Strauss by Laurenz Lütteken

Abstract

Reviewed by: Strauss by Laurenz Lütteken Patricia Josette Prokert Strauss. By Laurenz Lütteken. Translated by Erik Butler. (The Master Musicians.) New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. [xii, 283 p. ISBN 9780190605698 (hardcover), $36.95.] Music examples, illustrations, tables, footnotes, index. In Strauss, Laurenz Lütteken argues Richard Strauss's qualifications as a "modern" composer by presenting a "new, unprejudiced view" of the composer as one who embodied rather than clashed with his generation (p. x). The book is loosely organized by musical genre, with the first five chapters focusing on the composer's instrumental works, lieder, and conducting duties [End Page 613] and the final six chapters focusing on his operas. At first glance, the reader might assume they were about to embark on another Strauss biography; Lütteken, however, strives to differentiate his book from standard texts by primarily concentrating on the connection between modernism and Strauss's life and work. Instead of presenting Strauss's life in strict chronological order, Lütteken in each chapter examines a theme or musical genre that may span several decades of the composer's life. For example, in the second chapter, "The End of the Nineteenth Century: Leaving Traditional Genres Behind," he details how Strauss's early compositional development reflects a historical awareness because his early instrumental works oscillated between Brahmsian tradition and Wagnerian modernity. Furthermore, Lütteken uses Strauss's early compositional influences, such as Jean-Baptist Lully, Wolfgang Mozart, and Ludwig von Beethoven, to illustrate how Strauss learned and emulated standard compositional forms (sonata, concerto, suite, etc.) in order to cast them aside. For the most part, Lütteken's focus in the second chapter is on Strauss's early instrumental compositions written between roughly 1870 and 1888. He often pulls examples, however, from Strauss's later compositions and writings to bolster his arguments. For example, he quotes a 1943 letter from Strauss to music critic Willi Schuh: "At nineteen, I wrote my sole, and final, symphony; at twenty, the Piano Quartet and the Violin Sonata—then it was over, and my symphonic works were just preparations for Salome" (p. 42). Lütteken does not provide further information on Salome's score or how the early instrumental works influenced the opera. These types of examples appear throughout the text and would likely be challenging for the casual reader to understand or follow, especially considering Lütteken rarely provides context or explanation. There is a definite assumption on the part of the author that his readers already have advanced knowledge of the composer and his entire oeuvre. Lütteken pulls examples from several different sources besides Strauss's scores and writings to support the theme of the chapter. These include Strauss's correspondence, reminiscences of the composer in the writings of colleagues and friends, and Strauss's score adaptations of other composers such as Hector Berlioz and Christoph Willibald Gluck. Again, the sources span the entirety of Strauss's life, and Lütteken introduces them in each chapter without much context or explanation. He also tends to provide background information on topics that have not been properly explained. For example, when discussing Strauss's Metamorphosen, Lütteken writes that "the project was conceived in response to Paul Sacher, Willi Schuh, and Karl Böhm's request for a work to inaugurate Sacher's newly established Collegium Musicum in Zurich" (p. 194). While Lütteken had previously clarified the relationship between Strauss, Schuh, and Böhm, he does not give the same consideration for Sacher or his Collegium Musicum. Although there is an extensive personalia glossary included as an appendix, the short explanations therein are inadequate for the general reader. Moreover, in order to fully grasp many of the interpersonal relationships within the book, anyone unaccustomed to the composer's biography would have to look beyond this book and undertake a bit more research. In addition to discussing Strauss's life and works through the lens of modernism, Lütteken is unique in his approach to Strauss by devoting his fourth chapter, "Music and Life: The Kapellmeister [End Page 614] and His Duties," to the composer's various conducting experiences. Unlike the majority of his contemporaries, who held conservatory positions...