Richard Strauss - Metamorphosen
for Piano Solo Richard Strauss (1864-1949) composed Metamorphosen from August 1944 to March 1945, towards the end of the Second World War. It was originally conceived for 7 solo strings, and a short score exists for the work in this form. He was commissioned by Paul Sacher from the Basler Kammerorchester and Collegium Musicum Zürich for a string orchestra piece. Strauss re-worked the septet for 23 solo strings, and described it as a study titled Metamorphosen. Although Strauss never explained any meaning behind the work, it is thought to be a response to the destruction of Germany's cities during the war, including many buildings that Strauss knew and loved, such as the Munich Opera House. There is an overwhelming feeling of lamentation and a crushing of any optimism. The music consists of a small group of themes that are combined and reworked throughout the piece. In the final bars, Strauss quotes the funeral march from Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, with the marking 'In memoriam!'. This could be seen as a lament to the death of culture in humanity's darkest hour. This arrangement for solo piano was made in 2001 as a way of studying the work. It is not just a literal transcription of the notes onto two staves, but a transformation into pianistic texture of the string sound. Available to purchase from Aria Editions here |