# Which are the five greatest works by Richard Strauss in your opinion?



## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

The works are ordered more or less chronologically. Define "greatest" as you wish. If you choose _Other(s)_, please tell us here in the comments section which work(s) you had in mind.

You may change your vote later.

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Top ten most voted works that belong to Richard Strauss' five greatest according to the poll at the moment (in case of tie, later work gets priority in the ordering):

1. Vier letzte Lieder, TrV 296 (35 votes)
2. Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 (29 votes)
3. Salome, Op. 54 (26 votes)
4. Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59 (25 votes)
5. Metamorphosen, TrV 290 (22 votes)
6. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64 (20 votes)
7. Elektra, Op. 58 (19 votes)
8. Tod und Verklärung, Op. 24 (17 votes)
9. Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40 (11 votes)
10. Don Quixote, Op. 35 (10 votes)

Total votes at the moment: 55.

Last update: 12/16/2022.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

_Friedenstag_ and _Daphne _were put together in a single option because Strauss intended them to be performed together, so I considered that, for the purposes of this poll, both were a single work. See here.


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

Why, oh why, oh why must you torture me so!  Strauss is one of my absolute favorite composers, so, ideally, no list at all would be ideal. But, just for fun, here are my picks: _Tod und Verklärung_, _Eine Alpensinfonie_, _Elektra_, _Der Rosenkavalier_ and _Vier letzte Lieder_. There...are you happy now?!?!?


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## Lisztianwagner (2 mo ago)

Very difficult, but my choices could be _Eine Alpensinfonie_, _Also sprach Zarathustra_, _Elektra_, _Der Rosenkavalier_ and _Vier letzte Lieder_.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

Neo Romanza said:


> Why, oh why, oh why must you torture me so!  Strauss is one of my absolute favorite composers, so, ideally, no list at all would be ideal. But, just for fun, here are my picks: _Tod und Verklärung_, _Eine Alpensinfonie_, _Elektra_, _Der Rosenkavalier_ and _Vier letzte Lieder_. There...are you happy now?!?!?


I have to admit that having listened to classical music for 60 years, and having heard practically everything of Strauss, having sat through several of the operas live, and playing some of the music there is something about his music that I just don't get - it has never seemed essential, loveable or sometimes even likeable. Maybe 2023 needs to be my Straussjarhe. Go through his music again, read a biography or two, and try to find out what I've been missing. So many people are enthralled with his music that I fully admit that my blind spot has been there too long. I'll get back to you in December 2023.


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

mbhaub said:


> I have to admit that having listened to classical music for 60 years, and having heard practically everything of Strauss, having sat through several of the operas live, and playing some of the music there is something about his music that I just don't get - it has never seemed essential, loveable or sometimes even likeable. Maybe 2023 needs to be my Straussjarhe. Go through his music again, read a biography or two, and try to find out what I've been missing. So many people are enthralled with his music that I fully admit that my blind spot has been there too long. I'll get back to you in December 2023.


Besides you, I know several veteran classical listeners who have no affinity for Strauss. If you feel like you're not missing anything, then there's no reason to force yourself to like a composer with whom you have remained indifferent to for such a long time.


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

I didn't want to put just operas because I love his other stuff and wanted it represented....and wish he had written full symphonies... so:

FAVORITES by the way....wouldn't know where to start rating 4 songs vs Frau Ohne Schatten:

Rosenkavalier
Death and Transfiguration
Ariadne
Four Last Songs
Frau Ohne Schatten

Just today I heard a beautiful movement from the violin sonata in a student recital...gorgeous!


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Vier letzte Lieder, TrV 296
Don Quixote, Op. 35
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64
Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op. 28
Both Jorn concertos


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Vier Letzte Lieder, Metamorphosen and Don Juan are my favourites. My fourth choice is Salome, and my fifth goes under 'other': Morgen!, the best of his many songs. Excellent composer.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

Four Last Songs
Metamorphosen
Also Sprach..............
Oboe Concerto
Alpine Symphony


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

ScottK said:


> I didn't want to put just operas because I love his other stuff and wanted it represented....and wish he had written full symphonies... so:
> 
> FAVORITES by the way....wouldn't know where to start rating 4 songs vs Frau Ohne Schatten:
> 
> ...


