The ''Burleske in D minor'' is a composition for piano and orchestra written by
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss (; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, and violinist. Considered a leading composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras, he has been described as a successor of Richard Wag ...
in 1885-86, when he was 21.
Background
Original title and dedication
The work's original title was ''Scherzo in D minor'', and it was written for
Hans von Bülow
Freiherr Hans Guido von Bülow (8 January 1830 – 12 February 1894) was a German conductor, virtuoso pianist, and composer of the Romantic era. As one of the most distinguished conductors of the 19th century, his activity was critical for es ...
, who had appointed Strauss assistant conductor of the
Meiningen Court Orchestra
The Meiningen Court Orchestra (german: Meininger Hofkapelle) is one of the oldest and most traditional orchestras in Europe. Since 1952 the now 68-member orchestra has been affiliated to the Meiningen Court Theatre and in addition to their opera ...
.
[Madison Symphony Orchestra Program Notes]
However, von Bülow considered it a "complicated piece of nonsense" and refused to learn it. He said the piano part was "Lisztian" and "unplayable", particularly for a pianist with a small handspan (Strauss says that von Bülow could barely reach an octave).
[ Strauss rehearsed the work with the Meiningen Orchestra, conducting and playing the solo part himself, but then set it aside. He wrote to von Bülow: " ven an outstanding (!) pianist, and a first-rate (!) conductor, perhaps the whole thing will not turn out to be the unalloyed nonsense I took it for after the first rehearsal. After the first run-through, I was totally discouraged."][
]
Renaming, rededication and premiere
In 1889, Strauss became acquainted with Eugen d'Albert
Eugen (originally Eugène) Francis Charles d'Albert (10 April 1864 – 3 March 1932) was a Scottish-born pianist and composer.
Educated in Britain, d'Albert showed early musical talent and, at the age of seventeen, he won a scholarship to stud ...
, who liked the work, although he suggested some cuts and changes to the piano part.[ Strauss rededicated the revised work to d'Albert, who premiered it under its new title ''Burleske'', at a convention of the General German Music Association][San Francisco Symphony]
/ref> at Eisenach
Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...
on 21 June 1890, in the same concert as the premiere of Strauss's ''Death and Transfiguration
''Death and Transfiguration'' (german: Tod und Verklärung, link=no), Op. 24, is a tone poem for orchestra by Richard Strauss. Strauss began composition in the late summer of 1888 and completed the work on 18 November 1889. The work is dedicate ...
''.[ The word "Burleske" translates as "farce" or "mockery".][
]
Reaction
Von Bülow was still not impressed. In a letter to Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...
in January 1891, he wrote: "Strauss's ''Burleske'' decidedly has some genius in it, but in other respects it is horrifying."[Naxos]
/ref> Despite this, he conducted the work that month in Berlin, with Eugen d'Albert as soloist.[
Strauss was offered a handsome sum by a publisher for the rights to the work, but he was still not convinced of its merits, so he declined. He was likely influenced in his own opinion of the work by von Bülow's opinion of it. A quarter of a century later he wrote about von Bülow: "For anyone who ever heard him play ]Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
or conduct Wagner
Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, polemicist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most op ...
, who attended one of his piano lessons or observed him in orchestra rehearsal, he inevitably became the model of all the shining virtues of a performing artist, and his touching sympathy for me, his influence on the development of my artistic abilities, were the decisive factors in my career."[
]
Publication
In 1894, Strauss agreed to publication of the ''Burleske'', although it took him a long time to regard it with great favour. It eventually became one of his favourite works, and he programmed it in his last concert in London with the Philharmonia Orchestra in September 1947,[ along with '']Don Juan
Don Juan (), also known as Don Giovanni (Italian), is a legendary, fictional Spanish libertine who devotes his life to seducing women. Famous versions of the story include a 17th-century play, '' El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra'' ...
'', the ''Symphonia Domestica
''Symphonia Domestica'', Op. 53, is a tone poem for large orchestra by Richard Strauss. The work is a musical reflection of the secure domestic life so valued by the composer himself and, as such, harmoniously conveys daily events and family lif ...
'' and the waltzes from ''Der Rosenkavalier
(''The Knight of the Rose'' or ''The Rose-Bearer''), Op. 59, is a comic opera in three acts by Richard Strauss to an original German libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. It is loosely adapted from the novel ''Les amours du chevalier de Faublas'' ...
''.
