Richard Strauss was born in Munich on June 11th,
1864. His father, Franz Strauss, was the principal horn player of the Court
Opera in Munich and responsible for much of young Richard's musical training as
well as his endearing love for the horn. Of conservative tastes and suspicious
of Wagner's progressive trend, Franz had a strong influence over his son's
developing musical tastes. Consequently, Richard's early compositions owe much
to the style of Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn. In addition, to his
father's thorough musical instruction, Richard also received private lessons in
music theory and orchestration from the assistant conductor of the Court Opera.
Perhaps his most well-known and regarded work of this period is his First Horn
Concerto.
In 1882, Strauss entered Munich University, not to study
music, but instead Philosophy and Art History. However, after only a year he
left Munich for Berlin where he soon secured the post of assistant conductor to
Hans von Bülow, one of Germany's leading conductors at the time. Bülow, an
ardent supporter of Johannes Brahms, had been greatly impressed by Strauss's Serenade for wind instruments and was
likely drawn to Strauss's seemingly conservative musical style. A few years
later, in 1885, Bülow gave a performance of Strauss's Symphony in F minor, a
performance at which Brahms himself was in attendance. Following the
performance, Strauss was introduced to the elder composer who remarked, "Very
pretty, young man." Being the archetype for thematic unity, he also
constructively criticized what he called Strauss's "thematic irrelevancies,"
or, rather, piling up of unrelated themes. Strauss,
however, never heeded Brahms's advice but instead eventually was able to turn
it to his advantage.
The year of 1885 also proved to be a turning point in
Strauss's career. He met Alexander Ritter, a noted composer and violinist, who
was able to persuade Strauss to branch out into the tone poem—the prominent
formal vehicle of "progressive" composers such as Franz Liszt. With this also
came a change in Strauss's compositional style. His first tone poem, Don Juan, appeared in 1888 and is
regarded as the first display of Strauss's mature style. Virtuosic in its
treatment of the orchestra, Don Juan
was only the beginning. More ambitious tone poems followed soon after,
including, Tod und Verklärung ("Death
and Resurrection") in 1889, Till
Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche ("Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks") in
1895, Also sprach Zarathustra ("Thus
Spake Zarathustra") in 1896, Don Quixote in
1897 and Ein Heldenleben ("A Hero's
Life") in 1898.
In the final decade of the 19th century, Strauss
turned his creative energies towards opera. His first two attempts, Guntram in 1894 and Feuersnot in 1901, were both failures. However, success quickly
came with the production of Salome,
based on the play by Oscar Wilde, in 1905. The premiere was a remarkable
success, garnishing praise from audience and fellow composers alike. Elektra followed in 1908 and represents
Strauss's lavish use of dissonance. His most successful opera, Der Rosenkavalier, was premiered in
1911.
The rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in 1933 and the
advent of World War II began a turbulent time in Strauss's life. Strauss
expressed no interest in politics and never joined the Nazi party. Indeed, in
private, Strauss even expressed contempt towards the rising Third Reich.
However, Strauss's Jewish daughter-in-law and Jewish grandchildren forced him
into complying with Nazi demands. Despite their mutual dislike of each other,
Joseph Goebbels nevertheless appointed Strauss as president of the Reichmusikkammer, the State Music
Bureau. Goebbels saw Strauss merely as the means to an end which he would
discard when his usefulness had ended. Strauss, on the other hand, took
advantage of the position as a means of using his high-ranking authority to
protect his Jewish relatives. However, a letter to Stefan Zweig, a Jewish
librettist, written in 1935 in which Strauss ridiculed the Nazi's notion of
superiority was intercepted by the SS and delivered to Hitler. Strauss was
consequently dismissed as president of the Reichmusikkammer.
In 1938, just prior to the outbreak of war the following year, Strauss produced
a one-act opera title Friedenstag
(Peace Day). Set in a besieged fortress during the Thirty Years' War, the opera
was a thinly veiled criticism of the Nazi regime.
Perhaps a consequence of the horrifying events of World War
II, Strauss let loose a torrent of deeply felt emotions in the works of his
final years. Among these include his Second Horn Concerto from 1942, Metamorphosen for twenty-three solo strings
written in 1945, and his Four Last Songs
of 1948. His Oboe Concerto, composed in 1945, was actually written in response
to a request of an oboe player in the American army unit which apprehended
Strauss at his estate in Garmisch. The unit's commander, Lt. Milton Weiss, was
himself a musician and placed an "Off Limits" sign on the lawn to protect
Strauss.
