Ein Heldenleben

Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life), Op. 40 is a tone poem by Richard Strauss.

Unlike most composers, and true to the program music style of his day, rather than write a literary memoir of himself Strauss wrote a musical autobiography. It contains more than thirty quotations from Strauss's earlier works. But it is much more than just a recitation of Strauss's Greatest Hits. The work requires a huge orchestra, and in modern times has become a test for an orchestra to display its maturity and skill.

Background

Strauss conceived the plan to write a heroic work in the mould of Beethoven's Eroica Symphony without a funeral march.

Structure

The work is a tone poem in five parts with an introduction, or main theme, "The Hero."

• Introduction: "Der Held" (The Hero)
• "Des Helden Widersacher" (The Hero's Adversaries)
• "Des Helden Gefährtin" (The Hero's Companion)
• "Des Helden Walstatt" (The Hero at Battle)
• "Des Helden Friedenswerke" (The Hero's Works of Peace)
• "Des Helden Weltflucht und Vollendung" (The Hero's Retirement from this World and Completion)

The orchestration includes eight French horns and five trumpets in the 18-member brass section.

The Hero

The Hero is a musical portrait of how Strauss saw himself.

The Hero's Adversaries

The Hero's Adversaries are musical depictions of how Strauss viewed other composers of his day, namely Mahler and Sibelius, and various music critics. It begins with "spiky" woodwinds which seem to mimic Sibelius. The anti-Strauss Viennese music critic Doktor Dehring is outlined in a recurring leitmotif by two tubas which seem simultaneously ominous and brain-dead. In doing so, Strauss emulates Richard Wagner, who responded to the persistent music critic Edward Hanslick by writing in the villainous character Beckmesser in Die Meistersinger. Together, the woodwinds and brass make a chorus of mean-spirited sniping. Strauss enters on bassoons, bass clarinet, contrabassoon, horns, and low strings, surveying his enemies. Squabbling continues, until Strauss declares a brief victory and wife enters on solo First violin.

The Hero's Companion

Is a romantic duet between the Hero's theme and Strauss's wife, Pauline, portrayed by solo First violin. Pauline was a well known character in her own right.

The Hero at Battle

The battle scene is a contest between Strauss and his adversaries, where he defeats them one by one.

The Hero's Works of Peace

Contains numerous quotations from earlier successful Strauss pieces, some written for piano and here orchestrated for the first time.

External link

• Piano transcription (Introduction only)