Strauss 150 RICHARD STRAUSS
FABIO LUISI
Meet the insatiably curious composer Born in Munich in 1864, Richard Strauss began composing at the age of six, the first steps of a career that spanned over 60 years at the forefront of musical life in Europe. This summer, 150 years after his birth, the LSO is set to explore his legacy with a series focusing on some of his towering achievements as a composer, plus an LSO Discovery Day that will give an insight into his life and career. A contemporary of Mahler and Elgar, Strauss touched on almost every genre over the course of his career, as the musical world around him shifted from the late-Romanticism of the 19th century to the shocking innovations of modernism. His tone poems, written at the turn of the century, represent his first breakthrough; in these evocative orchestral works, which use music to tell a story, Strauss was able to give voice to the artistic, literary and philosophical influences that his insatiably curious mind absorbed. The LSO’s concerts this summer survey this vivid, imaginative music. Macbeth, an early work, is conducted by
NIKOLAJ ZNAIDER
Sir Mark Elder, alongside the lively tale of mischievous folk prankster Till Eulenspiegel. Don Juan, the tone poem that made Strauss’ name when he was 24 years old, is paired with the iconic Also sprach Zarathustra conducted by Nikolaj Znaider, and towards the end of the season Fabio Luisi conducts Ein Heldenleben, the portrait of ‘a hero’s life’. After establishing his formidable reputation in orchestral music, Strauss turned his attention to opera, writing works that captivated and sometimes scandalised the public. This summer, Sir Mark Elder conducts extracts from Der Rosenkavalier, one of Strauss’ most popular works, a comic opera set in 18th-century Vienna, which gently pastiches the Italian operas of the Classical era.
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STRAUSS 150 – FULL BOOKING INFORMATION ON BACK COVER
‘A performance of such fierce certainty and architectural coherence.’ The Times on Sir Mark Elder and the LSO