911–1915).
Opera
Around the end of the 19th century, Strauss turned his attention to opera. His first two attempts in the genre,
GuntramGuntram is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a German libretto written by the composer.It was Strauss' first opera and shows a strong Wagnerian influence. The music of Guntram is quoted in Strauss's tone-poem Ein Heldenleben...
in 1894 and
FeuersnotFeuersnot , Op. 50, is a Singgedicht or opera in one act by Richard Strauss. The German libretto was written by Ernst von Wolzogen, based on J. Ketel's report "Das erloschene Feuer zu Audenaerde" in the Oudenaarde Gazette, Leipzig, 1843...
in 1901 were considered obscene and were critical failures. However, in 1905 he produced
SalomeSalome is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by the composer, based on Hedwig Lachmann’s German translation of the French play Salomé by Oscar Wilde....
(based on the play by
Oscar WildeOscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde was an Irish playwright, poet and author of numerous short stories and one novel. Known for his biting wit, he became one of the most successful playwrights of the late Victorian era in London, and one of the greatest "celebrities" of his day...
), and the reaction was passionate and extreme. The première was a major success, with the artists taking more than thirty-eight curtain calls. When it opened at the
Metropolitan OperaThe Metropolitan Opera Association of New York City, founded in April 1880, is a major presenter of all types of opera including Grand Opera. Peter Gelb is the company's general manager. The music director is James Levine....
in New York City, there was such a public outcry that it was closed after just one performance. Doubtless, much of this was due to the subject matter, and negative publicity about Wilde's "immoral" behavior. However, some of the negative reactions may have stemmed from Strauss's use of dissonance, rarely heard then at the opera house. Elsewhere the opera was highly successful and Strauss reputedly financed his house in
Garmisch-PartenkirchenGarmisch-Partenkirchen is a market town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, not far from the border with Austria.-History:...
completely from the revenues generated by the opera.
Strauss's next opera was
ElektraElektra is a one-act opera by Richard Strauss, to a German-language libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal adapted from his drama of 1903—the first of many such collaborations between composer and librettist...
, which took his use of dissonance even further (see also:
Elektra chordThe Elektra chord is a "complexly dissonant signature-chord" and motivic elaboration used by composer Richard Strauss to represent the title character of his opera Elektra that is a "bitonal synthesis of E major and C-sharp major" and may be regarded as a polychord related to conventional chords...
). It was also the first opera in which Strauss collaborated with the poet
Hugo von HofmannsthalHugo Laurenz August Hofmann von Hofmannsthal , was an Austrian novelist, librettist, poet, dramatist, narrator, and essayist.-Life:...
. The two would work together on numerous other occasions. For these later works, however, Strauss moderated his harmonic language somewhat, with the result that works such as
Der RosenkavalierDer Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
(1910) were great public successes. Strauss continued to produce operas at regular intervals until 1940. These included
Ariadne auf NaxosAriadne auf Naxos is an opera by Richard Strauss with a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal.- Versions :The opera as originally conceived was to be a thirty-minute divertissement to be performed at the end of Hofmannsthal's adaptation of Molière's play Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme...
(1912),
Die Frau ohne SchattenDie Frau ohne Schatten is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with a libretto by his long-time collaborator, the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. When the work premiered in Vienna on 10 October 1919, critics and audiences were unenthusiastic...
(1918),
Die ägyptische HelenaDie ägyptische Helena is an opera in two acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It premiered at the Dresden Semperoper on June 6, 1928...
(1927), and
ArabellaArabella is a lyric comedy or opera in 3 acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, their sixth and last operatic collaboration. It was first performed on 1 July 1933, at the Dresden Sächsisches Staatstheater...
(1932), all in collaboration with Hofmannsthal; and
IntermezzoIntermezzo is an opera in two acts by Richard Strauss to his own German libretto, described as a Bürgerliche Komödie mit sinfonischen Zwischenspielen . It premiered at the Dresden Semperoper on November 4, 1924, with sets that reproduced Strauss' home in Garmisch. The first Vienna performance was...
