Richard Strauss

Books about Richard Strauss and his music

Hector Berlioz and Richard Strauss Treatise on Instrumentation Dover Publications, 1991; ISBN 0486269035; 432 pages The most influential work of its kind ever written, appraising the musical qualities and potential of over 60 commonly used stringed, wind and percussion instruments. With 150 illustrative full-score musical examples from works by Berlioz, Mozart, Beethoven, Gluck, Weber, Wagner and others, and numerous smaller musical examples. Complete with Berlioz’ chapters on the orchestra and on conducting. Translated by Theodore Front. Foreword by Richard Strauss. Glossary. Price indication: $ 16.98

Michael Kennedy Richard Strauss : Man, Musician, Enigma Cambridge University Press, 1999; ISBN 0521581737; 472 pages Price indication: $ 48.47

Kurt Wilhelm and Paul Sessner and Mary Whittall Richard Strauss: An Intimate Portrait Thames & Hudson, 2000; ISBN 0500281599; 312 pages Richard Strauss (1864 -1949) always claimed that his music was a self-portrait, that he depicted himself, his nature, and his world in musical notes. From the charming autobiographical opera Intermezzo, based on a domestic misunderstanding, to the self-confident tone poem Ein Heldenleben, the composer's works relate to his personal experience as closely as those of any nineteenth-century Romantic. For the huge audience that enjoys the music of Strauss, Kurt Wilhelm's book has proved to be a cornucopia of information. Many of the numerous illustrations--taken from the private archive of the Strauss family--have never been published previously, and all are of immense historical interest. Skillfully woven around them is a detailed and revealing text, rich in anecdotes, quotations, and personal reminiscences by members of the Strauss family and contemporaries. The result is an intimate investigation of the private life, opinions, background, and works of Strauss that comes as close to the man as one is likely to get. Price indication: $ 29.95

Tim Ashley Richard Strauss (20th-Century Composers) Phaidon Press, 1999; ISBN 0714837946; 240 pages Richard Strauss remains one of the most controversial figures in the history of music. Though he is now accepted as one of the finest of all orchestral composers, his reputation remains dogged by charges of career opportunism, sensationalism, and Nazi collaboration. This book places Strauss's life in the context of German history, revealing the paradoxes that lay beneath his public persona, and discussing his work in the light of personal, artistic and literary influences. This text is part of the 20th-century composers series, examining composers in a biographical context, and offering a comprehensive study of key figures in the creation of 20th-century music. None of the books in the series presume a knowledge of specialized terms or musical notation. Each book in the series features a list of works, a bibliography, and a discography. Price indication: $ 24.95

Bryan Gilliam Richard Strauss: New Perspectives on the Composer and His Work (Sources of Music & Their Interpretation S.) Duke University Press, 1998; ISBN 0822321149; 312 pages As we approach the fiftieth anniversary of Richard Stauss’s death, scholarly interest in the composer continues to grow. Despite what was once a tendency by musicologists to overlook or deny Strauss’s importance, these essays firmly place the German composer in the musical mainstream and situate him among the most influential composers of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Originally published in 1992, this volume examines Strauss’s life and work from a number of approaches and during various periods of his long career, opening up unique corridors of insight into a crucial time in German history. Contributors discuss Strauss as a young composer steeped in a conservative instrumental tradition, as a brash young modernist tone poet of the 1890s, as an important composer of twentieth-century German opera, and as a cultural icon manipulated by the national socialists during the 1930s and early 1940s. Individual essays use Strauss’s creative work as a framework for larger musicological questions such as the tension between narrative and structure in program music, the problem of extended tonality at the turn of the century, stylistic choice versus stylistic obligation, and conflicting perspectives of progressive versus conservative music. This collection will interest Strauss scholars, musicologists, and those interested in the artistic and cultural life of Germany from 1880 through the Second World War. Contributors . Kofi Agawu, Günter Brosche, Bryan Gilliam, Stephen Hefling, James A. Hepokoski, Timothy L. Jackson, Michael Kennedy, Lewis Lockwood, Barbara A. Peterson, Pamela Potter, Reinhold Schlötterer, R. Larry Todd Price indication: $ 22.95