Some great choices there, @ScottK. The _Violin Sonata_ is a gorgeous work and it deserves to be recorded more often, IMHO.

Here are my two favorite recordings of it:


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## ScottK (Dec 23, 2021)

Neo Romanza said:


> Some great choices there, @ScottK. The _Violin Sonata_ is a gorgeous work and it deserves to be recorded more often, IMHO.
> 
> Here are my two favorite recordings of it:


Can't wait to hear the whole thing, many thanks!!!


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## dko22 (Jun 22, 2021)

the late works are the greatest in the sense they seem to say more with less effort-- above all the _Four Last Songs_ but also the Oboe Concerto and _Metamorphosen_. My list is almost identical to Bulldog.


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## prlj (10 mo ago)

mbhaub said:


> I have to admit that having listened to classical music for 60 years, and having heard practically everything of Strauss, having sat through several of the operas live, and playing some of the music there is something about his music that I just don't get - it has never seemed essential, loveable or sometimes even likeable. Maybe 2023 needs to be my Straussjarhe. Go through his music again, read a biography or two, and try to find out what I've been missing. So many people are enthralled with his music that I fully admit that my blind spot has been there too long. I'll get back to you in December 2023.


I feel like I could have written the same thing, word for word. I appreciate and respect his works, and I've certainly listened to many (including _Rosenkavalier _a few days ago, with score in hand), but I've never _connected_ with them. I tried _Elektra_ a while ago, also with score in hand, and just couldn't even get through the first 10 minutes. 

Given his longevity, popularity, and influence, he clearly seems to be worthy of the investment of time.


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## justekaia (Jan 2, 2022)

Violin Sonata
Tod und Verklärung
Die Frau ohne Schatten
Metamorphosen
Vier letzte Lieder


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## Scherzi Cat (8 mo ago)

I also have had trouble connecting to Strauss over my 40 year adventure in classical music. This poll is one that I have been hoping for. Thank you Xisten267 for putting it together. This will help me to focus on a few works and make my vote selection later. Opera is not a love of mine and so my votes will ultimately go to the orchestral and concertante type works. Only one I am sure of is Alpine Symphony. What a gorgeous piece of music!


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## PeterKC (Dec 30, 2016)

Don Juan, Till, Tod, 4 Last Songs, Burlesque. And a consolation prize to The Divertimento After Couperin.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

*Don Juan*, easily my favorite Tondichtung, *Salome*, *4 LL*, Others = *Burleske*, a cool and underrated concertino; I swapped *Elektra* for *Metamorphosen* because I know that opera only so superficially. I cannot really be bothered with opera anymore, although I think I should. Saw *Rosenkavalier* on stage and it's too long but some very beautiful music. I also like the violin sonata. Strauss wasn't simpatico and I only connect with some of his music but he was an incredibly capable composer.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

*Also Sprach Zarathustra*, or at least its beginning, is one of the few pieces of classical music virtually everyone knows or has heard. It is as familiar as the fate knocking at the door opening from the Beethoven Fifth Symphony or the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's Messiah. As such it must be No. 1 on any such list for that reason.

Otherwise "greatest" works are probably his operas beginning with *Rosenkavalier*. I also voted for *Four Last Song*s, *Ein Heldenleben* and the *Duet-Concertino for Clarinet and Bassoon* which I think Strauss's greatest work in a Mozartean vein. He loved Mozart.

Another favorite not on the list would be his brief but wonderful *Serenade in E Op. 7* though it is not in the same category as the others.


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

My choices:

Also Sprach Zarathustra
Eine Alpensinfonie
Vier Letzte Lieder
Horn Concerto no. 2
Metamorphosen

I am not a great fan of Richard Strauss although I respect his craftsmanship a lot. In general, Mahler was a lot deeper, Bruckner more noble, Wagner the superior opera composer. Strauss has always sounded somewhat _bourgeois_ and rather shallow to me.

The works I listed are masterpieces, though.


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

Waehnen said:


> My choices:
> 
> Also Sprach Zarathustra
> Eine Alpensinfonie
> ...