(1923), for which Strauss provided his own libretto,
Die schweigsame FrauDie schweigsame Frau is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss with libretto by Stefan Zweig after Ben Jonson's Epicoene, or the Silent Woman.-Performance history:...
(1934), with
Stefan ZweigStefan Zweig was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist and biographer.- Life :...
as librettist;
FriedenstagFriedenstag is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss, his Opus 81, to a German libretto by Joseph Gregor. Strauss had hoped to work again with Stefan Zweig on a new project after their previous collaboration of Die schweigsame Frau, but the Nazi authorities had harassed Strauss over his...
(1936) and
DaphneDaphne is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss, his 13th opera, subtitled "A Bucolic Tragedy in One Act". The German libretto was by Joseph Gregor. The opera is based loosely on a myth from Ovid's Metamorphoses, and also includes elements taken from The Bacchae by Euripides...
(1937) (libretto by Joseph Gregor and Zweig);
Die Liebe der DanaeDie Liebe der Danae is an opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to a German libretto by Joseph Gregor, after an outline by Hugo Hofmannsthal written in the 1920s...
(1940) (with Gregor) and
CapriccioCapriccio is the final opera by German composer Richard Strauss, subtitled "A Conversation Piece for Music". The opera received its premiere performance at the Nationaltheater München on October 28, 1942. Clemens Krauss and Strauss himself wrote the German libretto...
(libretto by
Clemens KraussClemens Heinrich Krauss was an Austrian conductor and opera impresario, particularly associated with the music of Richard Strauss.-Biography:...
) (1941).
Strauss also made live-recording
player pianoA player piano is a self-playing piano, containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism that operates the piano action via pre-programmed music perforated paper, or in rare instances, metallic rolls...
music rolls for the Hupfeld system, all of which survive today.
Solo and chamber works
Strauss's solo and chamber works include early compositions for piano solo in a conservative harmonic style, many of which are lost; a rarely heard string quartet (opus 2); the famous violin sonata in E flat which he wrote in 1887; as well as a handful of late pieces. There are only six works in his entire output dating from after 1900 which are for chamber ensembles, and four are arrangements of portions of his operas. His last chamber work, an Allegretto in E for violin and piano, dates from 1940.
Solo instrument with orchestra
Much more extensive was his output of works for solo instrument or instruments with orchestra. The most famous include two horn concerti, which are still part of the standard repertoire of most
hornThe horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
soloists; a concerto for violin;
Burleske for piano and orchestraThe Burleske in D minor for piano and orchestra was written by Richard Strauss in 1885-86, when he was 21. Its original title was Scherzo in D minor, and it was written for Hans von Bülow, who had appointed Strauss assistant conductor of the Meiningen Orchestra...
; the tone poem
Don QuixoteDon Quixote, op. 35, is a composition by Richard Strauss for cello, viola and large orchestra. Subtitled "Phantastische Variationen über ein Thema ritterlichen Charakters" , the work is based on the novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. Strauss composed this work in Munich in 1897...
, for cello, viola and orchestra; a late
oboe concertoThe Concerto in D major for Oboe and Small Orchestra, AV 144, TrV 292, was written by Richard Strauss in 1945. It was one of the last works he composed near the end of his life, during an "Indian summer"....
(inspired by a request from an American soldier and oboist,
John de LancieJohn de Lancie was an American musician who served as the principal oboist of the Philadelphia Orchestra for many years.-Career:...
, whom he met after the war); and the Duet-Concertino for bassoon, clarinet and orchestra, which was one of his last works (1947). Strauss admitted that the Duet-Concertino had an extra-musical "plot", in which the clarinet represented a princess and the bassoon a bear; when the two dance together, the bear transforms into a prince.
