Strauss, Richard - listen online, download, sheet music. Richard Strauss short biography and interesting facts Richard Strauss biography in German

The surname Strauss, common in the German-speaking world, became famous especially in music. There were several musicians with this name, but two composers became the most famous. The first of them is known to everyone in the world, because he wrote waltzes that are not outdated to this day. His name was Johann Strauss Jr. The second, Richard Strauss, is not known to everyone. He wrote music that was not so popular, and sometimes even “for gourmets” from art. And although his admirers are fewer, they all passionately love this unique, bright artist. However, the motive that begins the TV show “What? Where? When?” is familiar to many. It belongs to Richard Strauss and is the beginning of his symphonic poem Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

The two Strauss were very different from each other not only in their musical style, but also in their lifestyle. They were united by one circumstance: the Nazis were interested in both...

Life story Johann Strauss(1825-99) is similar to pulp fiction: events change without getting stuck on one page for long, feelings change, waltzes flow as if from a cornucopia. But, of course, everything is not so simple.

The composer's father was also named Johann (1804-49). To avoid confusion, people still talk about “Johann Strauss the father” and “Johann Strauss the son.” To complicate matters, the Strauss father and son were both composers. But first, let's deal with the father.

It was he who glorified the waltz genre and was one of its creators in the form in which it sounds today. My father’s path to recognition as a composer was very difficult, coming from practically nothing, from poverty and amateurism. Incredible determination, the desire to become the first waltz composer of Austria at any cost made Johann the elder selfish and selfish, and his wife, who gave birth to a child a year, deeply unhappy. For ten years, the family was forced to change apartments every year, and in each new one another little Strauss was born. It goes without saying that the father did not take any part in raising his children and did not want to delve into any family or everyday problems. Things were much worse. He found in the same house, only in a different apartment, a young woman with whom he began such a stormy affair that it resulted in seven (!) children, born almost simultaneously with his “legitimate” ones. At the same time, the father not only did not hide from public opinion, but also did all this with a certain defiance, completely humiliating his poor wife with contempt. This is the environment in which Johann Jr. grew up. And with him, hatred grew in his childish soul...

One day the young man swore an oath to take revenge on his father. No, not with a dagger or a pistol. He decided to study music in secret from his father (who forbade it!). The boy dreamed of becoming a famous composer, writing waltzes better than his parent; and then his dreams painted him a picture of how his father was fired from the imperial court orchestra, and he was appointed to this place - Johann the Younger... Either the resentment towards his father was so great, or the talent of young Johann blossomed so rapidly, but after a few years he really became famous as a conductor and composer. All of Vienna was talking about the fact that his son had replaced Strauss Sr. However, it was not so easy to move him from his place. In addition, the imperial court was very disapproving of the young composer’s attempts to encroach on his father’s career, seeing this as a violation of moral principles. One way or another, while his father was alive, Johann Jr. did not have access to the main orchestras of Vienna. And when he suddenly died, the authorities did not immediately allow the nimble young man to join the court orchestra.

Strauss was helped by the Russian government. By order of the railway administration, he was invited to the city of Pavlovsk, near St. Petersburg, where for several seasons he was supposed to work as a conductor and composer for a wonderful, truly royal fee. This place immediately changed everything in his life: it improved his financial situation, brought him fame, inspired him to create beautiful waltzes, and also allowed him to experience one of the most captivating novels. The girl the composer fell in love with was the aristocrat Olga Smirnitskaya. She belonged to the highest St. Petersburg society. The details of this love remained, of course, between them. In our cinema there is a fantasy on this topic - the film "Farewell to St. Petersburg." It is a well-known fact that the girl’s parents could not allow her to marry a rootless musician. And Strauss’s waltz dedicated to Olga is also known - “The Merry One”. Waltz "Olga" has nothing to do with the love story and is dedicated to one of the members of the royal family.

Strauss also called his brothers here, to Russia, from whom he certainly wanted to make composers and conductors - Eduard and Joseph. He really succeeded: the brothers became composers, but much inferior in talent to their noble brother.

