Building a Collection #58
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30
By Richard Strauss
________________
“Must one become seventy years old to recognize that one's greatest strength lies in creating musical kitsch?”
-Richard Strauss
Welcome back! At #58 in our count up is a work which has an opening that, next to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, is arguably the most famous and recognizable in classical music. The reason you have probably heard the beginning of Richard Strauss’ tone poem Also Sprach Zarathustra (Thus Spoke Zarathustra) is due to the use of its initial fanfare, called Sonnenaufgang (Sunrise) by Strauss in his program notes, in the 1968 Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey. This is not only the most familiar music Strauss ever composed, but one of the most familiar themes in all music history. Moreover, the familiar Sunrise opening has been used often ever since in popular culture, TV commercials, several other films, and in popular music. But many listeners have never bothered to listen to Also Sprach Zarathustra beyond its famous opening, and there are other riches to discover.
Click here to watch the opening sequence video for 2001: A Space Odyssey:
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was born in Munich in 1864, the son of the principal horn player in the Munich Court Orchestra. No relation to the Strauss family of Vienna waltz fame, Richard showed musical aptitude early on and took lessons in piano, violin, music theory, harmony, and orchestration. By the time Strauss reached adulthood, he was producing musical compositions of great maturity and sophistication. His father was one of his primary teachers, but he also learned under Ludwig Thuille, a family friend. Overall, his musical education was conservative in style. At the age of 17, he published his Serenade for 13 Winds, Op. 7, which led the conductor Hans von Bülow to declare Strauss “the most striking personality since Brahms.” Von Bülow would prove important in giving Strauss his first assistant conductor position. Through these early developments in his career, Strauss would grow to admire the writings of Schopenhauer and Nietzsche, and the music of Wagner and Liszt. Strauss would go on to have a very long composing and conducting career, which would take him all over Europe and to the United States.
The influence of Wagner in particular on Strauss's style was to be significant, but at least initially his musically conservative father forbade him from studying it. The music of Richard Wagner was viewed with deep suspicion by the elder Strauss, and it was not until the age of 16 that Richard was able to obtain a score of Tristan und Isolde. In 1882 he went to the Bayreuth Festival to hear his father perform in the world premiere of Wagner's Parsifal; there are surviving letters to his father detailing his seemingly negative impression of Wagner and his music. Later in life, Strauss would admit that he deeply regretted his conservative hostility to Wagner's music.
Beginning with the “symphonic fantasy” Aus Italien in 1886, Strauss would begin a phase of his career where he would compose many of the most extraordinary tone poems in classical music history. It became evident that Strauss had a natural affinity and ability to write music for orchestra. Strauss brough the tone poem to its apogee with such works as Don Juan (1888-89), Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life)(1897-98), and Also sprach Zarathustra (1895-96). Strauss possessed a supreme gift for using all the colorful possibilities of the orchestra to dramatic effect, as few ever have. Other well-known Strauss tone poems include Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche (Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks), Eine Alpensinfonie (An Alpine Symphony), Sinfonia Domestica, Don Quixote, Metamorphosen, and Tod und Verklarung (Death and Transfiguration).
Although Strauss grew up in a time when music was changing, with some composers such as Wagner and Bruckner looking ahead by using more groundbreaking styles, Strauss was more conservative. Strauss idolized Mozart and Brahms. Of Mozart, Strauss said, “The most perfect melodic shapes are found in Mozart; he has the lightness of touch which is the true objective.” Of course, Strauss’ music does not sound like Mozart, but he certainly had a gift for melody not unlike Mozart. Strauss knew Brahms personally, and actually assisted in the preparation for the world premiere of Brahms’ Symphony no. 4 during his time at the Meiningen Court Orchestra. Strauss would later refer to this time as his “BrahmsschwärmereiIn” or “Brahms Adoration”. One of the reasons he revered Brahms was because Brahms himself was also a conservative composer in the sense of paying homage to past masters with rich, melodic themes and traditional structures.
