Death and Transfiguration

Death and Transfiguration, Op 24, is a tone poem for large orchestra by Richard Strauss. It was built 1888-1890 and was premiered under the baton of the composer on 21 June 1890 in Eisenach.

Strauss himself designed the program of work, in which the infirmity of a dying person is presented. From pain gepeingt, this reminds himself of his life and when he finally dies, his soul is transfigured. Strauss' mentor Alexander Ritter wrote later the poem " In the poor small chamber ... ", which prefaced the composer of the score.

The one-movement work is divided into an introductory Largo and Allegro molto agitato a set peitschtes. Death and Transfiguration is after Macbeth and Don Juan Strauss' symphonic poem and third part of the early period of the composer, in the language also works as So arose Zarathustra. The clay has a performance time of approximately 24 minutes.

The style is strongly reminiscent of the musical language of Richard Wagner, the great influence on the work of Richard Strauss had. The work is the era of the late Romantic assign.

Very popular is the recording of Herbert von Karajan with the Berlin Philharmonic, published by the German Grammophon.

About the Music

Death and Transfiguration is in a free sonata form [ ABC] - created [B '' C'' ] - [ A'-B' -C ' ]. In the introduction peaceful sounds of the strings a major third, to which is followed after some stay the root and thus opened a minor sound surface. After soft drumbeats and falling seconds of the strings this modulated in the first motif A, an initially proffered by the flute Cantilena on a carpet of strings and the ascending scale of the harp. This is interpreted as a peaceful look back on life. Solo woodwinds determined to continue this topic. Solo clarinet and flute repeat the subject before the exposure of this topic is first recorded by a string by the solo violin. In an epilogue motif fragments are repeated by solo woodwinds, to a decent bugle announcing a turn, and the massive death motif B strikes with a fortissimo beat the big drum and hot plate. Threat of particles in the lower strings switch acts by a sharply accented Tutti phases. This first emotional climax is softened gradually and flows gradually into the grandiose Verklärungsmotiv C. This can be interpreted as a free variation of the A theme and ends with a falling second in the double dominant. The character of this phase is Strauss discuss later in the Alpine Symphony after the storm again.

The development begins with the flute motif on string figures. Also in the implementation can be identified for Alpine Symphony in a horn passage parallels. A loud collapse of the death motif leads to the implementation of the Verklärungsthemas, which is always clouded by disdainful interjections fanfare of trumpets and is evoked twice at this stage in its full glory. The implementation is decided almost morendo with the falling seconds.

A huge impact of the death motif with fanfare and low tin begins the recapitulation, in which the cantabile A topic completely missing. An incipient warm string sound Coda Connected to the reprise of the Verklärungsmotivs on the basis of the same, which opens into a heavenly sounding sound summit, which dissolves in the final minutes, however, and while maintaining its affirmierenden character.