Presents
Richard Strauss
String Sextet from the opera Capriccio, Op.85
Richard Strauss (1864-1949), of course, needs no introduction. His orchestral compositions and operas have made him one of the best known composers of the late 19th and 20th century. While Strauss did not, in later life, devote much time to chamber music, in his earlier years he tried his hand at several different types of chamber works composing a string quartet, two piano trios, a piano quartet and several instrumental sonatas. His last work of chamber music was not, at least initially, intended to be a stand alone chamber music work.
The opera Capriccio was composed in 1942 and was his last stage work. It is an opera about opera, constructed as a series of elegant salon conversations dealing with a question of which is more important, the words or the music to an opera. It takes place in late 18th century France a few years before the Revolution. It is set in the chateau of one Countess Madeleine, who is considering marriage proposals from two suitors, one a poet, the other a composer. The Countess, in order to answer the above question, sets each of them the task of jointly writing a work. The opera begins with a string sextet that functions both as a prelude to the action and as the first topic of conversation in the on-stage drama. The style of the sextet is in the post-Wagnerian, and late Romantic style of the 1880s and 1890s. Unifying the score is the recurring melodic motive announced by the 1st violin in the opening bars.
Parts: $18.95
Parts & Score: $24.95
