# Ein Heldenleben



## Reichstag aus LICHT (Oct 25, 2010)

I've been listening to various recordings of "Ein Heldenleben" of late, and I've noticed that my recordings don't agree on where each of the sections starts - particularly "Des Helden Walstatt" and "Des Helden Friedenswerke" (The Hero's Deeds in Battle/Works of Peace), but some of the other sections too. 

I know that Strauss deprecated the headings of the various sections/movements, so they don't appear in modern scores, but does anyone know of an online score that shows exactly where the breaks between sections are, or a "definitive" recording that gets it right? I can then synch up my recordings; they're digital files, which I can edit so they're all "singing from the same hymn-sheet", so to speak.


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## Guest002 (Feb 19, 2020)

Well, the PDF of the full orchestral score* is available here*, but as you say, it lacks explicit headings.

The *program notes at Hyperion* seem informative, but who knows if they're 'definitive'?!


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## gvn (Dec 14, 2019)

I think the analysis usually given is that devised by Strauss's friend Friedrich Rösch, which is printed in the preface to some editions of the score:

1. Der Held: mm. 1-117
2. Des Helden Widersacher: mm. 118-187
3. Des Helden Gefährtin: mm. 188-367
4. Des Helden Walstatt: mm. 368-684
5. Des Helden Friedenswerke: mm. 685-768
6. Des Helden Weltflucht und Vollendung: mm. 769-926.

But it's clear that Rösch's analysis isn't universally accepted. For instance, James Hepokoski, in _The Cambridge Companion to Richard Strauss_ (p. 102), starts section 3 at m. 192 and section 4 at m. 369 (he doesn't give an exact breakdown of the other sections). So, if you're editing files for your own convenience, might it be simplest just to choose whichever break-points sound best to _your_ ears, and align the other recordings correspondingly?


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