Richard Strauss: Arabella by Kenneth Birkin; Richard Strauss: Elektra by Derrick Puffett;Richard Strauss: Salome by Derrick Puffett; Richard Strauss: An Intimate Portrait by KurtWilhelm; Mary WhittallReview by: David E. AndersonNotes, Second Series, Vol. 48, No. 1 (Sep., 1991), pp. 93-95Published by: Music Library AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/941788 .

Accessed: 16/06/2014 00:17

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

Music Library Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Notes.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 195.78.109.96 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 00:17:44 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Book Reviews Book Reviews

dergraduate music history and literature course, with appropriate contributions by a creative teacher. In fact, if Oxford could somehow bring this set (in toto, without changing either pictorial or textual con- tent) down to the $75 range in a sturdy paperback edition, it might be worth toss-

dergraduate music history and literature course, with appropriate contributions by a creative teacher. In fact, if Oxford could somehow bring this set (in toto, without changing either pictorial or textual con- tent) down to the $75 range in a sturdy paperback edition, it might be worth toss-

ing out every cumbersome, expensive, and presumptuous textbook-cum-anthology- cum-record set-cum-teacher's guide now available.

THEODORE ALBRECHT Park College

ing out every cumbersome, expensive, and presumptuous textbook-cum-anthology- cum-record set-cum-teacher's guide now available.

THEODORE ALBRECHT Park College

TWENTIETH CENTURY TWENTIETH CENTURY

Richard Strauss: Arabella. Edited by Kenneth Birkin. (Cambridge Opera Handbooks.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. [xiii, 162 p. ISBN 0-521-34031-4. $39.50. ISBN 0-521-33577-9. $14.95, pbk.]

Richard Strauss: Elektra. Edited by Derrick Puffett. (Cambridge Opera Handbooks.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. [vii, 179 p. ISBN 0-521-35173-1. $39.50. ISBN 0-521-35971-6. $14.95, pbk.]

Richard Strauss: Salome. Edited by Derrick Puffett. (Cambridge Opera Handbooks.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. [ix, 211 p. ISBN 0-521-35172-3. $39.50. ISBN 0-521-35970-8. $14.95, pbk.]

Richard Strauss: an Intimate Portrait.

By Kurt Wilhelm. Translated by Mary Whittall from Richard Strauss personlich. New York: Rizzoli, 1989. [312 p. ISBN 0-8478-1021-6. $50.00.]

Studies of Richard Strauss are slowly moving from the biographical and biblio- graphical to more scholarly analyses, a transition that parallels the upgrading of the composer's reputation from that of someone-almost a dilettante-who burned out early, to an artist with a mul- tifaceted career who is worthy of serious study. Three new Cambridge Opera Hand- books about Arabella, Elektra, and Salome reflect these changes. (Cambridge released one on Der Rosenkavalier a few years ago.) These are the first present-day studies of the operas. Aimed not just at the opera lover, they are also for the specialist in- terested in technical analyses of these works.

Richard Strauss: Arabella. Edited by Kenneth Birkin. (Cambridge Opera Handbooks.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. [xiii, 162 p. ISBN 0-521-34031-4. $39.50. ISBN 0-521-33577-9. $14.95, pbk.]

Richard Strauss: Elektra. Edited by Derrick Puffett. (Cambridge Opera Handbooks.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. [vii, 179 p. ISBN 0-521-35173-1. $39.50. ISBN 0-521-35971-6. $14.95, pbk.]

Richard Strauss: Salome. Edited by Derrick Puffett. (Cambridge Opera Handbooks.) Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. [ix, 211 p. ISBN 0-521-35172-3. $39.50. ISBN 0-521-35970-8. $14.95, pbk.]

Richard Strauss: an Intimate Portrait.

By Kurt Wilhelm. Translated by Mary Whittall from Richard Strauss personlich. New York: Rizzoli, 1989. [312 p. ISBN 0-8478-1021-6. $50.00.]

