The Cambridge Companion to Richard Strauss (Cambridge Companions to Music)

Richard Strauss Is A Composer Much Loved Among Audiences Throughout The World, Both In The Opera House And The Concert Hall. Despite This Popularity, Strauss Was For Many Years Ignored By Scholars, Who Considered His Commercial Success And His Continued Reliance On The Tonal System To Be Liabilities. However, The Past Two Decades Have Seen A Resurgence Of Scholarly Interest In The Composer. This Companion Surveys The Results, Focusing On The Principal Genres, The Social And Historical Context, And Topics Perennially Controversial Over The Last Century. Chapters Cover Strauss's Immense Operatic Output, The Electrifying Modernism Of His Tone Poems, And His Ever-popular Lieder. Controversial Topics Are Explored, Including Strauss's Relationship To The Third Reich And The Sexual Dimension Of His Works. Reintroducing The Composer And His Music In Light Of Recent Research, The Volume Shows Strauss's Artistic Personality To Be Richer And Much More Complicated Than Has Been Previously Acknowledged [publisher Description]. The Musical World Of Strauss's Youth / James Deaville -- Strauss's Compositional Process / Walter Werbeck -- Maturity And Indecision In The Early Works / Wayne Heisler, Jr. -- The First Cycle Of Tone Poems / David Larkin -- The Second Cycle Of Tone Poems / James Hepokoski -- Strauss's Road To Operatic Success : Guntram, Feuersnot, And Salome / Morten Kristiansen -- The Strauss-hofmannsthal Operas / Bryan Gilliam -- Opera After Hofmannsthal / Philip Graydon -- Actually, I Like My Songs Best : Strauss's Lieder / Susan Youens -- Last Works / Jürgen May -- Strauss's Place In The Twentieth Century / Alex Ross -- Musical Quotation And Allusions In The Works Of Richard Strauss / Günter Brosche -- Strauss In The Third Reich / Michael Walter -- Strauss And The Business Of Music / Scott Warfield -- Kapellmeister Strauss / Raymond Holden -- Strauss And The Sexual Body : The Erotics Of Humor, Philosophy, And Ego-assertion / Bryan Gilliam -- Srauss And The Nature Of Music / Charles Youmans. Edited By Charles Youmans. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. The musical world of Strauss's youth / James Deaville -- Strauss's compositional process / Walter Werbeck -- Maturity and indecision in the early works / Wayne Heisler, Jr. -- The first cycle of tone poems / David Larkin -- The second cycle of tone poems / James Hepokoski -- Strauss's road to operatic success : Guntram, Feuersnot, and Salome / Morten Kristiansen -- The Strauss-Hofmannsthal operas / Bryan Gilliam -- Opera after Hofmannsthal / Philip Graydon -- Actually, I like my songs best : Strauss's lieder / Susan Youens -- Last works / Jürgen May -- Strauss's place in the twentieth century / Alex Ross -- Musical quotation and allusions in the works of Richard Strauss / Günter Brosche -- Strauss in the Third Reich / Michael Walter -- Strauss and the business of music / Scott Warfield -- Kapellmeister Strauss / Raymond Holden -- Strauss and the sexual body : the erotics of humor, philosophy, and ego-assertion / Bryan Gilliam -- Strauss and the nature of music / Charles Youmans. Frontmatter 2 Part I: Background 31 1 The musical world of Strauss's youth 33 2 Strauss's compositional process 52 3 Maturity and indecision in the early works 72 Part II: Works 87 4 The first cycle of tone poems 89 5 The second cycle of tone poems 108 6 Strauss's road to operatic success: Guntram, Feuersnot, and Salome 135 7 The Strauss-Hofmannsthal operas 149 8 Opera after Hofmannsthal 166 9 "Actually, I like my songs best": Strauss's lieder 181 10 Last works 208 Part III: Perspectives 223 11 Strauss's place in the twentieth century 225 12 Musical quotations and allusions in the works of Richard Strauss 243 13 Strauss in the Third Reich 256 14 Strauss and the business of music 272 15 Kapellmeister Strauss 287 16 Strauss and the sexual body: the erotics of humor, philosophy, and ego-assertion 299 17 Strauss and the nature of music 310 Notes 324 Select bibliography 356 Index 362 Long beloved by audiences, Richard Strauss inspired little scholarly activity until the mid 1980s, when there was a resurgence of interest on both sides of the Atlantic. This Companion reflects the latest research, showing Strauss's artistic personality to be richer and more complicated than has been previously acknowledged.