Richard Strauss

Lately, I was asked who my favorite composer was. My response was, "that's a cruel question." Naming your favorite composer is like naming your favorite star, or your favorite place to eat in western NC (if you're my friend Adrian). There are so many from which to choose and all of them offer something different. However, an answer was expected and the first legitimate answer was Richard Strauss. There is so much of his music that I have been listening to lately, and as I told one of my friends, I have never left a listening session of one of his works without being moved in someway.

What makes Strauss so different? It's hard for me to tell. He is in many ways just like his contemporaries who were also Wagnerians (as in, in the school of composing like Richard Wagner), like Wolf, early Shoenberg, Schreker, etc. But what sets him apart from these folks is his unique and touching way of creating a melody related to an elusive 19th century undergirding harmony. The phrases are masterfully created that only mature players/singers, or immature players/singers wishing to grow by leaps and bounds, can spin with ease. His heart was in so much of his music (as with most other composers), that it really shows through in his orchestration and choice of timbre. For instance, he had great admiration for his father who was a french horn player. Many of his pieces include some line that allows for the french horn to be exposed. His wife was a soprano and he wrote a vast repertory of song with his wife in mind. This isn't new for composers to do, however, much of his contributions to the world of music involve a level of harmonic and lyrical profundity that most composers can only aspire to.

What pieces should one listen to if one is not familiar with Strauss? Well, you could being with Also sprach Zarathustra, a tone poem that you might have heard in the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. Strauss composed five tone poems, including the aforementioned as well as Death and Transfiguration an earlier work which is closely related to a later work Four Last Songs for soprano. Four Last Songs incidentally is for soprano and includes increased sensitivity to the horn melodies, serving as a tribute to both his father and his wife. Start with these works and then listen to Jessye Norman sing some of his songs, and you will be feasting on the goodness that is Richard Strauss. Happy Listening!