Strauss never allocated an opus number
In musicology, the opus number is the "work number" that is assigned to a musical composition, or to a set of compositions, to indicate the chronological order of the composer's production. Opus numbers are used to distinguish among compositio ...
to the work,[ but the opus number 11 has often come to be associated with it, although Strauss gave that number to his Horn Concerto No. 1 in E. It appears as number 85 in the catalogue by Erich Herrmann Mueller von Asow, and number 145 in that by Franz Trenner (see List of compositions by Richard Strauss#Other works).
]
Other premieres
The first performance of the ''Burleske'' in the United States was by Heinrich Gebhard Heinrich Gebhard (July 25, 1878 in Sobernheim, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany – May 5, 1963 in North Arlington, New Jersey, United States) was a German-American pianist, composer and piano teacher.
Performer
Gebhard was born in Sobernheim, Germany ...
with the Boston Symphony Orchestra
The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...
, under Wilhelm Gericke
Wilhelm Gericke (April 18, 1845 – October 27, 1925) was an Austrian-born conductor and composer who worked in Vienna and Boston.
He was born in Schwanberg, Austria. Initially he trained in Graz to be a schoolmaster. This didn't work out, thou ...
, in April 1903.[ The first performance in Australia was by Vera Bradford in 1937, with the ]Melbourne Symphony Orchestra
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra (MSO) is an Australian orchestra based in Melbourne. The MSO is resident at Hamer Hall. The MSO has its own choir, the MSO Chorus, following integration with the Melbourne Chorale in 2008.
The MSO relies on f ...
conducted by Georg Schnéevoigt
Georg Lennart Schnéevoigt (8 November 1872 – 28 November 1947) was a Finnish conductor and cellist, born in Vyborg, Grand Duchy of Finland, which is now in Russia, to Ernst Schnéevoigt and Rosa Willandt.
Career
Schnéevoigt began his c ...
. Schnéevoigt considered the piano part manageable only by a male pianist, and demanded Vera Bradford be replaced; but she stood her ground and gave a celebrated performance.
Structure and scoring
The piece starts with a theme introduced on timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...
and answered by the orchestra. The piano then enters in a state of high excitement. A second, more lyrical Brahmsian theme emerges, followed by waltz-like measures not unlike the waltzes from ''Der Rosenkavalier''. The work ends quietly, again on the timpani. It takes about 20 minutes to perform.
The piece is scored for piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
solo and an orchestra of piccolo
The piccolo ( ; Italian for 'small') is a half-size flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" the modern piccolo has similar fingerings as the standard transverse flute, but the so ...
, 2 flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
s, 2 oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
A ...
s, 2 clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound.
Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...
s in B-flat, 2 bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...
s, 4 horn
Horn most often refers to:
*Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound
** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments
*Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
s (2 in F, 2 in D), 2 trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
s, timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionall ...
, and strings
String or strings may refer to:
*String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
.
Notable performers
Notable performers who have played or recorded the ''Burleske'' include Martha Argerich
Martha Argerich (; Eastern Catalan: ™É¾Ê’əˈɾik born 5 June 1941) is an Argentine classical concert pianist. She is widely considered to be one of the greatest pianists of all time.
Early life and education
Argerich was born in Buenos Ai ...
, Claudio Arrau
Claudio Arrau León (; February 6, 1903June 9, 1991) was a Chilean pianist known for his interpretations of a vast repertoire spanning the baroque to 20th-century composers, especially Bach, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt and Bra ...
, Emanuel Ax
Emanuel "Manny" Ax (born 8 June 1949) is a Grammy-winning American classical pianist. He is a teacher in the Juilliard School.
Early life
Ax was born to a Polish-Jewish family in Lviv, Ukraine, (in what was then the Soviet Union) to Joachim and ...
, Wilhelm Backhaus
Wilhelm Backhaus ('Bachaus' on some record labels) (26 March 1884 – 5 July 1969) was a German pianist and pedagogue. He was particularly well known for his interpretations of Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann, Chopin and Brahms. He was also much ...
, Maurizio Baglini, Rudolf Buchbinder
Rudolf Buchbinder (born 1 December 1946, Litoměřice, Czechoslovakia) is an Austrian classical pianist.
Biography
Buchbinder studied with Bruno Seidlhofer at the Vienna Academy of Music. In 1965, he made a tour of North and South Americas. In 1 ...
, Michel Dalberto
Michel Dalberto (born 2 June 1955) is a French concert pianist.
Biography
Dalberto was born in Paris into a non-musical family. He began studying the piano at the age of three and a half. When he was twelve, he was introduced to Vlado Perlemuter ...
, Barry Douglas, Malcolm Frager
Malcolm Frager (January 15, 1935June 20, 1991) was an American piano virtuoso and recording artist.