Bryan Gilliam The Life of Richard Strauss (Musical Lives) Cambridge University Press, 1999; ISBN 0521578957; 210 pages Richard Strauss' successful conducting and composing career spanned one of the most fascinating stretches of modern German history, from oil lamps to atomic energy, from a young empire to a divided Germany. This biography covers Strauss' early musical development, his emergence as a tone poet in the late nineteenth century, his turn to the stage at the beginning of the twentieth century, the successes and misfires of the post-World War I era, the turbulent 1930s, and the period of the Second World War and its aftermath. Price indication: $ 22.99

Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss and Herta Blaukopf and Edmund Jephcott Gustav Mahler--Richard Strauss : Correspondence 1888-1911 University Of Chicago Press, 1996; ISBN 0226057682; 172 pages Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss came to know one another as young conductors in Leipzig in 1887. From then until Mahler's death in 1911—the year of the first performance of Der Rosenkavalier —they kept in touch. Mahler himself described their relationship as that of two miners tunneling from opposite directions with the hope of eventually meeting. This first publication of their correspondence, which includes twenty-five previously unknown Strauss letters, offers a portrait of two men who were as antithetical in their musical means and goals as in their temperaments and personalities, but who exercised a strong fascination for one another. These sixty-three letters show both composers advancing in their careers as they battled against adverse conditions in the musical world at the turn of the century. They present Mahler's energetic support of Strauss's Symphonia Domestica, which Mahler conducted in 1904 and, in turn, Strauss's championing of Mahler's music, especially the Second and Third Symphonies. The correspondence is fully annotated and is supplemented with a major essay by Herta Blaukopf. "Unfailingly absorbing. . . . An indispensable addition to the literature on these composers."—Norman Del Mar, Times Literary Supplement Price indication: $ 15.00

Bryan Gilliam Richard Strauss and His World Princeton University Press, 1992; ISBN 0691027625; 425 pages Strongly influencing European musical life from the 1880s through the First World War and remaining highly productive into the 1940s, Richard Strauss enjoyed a remarkable career in a constantly changing artistic and political climate. This volume presents six original essays on Strauss's musical works--including tone poems, lieder, and operas--and brings together letters, memoirs, and criticism from various periods of the composer's life. Many of these materials appear in English for the first time. In the essays Leon Botstein contradicts the notion of the composer's stylistic "about face" after Elektra; Derrick Puffett reinforces the argument for Strauss's artistic consistency by tracing in the tone poems and operas the phenomenon of pitch specificity; James Hepokoski establishes Strauss as an early modernist in an examination of Macbeth; Michael Steinberg probes the composer's political sensibility as expressed in the 1930s through his music and use of such texts as Friedenstag and Daphne; Bryan Gilliam discusses the genesis of both the text and the music in the final scene of Daphne; Timothy Jackson in his thorough source study argues for a new addition to the so-called Four Last Songs. Among the correspondence are previously untranslated letters between Strauss and his post-Hofmannsthal librettist, Joseph Gregor. The memoirs range from early biographical sketches to Rudolf Hartmann's moving account of his last visit with Strauss shortly before the composer's death. Critical reviews include recently translated essays by Theodor Adorno, Guido Adler, Paul Bekker, and Julius Korngold. Price indication: $ 41.00

Derrick Puffett and Richard Wagner Richard Strauss: |Elektra| (Cambridge Opera Handbooks) Cambridge University Press, 1990; ISBN 0521359716; 188 pages The contributions to this handbook bring together the first full-length study of Elektra in English. The volume examines the many facets of one of Richard Strauss's most complex operas. First, P. E. Easterling surveys the mythological background, while Karen Forsyth discusses Hofmannsthal's adaptation of his sources. The second part brings the music to the fore. Derrick Puffett offers an introductory essay and synopsis; Arnold Whittall considers the tonal and dramatic structure of the composition; Tethys Carpenter explores the musical language of the work in detail, with special focus given to part of the Klytaemnestra scene. The third part of the volume offers two contrasting critical essays: Carolyn Abbate provides an interpretation informed by her recent work on narrative, and Robin Holloway analyses Strauss's orchestration of the opera. The book also contains a discography and an appendix of excerpts from the Strauss-Hofmannsthal correspondence. Price indication: $ 25.45