Studies of Richard Strauss are slowly moving from the biographical and biblio- graphical to more scholarly analyses, a transition that parallels the upgrading of the composer's reputation from that of someone-almost a dilettante-who burned out early, to an artist with a mul- tifaceted career who is worthy of serious study. Three new Cambridge Opera Hand- books about Arabella, Elektra, and Salome reflect these changes. (Cambridge released one on Der Rosenkavalier a few years ago.) These are the first present-day studies of the operas. Aimed not just at the opera lover, they are also for the specialist in- terested in technical analyses of these works.

Birkin's handbook on Arabella is directed more toward the educated music lover and opera-goer. His essay on Strauss and Hof- mannsthal's previous collaborations is per- haps the best short study available, espe- cially with its discussion of their ceaseless search for the ideal marriage of text and music. Chapters about Hofmannsthal's sources for the libretto, the events and tur- moil surrounding the premiere, and sub- sequent performing history are engagingly written and well researched, although new information will doubtless turn up now that Dresden has emerged from behind the iron curtain. The synopsis of Arabella is a better mix of description, musical examples, and quotation of textual passages than those in the other two books, although a few ad- ditional musical examples here would help the reader more than Birkin's long quo- tations from the text. The author also tends to make an occasional grand assertion (claiming that the work has "a unique co- herence" because many of the motifs are derived from folk-song ideas, for example). An appendix includes the text for a quartet that was not used in the final version. Bir- kin's illustrations are particularly attractive, whereas those in the other two books seem unimaginatively selected. His chapters on the structure of the opera, Strauss's com- positional procedures, and a sketchbook for the opera will be discussed below.

The Salome volume begins with essays on Oscar Wilde's play by Richard Ellmann and Mario Praz and on Strauss's adaptation by Roland Tenschert. In the middle section one finds a synopsis (with no musical ex- amples), as well as essays on Salome as music drama, on its tonal and dramatic structure, and on the final monologue. Section three, on Salome criticism, contains discussions of the critical reception and whether the work should be regarded as art or kitsch. The first appendix is a scenario Strauss wrote

Birkin's handbook on Arabella is directed more toward the educated music lover and opera-goer. His essay on Strauss and Hof- mannsthal's previous collaborations is per- haps the best short study available, espe- cially with its discussion of their ceaseless search for the ideal marriage of text and music. Chapters about Hofmannsthal's sources for the libretto, the events and tur- moil surrounding the premiere, and sub- sequent performing history are engagingly written and well researched, although new information will doubtless turn up now that Dresden has emerged from behind the iron curtain. The synopsis of Arabella is a better mix of description, musical examples, and quotation of textual passages than those in the other two books, although a few ad- ditional musical examples here would help the reader more than Birkin's long quo- tations from the text. The author also tends to make an occasional grand assertion (claiming that the work has "a unique co- herence" because many of the motifs are derived from folk-song ideas, for example). An appendix includes the text for a quartet that was not used in the final version. Bir- kin's illustrations are particularly attractive, whereas those in the other two books seem unimaginatively selected. His chapters on the structure of the opera, Strauss's com- positional procedures, and a sketchbook for the opera will be discussed below.

The Salome volume begins with essays on Oscar Wilde's play by Richard Ellmann and Mario Praz and on Strauss's adaptation by Roland Tenschert. In the middle section one finds a synopsis (with no musical ex- amples), as well as essays on Salome as music drama, on its tonal and dramatic structure, and on the final monologue. Section three, on Salome criticism, contains discussions of the critical reception and whether the work should be regarded as art or kitsch. The first appendix is a scenario Strauss wrote

93 93

This content downloaded from 195.78.109.96 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 00:17:44 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

NOTES, September 1991

many years after the premiere for the "Dance of the Seven Veils." The book on Elektra follows a similar outline, except that at the end, instead of a discussion on re- ception, Carolyn Abbate provides an essay on questions of semiotics and Robin Hol- loway discusses the orchestration. All three books include comprehensive discogra- phies and bibliographies.