Life and career
Frager was born in St. Louis, Missouri and studied with Carl Friedberg in New York City from 1949 until Friedberg's death in 1955. ...
, Nelson Freire
Nelson José Pinto Freire (; 18 October 19441 November 2021) was a Brazilian classical pianist. Regarded as one of the greatest pianists of his generation, he was noted for his "decorous piano playing" and "interpretive depth". His extensive di ...
, Glenn Gould
Glenn Herbert Gould (; né Gold; September 25, 1932October 4, 1982) was a Canadian classical pianist. He was one of the most famous and celebrated pianists of the 20th century, and was renowned as an interpreter of the keyboard works of Johann ...
, Hélène Grimaud
Hélène Rose Paule Grimaud (born 7 November 1969) is a French classical pianist and the founder of the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem, New York.
Early life and education
Grimaud was born in Aix-en-Provence, France. She described famil ...
, Friedrich Gulda
Friedrich Gulda (16 May 1930 – 27 January 2000) was an Austrian pianist and composer who worked in both the classical and jazz fields.
Biography Early life and career
Born in Vienna the son of a teacher, Gulda began learning to play the piano ...
, Marc-André Hamelin
Marc-André Hamelin, OC, CQ (born September 5, 1961), is a Canadian virtuoso pianist and composer. Hamelin is recognized worldwide for the originality and technical proficiency of his performances of the classic repertoire. He has received 11 Gr ...
, Byron Janis
Byron Janis (born March 24, 1928) is an American classical pianist. He made several recordings for RCA Victor and Mercury Records, and occupies two volumes of the Philips series ''Great Pianists of the 20th Century''. His discography covers rep ...
, Jeffrey Kahane
Jeffrey Alan Kahane (born September 12, 1956) is an American classical concert pianist and conductor. He was music director of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra for 20 years, the longest of any music director in the orchestra's history. He is t ...
, Alexander Lonquich, Elly Ney
Elly Ney (27 September 1882 – 31 March 1968) was a German romantic pianist who specialized in Beethoven, and was especially popular in Germany.
Career
She was born in Düsseldorf, where her mother was a music instructor and her father was a r ...
(1932), Sviatoslav Richter
Sviatoslav Teofilovich Richter, group= ( – August 1, 1997) was a Soviet classical pianist. He is frequently regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time, Great Pianists of the 20th Century and has been praised for the "depth of his int ...
, Martin Roscoe
Martin Roscoe (born 3 August 1952) is an English classical pianist. He performs as a concerto soloist, as a recitalist and as a chamber musician.
Early life
Martin Roscoe was born in Halton, Runcorn, Cheshire. He first became serious about mus ...
, Rudolf Serkin
Rudolf Serkin (28 March 1903 – 8 May 1991) was a Bohemian-born Austrian-American pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest Beethoven interpreters of the 20th century.
Early life, childhood debut, and education
Serkin was born in t ...
, Jascha Spivakovsky
Jascha Spivakovsky (18 August 1896 – 23 March 1970) was a Russian Empire-born Australian piano virtuoso of the 20th century. He was hailed as a child prodigy in Odessa but almost murdered by Imperial Guard (Russia), Imperial Guards during the O ...
(with Strauss himself conducting), Jean-Yves Thibaudet
Jean-Yves Thibaudet (born 7 September 1961)Michael & Joyce Kennedy, 2007. is a French pianist.
Early life and studies
Jean-Yves Thibaudet was born in Lyon, France, to non-professional musical parents. His father played the violin, and his mother, ...
and Bertrand Chamayou
Bertrand Chamayou (born 23 March 1981) is a French pianist.
Career
Born in Toulouse, Chamayou studied at the Conservatoire de Toulouse under the tutelage of Claudine Willoth, making his first forays into contemporary music and composition. At th ...
(2021). There is a recording of Strauss himself conducting the Philharmonia at the Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...
London, 19 October 1947, with Alfred Blumen on the piano (this was the last concert he ever conducted).
In 2001, the music was used for the ballet ''Burleske'', choreographed for the New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...
by Peter Martins
Peter Martins (born 27 October 1946) is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and with the New York City Ballet, where he joined George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and John Taras as ...
.New York City Ballet
/ref>
Discography
* Martha Argerich and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado, Sony CD and Kultur DVD
References
Sources
* Liner notes from the Rudolf Serkin/Eugene Ormandy recording.
External links
*
{{Authority control
Concertos by Richard Strauss
Compositions for piano and orchestra
1886 compositions
Music with dedications
Compositions in D minor