In his use of logic and structure, Strauss had the goal of creating music that tells a story and has meaning. Strauss was one of the most “programmatic” composers in history, in other words he composed music that was written to describe extra-musical things. The music follows a narrative and is meant to be descriptive or to evoke a scene or a mood through a theme or motif. This is one of the most defining features of Strauss’ music, as he himself said, “I want to be able to depict in music a glass of beer so accurately that every listener can tell whether it is a Pilsner or a Kulmbacher.” As such, the music of Strauss is very accessible, relatively easy to follow, and is decidedly tonal in nature. Strauss did not care to be avant-garde, at least not until the latter part of his career. Strauss did face critics that called his music “kitsch”, meaning music which is intended to evoke emotions, sentimentality and positive feelings, but which lacks authenticity, and which is superficial and shallow. The accusation that Strauss’ music is kitschy is unfair and inaccurate in my opinion. In any case, if Strauss composed music full of meaning easily accessible to the common listener, what is wrong with that? Aaron Copland would follow a similar path, and that worked out well. Strauss’ development of the symphonic poem in itself was a significant departure from tradition, even though Tchaikovsky was doing something similar.
Around the turn of the century, Strauss became the director of Berlin’s Hofoper, and thus his interests turned more toward composing opera. After writing those many tone poems, for years Strauss had been gradually moving toward writing more opera. In the early years of the century, Strauss would compose some of his best loved operas including Salome (1903-05), Elektra (1906-08), and Der Rosenkavalier (1909-10). He would continue with several other critically acclaimed operas: Ariadne auf Naxos, Die Frau ohne Schatten, Die ägyptische Helena, and Arabella. From 1919 to 1924, Strauss was the principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera, and in 1920 he co-founded the Salzburg Festival with Max Reinhardt (incidentally the character of Uncle Max in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music is based on Reinhardt) and set designer Alfred Rolle. The Salzburg Festival would go on to become one of the most renowned music festivals in the world and is still going strong over one hundred years later. Strauss would compose more operas during wartime, which were somewhat more adventurous musically, and they were also well-received.
Strauss’ creative output dipped somewhat as he aged, but he then had an “Indian Summer” period from 1942 until his death in 1949 during which he composed several of his most moving and influential pieces including Metamorphosen, Oboe Concerto, Horn Concerto no. 2, and his heartbreaking Four Last Songs.
The latter part of Strauss’ career became embroiled with World War II and more particularly with the Nazi regime in Germany. Strauss’ relationship with Nazism is complicated. In 1933, Strauss was appointed to two positions within Nazi Germany, first as director of the Reichsmusikkammer (Reich Chamber of Music), which promoted "good German music" which was composed by Aryans and seen as consistent with Nazi ideals, while suppressing other, "degenerate" music, which included atonal music, jazz, and, especially, music by Jewish composers. The Chamber was founded in 1933 by Joseph Goebbels as part of the Reich Chamber of Culture, and it operated until the fall of the Nazi Germany in 1945. Strauss was also appointed principal conductor of the Bayreuth Festival, which was founded by Richard Wagner and mostly celebrated his music, after Arturo Toscanini resigned as a protest against the Nazi party. While Strauss has been criticized often for his apparent collaboration with the Nazis, his daughter-in-law was Jewish, and it seems clear that much of his cooperation with the authorities was done to save her life and the lives of her children (Strauss’ Jewish grandchildren).
Strauss was essentially apolitical in his views, and he did not believe that art and politics should mingle. At the outbreak of World War I, Strauss was asked to sign a manifesto from German artists supporting the role of Germany in the war. Several colleagues signed it, but Strauss refused, noting in his diary “Declarations about war and politics are not fitting for an artist, who must give his attention to his creations and his works."
The truth is Strauss never joined the Nazi party, and he carefully avoided situations where he would be forced to interact with Nazi officials. Strauss’ cooperation was motivated by his hope that Hitler would elevate German art and music, and because Strauss wanted to protect the reputation of composers such Mahler, Debussy, and Mendelssohn whose music had been banned. In 1933, Strauss wrote in his private notebook:
“I consider the Streicher–Goebbels Jew-baiting as a disgrace to German honour, as evidence of incompetence—the basest weapon of untalented, lazy mediocrity against a higher intelligence and greater talent.”