The academic slant of the Salome and Elektra volumes is typified by their detailed analyses of motivic development from var- ious standpoints, in particular by the chap- ters in each book by Tethys Carpenter. Carpenter advances an important aspect of Strauss research: the use of pitch-class sets to understand Strauss's harmonic proce- dures. She breaks down the bitonality of the Klytamnestra scene, along with well- known dissonances such as the "Elektra chord" and the chord at Elektra's recog- nition of Orest, and shows the elegant re- flection of large-scale patterns in the har- monic language. The chapters are certainly not designed for the casual reader; most musicians will find them difficult going. They are crucial, however, and should in- spire more studies. Carolyn Abbate, in her chapter on Elektra and in her other writ- ings, demonstrates a sense of style and beauty of expression rarely found in any field. While some of her discussion overlaps that of the other writers, she brushes aside old assumptions of what motifs "mean" and illuminates the subtle and shifting interaction between textual and musical meanings.

The importance of "associative keys"-E major as a "love" key, and so forth-is taken up with a vengeance in these vol- umes. Detailed discussions show how Strauss's use of tonal associations is as in- tegral as his use of motifs in the architec- ture of his scores. Birkin, in his earlier writ- ings, has pioneered the study of Strauss's tonal associations, and his chapter on the structure of Arabella centers around them and aspects of the dramaturgy-especially relevant in light of the complex develop- ment of the opera's text. All three books are invaluable for their discussions of Strauss's use of motifs and their various roles within and among the operas. Puffett makes the motif the center of his chapter on Salome as music drama; tables show how motifs change upon subsequent appear- ance. Arnold Whittall in the corresponding

chapter in Elektra places more emphasis on tonal centers and large-scale structure, while Birkin chooses short passages from the score to show how motif and key il- lustrate the text. In several of the chapters in the books edited by Puffett, the authors discuss the use of motives for identification versus their use for purely musical pur- poses. This is an important aspect of Strauss's style, and it is to be hoped that later writers tie this into investigations of his compositional process.

One area in which these books fall short is the exploration of Strauss's composi- tional process. Birkin approaches the sub- ject, albeit incompletely, in a chapter that studies a sketchbook for Arabella now in Vienna. Puffett, in his closing comments to Tenschert's 1960 essay about the Salome textbook, bemoans the fact that Strauss's working copy of the text is not available. Microfilms of the majority of the sketches and manuscripts in Garmisch have been available from the middle 1980s. It is a shame that the authors of these books did not take advantage of their recent acces- sibility in order to pursue this expanding field in Strauss research.

The books on Elektra and Salome do not escape completely the old attitude that Strauss was a facile composer who com- posed merely to maintain his lifestyle (Bir- kin takes a more reverent approach). A certain flippancy toward Strauss is occa- sionally in evidence, with statements that one would certainly never find in a book about Debussy or Verdi. Strauss's own widely recorded self-deprecation (and his wife Pauline's equally well-known depre- cating comments about him) doubtless con- tribute to this attitude. The writers of the Salome and Elektra essays also engage in a bit of bashing of Norman Del Mar and William Mann, authors, respectively, of the standard Strauss biography (Richard Strauws: A Critical Commentary on His Life and Works [Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1986]) and a major work on the op- eras (Richard Strauss: A Critical Study of the Operas [London: Cassell; New York: Ox- ford University Press, 1964]), although Del Mar's book is acknowledged to be "a heroic achievement." This is unfair to Del Mar and Mann: their books were written for different purposes and different audi- ences. The omission of musical examples from the synopses of the Salome and Elektra

94

This content downloaded from 195.78.109.96 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 00:17:44 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Book Reviews Book Reviews

books seems to stem from the authors' de- sire to distance themselves from the earlier writers. For two operas based on the use of motifs and targeted at least to some ex- tent toward the nonspecialist, this omission seems needlessly pedantic.

