German composer Richard Strauss: biography, creativity

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Richard Strauss is a composer whose operas and musical poems captivated with emotional revelation. Expressionism (expression) of his works is a sharp reaction to the society of that time.

Richard Strauss. Composer biography

Richard's homeland no longer exists. In 1864, Munich was a city of the independent Kingdom of Bavaria, then merged into the German lands. On June 11, a son was born in the family of the court musician Frans Strauss. My father served in the opera as a horn player (a wind instrument that vaguely resembles a spiral pipe). It was he who was Richard's first music teacher. Classes brought genuine joy to both, this led to the fact that already at the age of 6 the boy owned musical notation and an instrument. In addition, he independently composed the first opera and did not stop writing until his death.

The science of his father seemed too conservative to the young man, he was looking for another expression in music. In 1874, Richard Strauss first became acquainted with the work of Wagner, he was endlessly captivated by the style and mood of the operas. But the father sincerely considers these worksinferior music and forbids his son from even listening to them. Only after reaching adulthood, Richard begins a deep study of the score of "Tristan and Isolde". Meanwhile, he attends the rehearsals of the Court Orchestra and receives lessons in orchestration and theory.

Composer Style

Strauss's music is a search for his famous style, which took Richard several years. In 1882, he entered the Institute of Philosophy and History in Munich, but left his studies after a year. But it is there that he meets Max Schillings. The two young people become such close friends that Strauss easily convinces his friend to take his favorite profession seriously. Thanks to this, Germany receives a brilliant conductor and composer of theatrical productions, as well as a teacher and author of the Mona Lisa opera.

Richard Strauss himself goes to Berlin. There he received the post of conductor and continued to write compositions in the conservative style of his father. A case in point is his Horn Concerto No. 1. After 1883, the young Strauss met Alexander Ritter. A distant relative of Wagner convinces the young man that his true music cannot be someone else's repetition, that symphonic poems are the most correct way for the composer's work. From that moment on, Strauss's light and bright style is steadily becoming.

Private life

A great influence on the fate and work of Richard Strauss was his happy marriage to Paulina Maria de Ana. They met in 1887 in Munich. Paulina was just starting her solocareer as an opera singer and took lessons from a composer. As a protégé, she followed him to Weimar. She made her brilliant debut in 1890, and in 1894 she performed a role in her teacher's opera Guntram. The wedding of the young took place on September 10 in the city of Markvartstein.

The wayward character of his young wife Richter endured steadfastly, justifying it with the property of a talented personality. According to some of his statements, which have survived to this day, after violent quarrels with Paulina, he is visited by a particularly active Muse of inspiration. Indeed, it was during the period of marriage that Richard Strauss created his best works. For his wife, he wrote several songs, after the performance of which the singer's popularity increased.

The happy life of a couple in love ended due to a ridiculous mistake. One day, the wife was given a note for her husband, when he was touring Germany, from an unfamiliar woman. The next day, Paulina filed for divorce. Returning home, Richard tried to explain to the emotional actress that he was not to blame for anything, but she did not want to listen to him. Until the end of his days, the composer had romantic feelings for his ex-wife, wrote music for her more than once and did not meet with anyone else.

Creativity Strauss

Composer Richard Strauss tried not to succumb to the "political storms" in the country, but as a true creator he absorbed the mood of his people. He lived for more than 80 years and found three different government regimes. The uniqueness of the composer lies in his amazing ability to work. He could write music anytime and anywhere, without experiencing creative “stagnations” or crises. His first work, "Guntram", created in 1893, is a musical drama, built classically for the first test on the audience.

The further work of the composer has such a variety of genres that one gets the impression of the work of different authors. "From Italy" (1886, Richard Strauss) is a symphonic poem written from the impressions of a trip. At the age of 21, the young composer visits the romantic country for a month and is so full of exciting emotions that he spills them onto music paper. The viewer's attitude to the symphony is ambiguous, but they begin to talk about the composer and remember his name.

Don Juan (1889)

At 25 years old, Strauss reaches maturity and conquers the musical world with this powerful, vibrant poem. Here you can feel the influence of both the Italian sun and falling in love with your student de Ana. The poem is dedicated to Ludwig Tuille, with whom he studied in Munich. The premiere took place on November 11, went flawlessly and was a huge success.

"Don Juan" is a musical story about an unrestrained lover. The theme of impetuous violins, thirsty for pleasure, precedes in an enchanting introduction like fireworks. Bells and harp tell about the magic of love and tenderness for a woman. The low sounds of the warton and clarinet speak in gentle whispers with the subtle sound of violins. Bells in alliance with the trumpet fill the soul with boundless joy. The climax of the piece is the tremolo of the violins, and the lover is devastated and lonely again.

Macbeth (1888–1890)

After "Don Juan" RichardStrauss writes the opera Macbeth. This symphony did not make a big splash and is considered by critics to be oversaturated. The composer's father gives this work a sharp assessment and in his letters asks to finalize the material. According to him, the idea is not bad, but it is worth throwing out all the instrumental excesses. It is overkill that prevents the viewer from understanding the author and hearing what he wanted to say.