They say that Strauss had fourteen brides. Vienna talked about his adventures, apparently considering it natural: after all, he was the son of his father. However, no matter how many novels the Viennese chatterboxes counted, Johann married suddenly and to such an odious woman that the city was shocked. Former actress Yetty Trefz was seven years older than him. Before meeting Strauss, she lived with one or another landlord, as a result of which she had seven children. When she met Johann, she decided to radically change her life, devoting herself entirely to the genius. She somehow distributed the children among her lovers and married the composer. She became his real mother, his protector, his impresario, his nanny. Their entire family life was built only on the basis of the desires and whims of “Jean,” as Yetty called him. Using the fees, they built a house according to her plan and under strict supervision, taking into account the life schedule of “Jean”. Strauss had a habit of writing waltzes, moving from room to room, so Yetty ordered desks to be placed everywhere, even in the kitchen. When they attended receptions and dinners, she struck up conversations with the “right” people, obtaining new orders for “Jean.” He became her eighth, beloved child.

All this went on for sixteen years. During this time, Strauss's fame grew so much that he truly became Vienna's first waltz composer, and his music the breath of the Prater. In 1878, Yetty received a letter from one of her abandoned sons. The contents of the letter remain unknown. Just after reading it, Yetty turned very pale and died.

It is difficult to describe in words the state of Strauss after her death. He lost not only his wife, but also his life support. But what was the amazement of those around him when, after such suffering, just a month later, Johann got married! His chosen one was again an actress, only no longer a former one, but a very real one - young, vain and... The aging composer literally burned with passion for her, not noticing the shortcomings of his Angelica, and most importantly, not seeing what was already being talked about around her him. But one fine day, when Angelica was not at home, his sister Anna came to visit him. In simple, unassuming terms, as was customary between brother and sister, she told about where and with whom the lovely Angelica spent her days, and often her nights. Strauss was beside himself with humiliation, anger and confusion. He's so not used to being alone.

His loneliness did not last long. This time, Strauss, flying through life like a light feather, fell into the caring hands of a young widow whose last name was also Strauss. It turned out that she had been waiting for such a moment for a long time in order to repeat the role of Yetty Trefz for the composer - the role of a devoted dog, and considered herself quite suitable for such a life. They got married and lived together until the end of the composer's days. Strauss died in 1899 from pneumonia. All of Vienna buried him. His dream, which he had cherished since childhood, burning with hatred for his own father, came true: it was he, and not his father, who became the Waltz King. His name merged with the name and appearance of the city on the “beautiful blue Danube”.

During his hectic life, Strauss created a huge number of works: 168 waltzes, 117 polkas, 73 quadrilles, 43 marches, 31 mazurkas, 16 operettas, comic opera and ballet. Despite the fact that almost all this music was composed to be danced to, it has long been turned into a symbol of celebration and love. The popularity of Straussian melodies is such that it easily crosses borders, through time and styles, maintaining youth, although without claiming philosophical scope.

In 1938, Austria became part of the "Greater German Reich". The authorities began reviewing many archives and documents for the purity of Aryan blood. One of the Viennese church parishes also underwent this procedure. Imagine the bewilderment of the representatives of this government when they found documents there, where it was written in black and white that the ancestors of Johann Strauss were... Jews who fled to Austria from Hungary! This meant that the composer himself was... (you understand). The representatives rushed about. The music of Mendelssohn and Offenbach was already banned on the territory of the Reich, but what to do in this case? After long meetings and reports, the original document was safely hidden in the most secret archive, and in its place was a copy, where everything was “clean” in Strauss’s pedigree. Only such a way out of the situation seemed real to the Nazis. It turned out to be possible to ban a lot, a lot. Strauss's waltzes are impossible.

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) in character was the complete opposite of his older contemporary. A wonderful family man who lived his whole life with one woman, devoted to his children and grandchildren, he fell victim to this devotion. In his work, he was as pedantic and strictly organized as in life, he was a German to the core.