One of the great known facts about Strauss was that a lot of his music was written with a smile behind it. He had a great sense of humor and it was actually his dream to be an operetta composer. There _are_ moments in many of his works, however, that show genuine emotion. I'm thinking here of the last movement of _Ein Heldenleben_ when there is a theme that comes with the strings and it just melts my heart. The _Adagio_ from _Symphonia Domestica_ is another just beautiful moment. Another moment that breaks my heart when I hear it is the last two minutes (or so) of the first movement from his _Horn Concerto No. 2_ where there's this emotional sigh from the horn and the orchestral accompaniment is absolutely exquisite. There are also moments in several of his operas where "the mask comes off" so to speak. I think it's all too easy to level a criticism about his music like "shallow" or whatever, but more familiarity with his music reveals that he could be as emotionally deep as any of the great composers that have proceeded or succeeded him.


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

Neo Romanza said:


> One of the great known facts about Strauss was that a lot of his music was written with a smile behind it. He had a great sense of humor and it was actually his dream to be an operetta composer. There _are_ moments in many of his works, however, that show genuine emotion. I'm thinking here of the last movement of _Ein Heldenleben_ when there is a theme that comes with the strings and it just melts my heart. The _Adagio_ from _Symphonia Domestica_ is another just beautiful moment. Another moment that breaks my heart when I hear it is the last two minutes (or so) of the first movement from his _Horn Concerto No. 2_ where there's this emotional sigh from the horn and the orchestral accompaniment is absolutely exquisite. There are also moments in several of his operas where "the mask comes off" so to speak. I think it's all too easy to level a criticism about his music like "shallow" or whatever, but more familiarity with his music reveals that he could be as emotionally deep as any of the great composers that have proceeded or succeeded him.


I am sure there is more depth to Strauss than I have so far witnessed. Like you have said yourself quite often, if a composer doesn´t click, why bother. For me Strauss is such a case. For example many of the happy tone poems sound so merry that I just do not care for them. Nevertheless, I consider the works I listed wonderful and deep enough.

So I am only saying what I think at this moment. I do not claim to possess any kind of truth on the matter.

(When it comes to Mahler on the other hand, despite my certain reservations, I have been motivated to listen to the music from the very beginning. So in that sense, Mahler certainly clicks.)


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## Alfacharger (Dec 6, 2013)

ScottK said:


> I didn't want to put just operas because I love his other stuff and wanted it represented....and wish he had written full symphonies... so:
> 
> FAVORITES by the way....wouldn't know where to start rating 4 songs vs Frau Ohne Schatten:
> 
> ...


 Just for the record, Strauss did compose two full symphonies early in his career.


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

Waehnen said:


> I am sure there is more depth to Strauss than I have so far witnessed. Like you have said yourself quite often, if a composer doesn´t click, why bother. For me Strauss is such a case. For example many of the happy tone poems sound so merry that I just do not care for them. Nevertheless, I consider the works I listed wonderful and deep enough.
> 
> So I am only saying what I think at this moment. I do not claim to possess any kind of truth on the matter.
> 
> (When it comes to Mahler on the other hand, despite my certain reservations, I have been motivated to listen to the music from the very beginning. So in that sense, Mahler certainly clicks.)


Mahler and Strauss, for this listener, are on an equal plateau. Both composers are in my 'Top 5', so, obviously, I'm going to defend his music or, at the very least, provide someone who doesn't quite like his music with another perspective. But I certainly understand your sentiments about Strauss and there are many composers whom so many love that I do not as well. That's the beauty of this music is that we all hear things differently and that's great.


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

Neo Romanza said:


> Mahler and Strauss, for this listener, are on an equal plateau. Both composers are in my 'Top 5', so, obviously, I'm going to defend his music or, at the very least, provide someone who doesn't quite like his music with another perspective. But I certainly understand your sentiments about Strauss and there are many composers whom so many love that I do not as well. That's the beauty of this music is that we all hear things differently and that's great.


I think that is what this forum is about: exchanging thoughts on music. I am free to voice my current reservations on Strauss and you are free to defend his music -- just as it ought to be. I appreciate it.


