Your favourite Strauss Tone Poems

Started by madaboutmahler, October 29, 2011, 05:17:17 AM

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Take your 3 votes for your favourite tone poems by Richard Strauss!

Aus Italien
Don Juan
Macbeth
Tod und Verklärung
Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche
Also sprach Zarathustra
Don Quixote
Ein Heldenleben
Symphonia Domestica
Eine Alpensinfonie

madaboutmahler

Here, you can vote for your three favourite tone poems by the great Richard Strauss.

Get voting - supply reasons if you can! :) I shall start off by voting for Eine Alpensinfonie, Ein Heldenleben and Tod und Verklärung. These three pieces are so very beautiful, absolutely favourites of mine. I love all the tone poems really, but these three convey the most emotional connection to me, such excellent pieces!

Looking forward to seeing the results!
"Music is ... A higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy"
— Ludwig van Beethoven

Sergeant Rock

#1
Zarathustra, Alpensinfonie and Domestica (if it gets another vote, I'll be surprised...but it's really grown on me recently. Both Szell and Järvi are terrific performances).


Sarge
the phone rings and somebody says,
"hey, they made a movie about
Mahler, you ought to go see it.
he was as f*cked-up as you are."
                               --Charles Bukowski, "Mahler"

Dundonnell

Alpine Symphony, Ein Heldenleben and Tod und Verklarung for me.

Oh..that's what Daniel said too ;D ;D    Very perceptive young man that ;D

TheGSMoeller

I have to credit R. Strauss with increasing my interest in serious music back in high school, especially Till, I remember the first time I heard it was on a televised concert of the NY Phil and I smiled during the entire piece. Before I grabbed a book, pre-Internet days, to get some info on the piece I felt as if I could already conjure up my own story based on this colorful music. My other votes went to Don Quixote and Alpine, along with Till these pieces to me display the most accurate use of story-telling with music.
Seriously, are those sheep in the orchestra?

Lethevich

Don Quixote, Don Juan, no preference after that. I guess I like standard adventures with no metaphysics involved :P
Peanut butter, flour and sugar do not make cookies. They make FIRE.

Lisztianwagner

I voted for Eine Alpensinfonie, Ein Heldenleben and Tod und Verklärung :)

Strauss Tone Poems are definitely thrilling and overwhelming, it is impossible to not be extremely involved by their great beauty and intensity! What a genius R. Strauss was!
It is no use saying that my favourite Strausses conductor is Herbert von Karajan  ;)
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler

madaboutmahler

Quote from: Lisztianwagner on October 29, 2011, 06:35:05 AM
I voted for Eine Alpensinfonie, Ein Heldenleben and Tod und Verklärung :)

Strauss Tone Poems are definitely thrilling and overwhelming, it is impossible to not be extremely involved by their great beauty and intensity! What a genius R. Strauss was!
It is no use saying that my favourite Strausses conductor is Herbert von Karajan  ;)
Quote from: Dundonnell on October 29, 2011, 05:29:04 AM
Alpine Symphony, Ein Heldenleben and Tod und Verklarung for me.

Oh..that's what Daniel said too ;D ;D    Very perceptive young man that ;D

haha :) How wonderful that us three all share the exact same favourite Strauss tone poems! :)
I completely agree with you Ilaria, and also guessed that Karajan would be your favourite Strauss conductor!  ;D Karajan would also be my favourite probably for Strauss as well, although I wish Antoni Wit and Sir Simon Rattle would record more! David Zinman also made an excellent Strauss set!

Quote from: TheGSMoeller on October 29, 2011, 05:31:16 AM
I have to credit R. Strauss with increasing my interest in serious music back in high school, especially Till, I remember the first time I heard it was on a televised concert of the NY Phil and I smiled during the entire piece. Before I grabbed a book, pre-Internet days, to get some info on the piece I felt as if I could already conjure up my own story based on this colorful music. My other votes went to Don Quixote and Alpine, along with Till these pieces to me display the most accurate use of story-telling with music.
Seriously, are those sheep in the orchestra?

Wonderful! I smiled all the way through my first hearing of Till Eulenspigel as well, and actually laughed a little at the end.  ;D Such a great piece! And you are very right, Strauss is such a great "musical storyteller" as such. Perfect examples: In Till, the execution scene with the drum rolls and brass etc. In Heldenleben, the battle being depicted by a battery of percussion. Plenty of other examples to give as well! :)
"Music is ... A higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy"
— Ludwig van Beethoven

Brahmsian

Eine Alpensinfonie
Don Quixote
Ein Heldenleben

Lisztianwagner

Quote from: madaboutmahler on October 29, 2011, 07:13:37 AM
;D Karajan would also be my favourite probably for Strauss as well, although I wish Antoni Wit and Sir Simon Rattle would record more! David Zinman also made an excellent Strauss set!


I agree about Wit and Zinman, they are excellent Strausses conductor, although as you said Wit hasn't recorded much; instead I've never listened to the Rattle, which of Strausses works did he record?
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler

madaboutmahler

Quote from: Lisztianwagner on October 29, 2011, 07:23:46 AM
I agree about Wit and Zinman, they are excellent Strausses conductor, although as you said Wit hasn't recorded much; instead I've never listened to the Rattle, which of Strausses works did he record?

