DOMESTIC SYMPHONY, Op

See DAN WYNN -LM-2103 Richard Strauss DOMESTIC SYMPHONY, Op. 53 Chicago Symphony Orchestra + Fritz Reiner, Conductor Almost always a nickname is added to the title of The likelihood is that this remark had been a reac- tinct and movement-like sections. Strauss lent his a musical work after the piece has been around for a tion to the public’s seemingly insatiable interest in approval to the following skeletal outline: while. Occasionally these nicknames are afterthoughts programmatic detail, which Strauss felt had gone a bit 1. Introduction and development of the three chief of the composer. More often they are someone else’s. too far. At any rate, his statement was not taken too groups of themes —the husband’s: (a) Easy-going, Once affixed, however, any such “handle” stays on be- seriously, particularly since he had said in the same (b) Dreamy, (c) Fiery; the wife’s: (a) Lively and gay, cause it opens a door — for many listeners, the door interview that the title of the Domestic Symphony (b) Grazioso; the child’s theme: Tranquil. to understanding. sufficiently explains the music. It remained for the per- 2. Scherzo. Parent’s happiness. Childish play. Cradle Sometimes, of course, a nickname can summon up ceptive English writer Ernest Newman to put every- song (the clock strikes seven in the evening). a vision that has nothing to do with the music as con- thing in proper perspective. Over and above any 3. Adagio. Doing and thinking. Love scene. Dreams ceived. Alert to this possibility, Richard Strauss made musical grounds for the initial and continuing popu- and cares (the clock strikes seven in the morning). sure that his Opus 53 would invite no whimsical infer- larity of the work, Newman concluded that “people 4, Finale. Awakening and merry dispute (double ences. He called it the Sinfonia Domestica (Domestic who were puzzled almost to the point of insanity by fugue). Joyous conclusion. Symphony), which is as concisely self-contained an Zarathustra and its Ubermenschen . and all the rest Subsequent to the Domestic Symphony Strauss wrote appellation as you will encounter in all the orchestral of that queer fauna, could recognize at once when the but one sizable work for orchestra — the Alpine Sym- literature. In addition, as if this were not foolproof baby was squealing in its bath or the lullaby was being phony, the plot of which was sufficiently patent to enough, a parenthetical dedication “to my dear wife sung over it; and they had a kindly fellow-feeling for eliminate any controversy. For three decades thereafter and our boy”’ is an integral part of the title. the terrible musician who now seemed to be even such he devoted himself almost entirely to opera. One infers, Strauss had begun his Domestic Symphony in May a one as themselves.” therefore, that the Domestica was the composer’s fare- of 1902. A few months later, in London, he told a The dictionary defines the word “domestic” as fol- well to program music. Hence, possibly, his extreme reporter for The Musical Times: “My next tone poem lows: “In the position of a member of a household.” contradictions as to its literary connotations. will illustrate “a day in my family life.’ It will be partly That the Domestic Symphony is a masterpiece, then, Maybe and maybe not. We will never know the truth lyrical, partly humorous — a triple fugue, the three sub- merely attests to the generative power of music itself of the matter, but certainly Der Rosenkavalier, Elektra, jects representing Papa, Mama, and the baby.” —for surely it was music that dominated the most Ariadne auf Naxos, Salome, Die Frau ohne Schatten The last page of the score was completed in Berlin earthly minutae of daily life in the home of Richard and Arabella are ample solace for the lack of sequels on New Year’s Eve of 1903. On the first day of spring Strauss. That the music is by design “domestic,” on to the Domestic Symphony. If the classic forms were following it was given its premiére — not in Germany, the other hand, attests to the accuracy of the assump- indeed alien to his nature, Strauss at least had brought not even in Europe, but at Carnegie Hall in New York tion that the lord of this particular manor was a happily the tone poem of Berlioz and Liszt to the most glorious City. The orchestra was a now forgotten organization domesticated creature — rare among composers — who height in its history — and done it before his fortieth bearing the name of its regular conductor, Hermann just happened to be a surpassing creative genius. birthday, at that. Notes by JAMEs Lyons Hans Wetzler, although Strauss himself presided on Be that as it may have been, the Domestic Symphony © by Radio Corporation of America, 1957 this occasion. : long since has taken its place in the repertoire with This Is an RCA Victor ‘New Orthophonic” High Fidelity Recording. Column after column was devoted to the concert in those ever popular companion works — Don Juan, It is distinguished by these characteristics: 1. Complete frequency range. 2. Ideal dynamic range plus clarity and brilliance. 3. Constant fidelity from the Manhattan press. All accounts agree that it was an Death and Transfiguration, Till Eulenspiegel, Don outside to inside of record. 4. Improved quiet surfaces. enormous success. This notwithstanding, the critics Quixote and Kin Heldenleben, in that chronological Beware the Blunted Needle! who duly noted this general enthusiasm did not un- order — which had secured the composer’s fame before A blunted or chipped needle can permanently damage your most valuable records. A worn needle will impair the quality of sound reproduction you animously share it. Apparently the composer had con- the turn of the century. hear. Make sure your needle is in good condition before you play this record. If in doubt, have it checked by your dealer — or buy a new needle. fused them somewhat by insisting, in an interview, that In the manner of these predecessors the Domestic “this time I wish my music to be listened to purely Symphony unfolds continuously from beginning to end, Gary as music.” TMKS ® © Radio Corporation of America but for all practical purposes it is laid out in four dis- LM-2103 Marcas Registradas Printed in U.S. A. .

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