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## annaw (May 4, 2019)

_Eine Alpensinfonie_, _Ein Heldenleben_, _Der Rosenkavalier_, _Also sprach Zarathustra_, and _Vier Letzte Lieder_ are my favourites, although the favorite tone poems (except, _Eine Alpensinfonie_) also constantly keep changing.

I absolutely love the recording of the Four Last Songs with Schwarzkopf/Szell though  . A wonderful recording! And Karajan is excellent with almost anything Strauss.


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

annaw said:


> _Eine Alpensinfonie_, _Ein Heldenleben_, _Der Rosenkavalier_, _Also sprach Zarathustra_, and _Vier Letzte Lieder_ are my favourites, although the favorite tone poems (except, _Eine Alpensinfonie_) also constantly keep changing.
> 
> I absolutely love the recording of the Four Last Songs with Schwarzkopf/Szell though  . A wonderful recording! And Karajan is excellent with almost anything Strauss.


The recording with Schwarzkopf and Szell of the _Vier letzte Lieder_ (plus other orchesterlieder) is magnificent. A desert island disc for me! And, yes, Strauss + Karajan = .


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I don't listen to R. Strauss all that much but I picked three operas, Metamorphosen, and Death and Transfiguration. I know it's heresy around here but I really don't know the Four Last Songs all that well. Salome by Bohm, Elektra, and Die Frau Ohne Shatten are three operas I found at used shops and I enjoy these. I listen to the orchestral pieces by Klemperer. I have the Kempe box but I haven't really gotten into it yet.


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

Strauss is one of the greatest post-Wagner opera composers, so I voted for Salome, Elektra and Der Rosenkavalier. The two expressionist horror-masterpieces, both indispensable, and the luxuriously post-modern extravaganza that even more exemplifies Strauss' true nature.
If I had to pick one symphonic poem, it'd be Don Juan, naturally. Pure genius. I don't get the love for the Alpine Symphony - to me that's an empty vessel containing only 2nd rate melodies and superficial filler.
Then there's the "Indian Summer" works, I chose Metamorphosen over the 4 Last Songs, because I think Strauss has written better songs - orchestral or not - but Metamorphosen is completely unique in his output.


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## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

Maybe my next "project" should be to hear more Strauss. I used to say he was my favorite composer when I was ca. 18 years old, but got fed up when I heard the Alpine symphony live...Now I think it's awesome. I have only listened to the symphonic poems and the 4 last songs...wait, there's a song called "Morgen"!!!


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

Tod und Verklarung and Metamorphosen, especially on the 70s Karajan disc featuring the Janowitz Four Last Songs, are anything but shallow works.

Strauss was a wonderfully inventive composer. He was the last of the great German line going back to Bach.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

Strauss wrote scores of songs, most masterful and full of meaning with memorable tunes, aside from the famous Four Last Songs. Of those September is perhaps the most meaningful as it is metaphor for September of one's life though Im Abendrot covers similar ground.

Aside from Also Sprach Zarathustra, which I find meaning in throughout its duration (especially the second half) I find his large orchestral edifices trying and difficult to sit through. They seduced me when I first knew them but over time they lost their appeal. Many contain the same technicolor range as Wagner but without the electric witchery. Also it's clear Strauss wrote a lot of those about himslef, his family and his own ideas of the world.

His least well-known ouevre is his works that mimic his hero Mozart. Among others he wrote a range of wind music on Mozart's model, almost all of which is wonderful, well written, and full of lasting tune-memories. People think they know Strauss because they saw Rosenkavalier and/or heard the Alpine Symphony in concert but he has -- like Brahms -- a private or introverted side. Those are his Mozartean compositions.

Here's one of my favorites; my preferred recording is on a German LP from students of the Folkwang Hochschule Essen is N/A on YouTube so the Netherlands Wind Ensemble will have to do:


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## Waehnen (Oct 31, 2021)

I will revisit Don Juan today, due to this wonderful thread!


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## mmsbls (Mar 6, 2011)

I'll go with

Four Last Songs
Tod und Verklarung 
Metamorphosen
Don Juan
Elektra

Supposedly Strauss said he is a first class second rate composer. I'm not sure if he was joking, but I think he's a first rate composer (unless first rate means maybe only 10 or so which seems way too low).