He was born in Munich, his father was the first horn player of the court orchestra, who deeply despised Wagner, who was then in fashion. The father tried to instill this hostility in his son. It is curious that in the future Strauss considered Wagner “a peak above which no one can rise. However,” he added with a wide Bavarian smile, “I walked around this mountain.”

Young Strauss studied at the University of Munich, taking courses in philosophy, art history and aesthetics. Having met the outstanding conductor Hans von Bülow (Liszt's first son-in-law), Richard began conducting, and this activity became an integral part of his life until the end of his days. Bülow helped Strauss become court bandmaster in Meiningen. He then moved to the Munich Court Opera and worked there. But there was something the young musician didn’t like about his native Bavaria, which he irritably called a “dreary beer swamp.” Therefore, leaving everything behind, he went to travel around Greece and Egypt. This really had a beneficial effect on his soul, which cannot be said about his physical health: after the trip, Strauss fell ill with pneumonia. Soon the composer married Paulina de Ana. She was a soprano singer and performer of his first compositions. Richard continued to work at the Munich Opera, but not for long - the “beer swamp” weighed on him. And in 1898, Strauss moved to Berlin.

There he was absorbed not only in his conducting and composing activities, but also in his social activities. Strauss became the organizer of the Association of German Composers and chairman of the Public German Musical Union. Then he became interested in teaching and began teaching a master class at the Prussian Academy of Arts, and then moved to Vienna. Strauss conducted at the Vienna State Opera from 1919-24.

Strauss gained worldwide fame after the production of his opera "Salome". Using the fee received for this opera, the composer built himself a house in Garmisch, a mountainous region of Bavaria. This house became his refuge for the rest of his life.

When the Nazis came to power, dark days came for German culture, but it was even more difficult for its representatives. Many writers and musicians emigrated. Strauss not only stayed at home, but also began to cooperate with them. He met with Hitler, Goering and Goebbels on several occasions. Strauss was declared president of the Nazi Imperial Academy of Music. The reason for all this lay not so much in the composer’s beliefs as in family circumstances: his daughter-in-law was Jewish. Strauss loved his grandchildren endlessly and was very afraid that they would be kicked out of school. In addition, he worked side by side with Stefan Zweig, and he was also a Jew, just as Strauss’s publisher was a Jew. All this turned out to be such explosive circumstances that the composer was forced to obediently and obligingly conduct where the new gentlemen indicated, compose music for the Olympic Games, and orchestrate military marches. And for some reason I can’t bring myself to condemn him for this.

However, “the music didn’t play for long.” Soon after the production of the opera The Silent Woman, which Strauss wrote in collaboration with Stefan Zweig, the composer decided to begin a new work with the same cast. To this end, he wrote a letter to Zweig, in which, among other thoughts about the new opera, there were some careless statements addressed to the Nazi authorities. The letter was intercepted by the Gestapo. Strauss was summoned, interrogated and forced to resign. Of course, opera was banned.

While living in his Garmisch, Strauss traveled to conduct orchestras, but mainly composed music. A sober attitude towards himself as a composer is evident from his statement: “Long melodies never come to my mind, like Mozart. But what I understand is the ability to use a theme, paraphrase it, extract from it everything that is in it's laid down for her." Strauss was characterized by a fantastic mastery of the capabilities of a symphony orchestra. His symphonic poems "Till Eulenspiegel", "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", "Don Juan" and others literally intoxicate the listener, drawing him into the magical world of orchestral colors. There are a lot of visual effects, playful, quirky tunes, global, as if universal sounds and captivating lyrical melodies. Strauss's music is a carnival of symphonic discoveries.

For a long time, because of his collaboration with the Nazis, Strauss's music was persona non grata in our country. But it is clear to every more or less culturally developed person that one cannot approach art in a straightforward manner. After all, now that the crimes of Soviet communists are generally known, no one would think of banning the music of, for example, Prokofiev for writing a work based on texts by Marx, Engels and Lenin, or Shostakovich for his revolutionary symphonies. Moreover, Strauss did not write his main works for the Nazis.

