Richard Strauss: An Owner's Manual

by David Hurwitz

Overview

(Unlocking the Masters). The life and music of Richard Strauss (1864-1949) span what was arguably the most turbulent period in human history, encompassing the Franco-Prussian War, the unification of Germany, and two world wars. He was one of the very last composers to have started his career in service to the old European aristocracy, but near the end of his life, the continent lay in shambles, and he faced financial ruin even as he remained Germany's greatest living composer. Virtually from the day they were written, Strauss's tone poems from the late nineteenth century works such as Don Juan , Till Eulenspiegel , Also Sprach Zarathustra , and Death and Transfiguration have been repertory standards. So have the operas Salome , Elektra , and Der Rosenkavalier . And yet a tremendous quantity of very good music, both early and late, has only recently come to the attention of musicians and music lovers alike. This "owner's manual," accompanied by a full-length CD, surveys all the major works with orchestra: symphonies, concertos, tone poems, operas, ballets, suites, and songs. Many of them will be new even to listeners familiar with the popular pieces, part of a vast legacy of immaculately crafted, beautiful music that deserves to be rediscovered and treasured.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781574674422
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	07/01/2014
Series:	Unlocking the Masters
Pages:	204
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

David Hurwitz (Brooklyn, NY'), 'a music critic, author, and percussionist, is the founder and executive editor of Classicstoday.com, the Internet's first classical music review magazine. His many books include Unlocking the Masters titles on Mozart, Mahler, Sibelius, Haydn, Dvorák, Shostakovich, and Bernstein. Hurwitz's other writings include works on Beethoven and Brahms and articles for High Fidelity, Fanfare, and Music and Letters.

Table of Contents

Preface ix

Acknowledgments xiii

Introduction: A First-Class Second-Rate Composer? 1

Part 1 Orchestral Music Without Voices

Chapter 1 Symphonies, Concertos, and Serenades 17

Chapter 2 Tone Poems I: People 35

Chapter 3 Tone Poems II: Places and Things 61

Part 2 Theatrical and Vocal Music (Operas, Ballets, Suites, and Songs)

Chapter 4 Strauss and the German Operatic Tradition 83

Chapter 5 The Greek Operas: Six Heroines: Iphigenia, Elektra, Ariadne, Helen, Daphne, and Danae 89

Chapter 6 Old Vienna (and Paris): Der Rosenkavalier, Le bourgeois gentilhomme, Schlagobers, Couperin Suites, Arabella, and Capriccio 113

Chapter 7 Exoticism and Eroticism: Salome, Josephs Legende, and Die Frau ohne Schatten 133

Chapter 8 Domestic Comedies: Feuersnot, Intermezzo, and Die schweigsame Frau 151

Chapter 9 War and Peace: Friedenstag and Guntram 163

Chapter 10 Over Forty Gorgeous Songs with Orchestra (Who Knew?) 171

Conclusion 179

Appendix: Starting a Strauss Collection 181

CD Track Listing 185