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## Brahmsianhorn (Feb 17, 2017)

mmsbls said:


> I'll go with
> 
> Four Last Songs
> Tod und Verklarung
> ...


He didn’t create the memorable melodies that the top rank composers did, but his use of form and orchestration was unmatched. Perhaps this is what he meant.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

_Supposedly Strauss said he is a first class second rate composer. I'm not sure if he was joking, but I think he's a first rate composer (unless first rate means maybe only 10 or so which seems way too low)._

He was being facetious of course. There was a schism in the 20th century between hangover romantcis like him and modernists. Sibelius wrote his Third Symphony with restraint in both orchestration and dynamics as protest against the romantic bigness of Strauss, Mahler and other late romantics. Strauss also had an ego the size or Europe that rubbed many the wrong way.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

My own minimalistic Strauss collection would be
_Metamorphosen
Till Eulenspiegel
Burleske
4 Letzte Lieder
and maybe the Piano Quartet_


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

I'm doing a R. Strauss marathon on YouTube watching the Frankfurt Radio Symphony so I have to add Ein Heldenleben to my favorites.


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## feierlich (3 mo ago)

As seen from the results of the vote, _Till Eulenspiegel_ is largely overlooked! This may sound surprising but it is my favourite and I think the best tone poem composition by Richard Strauss.


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

I've edited my post because it looks weird in English, so I've put the titles in their proper German.

Shame I had to leave out Don Juan and Till Eulenslpiegels Lustige Streiche

1. Ein Heldenleben
2. Vier Letze Lieder
3. Elektra
3. Salome
5. Tod und Verklärung

Favourite recordings:

1. Any one of the Karajan BPO rperformances
2. Karajan Janowitz BPO, closely followed by: HvK/Anna Tomowa-Sintow/BPO and Lucia Pop/Tennstedt/LPO
3. Sawallisch (Elektra)
3. Culshaw/Solti/Nilsson (Salome)
5. Karajan BPO DG 1973 analogue (listened to Vasily Petrenko, Oslo Philharmonic via Qobuz streaming this morning and was blown away)


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

5 choices are very few for a composer with 3 of the 6 or 8 most famous 20th century operas. Till is very popular, together with Don Juan and T&V the best known of the tone poems.


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## Scherzi Cat (8 mo ago)

My first two votes go to a couple of the most popular, *Also Sprach Zarathustra*, and *Eine Alpensinfonie*. Then my love of the concertante form guides my next two votes, the *Oboe Concerto*, and *Don Quixote* with it's featured cello and viola. Finally my "other" vote is for the *Symphony for Wind Instruments*. It may not be the type of work that Strauss is known for, but I find it very appealing. I'm always drawn to the sonorities of wind instruments, especially in ensemble, like Mozart's "Gran Partita" and Dvorak's "Wind Serenade". Thank you, larold, for bring my attention to this wonderful work and the composer's other works for wind ensemble.



larold said:


> His least well-known ouevre is his works that mimic his hero Mozart. Among others he wrote a range of wind music on Mozart's model, almost all of which is wonderful, well written, and full of lasting tune-memories. People think they know Strauss because they saw Rosenkavalier and/or heard the Alpine Symphony in concert but he has -- like Brahms -- a private or introverted side. Those are his Mozartean compositions.


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

I've edited my post because it looks weird in English, so I've put the titles in their proper German.

Shame I had to leave out Don Juan and Till Eulenslpiegels Lustige Streiche

1. Ein Heldenleben
2. Vier Letze Lieder
3. Elektra
3. Salome
5. Tod und Verklärung

Favourite recordings:

1. Any one of the Karajan BPO performances
2. Karajan Janowitz BPO, closely followed by: HvK/Anna Tomowa-Sintow/BPO and Lucia Popp/Tennstedt/LPO
3. Sawallisch/Eva Marton (Elektra)
3. Culshaw/Solti/Nilsson (Salome)
5. Karajan BPO DG 1973 analogue (listened to Vasily Petrenko, Oslo Philharmonic via Qobuz streaming this morning and was blown away)


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## starthrower (Dec 11, 2010)

My wife and I are listening to a couple of discs from the Kempe box this evening. These CDs sound very good! The strings of the Staatskapelle Dresden sound beautiful!