The inner composure and organization of this artist is admirable. He approached composing music as a good craftsman approaches his work. Contemporaries recalled: “At nine o’clock in the morning he sits down at the table and continues work from the place where he left off yesterday, and so on without a break until twelve or one o’clock. After lunch he plays skat, and in the evening, under any circumstances, he conducts in the theater. Any unevenness is alien to him, day and night his artistic mind is equally alert and clear. When the servant knocks on the door to bring him a concert tailcoat, he puts aside his work, goes to the theater and conducts with the same confidence and with the same calmness as after dinner plays skat, and inspiration starts again the next morning in the same place where the work was interrupted." Remember his namesake, who composed waltzes while wandering from room to room!

Strauss has a brilliant joke: “Whoever wants to become a real musician must be able to compose music even for a menu.”

These were the two most famous Strauss in music. Very different, but both talented. It is impossible to imagine the history of musical culture without both.

Richard Strauss is a composer whose operas and musical poems captivated with emotional revelation. The expressionism (expression) of his works is an acute 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 into the family of court musician Frans Strauss. My father served in the opera as a horn player vaguely reminiscent of a spiral trumpet). It was he who was Richard's first music teacher. The classes brought genuine joy to both of them, which led to the fact that already at the age of 6 the boy could read music and an instrument. In addition, he composed his first opera on his own and did not stop writing until his death.

His father's science 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 works to be music of the lowest grade and forbids his son to even listen to them. Only after reaching adulthood did Richard begin a deep study of the score of Tristan and Isolde. In the meantime, he attends Court Orchestra rehearsals and receives lessons in orchestration and theory.

Composer's 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 was there that he met Max Schillings. The two young people become such close friends that Strauss easily convinces his friend to take up 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 opera “Mona Lisa”.

Richard Strauss himself goes to Berlin. There he receives the post of conductor and continues to write compositions in the conservative style of his father. His “Horn Concerto No. 1” is a case in point. After 1883, 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 path for the composer’s creativity. From this moment on, Strauss' light and bright style began to confidently develop.

Personal life

His happy marriage to Paulina Maria de Ane had a great influence on the fate and work of Richard Strauss. They met in 1887 in Munich. Paulina was just starting her solo career as an opera singer and took lessons from the composer. How his protégé followed him to Weimar. She made a brilliant debut in 1890, and in 1894 she performed the role in her teacher’s opera “Guntram”. The wedding of the newlyweds took place on September 10 in the city of Marquartstein.

Richter endured the wayward character of his young wife steadfastly, justifying it as a trait 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 his marriage that Richard Strauss created his best works. He wrote several songs for his wife, after the performance of which the singer’s popularity increased.

A happy life ended due to a ridiculous mistake. One day, a wife was given a note for her husband when he was touring Germany, from an unknown woman. The very 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 never dated anyone else.

Strauss's creativity

Composer Richard Strauss tried not to succumb to the “political storms” in the country, but like a true creator he absorbed the mood of his people. He lived for more than 80 years and lived through three different government regimes. The uniqueness of the composer lies in his amazing efficiency. He could write music always and everywhere, without experiencing creative stagnation or crises. His first work, Guntram, created in 1893, is a musical drama, classically structured for the first test on the viewer.

The composer's subsequent work 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 based on the impressions of the trip. At 21, the young composer visits a romantic country for a month and is so full of exciting emotions that he pours them out on music paper. The viewer has an ambiguous attitude towards the symphony, but they begin to talk about the composer and remember his name.

"Don Juan" (1889)

At the age of 25, Strauss reaches mature mastery 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 Thuille, 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 uncontrollable lover. The theme of swift violins thirsting for pleasure precedes the enchanting introduction, like fireworks. Bells and a harp talk about the very magic of love and tenderness for a woman. The low sounds of the warton and clarinet speak in a gentle whisper with the subtle sound of the violins. Bells combined with a trumpet fill the soul with endless joy. The climax of the piece is the tremolo of the violins, and the lover is again devastated and alone.

