Mar 24, 2008

From BYJ Classics / Hero "Ein Heldenleben"



From BYJ Classics / Hero
Special Edition

BYJ on Richard Strauss (1864-1949):
Ein Heldenleben, Op.40 – Der Held

(A Recording by Berliner Philharmoniker, conducted by Herbert von Karajan)

When I listen to various works of classical music, what often comes to my mind is, “what kind of personality does this composer have?” I know very little about Richard Strauss. By listening to this magnificent piece called “Ein Heldenleben (A Hero’s Life)” I imagine this composer having an ambitious dream of his own, and his working fervently towards it. Some people say that this piece is a self portrait of Strauss, and being only in his thirties at the time, he composed it envisioning his own life. If that is so, I think his life was a most happy one, blessed with a good partner (wife) and great zeal for composition. Listening to this “Hero”, I too dream about my life down the road. I feel joy and happiness when I contemplate on my personal life together with my life as an actor.
(Maestro Seikyo Kim gave the following story on Strauss in his blog:
Strauss confided to his friend, the writer Romain Rolland, "I am not a hero. I do not have the strength to be one. I do not want to fight, I just want to live a quiet and peaceful life.")

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much, flowerbossa. I really wanted to know what he wrote about these great pieces. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to read his comments.

Take care.

flowerbossa said...

Hi suehan,

It's my pleasure♪

His words are simple, yet affectionate and I think he is honest in sharing his impression of the music with us.

I added a bit on something Maestro Seikyo Kim shared in his blog.

love,
flowerbossa