Because Strauss continued to rise in international prominence, the Nazis could not simply discard him. Ultimately, Strauss’ decision to remain apolitical as the head of the Reich Chamber of Music and Bayreuth was not tenable. Strauss is quoted as saying at the time,
“In November 1933, the minister Goebbels nominated me president of the Reichsmusikkammer without obtaining my prior agreement. I was not consulted. I accepted this honorary office because I hoped that I would be able to do some good and prevent worse misfortunes, if from now onwards German musical life were going to be, as it was said, "reorganized" by amateurs and ignorant place-seekers.”
Strauss privately scorned Goebbels and called him "a pipsqueak".
In 1935, Strauss comic opera Die schweigsame Frau premiered in Dresden, an opera that he had worked with his Jewish friend and librettist Stefan Zweig. Because Strauss insisted on Zweig’s name being given equal billing for the opera, the opera was boycotted by the Nazi authorities and later banned after only a few performances. Strauss wrote a letter to Zweig saying,
“Do you believe I am ever, in any of my actions, guided by the thought that I am 'German'? Do you suppose Mozart was consciously 'Aryan' when he composed? I recognise only two types of people: those who have talent and those who have none.”
The letter was intercepted by the Nazi authorities, and Strauss was dismissed from his post as head of the Reich Chamber of Music. Strauss thereafter used his considerable influence to prevent his daughter-in-law and grandchildren from being taken to a concentration camp. Sadly, Strauss could not save other members of his extended family, and some perished in the gas chambers.
In 1945, Strauss completed Metamorphosen, a piece written for 23 strings, in what is his most emotional and heart-wrenching work. Strauss poured out into the music his profound sorrow at the destruction of German artistic institutions including the bombing of every great opera house in Germany. At the end of the war, he wrote:
“The most terrible period of human history is at an end, the twelve-year reign of bestiality, ignorance and anti-culture under the greatest criminals, during which Germany's 2000 years of cultural evolution met its doom.”
Strauss is derided in some musical circles because he became quite formulaic in his symphonic poems and operas, and indeed some have the same characteristics. Some argue that Strauss did not grow as a composer as he aged, but rather recycled his old ideas, and just made them more sensationalistic and bombastic. I believe this is complete rubbish, reflecting snobbery and elitism. If you don’t like Strauss or any other composer, that is your preference. But the fact remains that Strauss’ music is still among the most often played music in the classical music world, and if it happens to lift your spirits and make you feel good, then that is a gift.
Also Sprach Zarathustra
As mentioned, Richard Strauss was a fan of German scholar, philosopher, and cultural critic Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900). Strauss was inspired to write his tone poem after Nietzsche’s philosophical novel Also Sprach Zarathustra (1883-1885). Strauss’ Also Sprach Zarathustra was completed in 1896 and premiered the same year in Frankfurt. The average running time for the piece is between 30 and 35 minutes.
The tone poem has nine sections which mostly transition seamlessly into the next, although there are three pauses. The sections are titled after chapters in Nietzsche’s book as follows:
"Sonnenaufgang" (Sunrise)
"Von den Hinterweltlern" (Of the Backworldsmen)
"Von der großen Sehnsucht" (Of the Great Longing)
"Von den Freuden und Leidenschaften" (Of Joys and Passions)
"Das Grablied" (The Song of the Grave)
"Von der Wissenschaft" (Of Science and Learning)
"Der Genesende" (The Convalescent)
"Das Tanzlied" (The Dance Song)
"Nachtwandlerlied" (Song of the Night Wanderer)
The chapters Strauss chose to highlight in the music follow the character Zarathustra’s philosophical journey in the book, and in general the music is intended to follow the themes and ideas present in the book.