"Macbeth" (1888-1890)

After Don Giovanni, Richard Strauss wrote 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 refine the material. According to him, the idea is not bad, but it’s worth throwing out all the instrumental excesses. It is the overkill that prevents the viewer from understanding the author and hearing what he wanted to say.

But still, many find in it a mood close to their state of mind. Shakespeare's reflection, tragedy and the stamp of atrocity are accessible concepts of willpower. This is a work about careerism and the thirst for profit by people who will not stop even at 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 the change in the government system and reflects the fear of modern society of 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)

Strauss dedicated The Merry Pranks of Till Eulenspiegel to his friend Arthur Seidl. They studied at the same university in Munich and agreed on a love for Wagner's work. Seidl was at one time considered an expert on the work and biography of the composer, whom Richard imitated throughout his life. Subsequently, Arthur worked as an editor for central German newspapers and, with V. Klatte, wrote a book about his friend. “Characteristic Sketch” is the first biography and analysis of the musical activity of R. Strauss.

The poem made its debut in Cologne, it was performed by the Herzenich Orchestra, conducted by F. Wultern. The duration of the work is only 15 minutes, but critics consider it the pinnacle of the author’s talent. In his review, M. Kennedy calls it “the wittiest.” The play consists of 27 episodes, which unfold the work into the plot of the adventures of the legendary hero Ulenspiegel from birth to death.

"Thus Spake Zarathustra" (1896)

The composer's friend Arthur Seidl again took part in the creation of this poem. By the nature of his activities, 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, impressed by what he read, writes a magnificent symphonic poem. 9 fragments have titles from chapters of the book. The author himself conducts the first performance in Frankfurt.

Critics are delighted with a striking example of German romanticism, in which a certain “boringness” collaborates with rabid despotism. Music is often used in the modern world and cinematography. For example, in the intro of the program “What? Where? When?" and in the film "A Space Odyssey". Director S. Kubrick took fragments of the symphony “Thus Spake Zarathustra” (Strauss) to represent the unearthly development of the universe.

"Salome" (1905)

Richard's drama is based on the work of Oscar Wilde, which the writer wrote for the Premiere. It was marked by such a scandal in Berlin that this can be mistaken for the unprecedented success of the play. Eroticism and sensitivity, the emotional East, the immoral image of Salome in contrast with the purity of the Baptist - these are inspiring illustrations for such a composer as Richard Strauss. “Salome” took a year and a half to write. In the process of work, the character of the main character was rewritten. Instead of a flat and straight monster, overcome by animal desire, a fragile girl appeared, overcome by tragic passion.

In puritanical Germany, the opera received 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 answered Richard: “I am a decent woman!” But still, it was this singer M. Wittich who took upon herself the courage of the first performance.

"Alpine" (1915)

The Last Symphonic Poem 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 sheets of music were sent to light the fireplace. Only in 1914, after the opera “Woman without a Shadow”, the author again took up the development of this idea.

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

Composer's songs

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

“In the Evening Light” - the first song speaks of peace of mind, written to the poems of I. Eichendorff. Next come “Spring” and “Falling Asleep”. The final “September” is a stunning penetration of autumn mood and light rain. These works are based on poems by G. Hesse. All compositions are a unique combination of music and text. The atmosphere and style are so strong that critics, recognizing the songs as somewhat outdated even for 1948, still perceive them as the author’s strongest creation.

Author and conductor

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

Richard Strauss, the last romantic of his time, characterized his work with humor and simplicity:

“I may not be a first-class composer, but I am a first-class second-class composer!”

I want to bring joy and I need it myself.
R. Strauss

R. Strauss is one of the largest German composers at the turn of the 19th-20th centuries. Along with G. Mahler, he was also one of the best conductors of his time. Fame accompanied him from a young age until the end of his life. The bold innovation of the young Strauss provoked sharp attacks and discussions. In the 20-30s. XX century advocates of the latest trends declared the composer’s work outdated and old-fashioned. However, despite this, his best works have survived decades and retained their charm and value to this day.

A hereditary musician, Strauss was born and raised in an artistic environment. His father was a brilliant horn player and worked in the Munich Court Orchestra. Her mother, who came from a wealthy brewer's family, had good musical training. The future composer received his first music lessons from her when he was 4 years old. The family played a lot of music, so it is not surprising that the boy’s musical talent manifested itself early: at the age of 6, he composed several plays and tried to write an overture for an orchestra. At the same time as studying music at home, Richard took a high school course and studied art history and philosophy at the University of Munich. Munich conductor F. Mayer gave him lessons in harmony, analysis of forms, and orchestration. Participation in an amateur orchestra made it possible to practically master the instruments, and the first compositional experiments were immediately performed. Successful music studies showed that the young man did not need to enter the conservatory.

Strauss's early works were written within the framework of moderate romanticism, but the outstanding pianist and conductor G. Bülow, critic E. Hanslits, etc. I. Brahms saw in them the great talent of the young man.

On Bülow's recommendation, Strauss becomes his successor - the head of the court orchestra of the Duke of Saxe-Meidingen. But the boiling energy of the young musician was too tight within the province, and he left the town, moving to the position of third conductor at the Munich Court Opera. A trip to Italy left a vivid impression, reflected in the symphonic fantasy “From Italy” (1886), the rapid finale of which caused heated controversy. After 3 years, Strauss went to serve at the Weimar court theater and, simultaneously with the production of operas, wrote his symphonic poem “Don Juan” (1889), which brought him to a prominent place in world art. Bülow wrote: “Don Juan... was a completely unheard-of success.” The Straussian orchestra sparkled here for the first time with the power of Rubensian colors, and in the cheerful hero of the poem many recognized a self-portrait of the composer himself. In 1889-98. Strauss creates a number of vivid symphonic poems: “Till Eulenspiegel”, “Thus Spake Zarathustra”, “The Life of a Hero”, “Death and Enlightenment”, “Don Quixote”. They revealed the composer's enormous talent in a variety of ways: magnificent colors, sparkling sound of the orchestra, daring boldness of musical language. The creation of the “Home Symphony” (1903) ends the “symphonic” period of Strauss’s work.

From now on, the composer devotes himself to opera. His first experiments in this genre (“Guntram” and “Extinguished Fire”) bear traces of the influence of the great R. Wagner, for whose titanic work Strauss, in his words, had “boundless respect.”

By the beginning of the century, Strauss's fame spread throughout the world. His productions of operas by Mozart and Wagner are regarded as exemplary. As a symphonic conductor, Strauss tours in England, France, Belgium, Holland, Italy, and Spain. In 1896, his talent was appreciated in Moscow, where he visited concerts. In 1898, Strauss was invited to the position of conductor of the Berlin Court Opera. He plays a prominent role in musical life; organizes a association of German composers, is recruited as president of the General German Musical Union, and introduces a bill to the Reichstag on the protection of composers' copyrights. Here he met R. Rolland and G. Hofmannsthal, a talented Austrian poet and playwright, with whom he collaborated for about 30 years.

In 1903-08. Strauss creates the operas “Salome” (based on the drama by O. Wilde) and “Electra” (based on the tragedy by G. Hofmannsthal). In them the composer is completely freed from the influence of Wagner.

Biblical and ancient subjects, when interpreted by prominent representatives of European decadence, acquire a luxurious and alarming flavor, depicting the tragedy of the decline of ancient civilizations. Strauss's bold musical language, especially in Electra, where the composer, in his own words, “reached the extreme limits ... of the ability to perceive modern ears,” aroused opposition from performers and critics. But soon both operas began their triumphant march across the stages of Europe.

In 1910, a turning point occurred in the composer’s work. In the midst of his hectic conducting activity, he created the most popular of his operas, “Der Rosenkavalier”. The influence of Viennese culture, performances in Vienna, friendship with Viennese writers, long-standing sympathy for the music of his namesake Johann Strauss - all this could not help but be reflected in the music. A waltz opera inspired by the romance of Vienna, in which funny adventures, comic intrigues with disguises, and touching relationships between lyrical characters are intertwined, Der Rosenkavalier was a brilliant success at its premiere in Dresden (1911) and soon quickly conquered the stages of many countries, becoming one of the most popular operas of the 20th century. V.

