Richard Strauss was more than a fantastic composer and orchestrator. I say this in spite of the fact that, depending on my mood at a particular moment, I tend to have a love/not-quite-hate relationship with his music. If there is such a thing as too much beauty in music, some of his works are just that. The incredible “Der Rosenkavalier” is a great example of what I refer to. How much gorgeous and impossibly interesting harmonic/melodic chromaticism can a human being take in one sitting and without a break in the music itself? 😊 Sometimes, like too large a portion of some delectable dessert. Can leave one feeling over indulged. True greatness nonetheless.
Strauss was not only a great composer he was also a very good conductor and pianist. It is always intriguing to hear a composer’s efforts conducting his/her own works as the potential for some revelatory insights into the music as it was intended is there…..in theory. Unfortunately, few composers have had the conducting “chops” to really pull this off. Strauss could. The “Strauss Conducts Strauss” 7 disc set on DG is a must hear for R Strauss lovers. Pre-stereo era recordings with sound that at times is far below “audiophile grade”. However, if one is willing to take off that audiophile hat and focus on the music they are very very interesting.