Strauss and the Nazis
There is much controversy surrounding Strauss's role in Germany after the Nazi Party came to power. Some say that he was constantly apolitical, and never cooperated with the Nazis completely. Others point out that he was an official of the Third Reich. Several noted musicians disapproved of his conduct while the Nazis were in power, among them the conductor
Arturo ToscaniniArturo Toscanini was an Italian conductor. One of the most acclaimed musicians of the late 19th and 20th Centuries, he was renowned for his brilliant intensity, his restless perfectionism, his phenomenal ear for orchestral detail and sonority, and his photographic memory...
, who famously said, "To Strauss the composer I take off my hat; to Strauss the man I put it back on again."
In November 1933
Joseph GoebbelsPaul Joseph Goebbels was a German politician and Reichsminister of Propaganda in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945...
appointed him to the post of president of the
Reichsmusikkammer, the State Music Bureau. Strauss decided to keep his post but to remain apolitical, a decision which has been criticized as naïve. While in this position he composed the
Olympische HymneOlympische Hymne is a composition for orchestra and mixed chorus by Richard Strauss.In 1932, Richard Strauss was approached by Dr. Theodor Lewald, the German Olympic Committee’s representative to the International Olympic Committee . The German committee desired an anthem composed for the 1936...
for the
1936 Summer OlympicsThe 1936 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XI Olympiad, an international multi-sport event which was held in 1936 in Berlin, Germany. Berlin won the bid to host the Games over Barcelona, Spain on April 26, 1931, at the 29th IOC Session in Barcelona...
, and also befriended some high-ranking Nazis. Evidently his intent was to protect his daughter-in-law Alice, who was Jewish, from persecution. In 1935, Strauss was forced to resign his position as
Reichsmusikkammer president, after refusing to remove from the playbill for
Die schweigsame Frau the name of the Jewish librettist, his friend
Stefan ZweigStefan Zweig was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist and biographer.- Life :...
. He had written Zweig a supportive letter, insulting to the Nazis, which was intercepted by the
GestapoThe was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning in April 1934, it was under the overall administration of the Schutzstaffel under Heinrich Himmler in his position as leader of the SS and Chief of German Police...
. By the time he conducted the
Olympische Hymne at the Berlin Olympic Stadium in 1936, he was no longer president of the Reichsmusikkammer.
His decision to produce
FriedenstagFriedenstag is an opera in one act by Richard Strauss, his Opus 81, to a German libretto by Joseph Gregor. Strauss had hoped to work again with Stefan Zweig on a new project after their previous collaboration of Die schweigsame Frau, but the Nazi authorities had harassed Strauss over his...
in 1938, a one-act opera set in a besieged fortress during the
Thirty Years' WarThe Thirty Years' War was one of the most destructive conflicts in European history. The war was fought primarily in Germany and at various points involved most of the countries of Europe...
– essentially a hymn to peace and a thinly veiled criticism of the Third Reich – during a time when an entire nation was preparing for war, has been seen as extraordinarily brave. With its contrasts between freedom and enslavement, war and peace, light and dark, this work has been considered by some to be more related to
FidelioFidelio is a German opera in two acts by Ludwig van Beethoven. It is Beethoven's only opera. The German libretto is by Joseph Sonnleithner from the French of Jean-Nicolas Bouilly which had been used for the 1798 opera Léonore, ou L’amour conjugal by Pierre Gaveaux...
than to any of Strauss's other operas. Production ceased shortly after the outbreak of war in 1939.
When his daughter-in-law Alice was placed under house arrest in
Garmisch-PartenkirchenGarmisch-Partenkirchen is a market town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, not far from the border with Austria.-History:...
in 1938, Strauss used his connections in Berlin, for example the Berlin Intendant
Heinz TietjenHeinz Tietjen was a German conductor and music producer born in Tangier, Morocco. At age twenty-three, he held the position of producer at the Opera House in Trier and was appointed its director in 1907, holding the dual roles until 1922...
