SKU: HL.49045561

ISBN 9783901974045.

Strauss's first tone poem distinguishes itself from all other subsequent orchestral compositions in its existence in three different versions. Even among the operas and other compositions in his hand there is no other work with a comparable history of origin and publication. What is more, the final version of Macbeth is the only valid form of the work and the only variant with further sources (cf. Critical Report) in addition to the autograph score. In contrast, the second version has only been preserved in an autograph score and autograph piano reduction (the orchestral parts which must have existed have obviously not survived). This was never printed and was replaced by the published third version. The two surviving versions should therefore not be considered to be of equal status. Unlike the case of Ariadne auf Naxos in which the earlier version was for a time the sole valid alternative and was yet never completely displaced by the soon dominating later version of the opera, only the final third version of Macbeth is considered as valid. Right from the outset, it was a matter of course for the editors of the present volume to include the second version as a first publication (in addition to the above-mentioned surviving pages of the first version), albeit in different forms. The surviving pages of the first version are reproduced in facsimile and the second version, as a subordinate form of the work, appears alongside Strauss's piano reduction in a modified source edition, i.e. without intervention on the part of the editors. The ultimate third version is published as a full edition (please refer to the Critical Report for further details). In order to facilitate a comparative study of the second and third versions, the relevant page numbers of the score are placed opposite one another (the autograph piano reduction of the second version is included at the end of the music section of the volume). The editors hope that this synoptic representation will prompt interest in further studies on Strauss's art of orchestration: a field of research which has still remained insufficiently examined. A study of Macbeth namely illuminates as clearly as could be wished how much significance Strauss allotted to sound alongside form. The subjects were not merely intended to generate an individual figure, but also specific tonal colours, and the instrumentation was simultaneously designed to provide an optimal communication of thematic-motivic texture to the audience. The 'new path' threw up consequences which caused Strauss a considerable amount of difficulty. He was however a fast learner and had already swum free with Don Juan and all the more with Tod und Verklarung.

SKU: HL.49047172

UPC: 196288143406.

When the 24-year-old Richard Strauss, assistant conductor in Munich, began the composition of his third tone poem in the summer of 1888, he saw himself close to the aspiration prescribed by his mentor Alexander Ritter: to become the successor of Richard Wagner as a musical dramatist. Strauss had already been working on the text of his first opera Guntram for a year and additionally devoted himself to programmatic orchestral works oriented to the musical language of Liszt and Wagner in order to prepare himself compositionally for his new task. With the aid of Strauss and other musicians including Ludwig Thuille and Friedrich Rösch who had been gathering for “Ritter's round table” in Munich between 1886 and 1889, Ritter’s intention was to achieve success on a broad front with the New German School following the death of its two protagonists Wagner and Liszt. We do not know whether Ritter and his supporters jointly planned Strauss's compositional path towards opera, determined the subjectsof his prospective tone poems and considered various strategies of their musical realization, but the influence of this group shouldnot be underestimated. It cannot be ruled out that the number of three tone poems was fixed, as was their sequence of composition, which would progressively achieve its zenith in an increasing orientation to Liszt and Wagner. The circle could possibly have also discussed initial links to literary subjects (Macbeth and Don Juan) and ultimately the abstention from this practice in the third and final tone poem. The subject of the work, or rather in Strauss’s formulation its “poetic model”, has occasionally been interpreted from an autobiographical aspect. Strauss however did not experience serious illness until May 1891 and once more in June 1892, long after Tod und Verklärung had been composed. Even without an external reason, the material would have been only too attractive for an admirer of Wagner and Liszt like Strauss, not to mention for his mentor Alexander Ritter. The concept of 'death and transfiguration' had already played a central role in Liszt’s symphonic poems Tasso and Prometheus.

SKU: BR.OB-5623-19

ISBN 9790004348741. 10 x 12.5 inches.

Certainly Robert Schumann was right when he stated soon after Beethoven's death that the latter's conception of the symphony as a great, universal confessional work was hardly to be continued by the next generation of composers. He saw a solution to the dilemma in the creation of autonomous concert overtures, such as those written, for instance, by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Four of his overtures were printed during his lifetime, and others were extant in manuscript, though frequently and successfully performed by the composer. Belonging to the latter group is the Trumpet Overture, begun in 1825 and performed three times between 1828 und 1833 on prominent occasions in Berlin, Dusseldorf, and London.

First printing posthumously 1851 (Rietz).

SKU: BR.OB-5623-27

ISBN 9790004348765. 10 x 12.5 inches.

Certainly Robert Schumann was right when he stated soon after Beethoven's death that the latter's conception of the symphony as a great, universal confessional work was hardly to be continued by the next generation of composers. He saw a solution to the dilemma in the creation of autonomous concert overtures, such as those written, for instance, by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Four of his overtures were printed during his lifetime, and others were extant in manuscript, though frequently and successfully performed by the composer. Belonging to the latter group is the Trumpet Overture, begun in 1825 and performed three times between 1828 und 1833 on prominent occasions in Berlin, Dusseldorf, and London.

First printing posthumously 1851 (Rietz).

SKU: BR.OB-5623-16

ISBN 9790004348734. 10 x 12.5 inches.

Certainly Robert Schumann was right when he stated soon after Beethoven's death that the latter's conception of the symphony as a great, universal confessional work was hardly to be continued by the next generation of composers. He saw a solution to the dilemma in the creation of autonomous concert overtures, such as those written, for instance, by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy: Four of his overtures were printed during his lifetime, and others were extant in manuscript, though frequently and successfully performed by the composer. Belonging to the latter group is the Trumpet Overture, begun in 1825 and performed three times between 1828 und 1833 on prominent occasions in Berlin, Dusseldorf, and London.

First printing posthumously 1851 (Rietz).

SKU: HL.49009584

ISBN 9790200211009. UPC: 073999596618. 5.25x7.5x0.36 inches.

With more than 1,200 titles from the orchestral and choral repertoire, from chamber music and musical theatre, Edition Eulenburg is the world's largest series of scores, covering large part of music history from the Baroque to the Classical era and looking back on a long tradition.