The next archived concert from the Royal Scottish National Orchestra to be streamed this weekend was first performed in May 2018 at The Royal Concert Hall in Glasgow and was a double bill of music by German composer, Richard Strauss.
The first piece was 'Burleske for piano and orchestra' Written in 1885/6 in Meiningen whilst assisting celebrated conductor Hans Von Bulow, this 20-minute piece, originally titled "Scherzo" was derided and ridiculed by Von Bulow saying it was "unplayable". The piece therefore had to wait until 1890 and the town of Eisenach for its premiere, when it was conducted by Stauss himself. Bulow was right in one sense though, the piece is a complete hotchpotch of everything Strauss had learned and was learning as well as things he was thinking of for future composing styles too. His classical training, his Romanic inclinations and his forward-thinking nature, along with his passions and eclectic brain all went into the mix here. The music does tend to run away with itself and presents various styles and themes throughout; even starting most unconventionally, with a short timpani solo.- a three-note theme which keeps cropping up throughout the piece. It is a 'scherzo' (a fast-flowing musical joke) but Burlesque does seem to fit the piece better. The pianist - here Kirill Gestein - is given a true vurtusos workout, but it is the timapni that has the last laugh (or should that be 'note').
Following this was his orchestral suite from the opera Der Rosenkavalier. Strauss had already written two world class operas, the shocking Salome and the atonal Elektra; and so he now wanted a different approach and perhaps a return to a more commercial style of music, and so he turned his attentions to Austria and Mozart. The result was his tale of the Knight Of The Rose, Der Rosenkavalier. The concert suite however was not something that was put together immediatley after the opera's success. far from it, in fact Strauss put off writing the suite until 1944 - the opera premiered in 1911. The suite is in one long continuous movement and starts with the famous opening horn call taking us on a mini-journey through the opera in sequence. The clash between Marshallin and Octavian is next, followed by a love duet, in which he offers the silver rose to Sophie. This is broken up by the arrival of Baron Orchs before the start of the waltzes. These are what set this opera apart from others, and what the opera is now still most famous for. Here we realise that Marshallin has lost Octavian before the suite returns to a pompous conclusion which is where is diverges from the opera, and leaves us on a high and bombastic finish.
Conducted by Thomas Sondergard the orchestra were in fine form, and true Romantic mood for both pieces, as the music swept us away effortlessly.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 20/6/20
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