Kurt Wilhelm's Richard Strauss: An Inti- mate Portrait is a welcome addition to the Strauss bibliography. It takes an anecdotal yet serious look at the composer's life, with many little-known details that will be of interest to both the casual reader and the scholar. Wilhelm has had almost unlimited access to the Richard-Strauss-Archiv in the composer's home in Garmisch. While pre- vious biographers have drawn on materials from this archive, no one except Willi Schuh in his uncompleted biography has made such extensive use of these sources. Wilhelm's book is divided into short chap- ters that, in addition to discussing the op- eras and major instrumental works, cover topics such as the composer's conducting and recital tours in North and South Amer- ica, his championship of his colleagues' works, and his advocacy of increased legal and copyright protection for composers. There is an elegant and persuasive defense of Strauss's activities between 1933 and 1945. The many pictures and illustrations almost make this a Bildbiographie.

A minor problem with Wilhelm's orga- hization is that he attempts to cover so much information that sometimes he shoe- horns a paragraph on one subject into a chapter about something else, and the reader is suddenly struck by the lack of continuity. The factual errors are only minor-a few wrong dates in the chronol- ogy, misidentification of figures, and such. One encounters various statements for which it would be good to know Wilhelm's sources (for example, the claim that Elek- tra's opening monologue was composed three times; a letter from Hofmannsthal in the mid-1920s recalls that it was the Klytamnestra scene that gave Strauss trou- ble), but doubtless such documentation would have overwhelmed the casual tone of the book with a scholarly apparatus.

This work has no pretensions to being a formal biography; indeed, a general knowl- edge of Strauss's life is helpful, as Wilhelm does not always take a strictly chronological approach, and he assumes that the reader knows basic biographical details. With its wealth of new information and its clear and

books seems to stem from the authors' de- sire to distance themselves from the earlier writers. For two operas based on the use of motifs and targeted at least to some ex- tent toward the nonspecialist, this omission seems needlessly pedantic.

Kurt Wilhelm's Richard Strauss: An Inti- mate Portrait is a welcome addition to the Strauss bibliography. It takes an anecdotal yet serious look at the composer's life, with many little-known details that will be of interest to both the casual reader and the scholar. Wilhelm has had almost unlimited access to the Richard-Strauss-Archiv in the composer's home in Garmisch. While pre- vious biographers have drawn on materials from this archive, no one except Willi Schuh in his uncompleted biography has made such extensive use of these sources. Wilhelm's book is divided into short chap- ters that, in addition to discussing the op- eras and major instrumental works, cover topics such as the composer's conducting and recital tours in North and South Amer- ica, his championship of his colleagues' works, and his advocacy of increased legal and copyright protection for composers. There is an elegant and persuasive defense of Strauss's activities between 1933 and 1945. The many pictures and illustrations almost make this a Bildbiographie.

A minor problem with Wilhelm's orga- hization is that he attempts to cover so much information that sometimes he shoe- horns a paragraph on one subject into a chapter about something else, and the reader is suddenly struck by the lack of continuity. The factual errors are only minor-a few wrong dates in the chronol- ogy, misidentification of figures, and such. One encounters various statements for which it would be good to know Wilhelm's sources (for example, the claim that Elek- tra's opening monologue was composed three times; a letter from Hofmannsthal in the mid-1920s recalls that it was the Klytamnestra scene that gave Strauss trou- ble), but doubtless such documentation would have overwhelmed the casual tone of the book with a scholarly apparatus.

This work has no pretensions to being a formal biography; indeed, a general knowl- edge of Strauss's life is helpful, as Wilhelm does not always take a strictly chronological approach, and he assumes that the reader knows basic biographical details. With its wealth of new information and its clear and

succinct discussion of many different as- pects of the composer's life and career, Wilhelm's book-beneath the anecdotal, casual tone-is an important addition to our understanding of the paradoxical Ri- chard Strauss.

