Strauss: Concertante Works

Richard Strauss's concertante works date from either end of his long career. The 1879 Romanze for Clarinet and Orchestra was his first attempt at a work for soloist and orchestra, and the Violin Concerto and Burleske for piano and orchestra were written just a few years later. The Duett-Concertino for Clarinet, Bassoon and Strings, on the other hand, was one of his very last works. The BBC Symphony Orchestra here accompany soloists including violinist Tasmin Little and clarinettist Michael Collins, who also conducts.

Featuring

Michael Collins
Michael McHale
Julie Price
Tasmin Little
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Richard Strauss

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Performer Biography

Tasmin Little, the violinist on this album, plays a violin made in 1757 by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini.

Composition History

Richard Strauss initially declined an offer to publish his Burleske, and did not write another work for piano and orchestra until 1925.

Compositional Technique

For his Duett-Concertino, Richard Strauss envisaged a fairy-tale program where the clarinet represents a princess and the bassoon a dancing bear who transforms into a prince.

Performer Biography

Michael Collins, the conductor and clarinetist on this album, was awarded an MBE in 2015 for his services to music and plays exclusively on Yamaha clarinets.

Composition History

The Violin Concerto was conceived as a gift for Richard Strauss's violin teacher and distant relative, Benno Walter, who was the leader of the Royal Bavarian Orchestra.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Richard Strauss described his late works, including the Duett-Concertino, as 'splinters from an old man's workshop, with no great claims, unless it should be to entertain in a light tone'.

Composer Biography

Richard Strauss's first music was written at age six, encouraged by his father, Franz Strauss, who was the principal horn in the Munich Court Orchestra.