, to secure her safety; in addition, there are also suggestions that he attempted to use his official position to protect other Jewish friends and colleagues. Unfortunately, Strauss left no specific records or commentary regarding his feeling about Nazi antisemitism, so most of the reconstruction of his motivations during the period are conjectural. While most of his actions during the 1930s were midway between collaboration and dissidence, it was only in his music that the dissident streak was, in retrospect, more obvious (such as in the pacifist drama
Friedenstag.).
In 1942, Strauss moved with his family back to Vienna, where Alice and her children could be protected by
Baldur von SchirachBaldur Benedikt von Schirach was a Nazi youth leader later convicted of being a war criminal. Schirach was the head of the Hitler-Jugend and Gauleiter and Reichsstatthalter of Vienna....
, the
GauleiterA Gauleiter was the party leader of a regional branch of the NSDAP or the head of a Gau or of a Reichsgau.-Etymology:...
of Vienna. Unfortunately, even Strauss was unable to protect his Jewish relatives completely; in early 1944, while Strauss was away, Alice and the composer's son were abducted by the Gestapo and imprisoned for two nights. Only Strauss's personal intervention at this point was able to save them and he was able to take the two of them back to Garmisch where they remained under house arrest until the end of the war.
Strauss completed the composition of
MetamorphosenMetamorphosen is a composition for 23 solo strings by Richard Strauss. Written during the closing months of the Second World War, and first performed in January 1946 , it was written as a statement of mourning for Germany's destruction during the war, in particular the...
, a work for 23 solo strings, in 1945. It is now generally accepted that
Metamorphosen was composed, specifically, to mourn the bombing of Strauss's favorite opera house, the
Hoftheater in Munich. Strauss called this "the greatest catastrophe that has ever disturbed my life." However, some scholars suggest that the original intention of the piece was to be a choral setting of
GoetheJohann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer and polymath. Goethe's works span the fields of poetry, drama, literature, theology, philosophy, humanism and science. Goethe's magnum opus, lauded as one of the peaks of world literature, is the two-part drama Faust...
's poem,
Niemand wird sich selber kennen.
In April 1945, Strauss was apprehended by American soldiers at his Garmisch estate. As he descended the staircase he announced to Lieutenant Milton Weiss of the US Army, "I am Richard Strauss, the composer of
Rosenkavalier and
Salome." Lt. Weiss, who, as it happened, was also a musician, nodded in recognition. Another musically knowledgeable American officer placed an 'Off limits' sign on the lawn to protect Strauss.
The English playwright
Ronald HarwoodRonald Harwood CBE, is an author, playwright and screenwriter. He is most noted for his plays for the British stage as well as the screenplays for The Dresser and The Pianist, for which he won the 2003 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay...
wrote
Collaboration (2008), a play largely sympathetic of Strauss. Themes in this play interweave with Harwood's more ambiguous treatment of
Wilhelm FurtwänglerWilhelm Furtwängler was a German conductor and composer, widely considered one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century.-Biography :...
in
Taking SidesTaking Sides is a 1995 play by British playwright Ronald Harwood, about the post-War U.S. denazification investigation of the German conductor and composer Wilhelm Furtwängler on charges of having served the Nazi regime. Harwood drew inter alia on a detailed diary kept by Furtwängler of his...
(1995), and many of the characters and events are mentioned or figure in both plays.
Final years
In 1948, Strauss wrote his last work,
Four Last SongsThe Four Last Songs for soprano and orchestra were the final completed works of Richard Strauss, composed in 1948 when the composer was 84. The premiere was given in London on 22 May 1950 by the soprano Kirsten Flagstad accompanied by the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler...
for soprano and orchestra, reportedly with
Kirsten FlagstadKirsten Målfrid Flagstad was a Norwegian opera singer, and a highly regarded Wagnerian soprano of the 20th century....
in mind. She certainly gave the first performance and it was recorded, but the quality of the recording is poor. It is available as a historic CD release for enthusiasts. All his life he had produced
lied is a German word, meaning literally "song"; among English speakers, however, the word is used primarily as a term for European romantic music songs, also known as art songs...
er, but these are among his best known (alongside
"Zueignung",
"CäcilieCäcilie, Op. 27 No. 2, is the second in a set of four songs composed by Richard Strauss in 1894.The words are from a love poem "Cäcilie" written by Heinrich Hart , a German dramatic critic and journalist who also wrote poetry...
