(Continued)
S.B. from Manchester
Some of us are old enough to remember that there was a great quarrel about this work when it was first played in England, a quarter of a century ago. It was supposed to be tremendously 'advanced,' excruciatingly 'modern,' and part of it was declared to be horribly cacophonous.
But (in those days, at any rate) Strauss did not make noise merely for noise's sake. And if in music you are to depict a hero's ups and downs at all realistically, you are bound to show him in hot water sometime - and that means using pretty strong discords !
Six scenes or incidents are clearly to be distinguished in the work.
FIRST SCENE. We have a portrait of the Hero, and some indication of his qualities-his pride, his imaginative nature, and his strength of will.
SECOND SCENE. The Hero's Enemies (Wood-wind) snarling as they flock round him.
THIRD SCENE. The Hero's Helpmate. She is represented in her varying moods by a Solo Violin melody.
A trumpet call brings us to the FOURTH SCENE. The Battlefield. Here came the toughest test for the sensitive ears of 1902. Note the powerful and persistent drum rhythm.
FIFTH SCENE. The Hero's Works of Peace.
Here Strauss quotes largely from his own works.
SIXTH SCENE. The Hero's Flight from the World, and Completion. After a moment of dejection, the Hero finds serenity and peace of mind-perhaps in a pastoral life, as the mood of the music seems to suggest.
He has to face one more storm, but it is brief. The end comes in a great climax that rounds off the Hero's life-work in completeness of joy.