A HERO’ S JOURNEY: SCHUMANN & STRAUSS
its rather transparent scoring stands in striking contrast to that of Schumann’ s symphonies themselves, which can tend toward dense textures. Despite its lack of superficial razzle-dazzle, Schumann’ s only full-fledged piano concerto quickly became one of his most popular pieces, applauded not only at its Dresden premiere but also, in short order, at concerts in Leipzig, Prague, Vienna, and( before long) everywhere else.
Instrumentation: Two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani, and strings, in addition to the solo piano.
Richard Strauss
Born: June 11, 1864, in Munich, Bavaria Died: September 8, 1949, in Garmisch- Partenkirchen, Germany
EIN HELDENLEBEN( A HERO’ S LIFE), OP. 40 [ 1897 – 1898 ]
One the most enduring contributions of the“ Music of the Future” camp of Berlioz, Liszt, and Wagner was the orchestral genre known as the symphonic poem or tone poem, a single-movement
Acting Assistant Concertmaster Boram Kang. Learn about the violin from Kang on pg 48.
orchestral piece inspired by a literary text, a painting, or some other extramusical spur. Liszt invented the genre and Strauss embraced it with enthusiasm, composing nine examples. He was drawn to the idea that“ new ideas must search for new forms; this basic principle of Liszt’ s symphonic works, in which the poetic idea was really the formative element, became henceforward the guiding principle for my own symphonic work.”
Ein Heldenleben is among several of Strauss’ works that can be read as musical autobiography. By this point of his career— he was 34 years old when he conducted its premiere— Strauss’ sense of self-esteem was in no way underdeveloped. He was routinely hailed at the premieres of his new compositions, he was in demand throughout Germany as a guest conductor, he was on the verge of signing a contract to become music director of the Berlin Court Opera, and he was enjoying a deepening relationship with the soprano who would become his wife.
It seemed to Strauss a reasonable moment to produce a musical reflection on himself and on the struggles he had faced in achieving his considerable success while navigating the internecine
politics of the musical establishment. He cast his memoir in E-flat major, a key resonant with memories of Beethoven’ s Sinfonia eroica, which was initially supposed to be a tribute to Napoleon but ended up being re-inscribed“ To celebrate the memory of a great man”— an idea not so very different from that conveyed by the title A Hero’ s Life. Like Beethoven’ s Eroica, it would be a work of hefty proportions— Ein Heldenleben typically runs to three-quarters of an hour— and its orchestration, including eight horns and five trumpets in its imposing 18-member brass section, would leave the ears spinning. When the work was first published, Strauss attached generalized subtitles to six episodes of this piece—“ The Hero,”“ The Hero’ s Adversaries,”“ The Hero’ s Companion,”“ The Hero’ s Deeds of War,”“ The Hero’ s Works of Peace,” and“ The Hero’ s Retirement”— but he removed these headings from later editions. When asked to explain more specific plot details, he declined, insisting:“ There is no need of a program. It is enough to know that there is a hero, fighting his enemies.”
Instrumentation: Three flutes and piccolo, four oboes( fourth doubling English horn), two clarinets plus E-flat clarinet and bass clarinet, three bassoons and contrabassoon, eight horns, five trumpets, three trombones, tenor and bass tubas, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, small snare drum, large tenor drum, tam-tam, triangle, two harps, and strings( including solo violin, principally portraying“ The Hero’ s Companion”).
JAMES M. KELLER served as the longtime program annotator of the New York Philharmonic and the San Francisco Symphony, where he recently completed his 25th season. He is the author of Chamber Music: A Listener’ s Guide( Oxford University Press).
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