Profession: Composer and Conductor
Biography: Richard Strauss was a German composer and conductor, regarded as a successor to Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt. He is often categorized alongside Gustav Mahler as representing the late movement of German Romanticism.
Strauss composed works starting at six years old, and continued to work for nearly eighty years. He has created pieces in most every form, though is best regarded for his tone poems and operas.
Of Strauss' best known work are the tone poems Don Juan (1888) and Also sprach Zarathustra (1896). He is also highly regarded for his operas, including Salome (1905) and Ariadne auf Naxos (1912).
Beyond his original works, Strauss was also known as a major conductor in Western Europe and the Americas. He was a student of of Hans von Bülow, having begun his career by first working as his assistant and then taking over for him at the Meiningen Court Orchestra.
Born: June 11, 1864
Birthplace: Munich, Germany
Star Sign: Gemini
Died: September 8, 1949 (aged 85)
Historical Events
- 1893-12-23 Opera "Hansel and Gretel" by Engelbert Humperdinck and his sister Adelheid Wette premieres in Weimar, conducted by Richard Strauss
- 1894-11-05 Richard Strauss' tone poem "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks" premieres
- 1896-11-27 "Also Sprach Zarathustra" (Thus Spake Zarathustra) by Richard Strauss, inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical novel, debuts in Frankfurt
- 1901-11-21 Richard Strauss' opera "Feuersnot" premieres in Dresden
- 1905-12-09 Richard Strauss' opera "Salome" premieres in Dresden
- 1909-01-25 Richard Strauss' one-act opera "Elektra" premieres in Dresden
- 1910-02-19 English premiere of Richard Strauss' opera "Elektra"
- 1911-01-26 Richard Strauss's opera "Der Rosenkavalier" (Knight of the Rose) premieres at the Königliches Opernhaus in Dresden, Germany
- 1915-10-28 Richard Strauss' tone poem "Eine Alpensinfonie (An Alpine Symphony)" premieres in Berlin
- 1919-10-10 Richard Strauss and Hugo van Hofmannsthal's opera "Die Frau ohne Schatten (The Woman Without A Shadow)", premieres in Vienna, Austria
- 1934-10-20 Richard Strauss completes his opera "Die Schweigsame Frau" (The Silent Woman)
- 1935-07-13 Richard Strauss resigns as chairman of Reichskulturkammer
- 1943-08-11 Richard Strauss' Second Horn Concerto, premieres at the Salzburg Festival with Gottfried von Freiberg as soloist with the Vienna Philharmonic under Karl Böhm
- 1945-04-12 Richard Strauss completes his "Metamorphosen"
- 1946-01-25 Richard Strauss' composition "Metamorphosen" premieres with the Collegium Musicum in Zürich
- 1950-05-22 Richard Strauss' "4 Last Songs" (4 letzte Lieder) premieres in London
Harold Arlen
Jules Massenet
Robert Schumann
Edward Elgar
Felix Mendelssohn
Maurice Ravel