Richard Strauss: Man, Musician, Enigma
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | 4.46 (817 Votes) |
| Asin | : | 0521027748 |
| Format Type | : | paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 468 Pages |
| Publish Date | : | 2017-07-11 |
| Language | : | English |
DESCRIPTION:
For all that, his style is admirably lucid, and his biography largely succeeds in pointing to a greatness that "has not yet been fully understood and discovered." --Thomas May. There are few composers whose critical stock has roller-coastered as dramatically as that of Richard Strauss, both during his lifetime and in the five decades since his death in 1949. While steering clear of Freudian reductionism, Kennedy reveals the crucial significance of Strauss's mother's nervous instability--she was eventually committed to various sanatoriums--and the centrality of the work ethic inherited from his father. Once considered a dangerous firebrand of the avant-garde--his early masterpiece Salome was give
Lauded as nothing less than the "greatest musical figure" of his time by Canadian musician, Glenn Gould, in 1962, Strauss also has attracted his share of posthumous epithets: in summary, an artist who lived off his own fat during his later years. Kennedy clearly elucidates his enigmatic subject by building his analysis around the few constants in Strauss' life: his profound admiration for German culture, his dependence on his own family for guidance, and his "Nietzschean total absorption in art." This frame offers everyone from Straussian scholars to general readers an insightful and easy-to-follow biographical narrative. Introducing his detailed work more as a broad explication than a firm answer to the Straussian riddle, Kennedy's scope includes the exuberant, extroverted Strauss of young adulthood as well as the phlegmatic and aloof middle-aged man who resembled a "prosperous bank manager;" the arch-fiend of modernism and the composer who redefined the term; a man who professed to lack all spiritual curiosity and a mu
He was awarded an OBE in 1981. He is the author of numerous books including studies of Elgar, VaughanWilliams, Walton, and also The Oxford Dictionary of Music (2nd edn 1994); Mahler (J.M. Michael Kennedy has been Chief Music Critic on the Sunday Telegraph since 1989. From 1960 to 1986 he was Northern Editor of the Daily Telegraph and the paper's music critic from 1950 to 1989. Dent, Master Musician
Robert Burns said Biased? Yes. Enlightening? Absolutely.. Having been a fan of Richard Strauss's music for years, I wanted to know more about him than the standard opinions out there. I got a glimpse of him in my reading of Henry de La Grange's epic biography of Gustav Mahler, who was contemporary to Strauss (having been born just Biased? Yes. Enlightening? Absolutely. Robert Burns Having been a fan of Richard Strauss's music for years, I wanted to know more about him than the standard opinions out there. I got a glimpse of him in my reading of Henry de La Grange's epic biography of Gustav Mahler, who was contemporary to Strauss (having been born just 4 years before him in 1860). Both men, along with Wagner and Bruckner are considered the greatest Romantic symphonists and conductors, both in and since their own time.Kennedy's book brings a complex and paradoxical man to life in this book, yet a lot of what he writes is spent trying to explain, perhaps ev. years before him in 1860). Both men, along with Wagner and Bruckner are considered the greatest Romantic symphonists and conductors, both in and since their own time.Kennedy's book brings a complex and paradoxical man to life in this book, yet a lot of what he writes is spent trying to explain, perhaps ev. An eye and ear opener - why did it take this long? I have grown up reading Michael Kennedy's biographies of such composers as Vaughan Williams and Edward Elgar. So I eagerly picked-up his latest biography of Richard Strauss partly because of what I deemed to be Kennedy's objective approach to his subjects, and also because Strauss seemed to be a deeply held secret not meant to be shared with us ordinary listeners (in other words, there wasn't much else available).Kennedy seems to have slightly more passion for Strauss it turns out than for RVW or Elgar, or at least enough moxy to blow the cover off some well established sacred. "For Strauss enthusiasts" according to P. Mossel. It is an excellent biography of Richard Strauss, well written and employing up-to-date scholarship on the great composer. It portrays not only Strauss' life and historical milieu, but also addresses inaccurate views of his political situation during Hitler's Third Reich, which have unfairly colored his reputation. The book would be an essential tool in fully understanding and appreciating this musical genius.