Richard Strauss

RICHARD STRAUSS: The Origin, Dissemination and Reception of his Mozart Renaissance Raymond lIolden I I \,--,~/ PhD Goldsmiths' College University of London 1 Abstract Richard Strauss holds an important place in the history of performance. Of the major musical figures active during the second half of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth centuries, his endeavours as a Mozartian are of particular importance. Strauss' special interest in the works of Mozart was seminal to both his performance and compositional aesthetics. As a result of this affinity, Strauss consciously set out to initiate a Mozart renaissance that embodied a precise set of principles and reforms. It was these principles and reforms, described as literalist, rather than those of artists such .as Gustav Mahler, who edited Mozart's works both musically and dramatically, that found further expression in the readings of, amongst others, Otto Klemperer, George Szell, Sir John Pritchard and Wolfgang Sawallisch. It is the aim of this dissertation to investigate Strauss' activities as a Mozartian and to assess his influence on subsequent generations of Mozart conductors. Accordingly, the dissertation is divided into an Introduction, five chapters, a Conclusion and thirteen appendices. These consider both the nature and ramifications of Strauss' reforms and performance aesthetic. Within this framework, the breadth of his renaissance; his choice of edition, cuts and revisions; his use of tempo, as a means of structural delineation; his activities with respect to the recitative, and his realization of sonata form are discussed. Sources for this dissertation include: Strauss' own marked scores of Mozart's works, not previously considered; his recordings of Mozart; conversations and interviews between the present author and leading musical figures; unpublished extracts from his diaries, in the form of performance dates; articles written by Strauss on the performance of Classical music and, more particularly, that of Mozart; reviews from the period; recordings of later generations of Mozartians, some of which are not in the public domain, and, for the first time in print, the marked scores of Sir John Pritchard. 2 Acknowledgements The author wishes to thank the following for their kind assistance in the preparation of this dissertation: Felix Aprahamian, JoAnne E. Barry (The Philadelphia Orchestra), Edelgard Baumgiirtel (Stiftung Weimarer Klassik), Dr. Otto Biba (Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien), Philippe Blay (Conservatoire national superieur de musique et de danse de Paris), Dr. Richard Bletschacher (Wiener Staatsoper), P. Buchholz (Landeshauptstadt Magdeburg), Arno Dittrich, Professor Cyril Ehrlich, Dr. Hans Ferwerda (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam), Bernd Gellermann (Berliner Philharmoniker), Eva Gnepf (Tonhalle-Gesellschaft ZUrich), Barbara Haws (New York Philharmonic), Mary Holden, Dr. Monika Holl (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek), Dr. Ann Kersting (Stadt- und Universitatsbibliothek, Frankfurt am Main), Frau Laube (Senat der Freien und Hansestadt Hamburg), Douglas Lorimer, Anna Pia Maissen (Stadtarchiv Zurich), Dr. Kurt Malisch (Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv), Jon Mayled, Herta Muller (Staatliche Museen Meiningen), Laurette Mumper (The Pittsburgh Symphony Society), Dr. Michael Musgrave, Anthony Pollard (Gramophone), the late Sir John Pritchard, J. Rigbie Turner (The Pierpont Morgan Library, New York), Wolfgang Sawallisch, Karin Scheider (Deutschen Nationaltheaters und der Staatskapelle Weimar), Richard Strauss (grandson of the composer), Gabriele Strauss-Hotter, Carolyn Sturm, Annette Thomas (Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin), the late Dr. Franz Trenner, Frank Villella (Chicago Symphony Orchestra), Nora Wellmann (Magyar Allami Operahaz, Budapest) and Margot Wassner (Oper der Stadt Kaln). 3 Contents: . Abstract 2 Acknowledgements 3 Introduction Strauss: a Mozartian 6 Chapter One A Survey of the Performances, Recordings & Reviews 19 Chapter Two Performance I: Editions, Cuts & Revisions 68 Chapter Three Performance II: Tempo 85 Chapter Four Performance III: The Recitative 101 Chapter Five Performance IV: Strauss' Realization of Sonata Form 116 Conclusion 134 Appendices: Appendix A Musical Examples 136 Appendix B Richard Strauss: Mozart's Cosi fan tutte from Betrachtungen und Erinnerungen 148 Appendix C Richard Strauss: Uber Mozart from Betrachtungen und Erinnerungen 150 Appendix D Richard Strauss: extracts from Dirigentenerfahrungen mit klassischen Meisterwerken from Betrachtungen und Erinnerungen 152 AppendixE Calendar of Richard Strauss' known Mozart performances 155 Appendix F Mozart performances at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London from 1886-1914 165 Appendix G Interviews with Wolfgang Sawallisch & Dr Franz Trenner 