Richard Strauss

late Romanticism

From the bold modernism of 'Elektra' he later returned to classical clarity.

💡 Did you know? Richard Strauss (no relation to the Waltz King) pushed late Romanticism to its limit and became the last great German opera composer.

Munich

His father was principal horn of the Munich Court Opera and a sworn despiser of Wagner.

💡 Did you know? Strauss's father was a horn player: the glorious role of the horns in his orchestral works is surely no coincidence.

Also sprach Zarathustra

Its sunrise fanfare, after Nietzsche, opens Kubrick's 1968 film.

💡 Did you know? The mighty opening fanfare of „Also sprach Zarathustra“ became one of the world's best-known sounds through Kubrick's „2001: A Space Odyssey“.

tone poem

'Don Juan', 'Till Eulenspiegel', 'A Hero's Life': he took the genre from Liszt to its summit.

💡 Did you know? The young Strauss was the master of the symphonic poem: from „Till Eulenspiegel“ to „Don Juan“, his orchestra practically told stories.

Salome

The 'Dance of the Seven Veils' scandalised the moral guardians; the proceeds built Strauss's villa in Garmisch.

💡 Did you know? The scandalous opera „Salome“, with its „Dance of the Seven Veils“, was so successful that Strauss could build himself a villa with the proceeds.

Der Rosenkavalier

Premiered in Dresden in 1911: special trains carried audiences to the premiere.

💡 Did you know? „Der Rosenkavalier“ is deliberately full of Viennese waltzes: though they did not yet exist in Maria Theresa's Vienna, a charming anachronism.

Hugo von Hofmannsthal

From 'Elektra' to 'Arabella': their correspondence is a literary monument in itself.

💡 Did you know? With the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal, Strauss formed one of the most fruitful word-and-music partnerships in opera history.

Salzburg Festival

Together with Hofmannsthal and Max Reinhardt; it was first held in 1920.

💡 Did you know? Strauss was among the co-founders of the Salzburg Festival, one of the most important classical festivals in the world.

President of the Reich Music Chamber

He fell over an intercepted letter to his Jewish librettist Stefan Zweig; he protected his Jewish daughter-in-law. His conduct in the Nazi era remains controversial.

💡 Did you know? Strauss's role as president of the Reich Music Chamber in 1933 weighs on his memory: he used it partly to protect his Jewish daughter-in-law, but fell from favour in 1935.

Metamorphosen

Written in 1945 under the impact of the bombed-out opera houses of Munich, Dresden and Vienna.

💡 Did you know? In the „Metamorphosen“ for 23 strings, the aged Strauss in 1945 mourned the destruction of German culture and its opera houses.

Four Last Songs

Premiered in London in 1950 with Kirsten Flagstad: farewell music of autumnal beauty.

💡 Did you know? The „Four Last Songs“ (a moving, serene farewell to life) were premiered only after Strauss's death.

Garmisch

'Dying is just as I composed it in Death and Transfiguration,' he said on his deathbed.

💡 Did you know? He lived to 85 and stood on the conductor's podium almost to the end.

Richard Strauss

Richard Strauss was a German late-Romantic composer, famous for his symphonic poems and operas like „Salome“ and „Der Rosenkavalier“.

💡 Did you know? The opening fanfare of his tone poem „Also sprach Zarathustra“ became one of the world's best-known sounds through Kubrick's „2001“.

Also sprach Zarathustra

The monumental ‘Sunrise’ (trumpets, organ and timpani) was made immortal by Kubrick's ‘2001’.

💡 Did you know? The whole tone poem lasts over half an hour; only the first 90 seconds are famous.