",
"Morgen!" and
"Allerseelen"). When compared to the work of younger composers, Strauss's harmonic and melodic language could be considered somewhat old-fashioned by this time. Nevertheless, the songs and tone poems have always been popular with audiences and performers. Strauss himself declared in 1947, "I may not be a first-rate composer, but I am a first-class second-rate composer!"
Richard Strauss died on 8 September 1949, in
Garmisch-PartenkirchenGarmisch-Partenkirchen is a market town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, not far from the border with Austria.-History:...
, Germany at the age of 85.
Georg SoltiSir Georg Solti, KBE was a Hungarian-British orchestral and operatic conductor. He holds the record for having received the most Grammy awards, having personally won 31, including the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.- Early career :Solti was born György Stern in Budapest to a Jewish family; his...
who had arranged Strauss's 85th birthday celebration also directed an orchestra during Strauss's burial .
Ballet music
- Josephslegende (The Legend of Joseph), Op. 63 (1914)
- Schlagobers (Whipped Cream), Op. 70 (1921/2)
Tone poems
- Aus Italien
Aus Italien, Op. 16 is a tone poem for full orchestra composed by Richard Strauss in 1886. It was inspired by the composer's visit to Italy in the summer of the same year, where he travelled to Rome, Bologna, Naples, Sorrento, Salerno, and Capri...
, Op. 16 (1886)
- Don Juan
Don Juan, op.20 is a tone poem for large orchestra by the German composer Richard Strauss, which was written in 1888. The composer conducted its premier on 11 November 1889 with the orchestra of the Weimar Opera, where he served as Court Kapellmeister....
, Op. 20 (1889)
- Macbeth
Macbeth is a symphonic poem written by Richard Strauss in January-February 1888 and revised two years later. The work was his first tone poem, which Strauss described as "a completely new path" for him compositionally...
, Op. 23 (1888/90)
- Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration), Op. 24 (1888–89)
- Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche (Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks), Op. 28 (1895)
- Also sprach Zarathustra
Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 is a tone poem by Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical treatise of the same name....
, Op. 30 (1896)
- Don Quixote
Don Quixote, op. 35, is a composition by Richard Strauss for cello, viola and large orchestra. Subtitled "Phantastische Variationen über ein Thema ritterlichen Charakters" , the work is based on the novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. Strauss composed this work in Munich in 1897...
, Op. 35 (1898)
- Ein Heldenleben
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40, is a tone poem by Richard Strauss. The work was completed in 1898, and heralds the composer’s more mature period in this genre. Strauss dedicated the piece to the 27-year old Willem Mengelberg and the Concertgebouw Orchestra...
, Op. 40 (1899)
- Symphonia Domestica
Sinfonia Domestica, Op. 53 is a tone poem for large orchestra by Richard Strauss. The work is a musical reflection of the secure domestic life so valued by the composer himself and, as such, harmoniously conveys daily events and family life.-History and composition:In 1898, Strauss became the...
(Domestic Symphony), Op. 53 (1904)
- Eine Alpensinfonie (An Alpine Symphony), Op. 64 (1915)
Other orchestral works
- Symphony in D minor (1880)
- Symphony in F minor, Op. 12 (1883)
- Festive Prelude for orchestra with organ (1913)
- Le Bourgeois gentilhomme
Le Bourgeois gentilhomme, op. 60, is an orchestral suite written by Richard Strauss between 1911 and 1917. The original idea of Hugo von Hofmannsthal was to revive Molière's 1670 play Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, simplify the plot and introduce a commedia del arte troupe, add some incidental music...
, suiteIn music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet, or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements .In the...
for orchestra Op. 60 (1917)
- Film music for Der Rosenkavalier
Der Rosenkavalier is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel Les amours du chevalier de Faublas by Louvet de Couvrai and Molière’s comedy Monsieur de Pourceaugnac...
