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.
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Strauss & Schoenberg: Transfigured Night
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Richard Strauss: Historical Recordings, Volume 4
Viorica Ursuleac, Ludwig Weber, Georgine Von Milinkovic
Opera - Released by Classical Moments on Mar 25, 2015
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Strauss Conducts Strauss
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Strauss: Cello Sonata, Op. 6, TrV 115 – Honegger: Sonata for Cello & Piano, H 32 - Sonatina for Cello & Piano, H 42
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Strauss and Hindemith Horn Concertos
Concertos - Released by Regis Records on Aug 22, 2013
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Die agyptische Helena
Opera - Released by Opera d'Oro on Apr 8, 2003
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Songs of Richard Strauss, Live in Concert
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Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Arabesque Recordings on May 27, 2016
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Richard Strauss: Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life), Op. 40
Classical - Released by Everest Records on Jul 10, 1959
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Richard Strauss · Composer, Conductor, Pianist & Piano Accompanist
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R. Strauss: Music from Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Salome - Der Rosenkavalier
Richard Strauss, Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Tivoli Orchestra
Classical - Released by Infinity on Sep 2, 2021
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Richard Strauss Conducts
Classical - Released by Editions Audiovisuel Beulah on Oct 25, 2016
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Strauss - Don Quixote - Burleske
Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra
Classical - Released by Stradivari Classics on Apr 26, 2012
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Strauss: 6 Lieder, Op. 17: No. 2, Ständchen
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Works for Horn & Orchestra
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Olympic Hymn
Classical - Released by CD41 Recordings on May 31, 2011
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In Concert with the University of Illinois Symphonic Band - The Begian Years, Vol. VIII
The University of Illinois Symphonic Band
Classical - Released by Soundset Recordings on Jan 1, 2012
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Great Composers Playing their own works at the Piano
Richard Strauss, Igor Stravinsky, Ernst von Dohnányi
Classical - Released by G.O.P. on Oct 31, 2020
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Richard Strauss: Historical Recordings, Volume 3 (1928 - 1947)
Orchestra del Teatro della Scala di Milano
Classical - Released by Classical Moments on Mar 19, 2015
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Strauss: Don Quixote & Wagner: Tristan Und Isolde
Classical - Released by Urania on Nov 30, 1999
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Strauss: "Don Juan"
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Gerard Schwarz
Classical - Released by RLPO Live on Oct 1, 2008
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Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier
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Opera - Released by Opera d'Oro on Jan 1, 1992
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