Richard Strauss is another of the most prominent composers
in German musical and philosophical history. While Wagner was more obviously
influenced by the writings and thinking of Arthur Schopenhauer, Strauss was
very clearly touched by the work of Friedrich Nietzsche. Wagner was influenced
by Nietzsche as well, however not to the extent to which he was by
Schopenhauer. Also unlike Wagner, Strauss conveyed his inspiration mainly through
orchestral works, which is significant due to a lack of obvious plot as opposed
to operatic music which is written with a story in mind. The lack of plot
through dialogue allows more subtle influences to be expressed such as that
shown in almost of all of Strauss’s tone poems, being that they are cyclical,
which is a reference to Nietzsche’s belief in eternal return. To Nietzsche,
eternal return is a very important idea that is evident in a lot of his
writing, but most importantly for this conversation his collection of vignettes:
Thus Spoke Zarathustra.
Strauss’s tone poem, widely considered his magnum opus, Also
Sprach Zarathustra Op. 30 (composed in 1896) is the most blatantly obvious example
of the influence of Nietzsche on a then relatively young (32 at the time the
tone poem was completed) Strauss. The piece is in eight sections and was
designed to be a musical embodiment of Nietzsche’s philosophy based upon his collection
of vignettes mentioned in the paragraph above. A video is linked here: (Gustavo Dudamel with the Vienna Philharmonic (my favorite orchestra))
Among many obvious influences from Nietzsche is the cyclical
nature of the piece. There are several musical motifs that repeat themselves
throughout the piece, the most obvious being the very beginning. The trumpets
carry a glorious melody of the Tonic (first note of the scale) to the Dominant
(fifth note of the scale) to Tonic an octave higher, which is repeated at times
obviously and at times very subtly. The Intervals in the opening themselves
carry significance as well. The intervals are Perfect Fifths and Perfect
Fourths, which can be seen as embodying the idea of the ubermensch in the
uncorrupted strength they carry.
Nietzsche would love the concept of this piece as a whole.
Being premiered only four years before his death, it is unknown as to whether
or not Nietzsche would have even been aware of its composition, however a quite
popular quote seems to provide enough evidence to say with confidence that he
would have loved it.
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