The music begins with a low note (double low C) played on contrabassoon, double basses, and organ. The brass fanfare emerges, introducing the “dawn” theme which will reappear throughout the work, and the famous three notes are played C-G-C sequence, as the brass go up a fifth and then an octave from where it starts. The rest of the piece is quintessential Strauss in its rich and melodic but also chromatic style. I want to share Timothy Judd’s (The Listener’s Club) excellent comments on the rest of the movements:
“This familiar Prelude opens the door to a powerful musical drama. In the second section, Of the Backworldsmen, (1:47) the “theme of Man” is introduced by the lower strings in tiptoeing pizzicati. You will hear this theme return in various guises and develop throughout the tone poem. Allusions to Gregorian chant suggest the emotionally comforting religious dogma that, according to Nietzsche’s philosophy, held back humanity.
An intense harmonic conflict underlies Also sprach Zarathustra. It is the bitter struggle between the purity of C major, representing Nature, and the complexity of B major (with its five sharps), representing the striving of Man. The conflict between these two opposing forces plays out in the third section Of the Great Longing (5:18). As this restless section unfolds, notice the gut-wrenching outbursts which surge up from the depths of the string section with visceral energy.
‘All thy passions in the end become virtues, and all thy devils, angels,’ wrote Nietzsche. Of Joy and Passions (7:27) erupts with wild, swirling Dionysian fervor. This rapturous and euphoric music reaches a Herculean climax with a statement by the three trombones, playing in unison, which soars above the orchestra.
From these heights, we fall back to earth with the strange, snaking lines of The Dirge (9:32). Amid multiple, overlapping instrumental conversations, we hear a flood of themes from the previous sections. At moments, this highly chromatic music seems to be in danger of losing its tonal center and drifting into the twelve-tone oblivion which lay just around the corner in the twentieth century. In this case, just in time, the music always finds its tonal bearings.
Of Science is represented by a fugue, the most logical and highly ordered of musical forms. This fugue begins in the orchestra’s ghostly depths and unfolds with dreamlike haziness. All twelve notes of the chromatic scale are present as C and B melt together, juxtaposing the ‘Nature’ and ‘Man’ themes.
The tone poem reaches its mighty climax with The Convalescent (16:46). Dramatically, this section suggests Zarathustra’s attainment of ‘transcendent understanding’ following a lengthy illness. Here, a furious battle erupts between Science and Nature. A vibrant and chaotic instrumental conversation erupts amid splashes of shimmering color.
All cares seem to vanish with the arrival of the Dance Song (22:20). A Viennese waltz melody emerges in the solo violin, punctuated by the glockenspiel. This is voluptuous music, filled with sunshine and earthly pleasures.
We enter the concluding section, Night Wanderer’s Song, (30:00) with the chiming of ominous midnight bells. The final moments drift off into blissful serenity and quiet nostalgia. The conflict between Nature and Man remains unresolved. Also sprach Zarathustra ends in two keys, simultaneously, with a glistening, angelic B major floating in the orchestra’s highest register, while C major sounds in the depths. In the end, it is Nature which has the last word.”
Richard Strauss himself commented on his intentions in the work:
“I meant rather to convey in music an idea of the evolution of the human race from its origin, through the various phases of development, religious as well as scientific, up to Nietzsche’s idea of the superman. The whole symphonic poem is intended as my homage to the genius of Nietzsche…”
Conductor Marin Alsop in a 2012 interview also had these interesting comments on the work:
“There is no mistaking that when Stanley Kubrick chose this opening music for 2001: A Space Odyssey, his desire was to elicit that same emotional response from viewers: to contemplate the vastness and possibility of the universe and to bring forward the same questions that Nietzsche proposed in 1885 about God, about humankind and about our existence here in the natural world.”
As mentioned earlier, the well-known opening has been used often in popular culture especially after 2001: A Space Odyssey. Other examples include:
In the 1979 film Moonraker, the trumpet plays the theme in the hunting scene at Hugo Drax's mansion.
The BBC used the theme in its television coverage of the Apollo space missions.