DAVID E. ANDERSON University of Chicago

Francis Poulenc: A Bio-bibliography. Compiled by George R. Keck. (Bio- Bibliographies in Music, 28.) New York: Greenwood Press, 1990. [xi, 304

p. ISBN 0-313-25562-8. $49.95.]

Frank Martin: A Bio-bibliography. Compiled by Charles W. King. (Bio- Bibliographies in Music, 26.) New York: Greenwood Press, 1990. [xii, 251 p. ISBN 0-313-25418-4. $39.95.]

Charles Koechlin (1867-1950): His Life and Works. By Robert Orledge. (Contemporary Music Studies, 1.) Chur, Switzerland; New York: Har- wood Academic Publishers, c1989. [xxvi, 457 p. ISBN 3-718648-98-9. $122.00.]

At first glance, one might expect the composers' lives and works that are exam- ined, to varying degrees, in these three vol- umes to be closely interwoven in terms of style and aesthetic outlook. In fact, how- ever, instead of illustrating the cohesive- ness of the period in which the composers lived, these studies demonstrate the wealth of diversity that has characterized our re- markable century.

Charles Koechlin-the eminence grise of twentieth-century French music; passion- ate advocate of the younger generation of that country's composers; author of trea- tises on harmony, counterpoint, and or- chestration that are touchstones of creative insight as well as of erudition-founded no school and inspired no imitators. His music has, in the words of his long-time advocate, Wilfred Mellers, a "self-subsistent serenity that is altogether singular in contemporary art" (Music Review 3 [1942]: 190), and yet the performances of it that he wistfully hoped for and even sought with a certain energy were very rare.

Francis Poulenc, on the other hand, can be called the fair-haired boy of twentieth-

succinct discussion of many different as- pects of the composer's life and career, Wilhelm's book-beneath the anecdotal, casual tone-is an important addition to our understanding of the paradoxical Ri- chard Strauss.

DAVID E. ANDERSON University of Chicago

Francis Poulenc: A Bio-bibliography. Compiled by George R. Keck. (Bio- Bibliographies in Music, 28.) New York: Greenwood Press, 1990. [xi, 304

p. ISBN 0-313-25562-8. $49.95.]

Frank Martin: A Bio-bibliography. Compiled by Charles W. King. (Bio- Bibliographies in Music, 26.) New York: Greenwood Press, 1990. [xii, 251 p. ISBN 0-313-25418-4. $39.95.]

Charles Koechlin (1867-1950): His Life and Works. By Robert Orledge. (Contemporary Music Studies, 1.) Chur, Switzerland; New York: Har- wood Academic Publishers, c1989. [xxvi, 457 p. ISBN 3-718648-98-9. $122.00.]

At first glance, one might expect the composers' lives and works that are exam- ined, to varying degrees, in these three vol- umes to be closely interwoven in terms of style and aesthetic outlook. In fact, how- ever, instead of illustrating the cohesive- ness of the period in which the composers lived, these studies demonstrate the wealth of diversity that has characterized our re- markable century.

Charles Koechlin-the eminence grise of twentieth-century French music; passion- ate advocate of the younger generation of that country's composers; author of trea- tises on harmony, counterpoint, and or- chestration that are touchstones of creative insight as well as of erudition-founded no school and inspired no imitators. His music has, in the words of his long-time advocate, Wilfred Mellers, a "self-subsistent serenity that is altogether singular in contemporary art" (Music Review 3 [1942]: 190), and yet the performances of it that he wistfully hoped for and even sought with a certain energy were very rare.

Francis Poulenc, on the other hand, can be called the fair-haired boy of twentieth-

95 95

This content downloaded from 195.78.109.96 on Mon, 16 Jun 2014 00:17:44 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions