Richard Strauss and the recorder
The 19-year-old based his "Fantasy" for soprano recorder, bassoon and guitar (piano) on a famous theme by Paisiello.
Salome, Elektra, Zarathustra, Till Eulenspiegel ... When you think of Richard Strauss, you probably associate his name with operas, tone poems or his songs. But an original composition with recorder from 1883?
Strauss' youthful works are still largely unknown today. On the last page of the autograph score of this fantasy is a reference to the reason for its composition: "O don't let me sweat too long, for a Strauss is no pleasure. The above fantasia comp. and written by Richard Strauss for bassoon and cross trumpet was performed at the 1883 Order Festival by Weschitz and [illegible]." The order is the convivial Munich Harbni-Orden gegen den tierischen Ernst, for which Strauss had already written an occasional work the previous year.
The instrumentation in the autograph score is bassoon, mouth flute (in the single part: mouth flute) and guitar. According to research by Franz Trenner and Peter Thalheimer, Nikolaj Tarasov ultimately confirmed that Strauss meant a recorder instrument by mouth flute. A soprano recorder in c is recommended for today's practice. Although the score is marked "Guitarre", Strauss notated it as a piano part on two staves, but also arranged it for guitar for the present edition.
The Fantasy by the 19-year-old composer is based on the famous theme "Nel cor più non mi sento" from the opera La Molinara by Giovanni Paisiello and joins a dozen other compositions on the same theme by Beethoven, Sor, Hummel and Paganini, for example. After a short introduction and the theme divided between the two melody instruments, a variation for recorder and bassoon and a virtuoso finale follow. Strauss' compositional mischief is not only evident in the sudden singing note in the flute part. With this four-minute fantasy, the sparse original recorder literature of the 19th century has been expanded to include a cheerful work for an extremely appealing instrumentation.
Richard Strauss: Fantasy on a theme by Giovanni Paisiello, for soprano recorder, bassoon and guitar (piano), edited by Peter Thalheimer, first edition, EW 1129, € 14.80, Edition Walhall, Magdeburg