166 4 AppendixH Structural Synopsis of Strauss' Edition of Mozart's Idomeneo 170 Appendix I Gustav Mahler's Edition of Cosi fan tutte (for the Vienna Court Opera, 1905) 178 AppendixJ A Chronological Selection of Reviews of Strauss' Mozart performances, 1896-1936 185 AppendixK Extracts from: Ueber die Neueinstudierung und Neuinszenierung des Mozart'schen Don Giovanni (Don Juan) aufdem kg!. Residenztheater zu Munchen, by Ernst von Possart 195 Appendix L A table showing the annotations in Strauss' marked symphonic scores of Mozart and the metronomic speeds derived from his commercial recordings 204 AppendixM The Unpublished Sources 221 Archive Sources 225 Bibliography 227 5 Introduction Strauss: a Mozartian At other times I would remember the enchanting Residenztheaterl in which Mozart had conducted his Idomeneo and where, 120 years later, I was able to initiate a Mozart renaissance and particularly to interpret, with Possart as an inspired producer, Cosi fan tutte, previously so often misunderstood, to native and even foreign admirers.2 Strauss' Mozart renaissance was concerned with: the revival of operas that had fallen from the standard repertoire, such as Cosi fan tutte, Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serai! and Idomeneo; the return to source and autograph materials in his readings of Don Giovanni, and the interpretation of the symphonic scores. The development of his Mozart 'style', described as 'literalist' / due to its attempt to be faithful to the composer's original intentions, his manipulation of sonata form and his reaction to contemporary performance trends in the realization of Mozart's operas, led to a reappraisal of that composer's works. Strauss' widespread championing of Mozart in general, had its origins in his earliest years. As a young musician, Strauss was influenced by the musical environment in which he lived. Munich, during the latter half of the nineteenth century, witnessed a polarisation of musical thought:4 the Classicism of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, as espoused by Franz Lachner/ and the Modernism of Wagner, represented by Hans von BUlow. 6 Strauss' father, Franz/ wanted his son to compose and perform in the tradition of the former. Himself a musical reactionary, Franz arranged for Richard to have lessons Now known as the Alte Residenztheater or Cuvillies Theater, built in 1753, bombed during the 1939-45 war and reconstructed in 1958. Strauss responding to the announcement, by the Senior Burgomaster, of the establishment of a Richard Strauss scholarship at the University of Munich, in 1949. F. Trenner, 'Richard Strauss and Munich', Tempo, Summer 1964, p. 12. Sir Iohn'Pritchard's description of Strauss' Mozart style. Conversation with the author, Salzburg, July 1989. The effect of this polarisation was reflected in Strauss' compositional aesthetic. In a letter to Hans von BUlow, dated 24 August 1888, he noted: '[the difficulties I face with the] ever increasing contradiction between the musical-poetic content that I want to convey a[nd] the ternary sonata form that has come down to us from the classical composers.' R. Strauss, Hans von Bulow and Richard Strauss: Correspondence, eds. W. Schuh and F. Trenner, trans. A. Gishford, pp. 82-3. Franz Paul Lachner (1803-90). Generalmusikdirektor at the Munich Court Opera from 1852-68. A composer and conductor, he was personalIy acquainted with Schubert and Beethoven. His activities in Munich were curtailed with the arrival of Wagner and von BUlow. Lachner was referred to by Strauss in relation to tempo, in the article Dirigentenerfahrungen mit klassischen Meisterwerken. see Appendix D. Franz Trenner notes that Strauss arranged Lachner's Nonet in F major (1875) for piano four hands (1880-1). F. Trenner, 'Selections from the Strauss-Thuille Correspondence: A Glimpse of Strauss during His Formative Years', trans. Susan Gillespie, Richard Strauss and His World, ed. B. Gilliam, p. 230 note 26. Hans (Guido) Freiherr von BUlow (1830-94). Conductor of the Munich Court Opera 1864-9, where he premiered Tristan und Isolde (1865) and Die Meistersinger von Nurnberg (1868), and Hofmusik-Intendant at Meiningen 1880-5. Strauss was engaged by von BUlow as his assistant at Meiningen in 1885, becoming his successor in 1886. Franz Strauss (1822-1905) was born in the Upper Palatinate and was for forty-two years a member of the Munich HofkapelIe. He was described by von Bulow as, 'the Joachim of the Waldhorn' and was a staunch anti-Wagnerian. More importantly, the relationship between Franz and Richard Strauss bears some resemblance to tl1at of Leopold and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Leon Botstein notes: 'IronicalIy, Strauss's relationship to his father, a distinguished professional musician, has an important paralIel in W.A. Mozart's relationship to Leopold Mozart. In botl1 cases

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