Widely regarded as the greatest composer of the first half
of the 20th century, Richard Strauss died on September 8th,
1949 at the age of eighty-five in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
Richard Strauss
Biography
Richard Strauss was born in Munich on June 11th, 1864. His father, Franz Strauss, was the principal horn player of the Court Opera in Munich and responsible for much of young Richard's musical training as well as his endearing love for the horn. Of conservative tastes and suspicious of Wagner's progressive trend, Franz had a strong influence over his son's developing musical tastes. Consequently, Richard's early compositions owe much to the style of Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn. In addition, to his father's thorough musical instruction, Richard also received private lessons in music theory and orchestration from the assistant conductor of the Court Opera. Perhaps his most well-known and regarded work of this period is his First Horn Concerto.
In 1882, Strauss entered Munich University, not to study music, but instead Philosophy and Art History. However, after only a year he left Munich for Berlin where he soon secured the post of assistant conductor to Hans von Bülow, one of Germany's leading conductors at the time. Bülow, an ardent supporter of Johannes Brahms, had been greatly impressed by Strauss's Serenade for wind instruments and was likely drawn to Strauss's seemingly conservative musical style. A few years later, in 1885, Bülow gave a performance of Strauss's Symphony in F minor, a performance at which Brahms himself was in attendance. Following the performance, Strauss was introduced to the elder composer who remarked, "Very pretty, young man." Being the archetype for thematic unity, he also constructively criticized what he called Strauss's "thematic irrelevancies," or, rather, piling up of unrelated themes. Strauss, however, never heeded Brahms's advice but instead eventually was able to turn it to his advantage.
The year of 1885 also proved to be a turning point in Strauss's career. He met Alexander Ritter, a noted composer and violinist, who was able to persuade Strauss to branch out into the tone poem—the prominent formal vehicle of "progressive" composers such as Franz Liszt. With this also came a change in Strauss's compositional style. His first tone poem, Don Juan, appeared in 1888 and is regarded as the first display of Strauss's mature style. Virtuosic in its treatment of the orchestra, Don Juan was only the beginning. More ambitious tone poems followed soon after, including, Tod und Verklärung ("Death and Resurrection") in 1889, Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche ("Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks") in 1895, Also sprach Zarathustra ("Thus Spake Zarathustra") in 1896, Don Quixote in 1897 and Ein Heldenleben ("A Hero's Life") in 1898.
In the final decade of the 19th century, Strauss turned his creative energies towards opera. His first two attempts, Guntram in 1894 and Feuersnot in 1901, were both failures. However, success quickly came with the production of Salome, based on the play by Oscar Wilde, in 1905. The premiere was a remarkable success, garnishing praise from audience and fellow composers alike. Elektra followed in 1908 and represents Strauss's lavish use of dissonance. His most successful opera, Der Rosenkavalier, was premiered in 1911.
The rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in 1933 and the advent of World War II began a turbulent time in Strauss's life. Strauss expressed no interest in politics and never joined the Nazi party. Indeed, in private, Strauss even expressed contempt towards the rising Third Reich. However, Strauss's Jewish daughter-in-law and Jewish grandchildren forced him into complying with Nazi demands. Despite their mutual dislike of each other, Joseph Goebbels nevertheless appointed Strauss as president of the Reichmusikkammer, the State Music Bureau. Goebbels saw Strauss merely as the means to an end which he would discard when his usefulness had ended. Strauss, on the other hand, took advantage of the position as a means of using his high-ranking authority to protect his Jewish relatives. However, a letter to Stefan Zweig, a Jewish librettist, written in 1935 in which Strauss ridiculed the Nazi's notion of superiority was intercepted by the SS and delivered to Hitler. Strauss was consequently dismissed as president of the Reichmusikkammer. In 1938, just prior to the outbreak of war the following year, Strauss produced a one-act opera title Friedenstag (Peace Day). Set in a besieged fortress during the Thirty Years' War, the opera was a thinly veiled criticism of the Nazi regime.
Perhaps a consequence of the horrifying events of World War II, Strauss let loose a torrent of deeply felt emotions in the works of his final years. Among these include his Second Horn Concerto from 1942, Metamorphosen for twenty-three solo strings written in 1945, and his Four Last Songs of 1948. His Oboe Concerto, composed in 1945, was actually written in response to a request of an oboe player in the American army unit which apprehended Strauss at his estate in Garmisch. The unit's commander, Lt. Milton Weiss, was himself a musician and placed an "Off Limits" sign on the lawn to protect Strauss.
Widely regarded as the greatest composer of the first half of the 20th century, Richard Strauss died on September 8th, 1949 at the age of eighty-five in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.