Richard Strauss - David Hurwitz

The life and music of Richard Strauss (1864-1949) span what was arguably the most turbulent period in human history
encompassing the Franco-Prussian War
the unification of Germany
and two world wars. He was one of the very last composers to have started his career in service to the old European aristocracy
but near the end of his life
the continent lay in shambles
and he faced financial ruin even as he remained Germany's greatest living composer.Virtually from the day they were written
Strauss's tone poems from the late nineteenth century
works such as Don Juan
Till Eulenspiegel
Also Sprach Zarathustra
and Death and Transfiguration
have been repertory standards. So have the operas Salome
Elektra
and Der Rosenkavalier. And yet a tremendous quantity of very good music
both early and late
has only recently come to the attention of musicians and music lovers alike.This
owner's manual
accompanied by a full-length CD
surveys all the major works with orchestra: symphonies
concertos
tone poems
operas
ballets
suites
and songs. Many of them will be new even to listeners familiar with the popular pieces
part of a vast legacy of immaculately crafted
beautiful music that deserves to be rediscovered and treasured.