They need to record more! Wit's recording of Eine Alpensinfonie is one of my favourite recordings of all time! I think Wit also made a recording of Sinfonia Domestica , but I'd love to hear what he'd do with Heldenleben.
Rattle, as far as I know, has only made one Strauss recording which was an absolutely amazing recording of Ein Heldenleben with the Berlin Phil. I do hope he records more Strauss in the future!
"Music is ... A higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy"
— Ludwig van Beethoven

mszczuj

Don Juan, Tod und Verklärung, Also sprach Zarathustra.

But Don Quixote and Sinfonia domestica were near.

The most strange (except of course the popularity of Havergal Brian) thing I find in GMG is the great appreciation of Eine Alpensinfonie - for me the weakest part of this cycle.

madaboutmahler

Quote from: mszczuj on October 29, 2011, 07:35:39 AM
Don Juan, Tod und Verklärung, Also sprach Zarathustra.

But Don Quixote and Sinfonia domestica were near.

The most strange (except of course the popularity of Havergal Brian) thing I find in GMG is the great appreciation of Eine Alpensinfonie - for me the weakest part of this cycle.

:o

Why?!!!!
"Music is ... A higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy"
— Ludwig van Beethoven

Brahmsian

Quote from: mszczuj on October 29, 2011, 07:35:39 AM
The most strange (except of course the popularity of Havergal Brian) thing I find in GMG is the great appreciation of Eine Alpensinfonie - for me the weakest part of this cycle.

Interesting.  In my own opinion (of course), I actually think Eine Alpensinfonie is his strongest orchestral work (and by a wide margin too).

Yet, I know this piece is a 'love or hate' piece for a lot of people, even ardent Strauss fans. 

madaboutmahler

Quote from: ChamberNut on October 29, 2011, 07:39:03 AM
Interesting.  In my own opinion (of course), I actually think Eine Alpensinfonie is his strongest orchestral work (and by a wide margin too).

Yet, I know this piece is a 'love or hate' piece for a lot of people, even ardent Strauss fans.

I compeltely agree with Ray here! For me, only Heldenleben or Tod und Verklarung come close to the Alpine Symphony in terms of beauty, mastery of orchestration, brilliance etc!
"Music is ... A higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy"
— Ludwig van Beethoven

Lisztianwagner

Quote from: mszczuj on October 29, 2011, 07:35:39 AM

The most strange (except of course the popularity of Havergal Brian) thing I find in GMG is the great appreciation of Eine Alpensinfonie - for me the weakest part of this cycle.

I'm rather speechless.....
I certainly respect your opinion, but I don't agree; I think Eine Alpensinfonie is maybe the best work Strauss composed, for intensity, beauty, harmonic richness and great orchestration. It's a very gorgeous, involving and thrilling piece.
"Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler

madaboutmahler

Quote from: Lisztianwagner on October 29, 2011, 07:59:19 AM
I'm rather speechless.....
I certainly respect your opinion, but I don't agree; I think Eine Alpensinfonie is maybe the best work Strauss composed, for intensity, beauty, harmonic richness and great orchestration. It's a very gorgeous, involving and thrilling piece.

I completely agree! I'd be interested to know their reasons!
"Music is ... A higher revelation than all Wisdom & Philosophy"
— Ludwig van Beethoven

Drasko

Two votes will suffice for me: Don Juan and Till Eulenspiegel. Don't like others much.

Daverz

Also Sprach is still by far my favorite.  I'm rather tired of Heldenleben.  Don Juan and Til have the advantage of brevity.

J.Z. Herrenberg

Don Juan
Also sprach Zarathustra
Ein Heldenleben

Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. -- Plato

mszczuj

#19
Quote from: Lisztianwagner on October 29, 2011, 07:59:19 AM
I think Eine Alpensinfonie is maybe the best work Strauss composed, for intensity, beauty,

Are we talking about Richard Strauss, one of the greatest artists among the composers in the whole history of music and probably most technically accomplished of all of them? Really? This funny musical travel blog is for you his masterpiece?

For me it is is absolutely not this kind of great music that Strauss made before and after. Just because it is not so overwhelming wise as his best works. And have nothing to compare to (for example) Elektra about intensity or to Im Abendrot about beauty.

No, I don't think it is very bad, I don't even think it is really bad but I find it incoherent, rather superficial, in some moments hysterical and almost ridiculous in some concepts.

And there is one really serious technical mistake in it. He used the wandering theme not as ostinato but as theme in variations or leitmotiv. Consecutively after the intense  beginning - even to intense  beginning  - do you really feel like that while watching the sunrise?  - he at once lost a climbing idea and give as a kaleidoscope of wandering scenes - which create rather poor bridge to the climax at the summit and give him no possibility to make this climax really distinctive. We have in it not much more we have in the sunrise. And then we have not very intense thunderstorm descent which makes not very good reason for final calming down.

The really most spectacular fragment of the work is the beginning of the trip. So it is hard to find good reason for this trip.

Nice to listen but nothing like really great Strauss - not in his top twenty.