Richard Strauss: An Intimate Portrait

by Kurt Wilhelm, Paul Sessner (Photographer), Kurt Wilhelm

Richard Strauss (1864 -1949) always claimed that his music was a self-portrait, that he depicted himself, his nature, and his world in musical notes. From the charming autobiographical opera Intermezzo, based on a domestic misunderstanding, to the self-confident tone poem Ein Heldenleben, the composer's works relate to his personal experience as closely as those of any nineteenth-century Romantic. For the huge audience that enjoys the music of Strauss, Kurt Wilhelm's book has proved to be a cornucopia of information. Many of the numerous illustrations--taken from the private archive of the Strauss family--have never been published previously, and all are of immense historical interest. Skillfully woven around them is a detailed and revealing text, rich in anecdotes, quotations, and personal reminiscences by members of the Strauss family and contemporaries. The result is an intimate investigation of the private life, opinions, background, and works of Strauss that comes as close to the man as one is likely to get.

Genres: Music, Nonfiction, Biography

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1984

Reviews

[Markus]

Wihelm's biography does not lack information, but it does lack organization. I found it very repetitive and the chronology was hard to follow. Also, he has many problems communicating the subject of a sentence. After the word he, she, they etc, one typically thinks of the last name mentioned. Not so with this book.

Perhaps more could have been written about what Strauss thought of his own music. Regrettably, the story of copyright issues with Aus Italian was completely left out, as well as that of Horn Concerto No. 2.

Being that Strauss drew pictures with his music, Wilhelm does very little to tie that music into the current life.

The use of letters and anecdotes,however, brings the man, Richard Strauss, to life.