Strauss's epicurean talent flourishes with unprecedented breadth. Inspired by a long-standing trip to Greece, he writes the opera “Ariadne auf Naxos” (1912). In it, as in the subsequently created operas “Elena of Egypt” (1927), “Daphne” (1940) and “The Love of Danae” (1940), the composer from the perspective of a musician of the 20th century. paid tribute to the images of ancient Greece, the bright harmony of which was so close to his soul.

The First World War caused a wave of chauvinism in Germany. In this environment, Strauss managed to maintain independence of judgment, courage and clarity of thought. Rolland's anti-war sentiments were close to the composer, and friends who found themselves in warring countries did not change their affection. The composer found salvation, by his own admission, in “diligent work.” In 1915, he completed the colorful “Alpine Symphony”, and in 1919, his new opera based on Hofmannsthal’s libretto “Woman without a Shadow” was staged in Vienna.

In the same year, Strauss became the director of one of the best opera houses in the world, the Vienna Opera, for 5 years, and is one of the leaders of the Salzburg festivals. On the occasion of the composer’s 60th anniversary, festivals dedicated to his work were held in Vienna, Berlin, Munich, Dresden and other cities.

Strauss' creative activity is amazing. He creates vocal cycles based on poems by J. V. Goethe, W. Shakespeare, C. Brentano, G. Heine, the “merry Viennese ballet” “Schlagober” (“Whipped Cream”, 1921), “a burgher comedy with symphonic interludes” opera “ Intermezzo" (1924), the lyrical musical comedy from Viennese life "Arabella" (1933), the comic opera "The Silent Woman" (based on the story by B. Johnson, in collaboration with S. Zweig).

With Hitler coming to power, the Nazis first sought to recruit prominent figures of German culture into their service. Without asking the composer's consent, Goebbels appointed him head of the Imperial Music Chamber. Strauss, who did not foresee all the consequences of this step, accepted the post, hoping to resist evil and contribute to the preservation of German culture. But the Nazis, without ceremony with the most authoritative composer, prescribed their own rules: they banned travel to Salzburg, where German emigrants came, persecuted the librettist Strauss S. Zweig for his “non-Aryan” origin and, in connection with this, banned the performance of the opera “The Silent Woman”. The composer could not contain his indignation in a letter to a friend. The letter was opened by the Gestapo and as a result Strauss was asked to resign. However, observing the activities of the Nazis with disgust, Strauss could not give up creativity. Unable to collaborate with Zweig anymore, he is looking for a new librettist, with whom he creates the operas Day of Peace (1936), Daphne, and The Love of Danae. Strauss's last opera Capriccio (1941) once again delights with its inexhaustible power and brightness of inspiration.

During the Second World War, when the country was covered in ruins, theaters in Munich, Dresden, and Vienna collapsed under bombing, Strauss continued to work. He writes a mournful piece for strings, “Metamorphoses” (1943), romances, one of which is dedicated to the 80th birthday of G. Hauptmann, and orchestral suites. After the end of the war, Strauss lived in Switzerland for several years, and on the eve of his 85th birthday he returned to Garmisch.

Strauss's creative heritage is extensive and diverse: operas, ballets, symphonic poems, music for dramatic performances, choral works, romances. The composer was inspired by a wide variety of literary sources: F. Nietzsche and J. B. Moliere, M. Cervantes and O. Wilde. B. Johnson and G. Hofmannsthal, I. W. Goethe and N. Lenau.

The formation of Strauss's style was influenced by the German musical romanticism of R. Schumann, F. Mendelssohn, J. Brahms, R. Wagner. The bright originality of his music first appeared in the symphonic poem “Don Juan”, which opened a whole gallery of program works. In them, Strauss developed the principles of program symphonism by G. Berlioz and F. Liszt, saying a new word in this area.

