Is it a stupendous work of art, a shameless piece of self-promotion, or a mockery of the music business? Maybe it's all three. "Ein Heldenleben,""A Hero's Life," by (and about) Richard Strauss. Strauss told a friend "I don't see why I shouldn't write a symphony about myself. I find myself as interesting as Napoleon." Whether you take the grandiose plot seriously or see it as Strauss poking fun at his critics, it's an astonishing and entertaining piece. Bernard Haitink conducts the Chicago Symphony, in concert at Orchestra Hall in Chicago.
Episode Playlist
Hour 1
Charles Ives: Scherzo from Symphony No. 1 in D Minor
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Johann Sebastian Bach: Ricercar a 6 from the Musical Offering, BWV 1079
The St. Lawrence String Quartet and friends
Music@Menlo, Palo Alto, California
Franz Schubert: Klavierstucke No. 2 in E-flat
Imogen Cooper, piano
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London, England
Gustav Mahler: First movement from Symphony No. 10
The San Francisco Symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor
Davies Symphony Hall, San Francisco
Hour 2
Peter Tchaikovsky: Waltz from Sleeping Beauty
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Morton Gould, conductor
Felix Mendelssohn: Excerpt from Twelve Fugues for String Quartet
The Shanghai Quartet
Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York City
Sergei Rachmaninoff: Waltz for Piano, Six Hands
Daniel Gerzenberg, Anton Gerzenberg, and Lilya Zilberstein, piano
Lugano Festival Lugano, Switzerland
Richard Strauss: Excerpts from Ein Heldenleben
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink, conductor
Orchestra Hall, Chicago
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American Public Media’s Performance Today® is America’s most popular classical music radio program and a winner of the 2014 Gabriel Award for artistic achievement. The show is broadcast on hundreds of public radio stations across the country, including at 1 p.m. central weekdays on Minnesota Public Radio. More information about our stations can be found at APM Distribution.
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