(1925)
- Japanese Festival Music
Japanese Festival Music, Op. 84 is a composition by Richard Strauss. The full title is Festmusik zur Feier des 2600jährigen Bestehens des Kaiserreichs Japan für großes Orchester ....
(1940)
- Metamorphosen
Metamorphosen is a composition for 23 solo strings by Richard Strauss. Written during the closing months of the Second World War, and first performed in January 1946 , it was written as a statement of mourning for Germany's destruction during the war, in particular the...
, for 23 solo strings (1945)
Concertante
- Romance for Clarinet and Orchestra (1879)
- Violin Concerto in D minor
Richard Strauss's Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D minor, Op. 8, was written in 1881-1882.Although virtuosic, the first movement in particular is clearly influenced by the Classical period.- Structure :The composition consists of three movements:...
, Op. 8 (1882)
- Horn Concerto No. 1 in E flat major, Op. 11 (1882/83)
- Romance for Cello and Orchestra (1883)
- Burleske
The Burleske in D minor for piano and orchestra was written by Richard Strauss in 1885-86, when he was 21. Its original title was Scherzo in D minor, and it was written for Hans von Bülow, who had appointed Strauss assistant conductor of the Meiningen Orchestra...
for piano and orchestra (1886–1890)
- Parergon zur Symphonia Domestica
Sinfonia Domestica, Op. 53 is a tone poem for large orchestra by Richard Strauss. The work is a musical reflection of the secure domestic life so valued by the composer himself and, as such, harmoniously conveys daily events and family life.-History and composition:In 1898, Strauss became the...
, for piano (left hand) and orchestra, Op. 73 (1925; ded. Paul WittgensteinPaul Wittgenstein was an Austrian-born concert pianist, who became known for his ability to play with just his left hand, after he lost his right arm during the First World War. He devised novel techniques, including pedal and hand-movement combinations, that allowed him to play chords previously...
)
- Panathenäenzug, for piano (left hand) and orchestra, Op. 74 (1926–1927; ded. Wittgenstein)
- Horn Concerto No. 2 in E flat major (1942)
- Oboe Concerto in D major
The Concerto in D major for Oboe and Small Orchestra, AV 144, TrV 292, was written by Richard Strauss in 1945. It was one of the last works he composed near the end of his life, during an "Indian summer"....
(1945)
- Duett-Concertino, for clarinet and bassoon with string orchestra (1947)
Vocal/Choral
- Acht Lieder aus Letzte Blätter, Op. 10 (1885)
- Cäcilie
Cäcilie, Op. 27 No. 2, is the second in a set of four songs composed by Richard Strauss in 1894.The words are from a love poem "Cäcilie" written by Heinrich Hart , a German dramatic critic and journalist who also wrote poetry...
, Op. 27 No. 2
- Heimliche Aufforderung ("Secret Invitation"), Op. 27 No. 3
- Morgen! ("Tomorrow!"), Op. 27 No. 4
- Zwei Gesänge, Op. 34 (1896/97) — 1. Der Abend 2. Hymne
- Wiegenlied ("Lullaby"), Op. 41 No. 1
- Deutsche Motette, Op. 62 (1913)
- Olympische Hymne
Olympische Hymne is a composition for orchestra and mixed chorus by Richard Strauss.In 1932, Richard Strauss was approached by Dr. Theodor Lewald, the German Olympic Committee’s representative to the International Olympic Committee . The German committee desired an anthem composed for the 1936...
, for chorus and orchestra (1934)
- Die Göttin im Putzzimmer (1935)
- Männerchöre (1935)
- An den Baum Daphne (1943)
- Vier letzte Lieder
The Four Last Songs for soprano and orchestra were the final completed works of Richard Strauss, composed in 1948 when the composer was 84. The premiere was given in London on 22 May 1950 by the soprano Kirsten Flagstad accompanied by the Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler...
