Among the many works that Richard Strauss wrote for his wife Pauline de Ahna, the Four Songs op. 27 occupy a special position, for the composer gave these “to my beloved Pauline” as a wedding present on 10 September 1894. In contrast to the earlier song cycles, this is not limited to a single poet, but rather Strauss combined here poems by Karl Henckell (Ruhe, meine Seele) and Heinrich Hart (Cäcilie) with two texts by John Henry Mackay (Heimliche Aufforderung and Morgen) into a contrasting bouquet of effusive songs. A sought-after concert singer, Pauline liked to include her husband’s songs in her programmes. She very frequently chose the impressionistic final song, Morgen, which to the present day is the best known of the over 200 songs by Strauss. Besides the first edition published in 1894, the composer’s autograph, today preserved in New York, was carefully evaluated for the Urtext edition.
Content/Details
- Four Songs op. 27
- Ruhe, meine Seele
- Cäcilie
- Heimliche Aufforderung
- Morgen
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Preface
Among the more than 200 songs by Richard Strauss (1864 – 1949), the Vier Lieder op. 27, written in 1894, occupy a special position: first, from a biographical point of view, as Strauss composed them for his wife as a wedding present – and it was not a coincidence that with this gift he found himself in the company of Robert Schumann, who for the same occasion presented … more
Critical Commentary
About the composer
Richard Strauss
One of the most important opera composers of the twentieth century. His oeuvre comprises fifteen operas, nine symphonic poems, instrumental concerti, and a large number of songs. His stage works are marked by their great variety of genre and subject matter.
| 1864 | Born in Munich on June 11, the son of Franz Joseph Strauss, principal horn player in the court orchestra. Receives instruction in piano, violin, and composition. |
| 1885–86 | Conductor at the Meiningen Court Orchestra, initially under the tutelage of Hans von Bülow. |
| 1886 | Music director at the Munich Court Theatre. |
| 1887–1903 | He increasingly devotes himself to the symphonic poem, including “Tod und Verklärung” (“Death and Transfiguration”) in C minor, Op. 24; “Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche” (“Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks”) in F major, Op. 28; “Also sprach Zarathustra,” Op. 30; “Symphonia Domestica” in F major for large orchestra, Op. 53. |
| 1889–94 | Music director in Weimar. First Kapellmeister in Munich in 1894, in Berlin at the Royal Court Opera from 1898–1910. |
| 1905 | Breakthrough with the premiere of “Salome,” Op. 54. |
| 1906 | Beginning of his collaboration with Hugo von Hofmannsthal on the harmonically progressive opera “Elektra,” Op. 58, premiered in Dresden in 1909. |
| 1911 | Sensational premiere in Dresden of “Der Rosenkavalier,” Op. 59, which refers back to operatic tradition and makes him the leading German opera composer. He decides to dedicate himself primarily to operas: “Ariadne auf Naxos,” Op. 60 (1912); “Intermezzo” Op. 72 (1924); “Die ägyptische Helena,” Op. 75 (1928); “Arabella,” Op. 79 (1933); “Die schweigsame Frau,” Op. 80 (1935); “Friedenstag,” Op. 81, and “Daphne,” Op. 82 (1938); “Die Liebe der Danae,” Op. 83 (1944). |
| 1919 | Director of the Vienna State Opera. Premiere there of “Die Frau ohne Schatten,” Op. 65. |
| 1931 | Collaboration with Stefan Zweig. |
| from 1944 | Composition of his last works: Metamorphosen, for 23 solo strings, Oboe Concerto in D major, Four Last Songs. |
| 1949 | Death in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on September 8. |
About the authors
Annette Oppermann (Editor)
Dr. Annette Oppermann, born in 1965, trained as a music dealer in Frankfurt am Main and studied historical and systematic musicology as well as modern German literature at Hamburg University.
From 1993 to1996 she worked as an editor for Sony Classical International in Hamburg; from 1996 to 1999 she was a doctoral candidate in the postgraduate programme Textkritik at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich, in January 2000 she earned her doctorate with a dissertation on “Musikalische Klassikerausgaben” (Hans-Joachim Marx, Hamburg). From 2000 to 2008 she worked as a research associate at the Joseph Haydn-Institut in Cologne, and was editor of the Oratorio “Die Schöpfung” in the Complete Edition of Joseph Haydn’s Works. Since February 2008 she has been an editor at G. Henle Publishers in Munich, with a particular focus on vocal music, chamber music and books.