Tod und Verklaerung (Death and Transfiguration)
Richard Strauss was one amazing composer. He was a contemporary of Gustav Mahler, but outlived Mahler by more than 30 years. Strauss died in 1945, and he was known to be a Hitler sympathizer.
Strauss wrote some amazing operas, many Tone Poems, a Symphony called “Alpen Symphonie”, many songs for soprano and orchestra, and also chamber music, as well as one of my favorites, the Burleske for Piano and Orchestra, reviewed elsewhere earlier in this Blog.
Read more about Richard Strauss…
One of Strauss’ tone poems for orchestra is called Death and Transfiguration. It is a highly moving work. Read more about it here. Listen for the dark melodies, the sense of life’s end, the sadness, and the wonderful, rich, dark sounds that paint the feelings of this piece.
There are four parts to Strauss’ tone poem:
• I. Largo (The sick man, near death)
• II. Allegro molto Agitato (The battle between life and death offers no respite to the man)
• III. Meno mosso (The dying man’s life passes before him)
• IV. Moderato (The sought-after transfiguration)
Click below for an extract of a performance of this Richard Strauss composition.
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