(Four Last Songs) (1948)
Recordings
Richard Strauss made a number of recordings of his music, as well as music by German and Austrian composers.
Harold C. SchonbergHarold Charles Schonberg was an American music critic and journalist, most notably for The New York Times. He was the first music critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for criticism...
in
The Great Conductors (New York:Simon and Schuster, 1967) says that, while Strauss was a very fine conductor, he often put scant effort into his recordings.
The 1929 performances of
Till Eulenspiegel and
Don Juan with the Berlin State Opera Orchestra have long been considered the best of his early electrical recordings; even the original 78 rpm discs had superior sound for their time and the performances were top-notch and quite exciting at times, despite a noticeable mistake by the French horn soloist in the famous opening passage of
Till Eulenspiegel. The breaks for side changes, necessitated by the 78 rpm process, are rather curious because Strauss actually repeated a few notes each time the music resumed; careful editing for LP and CD reissues resolved the repetitions as well as the obvious interruptions in the music.
Schonberg focused primarily on Strauss' recordings of
MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as...
's
Symphony No. 40 in G minorWolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote his Symphony No. 40 in G minor, KV. 550, in 1788.The 40th Symphony is sometimes referred to as the “Great” G minor symphony, to distinguish it from the “Little” G minor symphony, No. 25...
and Beethoven's
Symphony No. 7 in ALudwig van Beethoven began concentrated work on his Symphony No. 7 in A major, Op. 92, in 1811, while he was staying in the Bohemian spa town of Teplice in the hope of improving his health...
, as well as noting that Strauss played a breakneck version of Beethoven's
ninth symphonyThe Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 "Choral" is the final complete symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven. Completed in 1824, the symphony is one of the best known works of the Western classical repertoire and is considered one of Beethoven's greatest masterpieces.The symphony was the first example of...
in about 45 minutes. Concerning the Beethoven seventh symphony, Schonberg wrote, "There is almost never a ritard or a change in expression or nuance. The slow movement is almost as fast as the following vivace; and the last movement, with a big cut in it, is finished in four minutes, twenty-five seconds. (It should run between seven and eight minutes.)" Schonberg also complained that the Mozart symphony had "no force, no charm, no inflection, with a metronomic rigidity."
Peter Gutmann's 1994 review for classicalnotes.com says the performances of the Beethoven
fifthSymphony No. 5 in C minor, Op. 67, was written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1804–08. This symphony is one of the most popular and well-known compositions in all of European classical music, and one of the most often played symphonies. It comprises four movements: an opening sonata allegro, an...
and seventh symphonies, as well as Mozart's last three symphonies, are actually quite good, even if they are sometimes unconventional. "The Koch CDs", Gutman wrote, "represent all of Strauss's recordings of works by other composers. (The best of his readings of his own famous tone poems and other music are collected on DGG 429 925-2, 3 CDs.) It is true, as the critics suggest, that the readings forego overt emotion, but what emerges instead is a solid sense of structure, letting the music speak convincingly for itself. It is also true that Strauss's tempos are generally swift, but this, too, contributes to the structural cohesion and in any event is fully in keeping with our modern outlook in which speed is a virtue and attention spans are defined more by MTV clips and news sound bites than by evenings at the opera and thousand page novels."
Koch Legacy has also released recordings of overtures by
GluckChristoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck was an opera composer of the early classical period. After many years at the Habsburg court at Vienna, Gluck brought about the practical reform of opera's dramaturgical practices that many intellectuals had been campaigning for over the years...
,
Carl Maria von WeberCarl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber was a German composer, conductor, pianist, guitarist and critic, one of the first significant composers of the Romantic school....
,
Peter CorneliusCarl August Peter Cornelius was a German composer, writer about music, poet and translator. He was born and died in Mainz where his grave in the Hauptfriedhof survives....
and
WagnerWilhelm Richard Wagner was a German composer, conductor, theatre director and essayist, primarily known for his operas...
