Richard Strauss

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Richard Georg Strauss (b. Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria, 11 Jun. 1864 - Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, 8 Sep. 1949) was a German composer and conductor.

Works

He is known for the orchestral tone poems that fill his early years, a number of operas, many of which are still regularly performed, and lieder (songs).

Frequently heard tone poems include:

  • Don Juan (1889)
  • Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration) (1888–89)
  • Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche (Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks) (1895)
  • Also sprach Zarathustra (1896) Its introduction was used in the opening scene of "2001, a Space Odyssey"
  • Don Quixote (1898) (For cello and orchestra)
  • Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life)(1899)
  • Symphonia Domestica (Domestic Symphony), Op. 53 (1904)
  • Eine Alpensinfonie (An Alpine Symphony), (1915) (His largest orchestral work - a musical interpretation of a day-trip up a mountain, beginning with a superb dawn).

His operas (many of which are famous vehicles for the female voice) include:

  • Salome (1905) (from the play by Oscar Wilde)
  • Elektra (1909)
  • Der Rosenkavalier, (The Knight of the Rose) (1910) (The closest he came to writing a "Viennese" style opera like his (unrelated) namesakes - waltz and all)
  • Ariadne auf Naxos, (1912)
  • Die Frau ohne Schatten, (The Woman without a Shadow) (1918)
  • Intermezzo (1923)
  • Arabella (1932)
  • Capriccio (1941)

He wrote more than 200 songs, many with orchestra and mostly for soprano, the most appreciated of which are:

  • "Morgan!" (Morning)
  • "Zueignung" (Dedication)
  • "Frühling", "September", "Beim Schlafengehen" and "Im Abendrot", which make up "Vier letzte Lieder", or "Four Last Songs".

Other works: He wrote two horn concertos (his father was a horn player) and an oboe concerto, which are still in the repertoir. Other works are rarely heard.

See also

External links