Brazilian musician Eumir Deodato's funk-influenced arrangement of the opening fanfare Sunrise theme, titled "Also Sprach Zarathustra (2001)", reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 U.S. popular music sales charts in 1973, and No. 7 on the UK Singles Chart.
Retired professional wrestler and pop culture personality Ric Flair used several versions of the opening fanfare as his entrance theme for the majority of his in-ring career.
The American band Phish has performed this theme 266 times since its live debut July 16, 1993, at The Mann Center for the Performing Arts in Philadelphia, including 17 times at the New York City arena Madison Square Garden.
Ray Conniff recorded a version entitled Bah Bah Conniff Sprach (Zarathustra) for his 1973 album You Are the Sunshine of My Life.
American rock band Blink-182 has long used the theme as their concert opener.
The song is an integral part of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks football team's pregame field entrance.
Elvis Presley used the opening fanfare to start all his live concerts from 1971-1977.
Recommended Recordings
A few comments before listing the best recordings. While the opening Sunrise segment is quite short compared to the rest of the piece, if it isn’t done effectively, it can cast a pall over the rest of the performance. Yes, it is that important. Ralph Moore, in his excellent survey of recordings, notes that even the conductor’s decision about how to articulate the E and E-flat which come right after the three big notes, has an impact. Some conductors elongate the E (which is a sixteenth note) to make it more emphatic next to the E-flat, while others follow Strauss’ lead and shorten the E before the E-flat. Karajan in 1973, Ormandy in 1964, and Tennstedt in 1982 follow the score here more faithfully, and this is how Strauss played it in his recording. This may be getting into the weeds, but such things do make a difference. As Moore concedes, just because a conductor makes more of that note than is written doesn’t mean the performance as a whole isn’t recommendable.
Then there is the question of the timpani strikes in the opening. In some recordings they are softer or muted, while in others they are quite prominent and hard sounding. I like the harder sound, but others will prefer the softer sound.
If you watch videos of Richard Strauss conducting his own music, he was perhaps the most boring conductor ever to watch. He barely moved except for his arms, and the look on his face never changed from its rather stoic expression. This strikes me as odd given how expressive and emotive his music is in general. Strauss was an objective interpreter of his own music, while my own preference is for conductors that inject the music with more life. I don’t mean altering the score or other experimentation, but there is a range of expression possible in every score and I tend to prefer more variations in speed and dynamics which bring the music more vitality. Again, I realize others will prefer a more objective approach.
Some scholars and musicologists believe Zarathustra to be one of Strauss’ weaker tone poems, and that the rest of the piece after the well-known opening doesn’t live up to the promise of the opening. I completely disagree, and for me the piece grows on me each time I hear it. Once again, I don’t have an essential recording for this piece, but you can consider all the recommended recordings below to be great choices
By the way, the version used for the film 2001: A Space Odyssey was Karajan’s 1959 stereo recording with the Vienna Philharmonic on Decca, and although Karajan surpassed this recording with his 1973 Berlin recording, it is still a very good one. The final credits for the movie do not list Karajan and the VPO because allegedly Decca did not want one of their recordings “cheapened” by its association with a movie score and did not want them listed. Once Decca realized its mistake later, it was too late for the official MGM soundtrack, which actually features Karl Böhm's Berlin Philharmonic from 1958. Later Decca released As Heard in 2001 with the Karajan recording to try to capitalize on the film’s popularity.
The first recording to bring the score to life in a way never heard previously was Fritz Reiner’s 1954 recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra for RCA Living Stereo (the more recent Pristine remastering is highly recommended, although I haven’t heard it). Reiner recorded the piece again in 1962, but the first recording is the better of the two. There is some notable background hiss, but overall, the recording still sounds terrific, and I would say remarkable for its age. This recording has long been considered a classic, and there is no doubt the closely miked, groundbreaking, technicolor stereo sound is a big reason for its status. But Reiner was also a great Strauss conductor. The Chicagoans are nothing short of fabulous here, especially the legendary brass section which are rather forward and crisply defined. Reiner could be hard driven at times, but I don’t sense much of that here. Yes, his reading is one of the quickest among the recommended group, but his innate feel for the lyricism is particularly evident in the final two movements. The strings are glorious in the beautiful crescendo in Of the Backworldsmen, only matched in sheer ecstasy by Karajan in 1973 and Ormandy in 1964. This has momentum, range, depth, charm, and sweep. In short, everything you could want in a recording of Zarathustra.
