Richard Strauss
Though the long career of Richard Strauss spanned one of the most chaotic periods in political, social, and cultural history of the world, the composer retained his essentially Romantic aesthetic even into the age of television, jet engines, and atom bombs.
Born in Munich in 1864, Strauss was the son of Franz Joseph Strauss, the principal hornist in the Munich Court Orchestra. Strauss demonstrated musical aptitude at an early age, and extensive training in piano, violin, theory, harmony, and orchestration equipped him to produce music of extraordinary polish and maturity by the time he reached adulthood. His primary teachers had been his father, who was a musical conservative, and Ludwig Thuille, a Munich School composer and family friend. Strauss' Serenade for 13 Winds, Op. 7 (1881), written when he was 17, led conductor Hans von Bülow to pronounce him "by far the most striking personality since Brahms." Bülow was able to give Strauss his first commission and an assistant conductor position. Through new friendships, Strauss learned to admire the writings of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche and the music of Wagner and Liszt. He embarked on a long career of conducting and composing, which took him all over Europe and the U.S.
From the beginning of Strauss' career as a composer, it was evident that the orchestra was his natural medium. With the composition of the "symphonic fantasy" Aus Italien in 1886, Strauss embarked on a series of works that represents both one of the pivotal phases of his career and a body of music of central importance in the late German Romantic repertoire. Though he did not invent the tone poem per se, he brought it to its pinnacle. In such works as Don Juan (1888-1889), Ein Heldenleben (1897-1898), and Also sprach Zarathustra (1895-1896) -- of which first minute or so, thanks to its use in the film 2001: A Space Odyssey, is the composer's most readily recognizable music -- Strauss displayed his abundant gift for exploiting the coloristic possibilities of the orchestra as a dramatic device like few composers ever had (or have since).
With the arrival of the 20th century, after becoming conductor at Berlin's Hofoper, Strauss' interest turned more fully to opera, resulting in a body of unforgettable works that have long been fixtures of the repertoire: Salome (1903-1905), Elektra (1906-1908), and Der Rosenkavalier (1909-1910) are just a few of his best-known efforts for the stage. In 1919, Strauss became co-director of the Vienna Staatsoper, but was forced to resign five years later by his partner, Franz Schalk, who resented being left with many of the operational duties while Strauss was frequently away guest conducting or being feted as a great composer. When the political situation in Europe became malignant in the 1930s, profound political naïveté led to Strauss' confused involvement the Nazi propaganda machine, and the composer eventually alienated both the Nazis and their opponents. With the end of World War II, however, he was permitted to resume his professional life, although it would be a mere echo of his previous fame. He began to have serious health problems, his financial situation had been compromised, and the monuments that embodied great German art for him -- Goethe's Weimar house; the Dresden, Munich, and Vienna opera houses -- had been destroyed. Throughout his last years, works such as the Oboe Concerto (1945) and the expressive Four Last Songs (1948) attest to Strauss' unwavering confidence in his singular musical voice.
© TiVo
Artistas similares
-
Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra - Der Rosenkavalier Suite
Slovenian Symphony Orchestra, Anton Nanut
Clásica - Editado por Int - Bertus el 30 sept. 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Great Conductors, Vol. 2: Richard Strauss (Japanische Festmusik & Symphonic Poems)
Orchester der Bayrischen Staatsoper München, Wiener Philharmonic Orchestra, Berliner Rundfunk Symphonieorchester, Richard Strauss
Clásica - Editado por Jube Classic el 3 jun. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Capriccio, Op. 85 - Wagner: Siegfried Idyll, WWV 103 - Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht, Op. 4
Música de cámara - Editado por VDE-GALLO el 16 feb. 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Heldenleben - Hero's Life
Música sinfónica - Editado por Lodia Music International el 31 ago. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59
Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Marc Albrecht
Clásica - Editado por Challenge Classics el 28 sept. 2017
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Franck & Strauss: Violin Sonatas
Clásica - Editado por Onyx Classics el 4 feb. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Highlights from Der Rosenkavalier
Otto Edelmann, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Christa Ludwig
Ópera - Editado por Stage Door el 24 mar. 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Strauss: Burleske And Parergon for Piano and Orchestra Stimmungsbilder, Op.9
Clásica - Editado por Arabesque Recordings el 1 ene. 1987
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Strauss - Great Recordings
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 8 jun. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Strauss: Salome (1961)
Birgit Nilsson, Grace Hoffmann, Gerhard Stolze
Ópera - Editado por Classical Moments el 4 mar. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Strauss
Clásica - Editado por UME - Global Clearing House el 11 jun. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Lieder
Aline Kutan, Louise-Andrée Baril
Clásica - Editado por Groupe Analekta, Inc. el 19 may. 2006
24-Bit 88.2 kHz - Stereo -
Arabella
Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra
Clásica - Editado por Challenge Classics el 5 sept. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Schubert: 10 Lieder - Strauss: Four Last Songs
Música vocal (profana y sacra) - Editado por RHI el 11 may. 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Welte Mignon Mystery, Vol. 3: Richard Strauss
Clásica - Editado por TACET Musikproduktion el 1 ene. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Richard Strauss dirigiert eigene Tondichtungen
Sinfonías - Editado por Preiser Records el 25 ago. 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra/Elektra/Salome
Strauss, Richard / Reiner, FRITZ, Richard Strauss, Fritz Reiner
Clásica - Editado por Zyx - Classic el 1 ago. 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss, Fauré, Debussy, Poulenc, Wolf & Berg
Christiane Karg, Malcolm Martineau
Música de cámara - Editado por Wigmore Hall Live el 24 sept. 2013
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Strauss: Don Juan, Lieder, & Macbeth
Clásica - Editado por Halle Concerts Society el 7 feb. 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
R. Strauss, Pfitzner & Others: Works (Live)
Berliner Philharmoniker, Peters Anders, Staatskapelle Berlin, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Richard Strauss
Clásica - Editado por Andromeda el 5 nov. 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo