Tod und Verklärung (Death and Transfiguration), tone poem for orchestra, Op. 24 (TrV 158), written in 1888/1889. There are four parts (with Ritters poetic thoughts condensed): 00:00 - I. Largo (The sick man, near death) 05:19 - II. Allegro molto agitato (The battle between life and death offers no respite to the man) 08:55 - III. Meno mosso (The dying mans life passes before him) 16:53 - IV. Moderato (The sought-after transfiguration) The music depicts the death of an artist. At Strausss request, this was described in a poem by the composers friend Alexander Ritter as an interpretation of Death and Transfiguration, after it was composed. As the man lies dying, thoughts of his life pass through his head: his childhood innocence, the struggles of his manhood, the attainment of his worldly goals; and at the end, he receives the longed-for transfiguration from the infinite reaches of heaven. Strauss conducted the premiere on 21 June 1890 at the Eisenach Festival (on the same program with the premiere of his Burleske in D minor for piano and orchestra). He also conducted this work for his first appearance in England, at the Wagner Concert with the Philharmonic Society on 15 June 1897 at the Queens Hall in London. The work is dedicated to the composers friend Friedrich Rosch. Trivia: - English music critic Ernest Newman described this as music to which one would not want to die or awaken. It is too spectacular, too brilliantly lit, too full of pageantry of a crowd; whereas this is a journey one must make very quietly, and alone. - In one of Strausss last compositions, Im Abendrot from the Four Last Songs, Strauss poignantly quotes the transfiguration theme from his tone poem of 60 years earlier, during and after the sopranos final line, Ist dies etwa der Tod? (Could this then be death?). - Just before his own death, he remarked that his music was absolutely correct; his feelings mirrored those of the artist depicted within; Strauss said to his daughter-in-law as he lay on his deathbed in 1949: Its a funny thing Alice, dying is just the way I composed it in Tod und Verklärung. A brilliant performance by the Townhall Zurich Orchestra and David Zinman youtu.be/vG7ZvS8Ea-g
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 09:08:38 +0000
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