Speaking of Eugene Ormandy, he recorded Also Sprach Zarathustra three times, in 1964 for Columbia/Sony, 1975 for RCA, and 1979 for EMI/Warner, all of them with The Philadelphia Orchestra. The first two are a notch above the final one from 1979, which never really catches fire. I cannot find the 1975 recording on streaming services or on YouTube, but several reviewers give it high praise. This leaves the first one from 1964, which is very fine and deserves a recommendation on this list. Ormandy’s reputation has suffered in recent decades due to him apparently being guilty of creating that famously lush Philadelphia sound through the hundreds of recordings they made together. Why was that a drawback? Some claim it was too lush and smooth and was missing some character. While Ormandy somewhat avoided Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven, one can hardly fault Ormandy for creating such a lustrous orchestral instrument and his interpretations of the late romantics are often among the best available. This 1964 Zarathustra shows why Ormandy was such a good Strauss conductor, as he directs a sweeping and colorful performance, exciting on all counts. It is true the sound is a bit restricted and congested in spots, but no listener could say Ormandy and the Philadelphians are lacking character here…indeed this is the primary strength of the recording is how phrases are shaped and molded in such a charming manner. But you are also urged to hear the 1975 RCA recording if you can and get back to me with your thoughts on how it compares.
Fast forward to 1971 and we have the superb recording of Also Sprach Zarathustra by William Steinberg and the Boston Symphony Orchestra for the Deutsche Grammophon label. This album is now paired with an equally outstanding version of Gustav Holst’s The Planets. Similar to The Planets, Steinberg chooses swifter than average tempos, but once again it works marvelously. The brilliant sound is placed forward, but doesn’t spotlight individual instruments, thereby recreating what one might have heard in Symphony Hall. There is excellent depth and balance to the recording. The BSO recordings from this era are terrific in general, and Steinberg manages to not only create excitement but also relaxes just enough for concertmaster Joseph Silverstein to weave his magic during The Dance Song. While this may be too high octane for some, I love it.
German conductor Rudolf Kempe lived in Karajan’s shadow for a long time, but his boxed set of the complete orchestral works by Richard Strauss with the Staatskapelle Dresden on the Warner label is not to be missed. His Also Sprach Zarathustra dates from 1971 and was recorded in the friendly acoustics of the Lukaskirche in Dresden. Kempe and the Dresdeners yield nothing to Karajan in Berlin, especially in terms of warmth and lyrical feeling. I would argue Dresden strings and woodwinds are superior to Berlin, and the recorded sound is more consistently balanced and has greater warmth and dynamic range than the Berlin recording above. But Kempe was relatively more concerned with the vocal line in the score than Karajan, and so while Kempe builds the drama very well throughout, there is marginally less excitement created overall than with Karajan. Kempe never allows things to be overblown or over the top, while Karajan lets the reins loose and was interested in creating a big sonic sound. This is not to say Kempe is lacking in excitement, and he certainly makes up for it in the greater charm he brings to the work. If you listen all the way through this recording, I find no other recording which gets sounds as right in each movement. A satisfying and virtuosic account from a time period when recordings from East Germany were not considered to be as good. This proves the greatness of both Kempe and the Dresdeners.
