“To Richard Strauss, the composer, I take off my hat,” the conductor Arturo Toscanini once famously declared. “To Richard Strauss, the man, I put it on again.” Strauss, at one stage in his life was connected, musically, to Hitler’s Third Reich. Toscanini’s distinction between the individual and his work raises an age-old conundrum about art and morality: Should we allow the details of an artist’s biography to affect the way we view their work? Perhaps there is no easy answer, so perhaps we take their music as we find it and enjoy it for how that is. Which is how we approached Richard Strauss’ tone poem: “A Hero’s Life”.
Sergei Rachmaninov had his brush with politics finding himself on the receiving end of the wrath of Soviet Union officialdom following the publication of a critical letter that he’d written about the regime. His music was banned in Russia, allowing for neither its study nor its performance. Happily elsewhere it found acclaim and we were able to enjoy his Third Symphony – the penultimate work of a long career.
Similarly, Dmitri Shostakovich found himself in an ‘on and off’ relationship with the State. At an ‘on’ time he penned a Festive Overture to celebrate an anniversary of the Russian Revolution. Meanwhile in wartime England Ralph Vaughan-Williams was arrested on suspicion of being a German spy. It turned out he was making notes for a work to become known as “A Lark Ascending”.
Happily, other music for this month by Beethoven, Grieg and Mozart came without any political motivation or overtones. hence, they were able to be enjoyed simply for the beauty of the music. Details and links to the notes and recordings follow:
Session Notes 10th May
Beethoven - Consecration of the House
Rachmaninoff - Symphony No.3
Grieg - Piano Concerto
Session Notes 24th May
Shostakovich - Festive Overture
Richard Strauss - A Hero's Life
Additional Notes to 'A Hero's Life'
Vaughan-Williams - The Lark Ascending
Mozart - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Bill Squire
Sergei Rachmaninov had his brush with politics finding himself on the receiving end of the wrath of Soviet Union officialdom following the publication of a critical letter that he’d written about the regime. His music was banned in Russia, allowing for neither its study nor its performance. Happily elsewhere it found acclaim and we were able to enjoy his Third Symphony – the penultimate work of a long career.
Similarly, Dmitri Shostakovich found himself in an ‘on and off’ relationship with the State. At an ‘on’ time he penned a Festive Overture to celebrate an anniversary of the Russian Revolution. Meanwhile in wartime England Ralph Vaughan-Williams was arrested on suspicion of being a German spy. It turned out he was making notes for a work to become known as “A Lark Ascending”.
Happily, other music for this month by Beethoven, Grieg and Mozart came without any political motivation or overtones. hence, they were able to be enjoyed simply for the beauty of the music. Details and links to the notes and recordings follow:
Session Notes 10th May
Beethoven - Consecration of the House
Rachmaninoff - Symphony No.3
Grieg - Piano Concerto
Session Notes 24th May
Shostakovich - Festive Overture
Richard Strauss - A Hero's Life
Additional Notes to 'A Hero's Life'
Vaughan-Williams - The Lark Ascending
Mozart - Eine Kleine Nachtmusik
Bill Squire