But still, many find in her a close mood to their state of mind. The reflection of Shakespeare, the tragedy and the seal of atrocity are the reachable concepts of the exertion of the will. This is a work about careerism and greed by people who will not stop even before a crime.

Death and Enlightenment (1888–1889)

This opera by Richard Strauss is a subtle perception of the laws of the world and human weakness. It was written at the turn of a change in government and reflects the fear of modern society before change and the uncertainty of the future. The idea of poverty and death in Richard's poem is striking in its intellectuality.

Compared to other works by the author, this symphony loses in strength, illustrativeness and pressure. But as a separate work it is a highly artistic and interesting opera. The whole point is the lack of spiritual consolation before the inevitable and terrible end for a person who highly values his existence.

Merry Pranks (1895)

"Till Ulenspiegel's Funny Tricks" Strauss dedicated to his friend Arthur Seidl. They studied at the same university in Munich and agreed on a love of Wagner's work. Seidl was once considered a specialist in work and biographycomposer, whom Richard imitated all his life. Subsequently, Arthur worked as an editor of central German newspapers and wrote a book with W. Klatte about his friend. "Characteristic Essay" is the first biography and analysis of the musical activity of R. Strauss.

The poem debuted in Cologne, it was performed by the Herzenich Orchestra, conducted by F. Vultern. The duration of the work is only 15 minutes, but critics consider this the pinnacle of the author's talent. In his review, M. Kennedy calls her "the most witty." The play consists of 27 episodes, which lay out the work on the plot of the adventures of the legendary hero Ulenspiegel from birth to death.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1896)

The composer's friend Arthur Seidl again took part in the creation of this poem. By the nature of his activity, from 1898 to 1999 he was an employee of the Nietzsche Archive. It was he who gave Richard the book of the famous thinker "Thus Spoke Zarathustra". Strauss, under the influence of what he read, writes a magnificent symphonic poem. 9 fragments have titles from the chapters of the book. The author himself conducts the first performance in Frankfurt.

Critics are delighted with a vivid example of German romanticism, in which a certain "boring" cooperates with frenzied despotism. Music is often used in the modern world and cinematography. For example, in the screensaver of the program “What? Where? When?" and in the movie A Space Odyssey. Director S. Kubrick took fragments of the symphony "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" (Strauss) to represent the unearthly development of the universe.

"Salome" (1905year)

Richard's drama is based on the work of Oscar Wilde, which the writer wrote for Sarah Bernhardt. The premiere was marked by such a scandal in Berlin that it can be mistaken for an unprecedented success of the play. Eroticism and sensitivity, the emotional East, the immoral image of Salome in contrast to the purity of the Baptist - this is an inspiring illustration for a composer like Richard Strauss. "Salome" was written for a year and a half. In the process of work, the character of the main character was rewritten. Instead of a flat and straight monster, seized with animal desire, a fragile girl appeared, who was seized by a tragic passion.

In Puritan Germany, the opera drew mixed reviews from critics. Even the singers refused to perform roles in the play, calling it immoral. The first actress who was offered the role of Salome angrily replied to Richard: "I am a decent woman!" But still, it was this singer M. Wittich who took the liberty of the first performance.

"Alpine" (1915)

The last symphonic poem by the German composer. Even in his early youth, Richard was excited by the idea of creating music that sounds like climbing mountains. Three times he began the work, but each time the sheet music was sent to kindle the fireplace. Only in 1914, after the opera "Woman Without a Shadow", the author again takes up the development of this idea.

The premiere took place on February 18 in Berlin, conducted by the author. "Alpine Symphony" is one of the most popular pieces of our time. This is program music, divided by meaning into 22 parts. Richard's last significant concert is considered to be this poem performed by the Bavarian State Orchestra in 1941.

Songs of the composer

During his life, the author wrote many songs for the soprano, which his beloved woman sang. In 1948, The Four Last Songs was created. At concerts, this work is sung at the end. Richard Strauss, whose songs were always filled with a thirst for life and positive, in his last composition wrote about fatigue and a premonition of death. Waiting for the end sounds calm, with the confidence of a person who has actively lived his life.

"In the evening light" - the first song speaks of peace of mind, written on the verses of I. Eichendorff. Next come "Spring" and "Falling Asleep". The final "September" is an amazing penetration of autumn mood and light rain. These works are based on G. Hesse's verses. All compositions are a unique combination of music and text. The atmosphere and style are so strong that critics, while recognizing the songs as somewhat outdated even for 48 years old, still perceive them as the author's strongest creation.

Author and conductor

In addition to the above symphonic operas, Richard wrote "Home Symphony" and "Don Quixote", "The Life of a Hero" and the suite "The Tradesman in the Nobility", as well as several other successful and not very works. In addition to composing, Strauss is the conductor of his own music and the work of other composers. His repertoire includes operas and symphonies by authors from the 18th-20th centuries.

Richard Strauss - the last romantic of his time - characterized his work with humor andsimplicity:

"I may not be a first-rate composer, but I am a first-class second-rate composer!".