Which brings us to what is for many the greatest recording of Also Sprach Zarathustra, namely the 1973 recording by Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, recorded by Deutsche Grammophon in the visually ugly but acoustically rich Jesus-Christus-Kirche in Dahlem. Karajan was one of the world’s greatest Strauss interpreters, and this is the second of his three commercial recordings of Zarathustra. Boasting better sonics than the first recording in Vienna, and less sluggish and bloated than the later digital Berlin version, this 1973 version is where it all came together so well. Why is it not essential? The short answer is there are times I find the sound balance to be significantly off, which puts the orchestra at too much of a distance, but then only to be blasted out of my seat moments later. Occasionally (but only occasionally this time) I find the typical criticisms of Karajan to be true, where he goes for beauty and sheen rather than digging deeper. Those reservations out of the way, it must be said this is an outstanding performance by any standard. The louder parts are truly earth shattering as they should be, and Michel Schwalbé’s solo contributions are exquisite and unmatched on record. Karajan is keen to bring out all the enjoyable details, while also keeping the big picture and overall structure in view. Karajan also retains the work’s emotional and story-telling core. It’s a glorious recording, fully deserving of its recommended status.
97-year-old Swedish conductor Herbert Blomstedt has recorded Also Sprach Zarathustra twice commercially, with the Staatskapelle Dresden in 1987 for the Denon label and with the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra in 1997 for Decca. They are both good, but the first one in Dresden is the one I am recommending for both the superior sonics and the more insightful interpretation. Recorded in the Lukaskirche in Dresden, the Denon recording is spectacular in its impact. The clarity of the brass and organ are sensational, and the soloist in The Dance Song is nostalgic and wonderfully cheeky. Blomstedt is assertive and forward looking when needed but doesn’t rush things. Sample the dramatic buildup in Of the Backworldsmen, which seems just right to my ears. The concluding Night Wanderer is touching and satisfying.
German-American renaissance man conductor, composer, and pianist André Previn recorded a fantastic Also Sprach Zarathustra with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in 1987 for Telarc. This remains one of the finest modern, digital versions both sonically and interpretively. I greatly enjoy the opening Sunrise, one of the most brilliant on record, and the entire recording is also involving from first to last. At times I have found Previn on the cool side as a conductor, but here he leads with distinction, passion, and vision. The timing is on the slower side, but if anything, this allows the wonderful sound from the VPO to enshroud the listener. Just listen between 4 '00 and 6' 00, this is delicious and refined music making. The sound is warm and detailed from a period of time when Telarc was making some outstanding recordings. Previn hit the mark on this one, and his other Strauss recordings from Vienna are also worth exploring.
German conductor Klaus Tennstedt had a difficult beginning to his career in East Germany, but after he was “discovered” at the age of 46, he traveled the world as a highly sought after conductor. He was known to be extremely sensitive, thin-skinned, and driven by cigarettes, women, and his love for music. Eventually he would find a home with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the 1980s where he would make some of his best recordings, particularly of the Mahler symphonies. His recording of Also Sprach Zarathustra from 1982 for EMI/Warner is a wonderful example of Tennstedt’s genius. This is a recording very much in the Previn mold, patient and concerned with tone over musical line. It has a dreamy, cosmic quality which serves to tell a more dramatic story than the notes alone might tell you. The tone is dense in the strings and brass, and Tennstedt accentuates the bass line, creating a sound which is epic in the louder passages and ethereal in the softer ones. Tennstedt, as he is in his live Mahler recordings, is a master of controlling the dynamic changes and the shifts in mood from one section to the next. There is a grand manner to the performance, a largeness of sound, and for me when I listen to this performance, I am transported in a way few other recordings can do. I have listened to it three times in the past two days, and I believe Tennstedt and the LPO achieved something great here.
A conductor’s name you don’t see often in my reviews is Lorin Maazel, a child prodigy who began conducting in his 20s and famously (and at times infamously) led the Cleveland Orchestra, the Vienna State Opera, and later the New York Philharmonic. His New Years Concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic were some of the best, and he could be utterly charming on camera. His recorded output is a mixed bag, the best of it is quite good, but many of his interpretations were pedestrian, average, or simply not too interesting. But his Strauss recordings with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra for RCA/Sony in the 1990s are some of his finest. I particularly like Maazel’s Also Sprach Zarathustra from this time. The sonics are top shelf, and the amount of detail is astonishing from the Herkulessaal in Munich. Maazel encourages a more relaxed, romantic approach to the music which works well. There is a lot to relish here, and Maazel maintains a sense of proportion and drama while never rushing. Maazel had a tendency to be a good surface level conductor, though he would sometimes miss reaching the needed depth to achieve greatness. Here the music itself and the sound quality assist him in bringing off a wonderful recording.
