RICHARD STRAUSS ( ARR . ASSAD ) “ Dance of the Seven Veils ” from Salome
ABOUT THE COMPOSER
Born 1864 in Munich , Germany ; died 1949 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen , Germany
• Strauss ’ father was a respected horn player , allowing the young Strauss to grow up around orchestras . Strauss studied piano , composition , and violin with colleagues of his father , and he wrote his first symphony when he was six years old .
• Strauss became well known during his life as a conductor . While he served as the conductor of the Bayreuth Festival , he released his first opera , which was met with a great deal of criticism .
• When Strauss was 68 , the Nazi party rose to power in Germany . Though Strauss was opposed to the Nazi party , he attempted to appease authorities , partially to protect his daughter-in-law and grandchildren who were Jewish . Strauss used his considerable influence to prevent his family from being sent to concentration camps .
• Strauss wrote that he considered anti-Jewish sentiments to be a disgrace to German honor . He continued to program the music of banned composers and work with Jewish librettist Stefan Zweig . The two worked on an opera together that was later banned , and his efforts to keep out of trouble with the Nazi party became untenable . A letter Strauss wrote to Zweig was intercepted by the Gestapo and sent to Hitler , resulting in dismissal from his positions .
• In his later years , Strauss was considered one of the leading late-Romantic composers and wrote some of his most famous works including Also sprach Zarathustra , Ein Heldenleben , and Till Eulenspiegel .
FUN FACT
THE WORLD AT A GLANCE
1905
MUSIC The Institute of Musical Art , predecessor of The Juilliard School , opens in New York City
LITERATURE Jules Verne , known as the “ Father of Science Fiction ,” passes away
Strauss was known for being an excellent player of Skat , a German card game .
ABOUT THE PIECE
• “ Dance of the Seven Veils ” is the most well-known excerpt of Strauss ’ opera Salome , written in 1905 . The opera ’ s libretto is a German translation of Oscar Wilde ’ s play by the same name , written in 1891 .
• The content of Salome , particularly the “ Dance of the Seven Veils ,” was seen as scandalous at the time . “ Dance of the Seven Veils ” depicts Salome slowly removing her seven veils before lying naked in front of the King and demanding the head of a prophet on a silver platter . The story is pulled from a biblical scene .
• Performances of the work were initially banned in both London and Vienna . The original soprano who performed the role of Salome refused to perform this particular scene and had a dancer step in as a body double .
• This arrangement is by Clarice Assad , a Brazilian-American composer , pianist , arranger , and singer from Rio de Janeiro .
SCIENCE Albert Einstein publishes the famous equation E = mc 2
HISTORY The Russian Revolution of 1905 begins on Bloody Sunday when unarmed demonstrators are fired upon in St . Petersburg
BSO SESSIONS | MARCH 2021
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