RICHARD STRAUSS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 827, 27 May 1910, Page 5

RICHARD STRAUSS.

a "THE KINC OF SOUND." \ A PEN PORTRAIT. i . 3 Richard Strauss, the much discussed composer of "Salome," "Elektra," and j other sensational operas of tho ultraG modern school, is a paradox, declares a i writer in tho "Daily Mail" of London, f Proceeding to draw a vigorous pen por- - trait of the "King of Sound," or . music's iconoclast-, as Strauss has been s nicknamed, the same authority goes on i> to say:— "Dr. Strauss is tall, but of slight f build. Hβ has a dome-shaped head, r 'with short, curly, blond hair. His high , and protruding brow is white nnd i smooth, his faco benign, pale, seiisi- - .tivo. There is bpyishncss and kindness ; in tho lips, shaded by a thin, ' fair f moustache. The bluo eyes are thought--3 ful. Altogether the master gives one 3 the impression of u poet, unostenta--5 tious, tranquil, modest. 3 "Those who have had the privilege ', of coming in contact with him in his home at Charlottenbiirg, near Berlin, have been struck by tho clockwork regularity, of his habits, iiis dislike of all that is 'bohemian,' and his shrewd business spirit. In Berlin Dr. Strauss arrives with .equal punctuality at tho - Opera House:' v whore lip is one of-.thoj 3 nondnelors. as at the Kaisorhof Cafe, i ', where.hfi daily indulges in a rbnt with ■ ' friend?, a glass nf brer, unci a game \ of skat. ' Not Lacking in Humour. • "That ho is not lacking in humour, however, his friends know well, and they often quote as a typical example J the footnote satirical of existing con- > volitions in composition appended to his famous song 'Wenn," which runs: " 'Should someone think of singing this song while the nineteenth century is still in existence, the composer begs to advise him—of her—to transpose it from this point :\ balf-tone lower, so ' that tho composition may thus end in i the key in which it began!' "Dr. Strauss is very human. Ho has ' simple tastes and regular habits; ho is ■ dovot-crt to bis wifo and to bis son ' PraiiK; he is tin enthusiastic pedestrian \ nml cyclist, lie believes in tho simple ! ' life, and a few yours iign urn , could find j him every afteruuan during tlio summer |

months smoking and playing cards—in a most ' ungenhisliko manner —with country pcoplo in tho meeting room of a small village in tho Bavarian Alps, not far from liis little villa. "Of course, tho composer of 'Elektra' was once a child prodigy, but his life has boon singularly void of adventures. This 'advanced' musician, who, aaording to tho unwritten laws which for centuries decreed that any thinker or artist daring to break away from the traditional forms and time-honoured methods should starvo, and only be recognised- several generations after his death—or not' recognised at all—was hailed, and paid, as a genius from tho very start! . ' . . And many critics have not forgiven him his insolent and abnormal success. His Career. "Born in 1564, tho son of a prominent horn-playor and of a mother who belonged to the Pschorr family of Munich beer fame, he played remarkably well at tho age of four, composed at six, conducted an orchestra at sixteen, wrote a serenade for thirteen wind instruments, which Hans von Buolow gave everywhere, and at twentyoiio succeeded this famous musician at the head of tho Meiningen Orchestra. In 1892 he travelled through Egypt, Greece, and Sicily; two years later he married Fraulein Paulino do Ahna, who had boon singing tho heroine's part in his 'Wngnorian' opera. 'Gnntram, , ■ and who has since made a great name J as an interpreter of her husband's i .iongs. Sovoral of these songs, it may I here bs stated, are masterpieces, as ail those who have heard ''Wcmi,' 'Rest Theo, My Soul,' the 'Song.of tho Stonebreaker,' and, above- all, "ilorgoii,' will no doubt agree. "A list of his works would require too much space, but one must at least quote a few of his tone-poems and operas: 'Don Juan,' 'Death and Transfiguration,' 'Till Eulenspiegel' (1595), 'thus Spako Zarathustra' (1897), the delightful and , quite', normal 'Domestic Symphony' (1903), 'Salome' (1906), that weird and exalted opera which tells of a woman's savage revenge for flighted ; passion, aud finally 'EJoUtra.' I Some Criticism. "What has not been said about i Richard .Strauss and his work! He has i been called by some, a perverse manipu- ! lator of dissonances, by others tho j Whistler or tljo Claude Monet of music. I His compositions have been qiialilied I

as Wagnerisin run riot, orgies of delirious clash and clang, morbid sensationalism, epileptic fits set to music, but also 'the coming music' The world knows by now that in 'Elektra' the .orchestra breaks into fantastic, weird noises hitherto unknown in 'harmony,' and for which special instruments and implements, had to bo invented. The world knows that Straiiss's music is bowilderingly complex, reveals incredible technical virtuosity really amounting to wizardry, requires endless rehearsals, and taxes vocalists and players as no-music has ever done before. "It is quite evident that- the dreadful third act of Wagner's 'Tristan' is mere child's play when compared with the music of 'Salome,' and now wo have been told ■by Herr von Schuch, who conducted 'Elektra' at Dresden, that 'compared with it, "Salome" sounds like one of Haydn's sweet arid simple symphonies!' There are horror and terror, there are blood-curdling wails and wild shrieks in 'Elektra,' and amazing instrumental effects, and wo have heard the remark of the Gorman critic who suggests, to complete that complicated score, the addition of 'a locomotive whistle, a few foghorns, and. a battery of howitzers.' Meanwhile, let us not forget that Wagner's music was at first ridiculed as 'cat's music, , and that for a long time it only appealed to very limited audiences. "The music of Kichard Sirauss may be called frenzied, pathological, eccentric, neurotic, cyclonic, barbarous, grotesque—or sublime and ahead of Uptimes'; there can be no doubt that tho composer of 'Tod und Vorklariing' and of 'Salome' is a striking personality, tho leader of modern realism in music, a creative genius challenging Attention. Vet Strauss'is a paradox, for ho is now at work on several light operas, and his favourite composer is the simplest J and most melodious of composers, Mozart."