Music

Richard Strauss

1864–1949 · German

Late Romantic

Richard Strauss was the leading German composer of the late Romantic era, first famous for his vividly pictorial tone poems and then for his operas, several written with the librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal. His career stretched from the 1880s to the Four Last Songs of 1948. He was no relation of the Viennese waltz family.

How to spot them

▸Huge, virtuosic orchestras, brilliant horn writing and richly chromatic, soaring harmony
▸Programmatic tone poems that tell stories — pranks, heroes, seducers, philosophy
▸Clue patterns: 2001: A Space Odyssey's sunrise, Hofmannsthal, Oscar Wilde's Salome, the Dance of the Seven Veils

Key works — listen

Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 (1896)

Tone poem after Nietzsche; its opening 'Sunrise' fanfare was used in Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey

Recording: Kevin MacLeod · CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Don Juan, Op. 20 (1888)

Surging tone poem about the legendary seducer; his breakthrough

Recording: hr-Sinfonieorchester · CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op. 28 (1894–1895)

Mischievous tone poem about a folk trickster, introduced by a famous horn theme

Recording: Richard Strauss · Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Salome, Op. 54 (1905)

Scandalous one-act opera after Oscar Wilde, with the Dance of the Seven Veils

Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59 (1911)

Bittersweet comedy set in 18th-century Vienna, full of waltzes; libretto by Hofmannsthal

Four Last Songs (1948)

Valedictory songs for soprano and orchestra, premiered after his death in 1950

Quick-fire facts

•He was born in Munich; his father Franz Strauss was principal horn player in the Munich court orchestra.
•He is not related to the Viennese Strauss family of Johann Strauss II.
•Salome, Elektra and Der Rosenkavalier all premiered in Dresden.
•His long collaboration with the librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal began with Elektra (1909).
•He served as president of the Nazi Reichsmusikkammer from 1933 until he was forced out in 1935.
•The Four Last Songs were first performed in London in 1950 by Kirsten Flagstad, conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler.
•He died at Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria in 1949.
•Ein Heldenleben ('A Hero's Life'), Op. 40, is an autobiographical tone poem.

Drill it — 9 cards

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Sources

Grove Music Online (Oxford Music Online) — Strauss, Richard
Encyclopaedia Britannica — Richard Strauss
Wikipedia — Richard Strauss