Richard Strauss (1864-1949)

Donald Macleod explores the life and music of the young Richard Strauss

During Richard Strauss’s lifetime the sound and form of music altered radically. He was born at the tail end of the 19th century and saw the emergence of twelve tone music and atonality from younger composers like Arnold Schoenberg and his pupil Alban Berg. Strauss belonged to a previous generation and his music came to be regarded as conservative in style, but at the start of his career, Strauss had been seen as something of a modernist, breaking the mould with his series of innovative orchestral tone poems, and with the dissonant soundworld of operas such as Salome and Elektra.

This week Donald Macleod follows the young Strauss’s pathway leading up to and including the tone poems, seeing how an immersion in music across his formative years influenced his ideas about orchestral writing, as well as opening up opportunities that helped him to establish a professional career as a conductor.

Featured music:

Oboe Concerto in D (3rd mvt: Allegro (excerpt)) Festmarsch in E flat major, Op 1 Horn Concerto No 2 in E flat major AV 132 (III: Rondo (Allegro molto) Symphony No 1 in D minor TrV 94 (II: Andante) Concerto for violin in D minor (I: Allegro) Concert Overture in C minor Op 80 TrV125 Suite in B flat major Op 4 (III: Gavotte. Allegro) Symphony No 2 in F (I: Allegro ma non troppo) Burlesque in D minor for piano and orchestra 8 Gedichte aus "Letzte Blätter", Op 10, TrV 141 (No. 3, Die Nacht) Aus Italien op 16 (1887) (I: Auf der Campagna) 5 piano pieces Op 3 (IV: Allegro) Serenade in E flat Op 7 for 13 wind instruments Piano Quartet in C minor Op 13 TrV 137 (IV: Finale Vivace) Tod und Verklärung, Op 24 TrV 158 Morgen! Op 27 Overture to Act 2, Guntram (excerpt) Prelude to Act 1, Guntram Also sprach Zarathustra, Op 30 , TrV 136 Gesang der Apollopriesterin Op 33 Ein Heldenleben, Op 40 (Ein Held) Freundliche Vision Op 48 No 1 Violin Sonata in E flat Op 18 (II: Improvisation – Andante cantabile) Ein Heldenleben Op 40 (excerpt) Der Abend, Op 34

Presented by Donald Macleod Produced by Johannah Smith for BBC Wales

For full track listings, including artist and recording details, and to listen to the pieces featured in full (for 30 days after broadcast) head to the series page for Richard Strauss (1864-1949) https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000spn0

And you can delve into the A-Z of all the composers we’ve featured on Composer of the Week here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3cjHdZlXwL7W41XGB77X3S0/composers-a-to-z