I will admit up front that I am not a big fan of Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons, the current music director of both the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Gewandhaus Leipzig. I have seen him conduct on several occasions, and he seems more concerned about creating drama on the podium than creating drama in the music. I remember being disappointed in a few performances I attended, and that has carried over to some of his recordings. There is a tendency to value the beauty of sound more than what the music is communicating, and this makes some sense because his mentor was Mariss Jansons, and his mentor was Herbert von Karajan. These are great conductors to be sure, but both Jansons and Karajan were at times guilty of the same thing. Happily that is not the case with Nelsons’ 2012 recording of Also Sprach Zarathustra with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra on the Orfeo label. The recording has great presence throughout, Of the Backworldsmen is seductive, and Nelsons pushes forward in Of Joys and Passions in a winning manner. The playing of the CBSO is distinguished, and if Nelsons is less than subtle in the louder climaxes, and perhaps too playful in The Dance Song, you cannot say it’s boring. In short, this is my favorite Andris Nelsons recording by a long distance and well worth hearing.
Honorable Mention
Concertgebouw Orchestra / Dmitri Mitropoulos (Orfeo 1958)
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Herbert von Karajan (Decca 1959)
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra / Zubin Mehta (Decca 1968)
Concertgebouw Orchestra / Bernard Haitink (Philips/Universal 1973)
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra / Herbert Blomstedt (Decca 1995)
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra / Mariss Jansons (BR 2017)
NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo / Paavo Järvi (RCA/Sony 2017)
Seattle Symphony / Thomas Dausgaard (Seattle 2019)
Thank you once again for reading. I hope you will join me next time for our review of Anton Bruckner’s Symphony no. 9. See you then!
______________
Notes:
Also sprach Zarathustra Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine – notes by Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Alsop, Marin. Alsop Sprach Zarathustra: Decoding Strauss' Tone Poem. NPR Music. January 13, 2012. Online at https://www.npr.org/2012/01/14/145168801/alsop-sprach-zarathustra-the-conductor-decodes-strauss-iconic-tone-poem.
Boyden, Matthew (1999). Richard Strauss. Boston, Massachusetts: Northeastern University Press.
Brennan, Gerald. Reisig, Wayne Gerard. Schrott, Allen. Woodstra, Chris. All Music Guide to Classical Music, The Definitive Guide. All Media Guide. Pp. 1321, 1331. Backbeat Books, San Francisco. 2005.
Culshaw, John. Putting the Record Straight. Viking Press. 1982. Pg. 204.
Gilliam, Bryan; Youmans, Charles (2001). "Richard Strauss". Grove Music Online.
Judd, Timothy. The Listener’s Club. April 7, 2021. Strauss’ “Also Sprach Zarathustra”: At the Intersection of Nature and Man. Online at thelistenersclub.com.
Kennedy, Michael (1999). Richard Strauss: Man, Musician, Enigma. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-02774-8.
Moore, Ralph. Also Sprach Zarathustra: A selective discographical survey. Updated July 4, 2024. Online at musicwebinternational.com.
Reuth, Ralf Georg (1993). Goebbels. Harcourt Brace. ISBN 9780151360765. times when an artist of my rank has to ask a pipsqueak.
"Richard Strauss – Tone-Poem, Death and Transfiguration, Opus 24" Archived 2008-04-15 at the Wayback Machine (and other works), Old And Sold.
Richard Strauss & Romain Rolland (1968). Rollo Myers (ed.). Richard Strauss & Romain Rolland: Correspondence. Calder, London.
Youmans, "The Role of Nietzsche in Richard Strauss' Artistic Development", 339.
https://www.azquotes.com/author/20851-Richard_Strauss
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Also_sprach_Zarathustra