Chapter 30 - Reception

Summary

This chapter focuses on the reception of Richard Strauss’s music in the context of contemporary culture and influential ideas that circulated during his lifetime. It reveals how reception changed during these years, which spanned the monarchy, the democracy of the Weimar Republic, and the national socialist dictatorship. Around 1900, music journalism played an increasing role for music reception. Study of the music critics who reviewed premieres of Strauss’s operas and orchestra compositions illuminates key elements through which his music was understood and judged. Topics of discussion include orchestral virtuosity, the question of progress, new psychological ideas, the artistic presentation of history, heroism, and irony and satire in art, literature, and theater. The chapter further explores how Strauss's portrayal of himself in some works became a controversial issue.