jmc's classics
On June 11 is the Birthday of Richard Strauss (1864-1949). He was a prolific composer. Today he is mainly remembered for his tome pome Also Spoke Zarathustra(Opus#30) or the opening lines which was used in the movie 2001 a Space Odyssey and has also been used in some commercials(I don't remember which ones) or at least by people who are not in to Classical Music. he wrote other tome poems, 17 operas, chamber music etc. My favorite work of his is His Violin concerto (Opus#8) written between 1881-82 when he was a teenager. Strauss' father Franz was a horn player and also a composer. Richard Strauss wrote two horn concertos one each at the beginning and end of his career respectively. Zarathustra is based on the writings of Frederick Neichze (1844-1900) who was a German Philosopher and writer.
I enjoy his Violin concerto which I am listening to right now. It was written in the romantic period but has influences of the Classical period. It is in the standard three movements: Allegro, Lento and Rondo. I especially like the second movement. It is dedicated to Beeno Walter who was one of Strauss' teachers. He premiered it on December 5, 1882 with Benno Walter playing the violin and Strauss playing a piano reduction. It did not premier with orchestra for four more years. It is not as popular as other violin concertos such as the ones by Beethoven, Brahms and Tchaikovsky etc. There are only about a dozen or so recordings available of it. The one I have is of the Staatskapelle Dresdenwhiht Rudolph Kempe conducting on the EMI label. It is in a three disc set with Also Spoke Zarathustra, Symphonie Domestica (Opus#53) and various other works. I would recommend this album. As of now it is the only thing that I have purchased from Amazon.com. I purchased it 20 years ago when Amazon was getting big. I am not a fan of Amazon. He wrote two early symphonies. Symphony in D and Symphony in F (Opus#12) There is only one version of the Symphony in D available. I could find five versions of the Symphony in F. The version that I have is on the Chandos label with Nami Jarvi conducting the Royal Scottish National Orchestra. I likethis symphony it is from the same time period as the violin concerto. It is in four movements: Allegro ma non troppo, Scherzo:presto, andante Cantabile and allegro assai. I hope that these works of Strauss become more popular. Richard Strauss appeared on the cover of Time magazine twice. In 1927 and 1938
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