Instrumentation and accompaniment
The instrumentation is: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, cor anglais, 2 clarinets in B♭, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 4 horns in F, 2 trumpets in C, 3 trombones, tuba, 3 timpani, celesta, harp and the orchestral string section. [4]
The accompaniment has sombre and ambiguous harmonies, with contrasting calm and tempestuous episodes, but ends peacefully in the home key of C major.
Richard Georg Strauss was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt. Along with Gustav Mahler, he represents the late flowering of German Romanticism, in which pioneering subtleties of orchestration are combined with an advanced harmonic style.
Death and Transfiguration, Op. 24, is a tone poem for orchestra by Richard Strauss. Strauss began composition in the late summer of 1888 and completed the work on 18 November 1889. The work is dedicated to the composer's friend Friedrich Rosch.
The Four Last Songs, Op. posth., for soprano and orchestra are – with the exception of the song "Malven" (Mallows), composed later the same year – the final completed works of Richard Strauss. They were composed in 1948 when the composer was 84.
Pauline Maria de Ahna (also known as Pauline Strauss was a German operatic soprano and the wife of composer Richard Strauss. Her singing career was closely tied to her husband's career as a conductor and composer. From 1890–1894 she was committed to the Staatskapelle Weimar and from 1894–1897 she was committed to the Bavarian State Opera, during which times her husband was the principal conductor of those theaters. She also sang under her husband's baton at the Bayreuth Festival and in the world premiere of his first opera Guntram. Other houses at which performed included the Berlin State Opera, La Monnaie, and the Liceu. Her repertoire included leading roles in the operas of Beethoven, Humperdinck, Mozart, von Weber, and Wagner. After she gave birth to their son Franz Strauss in 1897 she retired from the opera stage. She thereafter continued to periodically perform in concerts of her husband's music, particularly lieder. Strauss credited her as his muse for many of his compositions, including the title role in Salome, the Countess Madeleine in Capriccio, and the Four Last Songs among others.
"Morgen!" ("Tomorrow!") is the last in a set of four songs composed in 1894 by the German composer Richard Strauss. It is designated Opus 27, Number 4.
"Cäcilie", Op. 27 No. 2, is the second in a set of four songs composed by Richard Strauss in 1894.
"Heimliche Aufforderung", Op. 27 No. 3, is one of a set of four songs composed by Richard Strauss in 1894. It was originally for voice and piano, but it was orchestrated in 1929 by the German conductor Robert Heger. The text is from a poem in German by John Henry Mackay.
Paul Klengel was a German violinist, violist, pianist, conductor, composer, editor and arranger. He was the brother of cellist Julius Klengel.
Ernst Roth was a music publisher for Universal Edition in Vienna and Boosey & Hawkes in London, and became the company's director in 1968. He also wrote about music and translated.
"Traum durch die Dämmerung", is both a German poem by Otto Julius Bierbaum and a Lied by Richard Strauss, his Op. 29/1. The opening line is "Weite Wiesen im Dämmergrau". It is the first of three songs by Strauss based on love poems by Bierbaum, composed and published in Munich in 1895, and dedicated to Eugen Gura. The works were scored for medium voice and piano, and published by Universal Edition as 3 Lieder mit Klavierbegleitung, later with English versions and orchestral arrangements.
Franz Schubert's best known song cycles, like Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise are based on separate poems with a common theme and narrative. Other song cycles are based on consecutive excerpts of the same literary work: Schubert's "Ave Maria" is part of such a song cycle based on excerpts of the same poem, in this case by Walter Scott.
"Zueignung" is a Lied composed by Richard Strauss in 1885, setting a poem by the Austrian poet Hermann von Gilm. It was included in Strauss's first published collection of songs, as Op. 10 in 1885. Originally scored for voice and piano, the song was orchestrated in 1932 by the German conductor Robert Heger and in 1940 by Strauss himself. It is one of the composer's best-known songs.
"Allerseelen" is an art song for voice and piano composed by Richard Strauss in 1885, setting a poem by the Austrian poet Hermann von Gilm from his collection Letzte Blätter. It is the last in a collection of eight songs which were all settings of Gilm poems from the same volume entitled Acht Lieder aus Letzte Blätter, the first collection of songs Strauss ever published as Op. 10 in 1885, including also "Zueignung" (Dedication) and "Die Nacht". The song was orchestrated in 1932 by German conductor Robert Heger.
"Befreit" is an art song for voice and piano composed by Richard Strauss in 1898, setting a poem by the German poet Richard Dehmel. The song is part of the collection Fünf Lieder für hohe Singstimme mit Pianofortebegleitung. Strauss orchestrated the song in 1933.
"Winternacht" is an art song for voice and piano composed by Richard Strauss in 1886, setting a poem of the same title by the German poet Adolf Friedrich von Schack (1815–1894). The song is part of his collection Five songs for middle voice and piano, Op. 15, TrV 148.
"Ständchen" ("Serenade") is an art song composed by Richard Strauss in 1886, setting a poem of the same title by the German poet Adolf Friedrich von Schack. It is the second song in his collection Six songs for high voice and piano, Op. 17, TrV 149, which were all settings of Schack poems. The song is written for voice and piano.
In music, Op. 27 stands for Opus number 27. Compositions that are assigned this number include:
Sechs Lieder, Op. 68, is a collection of six Lieder by Richard Strauss. He composed them, setting poems by Clemens Brentano, in 1918 for soprano and piano, and orchestrated one in 1933 and five in 1940. The piano version was first published by Adolph Fürstner in Berlin in 1919. They are also known as Brentano Lieder.
