Symphony No. 1 (Strauss)
Symphony No. 1 | |
---|---|
by Richard Strauss | |
Key | D minor |
Catalogue | TrV 94. |
Composed | 12 June 1880[1] |
Performed | 30 March 1881 |
Composition history
Strauss completed his musical studies with his composition teacher, Friedrich Wilhelm Meyer, in February 1880 (he was a conductor and had been hired as a private teacher by Richard's father Franz Strauss since 1875). By the age of 18, Strauss had composed nearly 150 works. Strauss wrote the symphony whilst attending school, from 12 March to 12 June 1880.[2] He wrote to his mother "I'm getting on all right at school, the symphony is making jolly good progress, all four movements are finished now. I've scored the Scherzo and almost all of the first movement".[3] The four movements are:
- I. Andante Maestoso – Allegro Vivace.
- II. Andante
- III. Scherzo: Molto allegro, leggiero – Trio.
- IV. Finale: Allegro Maestoso.
Scott Warfield wrote that "the symphony in D minor follows the same formal plans that Strauss had been studying for nearly five years. The outer movements are real
These more recent views contrast with Norman Del Mar, who stated in his 1962 study that "...the symphony is essentially a student work. It is nevertheless well made and has several interesting ideas."[9]
Performance history
The premiere was given at the Odeon concert hall in Munich as part of the subscription concert series of the Academy of music on 30 March 1881. The conductor was Hermann Levi, who was the musical director of the Munich Court opera from 1872–1896, and who was to premiere Richard Wagner's Parsifal in 1882.
Strauss' father Franz was much involved in the premiere, copying out all of the orchestral parts by hand and playing in the orchestra.
The reviews of the premier were very positive, with the Muechner Neueste Nachritten of 3 April 1880 reporting that:
The third of the Musical Academies subscription concerts included one new work, a symphony in D minor by Richard Strauss. The recent performance of his String quartet had already drawn our attention to the significant talent possessed by this young composer. The symphony, too, shows considerable competence in the treatment of the form as well as remarkable skill in orchestration. It must be said that the work cannot lay claim to any true originality, but it demonstrates throughout a fertile musical imagination, to which composition comes easily.[12]
The piece was later performed on 5 August 1893 by the amateur Wilden Gung'l orchestra conducted by his father Franz Strauss and with whom Richard had briefly played in the violins.[13] Although father Franz wanted to have more performances of the symphony, to build on its initial success, son Richard Strauss had moved on and rejected it "as unsuitable for further performance"[14] He gave the Wilden Gung'l orchestra the autograph score of the symphony along with the exclusive rights to perform the piece.[15] As a result, the symphony has rarely been performed.
There exist very few recordings of the piece.
- Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Kenneth Schermerhorn, recorded and issued in 1985[16]
- Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Karl Anton Rickenbacher, recorded in 1986 and issued in 1998[17]
- Nuremberg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Klauspeter Seibel, recorded in 1988 and issued in 1989[18]
Instrumentation
Although described as being for "large orchestra", the orchestral forces are modest for the time.
- Two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons
- Four french horns, two trumpets, three trombones.
- Timpani
- Strings
References
- ^ Trenner, p 21
- ^ Schuh, page 48.
- ^ Schuh, page 48.
- ^ Warfield, page 201.
- ^ Werbeck, page XII.
- ^ Warfield, page 201-2.
- ^ Warfield, page 203.
- ^ Hurwicz, page 19-20.
- ^ Del Mar, page 14.
- ^ Schuh, page 51.
- ^ Schuh, page 52-3
- ^ Schuh, page 52.
- ^ Trenner, page 104.
- ^ Del Mar, page 22.
- ^ Wihelm, page 23.
- ^ Strauss: Symphony in D minor; Interludio; Kampf und Sieg (Marco Polo 8.220323). Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- ^ Strauss, the Unknown, Vol. 3: Early Symphonies (Koch Schwann 3-6532-2). Retrieved 26 November 2017.
- ^ Strauss: Symphony, Festive March and Waltz (Colosseum / Zebralution. CD is out of print and available only with digital download). Retrieved 26 November 2017.
Sources
- Norman Del Mar, Richard Strauss: A critical commentary on his life and works, Volume 1. Faber and Faber, London, second edition 1985, ISBN 978-0-571-25096-7.
- Schuh, Willi (1982). Richard Strauss: A Chronicle of the Early Years 1864–1898, (translated by Mary Wittal), Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-24104-9.
- Trenner, Franz. Richard Strauss Chronik, Verlag Dr Richard Strauss Gmbh, Wien, 2003. ISBN 3-901974-01-6.
- Werbeck, Walter (1999). Introduction to Richard Strauss Edition, Orchestral works, Volume 19, Symphonies. Verlag Dr.Richard Strauss GmbH, Wien. Published by C.F.Peters, Wien, 1999.
- Warfield, Scott (2003), "From "Too Many Works" to "Wrist Exercises": The Abstract Instrumental Compositions of Richard Strauss", Chapter 6 in Mark-Daniel Schmid (editor) The Richard Strauss Companion, Praeger, Westport Connecticut, London. ISBN 0-313-27901-2.
- Wilhelm, Kurt (1989). Richard Strauss: An Intimate Portrait. London: Thames & Hudson. ISBN 0-500-01459-0.
- Kaunitz, G. (2012). An Examination of Stylistic Elements in Richard Strauss's Wind Chamber Music Works and Selected Tone Poems. Retrieved from http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/FSU_migr_etd-4941