June 11th was Richard Strauss' 153rd birthday. Strauss was influenced by the music of composers such as Richard Wagner, even against his conservative family. Strauss lived through the Nazi regime in Germany, with a Jewish daughter in law. In this article, I will provide 10 of Strauss' compositions with brief commentary, in honor of his life. But first, here's a little bit about Strauss:
The Life of Strauss
Richard Strauss was born on June 11th, 1864, in Munich, Germany. Strauss' father was a Horn player at the Court Opera in Munich. Strauss received his first lessons in music theory and orchestration from an assistant conductor at rehearsals of the Munich Court Orchestral. The music of Richard Wagner would have a major effect on Strauss' music, but Strauss was not allowed to study it in his boyhood, due to his father's conservative viewpoints towards music. Strauss would not first study Wagner's music until he was 16, and obtained a score for Tristan und Isolde. Later in life, Strauss would reflect a regret towards his family's hostility towards Wagner's music.
In 1862, Strauss would give the first performance of his Violin concerto in D-Major, playing the orchestral parts on the piano, and his teacher, Benno Walter, as the soloist. That year, he also entered the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, studying philosophy and art history, but not music. In 1863, he left to briefly attend a university in Berlin, before obtaining a post as assistant conductor to Hans von Bülow, who had been impressed by the young composer, ever since hearing Strauss' Serenade for wind instruments, composed when Strauss was 16. Strauss learned to conduct from observing Bülow in rehearsal. Due to his fondness of Strauss, Bülow decided that Strauss should succeed him when Bülow retired in 1885. At this time, Strauss' style was very much similar to those of Robert Schumann, and Felix Mendelssohn. In 1894, Strauss would marry soprano Pauline de Ahna. Together, they would have one son, Franz, who would later marry Alice von Grab-Hermannswörth, daughter of a Jewish industrialist.
Adolf Hitler, and the Nazi party of Germany would take power in 1933, when Strauss was 68. Strauss would never join the Nazi party, and avoided using Nazi forms of greeting. Strauss however, did cooperate with the Nazis at first, in hopes that Hitler, an admirer of Wagnerian music and Strauss' music as well, would preserve German art and culture. It is also a common belief that Strauss might have been trying to gain reputation to protect his Jewish grandchildren and family from the Nazis. Because of his cooperation, Strauss would be appointed the president of Reichsmusikkammer, or the State Music Bureau. Strauss' ties would save his family on numerous occasions from a few close calls, but in the end, everyone was safe.
Strauss would die at the age of 85 on September 8th, 1949. He would leave a legacy unlike no other. Strauss' music lead to the development of film music as we now know. Strauss also inspired 20th century composers such as Béla Bartók, and modernfilm composers such as John Williams.
10 Compositions
10. Horn Concerto no. 1
Considering that Strauss' father was a Horn player. I'd expect him to have a lot of music for the French horn, which he does. He has 2 Horn concertos, but uses a lot of horn (brass in general) in his music. This horn part is beautifully crafted, the themes he uses for the horn are incredible. It is obvious that his father's knowledge of the horn rubbed off on him.
9. Last 4 Songs
These 4 songs were inspired by the poem "Im Abendrot" by Joseph von Eichendorff. Strauss felt a connection to the text, and as a result, decided to set them to music in May of 1948. These songs were not published until 1950, after Strauss' death. A friend, Ernst Roth, published these songs and gave them the title Last 4 Songs.
8. Horn Concerto no. 2
I think this concerto features the horn more than the first concerto did. The horn part also seems very expressive in this concerto, as well as the other. I tried to find a video of the same guy, but I couldn't. At times, this concerto sounds similar to Mozart's Horn Concertos.
7. Till Eulenspiegel
This piece is beautiful. I really like the theme Strauss introduces about 4 minutes in. I can hear how this music was an early inspiration for film music. I could picture this piece being a soundtrack. I can also hear similarities to modern composers like John Williams and Hans Zimmer (especially around 6:15).
6. Don Juan
Here is another Symphonic poem. It's funny, in the Phantom of the Opera, the Phantom writes an opera called Don Juan Triumphant. I wonder if that is an allusion to this. This is another example of a piece that I believe could have been an early inspiration for film scores. You hear tender melodic sections, triumphant grand sections, and soft slow sections.
5. Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare
This piece is energetic. It is definitely a fanfare! I could imagine this playing as a king walks in, or in a movie about an underdog boxer that lives a simple life, and trains to win with whatever comes his way. This is definitely one of my favorite pieces on this list thus far.
4. Metamorphosen
This piece sounds quite sad. It is much different than what I have heard before. I could imagine this playing as a man's wife dies, and their time together flashing before the man's eyes. It is quite powerful. In 1944, Strauss needed to leave Germany to go to a spa due to bad health, but could not get the Nazis' permission, so he gave them this to get a permit.
3. Ein Heldenleben
This piece, like many others on this list, is triumphant. I think Strauss comes off often as triumphant because of his use of brass, and specifically French horn. This piece is probably one of the most similar in this list so far to a John Williams piece. I can definitely see that influence!
2. Alpine Symphony
This piece starts out faint, like a whisper. But then it grows, and again sounds like a film score. This piece sounds majestic, like a noble knight traveling the world in medieval times. I can see why this is called the Alpine Symphony. It sounds like a wilderness type piece. I'd also like to point out how much French horn (brass) you can hear in this piece.
1. Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra)
You might recognize this piece when listening to its beginning. The introduction to this tone poem entitled Einleitung, oder Sonnenaufgang (Introduction, or Sunrise) was used in the beginning of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. Actually though, this piece was inspired by a philosophical novel called Thus Spoke Zarathustra. I didn't really like the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey, but regardless, the beginning of this piece is still quite cool, especially in the movie.
Sources
Information
Wikipedia (Strauss)
Wikipedia (Last 4 Songs)
Wikipedia (Metamorphosen)
Wikipedia (Also sprach Zarathustra )
Photos
Previous Composer Birthdays (In order by how recent it was)
6/11 - Richard Strauss
6/8 - Robert Schumann
5/22 - Richard Wagner
5/12 - Gabriel Fauré
5/7 - Johannes Brahms
5/7 - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
4/1 - Sergei Rachmaninoff
3/21 - Johann Sebastian Bach
3/4 - Antonio Vivaldi
3/1 - Frédérick Chopin
2/28 (29) - Gioachino Rossini
2/3 - Felix Mendelssohn
1/31 - Franz Schubert
1/27 - Wolfgang (Amadeus) Mozart
The Next Birthday will be Leonard Bernstein on August 25th.
Thanks for reading this! I never knew a lot about Strauss, it was fun to learn about his life, and listen to his music. Please remember to leave feed back, and check back later!
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