Synopsis
Decades after their deaths, Richard Strauss and Dmitri Shostakovich still remain politically controversial. Strauss worked in Nazi Germany under Hitler, and Shostakovich in the Soviet Union under Stalin. Was their art compromised by politics — and should that influence how we hear their music today?
In July of 1935, Strauss pleaded with Hitler for a personal meeting to explain his resignation as President of Germany’s office of musical affairs. He needn’t have bothered: the Gestapo had intercepted a letter Strauss had sent to Jewish writer Stefan Zweig, the Austrian librettist of Strauss’ latest opera. In that letter, Strauss mocked the Nazi’s obsession with race and urged Zweig to continue to work with him, even if they would have to meet in secret. Strauss was asked to resign, and, anxious to avoid further trouble for himself and his family, appealed directly to Hitler, who never responded.
Dmitri Shostakovich also ran afoul of his dictator when, in 1936, Stalin attended Shostakovich’s opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk and hated it. The next day, Shostakovich was harshly condemned in the official press, and lived in terror for the rest of Stalin’s reign, redirecting his music according to party line and making obsequious political utterances whenever asked. Even so, many today claim to hear both terror and heroic — if coded — resistance in Shostakovich’s best scores.
Music Played in Today's Program
Richard Strauss (1864-1949): Ein Heldenleben; Daniel Majeske, violin; Cleveland Orchestra; Daniel Barenboim, conductor; London 414 292
Dimitri Shostakovich (1906-1975): Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk excerpts; Scottish National Orchestra; Neeme Jarvi, conductor; Chandos 8587
On This Day
Births
1932 - Danish composer Per Norgaard, in Gentofte (near Copenhagen)
Deaths
1951 - Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg, in Los Angeles, on a Friday the 13. He was superstitiously obsessed with the number 13 and, ironically, was 76 at the time of his death (7+6 = 13).
Premieres
1829 - Mendelssohn: Double Concerto for two pianos and orchestra, in London at a benefit concert, with the composer and Ignaz Moscheles as the soloists
1995 - Corigliano: Soliloquy for clarinet and string quartet, in Portland, Oregon, by Chamber Music Northwest
Others
1937 - The first Pan-American Chamber Music Festival is held in Mexico City
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About Composers Datebook®
Host John Birge presents a daily snapshot of composers past and present, with timely information, intriguing musical events and appropriate, accessible music related to each.
He has been hosting, producing and performing classical music for more than 25 years. Since 1997, he has been hosting on Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music Service. He played French horn for the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra and performed with them on their centennial tour of Europe in 1995. He was trained at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music and Interlochen Arts Academy.