Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was born on the 11th of June 1864 in Munich. His father Franz worked as a principal horn player at the Court Opera and taught at the Königliche Musikschule. The young boy began piano lessons with August Tombo by age four. He attended orchestra rehearsals shortly after that. By six years old he wrote his first composition. The family home frequently hosted music making sessions. Ludwig Thuille lived there as an adopted member of the household. Strauss studied violin under Benno Walter starting in 1872. Friedrich Wilhelm Meyer provided five years of compositional instruction beginning when Richard turned eleven. His early symphonic works drew heavily from Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn.
Alexander Ritter changed everything for the composer in 1885. Ritter served as a violinist in the Meiningen orchestra and married one of Richard Wagner's nieces. He convinced Strauss to abandon his conservative style immediately. The new direction embraced the music of the future through Wagner and Liszt. Strauss also studied writings by Arthur Schopenhauer during this period. Don Juan premiered in Weimar on the 11th of November 1889 to tremendous critical response. Death and Transfiguration followed in 1890. These works established him as a leading modernist composer internationally. The tone poem genre became his primary vehicle for expression. An Alpine Symphony completed between 1911 and 1915 represented the culmination of this orchestral revolution. No orchestra could exist without these pieces celebrating post-Wagnerian glories.
Elektra marked the first collaboration with poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal in 1909. Their partnership defined the greatest stage works of Strauss's career. Der Rosenkavalier premiered in 1911 and is generally considered his finest achievement. Ariadne auf Naxos arrived in 1912 before Die Frau ohne Schatten appeared in 1919. Die ägyptische Helena followed in 1928 and Arabella in 1933. Pauline de Ahna created the role of Freihild in Guntram at their wedding in September 1894. She remained a great source of inspiration throughout his life. All his operas contain important soprano roles reflecting his preference for the female voice. Salome premiered in Dresden in 1905 after being based on Oscar Wilde's play. Maurice Ravel called it stupendous while Gustav Mahler described it as a live volcano.
Strauss began conducting under Hans von Bülow in 1883 as an assistant to the Meiningen Court Orchestra. He served as principal conductor of the Bavarian State Opera from 1894 to 1898. His tenure at the Berlin State Opera lasted fifteen years starting in 1898. Vienna State Opera employed him as principal conductor between 1919 and 1924. He co-founded the Salzburg Festival with Max Reinhardt in 1920. International demand kept him constantly busy across Europe and the Americas. A concert of only his music by the Vienna Philharmonic occurred in 1901. Strauss Festivals dedicated to his work appeared in London and Heidelberg that same year. His recordings of Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks and Don Juan remain considered among the best early electrical performances.
Adolf Hitler rose to power in March 1933 when Strauss was sixty-eight years old. He accepted the presidency of the Reich Music Chamber despite never joining the Nazi Party. Goebbels nominated him without prior agreement in November 1933. Strauss hoped to prevent worse misfortunes if German musical life were reorganized by amateurs. He protected his Jewish daughter-in-law Alice and her children through these arrangements. The opera Die schweigsame Frau premiered in Dresden in 1935 with Stefan Zweig's name on billing. Hitler avoided attending while the regime banned it after three performances. Strauss wrote a letter to Zweig stating he recognized only two types of people: those with talent and those without. This correspondence reached Hitler and led to his dismissal from office in 1935.
Strauss completed Metamorphosen for twenty-three solo strings in 1945 during World War II. The piece expresses mourning over the destruction of German culture including bombed opera houses. American soldiers arrived at his Garmisch estate in April 1945. Lieutenant Milton Weiss asked him to compose an oboe concerto before year end. Four Last Songs appeared between May and September 1948 dealing with the subject of dying. Im Abendrot ends with the line Is this perhaps death. Strauss quoted the transfiguration theme from Death and Transfiguration to symbolize soul fulfillment. He conducted his final performance of Der Rosenkavalier on the 10th of June 1949 celebrating his eighty-fifth birthday. Kidney failure took his life shortly after 2 PM on the 8th of September 1949.
Béla Bartók heard Also sprach Zarathustra in 1902 and said it contained seeds for a new life. Arnold Schönberg and Anton Webern showed huge impacts from Strauss's work. John Adams and John Corigliano recognize debts to the composer today. Film music history credits Strauss with influencing Max Steiner and Erich Korngold. Stanley Kubrick used the opening of Also sprach Zarathustra in 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968. John Williams continued the influence in scores like Superman and Star Wars. Strauss consistently ranked in the top ten composers performed by US symphony orchestras between 2002 and 2010. His recordings remain definitive performances despite some criticism regarding tempo choices. The conductor Pierre Boulez called him a complete master of his trade.
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Common questions
When was Richard Strauss born and where did he grow up?
Richard Georg Strauss was born on the 11th of June 1864 in Munich. He began piano lessons at age four and attended orchestra rehearsals shortly after that.
Who influenced Richard Strauss to change his musical style in 1885?
Alexander Ritter changed everything for the composer in 1885 by convincing him to abandon his conservative style. This new direction embraced the music of Wagner and Liszt while incorporating writings from Arthur Schopenhauer.
Which operas did Richard Strauss create with poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal?
Elektra marked the first collaboration with poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal in 1909. Their partnership produced Der Rosenkavalier in 1911, Ariadne auf Naxos in 1912, Die Frau ohne Schatten in 1919, Die ägyptische Helena in 1928, and Arabella in 1933.
Why did Richard Strauss lose his position as president of the Reich Music Chamber in 1935?
Strauss wrote a letter to Stefan Zweig stating he recognized only two types of people: those with talent and those without. This correspondence reached Adolf Hitler and led to his dismissal from office in 1935.
When did Richard Strauss die and what were his final compositions?
Kidney failure took the life of Richard Strauss shortly after 2 PM on the 8th of September 1949. His final works included Metamorphosen completed in 1945 and Four Last Songs created between May and September 1948.
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28 references cited across the entry
- 2harvnbGilliam, Youmans (2001)Gilliam, Youmans — 2001
- 3harvnbBoyden (1999) p. {{Page needed|date=December 2013}}Boyden — 1999
- 7newsHerman Wetzler, Composer, 72, Dies30 May 1943
- 8bookRichard Strauss & Romain Rolland: CorrespondenceRichard Strauss et al. — Calder, London — 1968
- 9bookRichard StraussMichael Kennedy — Oxford University Press — 1995
- 10harvnbWilhelm (1989) p. 218-219Wilhelm — 1989
- 11bookBruno Walter: a World ElsewhereErik Ryding et al. — Yale University Press — 2001
- 12webAbout This RecordingDavid Gallagher
- 13journalReview of A Confidential Matter: The Letters of Richard Strauss and Stefan Zweig, 1931–1935Michael Kennedy — October 1978
- 15webFour Last Songs (Richard Strauss)Peter Shaw — Radio New Zealand — 9 November 2019
- 16journalSome Centenary ReflectionsNorman Del Mar — Cambridge University Press — Summer 1964
- 18harvnbKennedy (1999) p. 395Kennedy — 1999
- 21journalRichard Strauss's Salome and Oscar Wilde's French TextJames Morwood — January 2018
- 22magazineMusic: Intermezzo1927-01-24
- 23newsRichard Strauss: profound genius or gifted entertainer?Tom Service et al. — 17 January 2014
- 28harvnbWilhelm (1989) p. 298–299Wilhelm — 1989