Richard Strauss

Herbert Francis PeyserProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.2

Word count: 90K words
Chapters: 9

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971, and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today. Richard Strauss by Herbert F. Peyser. Author: Peyser, Herbert F. (Herbert Francis), 1886-1953. Language: English. Class: ML: Music: Literature of music. Release Date: Oct 15, 2015

Editor's review

This is a short English biographical booklet on the composer Richard Strauss, written by Herbert F. Peyser and released free of charge by Project Gutenberg. It is not a dense scholarly study of scores but a plain, readable account of Strauss's creative path and the era in which he worked, making it a suitable introduction to this leading figure of late German-Austrian Romanticism. Its narrative of the composer's life and works gives readers an extra layer of context when listening to such masterpieces as Also sprach Zarathustra and Der Rosenkavalier. The electronic edition is easy to obtain and short enough to finish on a commute or over a weekend, and it is convenient for looking up names and works. One caveat: the book was written long ago, and its facts and judgments bear the marks of its time; readers would do well to compare it with more recent music-history sources rather than treat it as the sole authority. For readers who want a quick basic grasp of Strauss without starting with a massive biography, this little book is a light starting point.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in classical music history who want an initial understanding of Richard Strauss
Undergraduates or self-learners who need English music reading practice
Music lovers preparing to listen to Strauss's works who want background knowledge first
Teachers who need concise biographical material for popular music lectures

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting in-depth score analysis or professional instruction in composition technique
Researchers who need the latest scholarship and rigorous annotations
People who are not comfortable reading English originals and want only Chinese materials

Reading tips

Listen to one or two representative Strauss works first, then read the biography, matching the text to what you hear
Note the titles of works mentioned in the book as you read and use them to expand your listening list
Use the book as an index, and look up more specialized sources for works that interest you
Readers with limited English can read slowly with a dictionary, focusing on the outline of the life rather than word-for-word translation

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book an autobiography written by Strauss himself?

No. It was written by Herbert F. Peyser and is a biographical work about Richard Strauss—an introduction by another writer to the composer's life and work, not an autobiography or memoir.

Can readers without a music background understand it?

Yes. The book focuses on the life and the background of the works and does not depend on scores or technical jargon, so general readers can read it smoothly; to understand the structure of the works in depth, however, they will still need specialized music-analysis materials.

Why is the electronic edition free?

The book is released by Project Gutenberg. That project is dedicated to providing free ebooks, and its contents are largely public-domain works, so readers can obtain and read them free of charge; specific use should still follow the platform's relevant guidelines.

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About the author

Herbert Francis Peyser Author · American · 1886–1953

Herbert F. Peyser (1886–1953) was an American music critic and writer born in New York. He served as chief critic for Musical America and as European music correspondent for The New York Times, and from 1949 wrote concert program notes for the New York Philharmonic Society. The library holds nine of his works, mostly biographies and commentaries on composers, including Bach, Handel, Haydn, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Berlioz, Schumann and Richard Strauss. He combined composers' lives and working environments with discussion of individual works, writing for general concert-goers in a style both informative and readable. These books helped spread knowledge of classical music among English-speaking readers and are commonly classified under inspirational growth.