The composer gave high examples of the synthesis of a detailed poetic concept with a masterfully thought-out and deeply individualized musical form. “Program music rises to the level of artistry when its creator is primarily a musician with inspiration and skill.” Strauss's operas are among the most popular and frequently performed works of the 20th century. Bright theatricality, entertaining (and sometimes even somewhat confusing) intrigue, winning vocal parts, colorful, masterfully constructed orchestral score - all this attracts performers and listeners to them. Having deeply assimilated the highest achievements in the field of the operatic genre (primarily Wagner), Strauss created original examples of both tragic (Salome, Electra) and comic opera (Der Rosenkavalier, Arabella). Avoiding a stereotypical approach in the field of operatic dramaturgy and possessing enormous creative imagination, the composer creates operas that bizarrely, but quite organically combine comedy and lyricism, irony and drama. Sometimes Strauss, as if jokingly, effectively fuses different time layers, creating dramatic and musical confusion (“Ariadne auf Naxos”).

Strauss's literary heritage is significant. The greatest master of the orchestra, he revised and expanded Berlioz's Treatise on Instrumentation. His autobiographical book “Reflections and Memoirs” is interesting; there is extensive correspondence with his parents, R. Rolland, G. Bülow, G. Hofmannsthal, S. Zweig.

Strauss's performing career as an opera and symphony conductor spans 65 years. He performed in concert halls in Europe and America, and staged opera performances in theaters in Austria and Germany. In terms of the scale of his talent, he was compared with such luminaries of conducting art as F. Weingartner and F. Motl.

Assessing Strauss as a creative personality, his friend R. Rolland wrote: “His will is heroic, conquering, passionate and powerful to the point of greatness. This is why Richard Strauss is great, this is why he is unique at the present time. He feels the power that dominates people. It is these heroic aspects that make him a successor to some part of the thoughts of Beethoven and Wagner. These are the aspects that make him one of the poets, perhaps the greatest of modern Germany...”

, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria) is a German composer.

1. Biography

Strauss was the son of horn player Franz Strauss, who gave him his initial musical education. In 1882 he entered the University of Munich, where he studied history and philosophy, but a year later he dropped out and moved to Munich. In 1885 he became an assistant to Hans von Bülow, then the court conductor in Munich, and a year later he took his place in this position. Strauss's first compositions are close in style to Mendelssohn and R. Schumann.

In Munich, Strauss became interested in the work of R. Wagner, this was facilitated by his acquaintance with the violinist Alexandro Ritter, the husband of one of Wagner’s nieces. New interest gave rise to the symphonic poem "Don Juan", which is considered the first mature work of R. Strauss. The premiere of the poem in 1889 divided the public, but the author himself described his impressions as follows: “Now I console myself with the thought that I have taken the path that I would like to choose, I am fully aware that there was no artist whom people did not consider crazy.” In subsequent years he wrote a number of symphonic poems: Tod und Verklrung (Death and Liberation, 1888-89), Till Eulenspigels lustige Streiche (The Adventures of Till Eulenspiegel, 1894-95), Also sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra, 1896), Don Kichot (Don Quixote, 1897) i Ein Heldenleben (Life of a Hero, 1897-98).

photo from a postcard. R. Strauss at the age of 40, 1910

From 1901 to 09, Richard Strauss headed the All-German Musical Union. At this time he turned to the opera genre. The first two operas - Guthrie (1894) and "The Lights Went Out" (1901) were not successful, but the public received "Salome" (1905) warmly and ambiguously, just like Don Giovanni. The unconventional theme, as well as the sound full of dissonances and chromaticisms, provided the opera with great interest. In New York, due to public protests, the opera was canceled after the first performance. This opera was a success in other opera houses, which allowed Richard Strauss to build his house in Garmisch-Partenkirchen solely from the income from performances of this opera. Strauss's next opera was Elektra, in which Strauss makes even more intense use of dissonance. This opera begins Strauss's collaboration with the poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal. Their collaboration on other works was long and fruitful. However, in his subsequent operas Strauss was more careful in his use of harmonic language, so works such as Der Rosenkavalier (1910) became a great success with the public.