Derrick Puffett and Richard Wagner Richard Strauss: Salome (Cambridge Opera Handbooks) Cambridge University Press, 1989; ISBN 0521359708; 224 pages This full-length study of Salome is the first in English since Lawrence Gilman's introductory guide of 1907. The handbook presents an informative collection of historical, critical and analytical studies of one of Strauss's most familiar operas. Classic essays by Mario Praz and Richard Ellmann cover the literary background. How Strauss adopted Wilde's play for his libretto is discussed by Roland Tenschert in a fascinating essay which has been updated by Derrick Puffett. In three central analytical chapters, Derrick Puffett considers Salome in relation to Wagnerian music drama, Tethys Carpenter examines its tonal and dramatic structure, and Craig Ayrey analyses the final monologue. The last part of the book moves from analysis to criticism, with a review by John Williamson of the opera's critical reception and an interpretative essay by Robin Holloway. The book also contains a synopsis, bibliography, and discography; Strauss's little-known scenario for the 'Dance of the Seven Veils' is reprinted as an appendix. Price indication: $ 26.99

Richard Strauss Correspondence between Richard Strauss and Hugo von Hofmannsthal,: 1907-1918, A.A. Knopf, 1927 Price indication: $ 12.99

Ernst Roth and Willi Schuh Richard Strauss: Complete Catalog Boosey & Hawkes, 1964; ISBN 0913932310 Price indication: $ 106.85

Michael Kennedy Richard Strauss (The Master Musicians) Oxford University Press, 2001; ISBN 0198165811; 264 pages Price indication: $ 28.50

George R. Marek Richard Strauss : the life of a non-hero No publisher, Price indication: (used only): from $ 4.45

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss: Briefwechsel 1888-1911 (Serie Piper) Piper, 1988; ISBN 3492107672; 237 pages; in German Price indication: (used only): from $ 20.00

Kenneth Birkin and Richard Wagner Richard Strauss: Arabella (Cambridge Opera Handbooks) Cambridge University Press, 1989; ISBN 0521340314; 176 pages Price indication: (used only): from $ 71.56

Sheet music, libretti, etc.

Der Rosenkavalier (Opera Guide, No 8) - Riverrun Press (New York, NY)

Der Rosenkavalier in Full Score - Dover Publications

Die Frau ohne Schatten in Full Score - Dover Publications

Die Frau ohne Schatten Vocal Score (Dover Vocal Scores) - Dover Publications

Don Juan, Op. 20 (Dover Miniature Scores) - Dover Publications

Eine Alpensinfonie and Symphonia Domestica in Full Score - Dover Publications

Elektra in Full Score - Dover Publications
One of the most often performed of Strauss’s musical works, this landmark of modern opera scandalized early 20th-century audiences with its startling dissonance and unconventional harmonics. Today, it is admired for virtuosic invention of musical ideas and the use of instrumental sonorities to characterize both persons and actions. Reprinted directly from the authoritative Furstner edition.<br>

Fifty-Seven Songs for Voice and Piano - Dover Publications

Music Minus One Horn: Richard Strauss Concerto in E-Flat Major, AV132 (Book & CD) - Music Minus One
This incredible concerto is the summit of the horn literature. A fabulous piece, filled with High German Romanticism, was composed in 1942 by the famed Late Romantic master in his inimitable style. This deluxe edition includes a slow-tempo practice version to help you get up to speed. Includes an authoritative, newly engraved solo part for E-flat horn, printed on high-quality ivory paper; and a compact disc containing a complete version with soloist, recorded in digital stereo, followed by a second version in full stereo of the orchestral accompaniment, minus the soloist; and a second -20% slow-tempo version of the accompaniment for practice purposes. All recordings are indexed with track-breaks for easy practice and synchronization Musician:Performed by Ignat Verichkov, French horn Accompaniment: Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor: Nayden Todorov Song listing:Strauss, Richard Horn Concerto No. 2 in E-flat major, AV132

Music Minus One Mezzo Soprano: Strauss German Lieder for Low Voice (Book & CD) - Music Minus One

Salome - G. Schirmer, Inc.

Salome in Full Score - Dover Publications

Salome. Elektra. English National Opera Guide 37 - Calder Publications

Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, Op.28 (Dover Miniature Scores) - Dover Publications

Tone Poems in Full Score, Series 2 : Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche, also Sprach Zarathustra and Ein Heldenleben - Dover Publications
Three important orchestral works, including very popular Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, reproduced in full score from original editions. This volume and its companion volume make available for the first time in convenient, inexpensive editions all the important Strauss tone poems. Study score.<br>

Tone Poems, Series 1: Don Juan, Tod Und Verklarung and Don Quixote in Full Score from the Original Editions - Dover Publications
Three of the most often performed and recorded works in entire orchestral repertoire, reproduced in full score from original editions. Study score.<br>