Composer Profile - Activefolio

From Romantic to post-Romantic
Summary
The Late Romantic Period 113
As we will see in chapter 10, musical advancement begins to fragment and move along
different lines. Symphonic music had become so long and melodramatic that it lost its
appeal to growing numbers of musicians. The symbolism of Wagner and the epic symphonies
of Mahler were not for everyone, yet symphonic development did continue.
The principal figure who carries orchestral music from the Romantic period into twentieth
century-post Romanticism is Richard Strauss (1864–1949). Strauss, an admirer of
Wagner and a colleague of Mahler, brought the symphonic poem to its greatest complexity.
He also composed operas including Salome and Elektra, which pushed tonality
to the breaking point. The barbaric subjects and musical sounds bordering on anarchy
were a lot for audiences to bear. Later in his life he actually backed away from those
dissonant works and produced operas in a much more familiar style. His 1911 opera
Der Rosenkavalier is a delightful comedy that rivals the Barber of Seville in its charm.
Strauss’ symphonic poems carried on the tradition Liszt began. His most symphonic
poems were Death and Transfiguration (1889), Don Juan (1889), Don Quixote
(1897), Till Eulenspigel’s Merry Pranks (1895) and Also Sprach Zarathustra (1896).
Other symphonic works that almost defy description are his huge tone poem Ein
Heldenleben (1898), Sinfonia Domestica (1903), and Alpine Symphony (1915). Each is
a brilliant example of orchestration and programmatic thought.
Strauss lived well into the twentieth century, and was regarded widely as the finest
composer in Europe. Unfortunately he and his music were used by the Nazi movement
as an example of the superiority of the “master race.” Strauss had the unenviable task of
moving forward with his career in spite of the horrible distractions of his government.
However, he did have the opportunity to speak his mind to Nazi party officials about
the ridiculous posture of their government, which he did in several letters. Because of
his stature, there was little the Nazis could do.
Richard Strauss represented the last of the Romantic German symphonic composers.
This was a noble line that started with Haydn and continued through Beethoven,
Schubert, Schumann, Brahms and Bruckner. To visualize the symphony as it grew through
the Romantic period, one comes to understand the evolution of musical thinking. Early
symphonies were pure entertainment, but the influence of romantic passions gave rise
to symphonies that exhibited more raw emotion and symbolism than the genre could
previously have allowed. Indeed, musical philosophy itself changed to embrace far more
than Haydn or Mozart could have ever dreamed. Haydn and Mozart perfected the
structure, Beethoven redefined it, giving all the later Romantic composers the license to
imbed their personalities, heritage and emotions into their music.
Key Terms
bel canto music drama
chromaticism nationalism
endless melody
leitmotif
Ring Cycle