Strauss Till Eulenspiegel
[keywordstowebsites]Strauss Till Eulenspiegel[/keywordstowebsites]
What was the reason for Richard Strauss' popularity?
I read somewhere that Richard Strauss was uncontested as the most popular composer in early Twentieth Century Germany.
I can't understand that. When I hear his music, I feel overburdened with the task of listening to fifteen different countermelodies at the same time. And the viola theme in Till Eulenspiegel is the only melody of his that I can even whistle.
If Wagner "is not for everyone," then why is Richard Strauss?
Were most early Twentieth Century Germans better-trained listeners than I am?
I think the reason you feel overburdened with all those musical lines is that you try to analyse all music too deeply. I have commented on this before. While I am perfectly capable of disecting a piece of music (although, I am glad to say, maybe not to Schenkerian depths), I try not to lose sight of the fact that music was composed to be listened to - not analysed.
While it is true that much of Strauss's music is thick in textures and counter-melodies, he weaves these elements together so skilfully that the listener doesn't really have to work too hard to appreciate the music as a whole. One doesn't need to chemically separate all the subtle ingredients of a highly-spiced and skillfully-seasoned meal to appreciate its wonderful flavour, after all.
In addition, I hold Strauss up to be one of the great lyrical melodists of all time (in common with Vivaldi, Mozart, Schubert and Prokofiev). Often these melodies are very simple, but treated to a lush, often quite advanced harmonic scheme which lends an extra dimension to their communicative power. Can you really deny the skill of the virtuosic compositional skills of 'Don Juan' and 'Till Eulenspiegel', or the ravishing beauty of the Sextet from 'Capriccio' or the 'Four Last Songs'?
Although not in my top 10 list of 'greatest' composers (whatever that means!), Strauss is certainly among the most skillful and 'clever' ones (clever in the way that means be really knew how to communicate his music to the listener).
Whats On My YouTube Today?
Furtwangler conducts R.Strauss Till Eulenspiegel Part I
Here Are A Few Items From Amazon You Might Be Interested In.
 Richard Strauss: Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche, Op.28/Ein List Price: Sale Price: $12.99 You save: $3.99 (23%)  Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days  |
 Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel; Don Juan [SACD] List Price: Sale Price: $8.98 You save: $13.00 (59%) Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days |
 Richard Strauss: An Alpine Symphony; Sinfonia Domestica; Till Eulenspiegel; Don Juan; Suite for Winds, Op. 4 List Price: Sale Price: $10.50 You save: $0.48 (4%) Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days |
 Richard Strauss Concert List Price: Sale Price: $7.16 You save: $10.82 (60%) Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days |
 Strauss: Til Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks/Don Juan/Death And Transfiguration List Price: Sale Price: $4.60 You save: $3.39 (42%) Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days |
 Richard Strauss: Don Juan; Till Eulenspiegel; Also sprach Zarathustra Sale Price: $2.99 Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days |
 Richard Strauss: 5 Great Tone Poems List Price: Sale Price: $10.31 You save: $7.67 (43%) Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days |
 Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra; Till Eulenspiegel; Tod und Verklärung List Price: Sale Price: $12.99 You save: $3.99 (23%) Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days |
 Strauss: Sinfonia Domestica/Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche/Festliches Praludium List Price: Sale Price: $2.99 You save: $15.99 (84%) Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days |
 Strauss,R:Till Eulenspiegel List Price: Sale Price: $4.84 You save: $6.66 (58%) Eligible for free shipping!Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days |
Items recently purchased on this site:
Thanks for visiting!
Tags: strauss till eulenspiegel's merry pranks, rehearsing, strauss till eulenspiegel recording