Post by erik on Feb 27, 2021 18:25:37 GMT -5
From the German legend who perfected the symphonic tone poem at the tail end of the Romantic era and the dawn of the Modern era comes the work in this week's Classical Works Spotlight, one considered a bit too intimate for some in its day.
Richard Strauss: SINFONIA DOMESTICA, OP. 53
Without too much in the way of modesty, but with plenty of self-deprecation, Richard Strauss once described himself as a first-rate composer of second-rate music. What he was describing was his penchant for composing in a peculiar form that Franz Liszt had originated earlier in the 19th century, but which Strauss took to the most logical extreme: the symphonic tone poem. He did so with orchestral forces that were often so large in number that they were a match for the things that had been accomplished by Richard Wagner in his Teutonic operas, and a match for the symphonies of Gustav Mahler. Such works as “Don Juan”, “Death And Transfiguration”, “Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks”, “Don Quixote”, and “Also Sprach Zarathustra” became hugely popular not only during Strauss’ lifetime, but well beyond that, though they were difficult to perform back then. None of his other tone poems, however, caused the listener more strain than his 1903 work “Sinfonia Domestica”, which, though its title might imply that it’s a symphony, is rather an extremely autobiographical tone poem, an intimate look at him and his family that was considered not only self-indulgent in some quarters, but even downright pornographic in others. It is in four movements: (1) The Husband’s Themes and the Wife’s Themes; (2) Scherzo (Parents’ Happiness and Childish Play); (3) Adagio (Doing And Thinking; Love Scene; Dreams And Cares); and (4) Finale (Awakening And Merry Dispute; Joyous Confusion). The work’s early 1904 premiere in Berlin would be followed some three months later by the composer giving it its American performance at Carnegie Hall; for the latter performance, no fewer than fifteen rehearsals were required for the then-new Wetzler Symphony Orchestra before Strauss was satisfied. Despite the work’s difficulties, both in terms of music and subject, the “Sinfonia Domestica” entered the repertoire with considerable force, a reputation gained as classical music recording accelerated during the first third of the 20th century.
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra/ZUBIN MEHTA (London)
Richard Strauss: SINFONIA DOMESTICA, OP. 53
Without too much in the way of modesty, but with plenty of self-deprecation, Richard Strauss once described himself as a first-rate composer of second-rate music. What he was describing was his penchant for composing in a peculiar form that Franz Liszt had originated earlier in the 19th century, but which Strauss took to the most logical extreme: the symphonic tone poem. He did so with orchestral forces that were often so large in number that they were a match for the things that had been accomplished by Richard Wagner in his Teutonic operas, and a match for the symphonies of Gustav Mahler. Such works as “Don Juan”, “Death And Transfiguration”, “Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks”, “Don Quixote”, and “Also Sprach Zarathustra” became hugely popular not only during Strauss’ lifetime, but well beyond that, though they were difficult to perform back then. None of his other tone poems, however, caused the listener more strain than his 1903 work “Sinfonia Domestica”, which, though its title might imply that it’s a symphony, is rather an extremely autobiographical tone poem, an intimate look at him and his family that was considered not only self-indulgent in some quarters, but even downright pornographic in others. It is in four movements: (1) The Husband’s Themes and the Wife’s Themes; (2) Scherzo (Parents’ Happiness and Childish Play); (3) Adagio (Doing And Thinking; Love Scene; Dreams And Cares); and (4) Finale (Awakening And Merry Dispute; Joyous Confusion). The work’s early 1904 premiere in Berlin would be followed some three months later by the composer giving it its American performance at Carnegie Hall; for the latter performance, no fewer than fifteen rehearsals were required for the then-new Wetzler Symphony Orchestra before Strauss was satisfied. Despite the work’s difficulties, both in terms of music and subject, the “Sinfonia Domestica” entered the repertoire with considerable force, a reputation gained as classical music recording accelerated during the first third of the 20th century.
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra/ZUBIN MEHTA (London)