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

1. Horn Concerto No. 1
2. The first 30 seconds of Thus Spake Zarathustra. The rest of the composition seems to last 5 hours and bores me to tears.

And that's about it, or at least what I can think of at this moment. Not a big fan overall.


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## Shoskofiev (5 mo ago)

An indispensable composer for any serious lover of late-Romantic music in my opinion. There is so much to choose from. I wouldn't say the greatest works, but my favorites, so:

*Don Quixote
Eine Alpensinfonie
Also sprach Zarathustra
Ariadne auf Naxos
Metamorphosen*


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

HenryPenfold said:


> I've edited my post because it looks weird in English, so I've put the titles in their proper German.
> 
> Shame I had to leave out Don Juan and Till Eulenslpiegels Lustige Streiche
> 
> ...


Have you heard Celibidache's performance of _Tod und Verklärung_? It is magnificent! Another favorite of mine would be Tennstedt/LPO (coupled with one of my favorite _Vier letzte Lieder_ performances with Lucia Popp).


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

haziz said:


> 1. Horn Concerto No. 1
> 2. The first 30 seconds of Thus Spake Zarathustra. The rest of the composition seems to last 5 hours and bores me to tears.
> 
> And that's about it, or at least what I can think of at this moment. Not a big fan overall.


Wow...okay, thanks for stopping by! A shame you even bothered with a list at all, especially since you, by your own admission, have no affinity for the composer at all.


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

Neo Romanza said:


> Have you heard Celibidache's performance of _Tod und Verklärung_? It is magnificent! Another favorite of mine would be Tennstedt/LPO (coupled with one of my favorite _Vier letzte Lieder_ performances with Lucia Popp).


Yes, I have the Celibidache CD. It's a great performance, but I still have a preference for the Karajan. The Tennstedt/LPO/Popp &c cd is a firm favourite, too.


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## Doublestring (Sep 3, 2014)

Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche
Ariadne auf Naxos
Also sprach Zarathustra 
Salomé
Der Rosenkavalier

His earlier, more humorist work appeals more to me than his later, over-orchestrated works.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

HenryPenfold said:


> 5. Tod und Verklärung
> 
> 5. Karajan BPO DG 1973 analogue


Is that the one coupled with Metamorphosen and Janowitz 4 LL?


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## HenryPenfold (Apr 29, 2018)

Kreisler jr said:


> Is that the one coupled with Metamorphosen and Janowitz 4 LL?


yes, but I think it has been released in other combinations down the years


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

Neo Romanza said:


> Wow...okay, thanks for stopping by! A shame you even bothered with a list at all, especially since you, by your own admission, have no affinity for the composer at all.


I went back yesterday and re-listened to his second Horn Concerto. I would also add that to the list to accompany the first, but you are right, I have little affinity for Richard Strauss' music.


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## Neo Romanza (May 7, 2013)

haziz said:


> I went back yesterday and re-listened to his second Horn Concerto. I would also add that to the list to accompany the first, but you are right, I have little affinity for Richard Strauss' music.


His _Horn Concerto No. 2_ is my favorite of the two. It was dedicated to the memory of his father (who played horn with the Munich Court Opera and was also a professor if memory serves me correctly). It's a gorgeous work and features one of those "unmasking" moments in Strauss' music. This moment occurs towards the end of the first movement --- so poignant.


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## Xisten267 (Sep 2, 2018)

Added a list of the top ten most voted works of the poll in the first post. I'll keep updating the numbers of the list as new votes appear.


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## Gallus (Feb 8, 2018)

I'm not as familiar with Strauss' later operas as I would like, so I don't mean my choice to be definitive whatsoever, but I voted for Zarathustra, Salome, Elektra, Metamorphosen and the Five Last Songs. I think my favourite out of all of those would be Salome: an absolute firecracker of an opera, condensed but astonishingly powerful. Everyone who is a fan of opera should watch this performance:


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