. The preference for German and Austrian composers in Germany in the 1920s through the 1940s was typical of the German nationalism that existed after World War I. Strauss clearly capitalized on national pride for the great German-speaking composers.
One of the more interesting of Strauss' recordings was perhaps the first complete performance of his
An Alpine Symphony, made in 1941 and later released by
EMIThe EMI Group is a British music company. It is the fourth-largest business group and family of record labels in the recording industry, making it one of the "big four" record companies. EMI Group also has a major publishing arm- EMI Music Publishing- based in New York City...
, because Strauss used the full complement of percussion instruments required in this spectacular symphony. The intensity of the performance rivaled that of the digital recording
Herbert von KarajanHerbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor and one of the most renowned conductors in music history. His obituary in The New York Times described him as "probably the world's best-known conductor and one of the most powerful figures in classical music." Karajan conducted...
made many years later with the Berlin Philharmonic.
There were many other recordings, including some taken from radio broadcasts and concerts, during the 1930s and early 1940s. Undoubtedly, the sheer volume of recorded performances would yield some definitive performances from a very capable and rather forward-looking conductor.
In 1944, Strauss celebrated his 80th birthday and conducted the Vienna Philharmonic in recordings of his major orchestral works, as well as the seldom-heard
Schlagobers (Whipped Cream) ballet music. He actually put more feeling into these performances than his earlier recordings, which were recorded on the
MagnetophonMagnetophon was the brand or model name of the pioneering reel-to-reel tape recorder developed by engineers of the German electronics company AEG in the 1930s, based on the magnetic tape invention by Fritz Pfleumer...
tape recording equipment.
Vanguard RecordsVanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...
later issued the recordings on LPs. Some of these recordings have been reissued on CDs by Preiser; given their remarkable fidelity and their above-average performances, these performances deserve to be heard.
Sources
- Michael Kennedy, "Richard Strauss", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, ed. Stanley Sadie. 20 vol. London, Macmillan Publishers Ltd., 1980. ISBN 1-56159-174-2
- Bryan Gilliam: "Richard Strauss", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Accessed August 19, 2005), (subscription access) (This article is very different from the one in the 1980 Grove; in particular, the analysis of Strauss's behavior during the Nazi period is more detailed.)
- David Dubal, "The Essential Canon of Classical Music", North Point Press, 2003. ISBN 0-86547-664-0
Selective bibliography
- Del Mar, Norman (1962). Richard Strauss. London: Barrie & Jenkins. ISBN 0-214-15735-0.
- Tuchman, Barbara W. (1966, reprinted 1980). The Proud Tower chapter 6. Macmillan, London. ISBN 0-333-30645-7.
- Gilliam, Bryan (1999). The Life of Richard Strauss. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-57895-7.
- Kennedy, Michael (1999). Richard Strauss: Man, Musician, Enigma. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-58173-7.
- Osborne, Charles (1991). The Complete Operas of Richard Strauss. New York City: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80459-X.
- Wilhelm, Kurt (1989). Richard Strauss: An Intimate Portrait. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-01459-0.
- Youmans, Charles (2005). Richard Strauss's Orchestral Music and the German Intellectual Tradition: the Philosophical Roots of Musical Modernism. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-34573-1.
- Karpath, Ludwig and Strauss, Richard (1905–1936). The handwritten correspondence between Richard Strauss and Ludwig Karpath, covering 31 years was acquired by the National Library of Austria in l962 from the daughters of Dr. Alfred Marill who was Mr. Karpath's attorney. It consists of approximately 150 items covering Strauss relationships with the Vienna State Opera and other musical events of the period. It stops at the death of Ludwig Karpath in 1936. Dr. Alfred Marill was Mr. Karpath's executor. The terms of the will stipulated that the correspondence between Karpath and Strauss not be published until after Richard Strauss death. In keeping with these terms Dr. Marill transported it to the United States when he emigrated in 1940. After Dr. Marill's death his daughters provided the letters to the library so that Mr. Karpath's wishes could be carried out. There is no evidence that these letters have been published.
External links