Before we get going... don't forget your Nerd Assignment at the end of this blurb! 🤓
DIVE IN!
Richard Strauss (1864-1949) was a composer and conductor during the late Romantic/early 20th century era, and is one of the most celebrated composers of the German Romanticism style of writing. Strauss is mostly known for his large scale works for orchestra and for his operatic works. “4 Symphonic Interludes” is an exciting, quirky, lush, and fun piece of music for full orchestra taken from his opera Intermezzo.
RESOURCES
A live performance conducted by Mariss Jansons
The full 2 and a half hour opera!
HIGHLIGHTS
Richard Strauss composed the opera Intermezzo between 1918 and 1923. He compiled the 4 Symphonic Interludes from Intermezzo in 1929.
Of his 15 operas (!!), Intermezzo is one of only two for which he also wrote the libretto. It is autobiographical, and is a whimsical look into his relationship with his wife, Pauline.
The story of Intermezzo is based on a real incident between Richard and Pauline, after a gushing love note meant for another conductor, Joseph Stransky (nicknamed “Straussky”) was mistakenly addressed to Richard and discovered by Pauline. Comedy of errors ensues!
4 Symphonic Interludes are taken from actual instrumental interludes included in the 2.5 hour opera. These interludes capture the action, thoughts, and feelings associated with the story in such a way that listening to them provides a wonderful encapsulated version of the whole tale, interlude by interlude.
Interlude 1: Travel Fever and Waltz Scene
In this scene the conductor is in a hurry to leave for a series of performances after a pretty nasty argument with his wife. To lighten her mood, the wife goes to a party where she meets a handsome young man and waltzes with him.
Interlude 2: Dreaming By the Fireplace
In this Interlude, we hear lyrical romantic music depicting the wife sitting by the fire at home, with thoughts of love for her husband (despite her frustrations with him) which are punctuated by her memories of the party and her attraction to the young man.
Interlude 3: At the Card Table
The third interlude portrays the conductor spending his time differently to his wife, having fun at an after-concert card game with friends, in which you can hear musical sounds of cards being shuffled and dealt out.
Interlude 4: Happy Ending
The final interlude is a very quick and flamboyant 2 or so minutes long. This is the celebratory music which happens following the scene in which everyone finds out about the mix-up of the mistakenly addressed letter.
4 Symphonic Interludes is scored for a smaller size full orchestra of 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 1 English horn, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 French horns, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, timpani, percussion (triangle, snare drum, cymbals), piano, harp, and strings. A notable exception to this setup is the frequent use of solo strings to lend a more intimate conversational sound from time to time.
A typical performance of 4 Symphonic Interludes lasts about 25 minutes.
NERD ASSIGNMENTS!
Consider
In his notes, Richard Strauss referred to Intermezzo as a ‟conversation piece” in music. This would be similar to theater plays about everyday or domestic life. Even though he wrote this conversation piece in operatic form involving a cast of vocalists he still interjected purely instrumental interludes.
Discuss
How do you think instrumental music can make conversation? How do you think it might color, support, or comment on the dialogue, thoughts, and feelings of the characters in this opera?
Reflect
After you’ve listened to 4 Symphonic Interludes, what did you notice about Richard Strauss’s musical choices to represent various story elements in Intermezzo via each of these Interludes? How were they similar or different to your expectations?
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