Composition Of Richard Strauss s Ein Heldenleben

Composition of Richard Strauss’s Ein Heldenleben began in a Bavarian mountain resort where Strauss was staying in July of 1898. With a letter sent out from his resort, Strauss proclaimed that, â€Å"Since Beethoven’s Eroica is so unpopular†¦. And hence rarely performed†¦ I am filling the void with a tone poem of substantial length on a similar theme.† In his letter, he expressed that while titled A Hero’s Life, this piece is â€Å"no funeral march† but does have lots of horns, â€Å"horns being quite the thing to express heroism.† Strauss aspired to complete this piece before New Year’s Day of 1899, and finished on December 27th of 1898. The first public performance was then played in March of 1899, in Frankfurt, Germany. While Strauss denied that he was the hero of this piece, it was apparent that the work was ultimately his autobiography. Ein Heldenleben featured parts written about Strauss’s wife, his critics, and over 30 musical quotes from many of his past works. Strauss is quoted as saying, â€Å"I am not a hero. I haven’t got the necessary strength; I am not cut out for battle; I prefer to withdraw, to be quiet, to have peace†¦.† In a programme note for the premiere of the piece, he wrote that the subject was â€Å"not a single poetical or historical figure, but rather a more general and free ideal of great many heroism.† The music of the work points to the composer as its subject, however, and Strauss has said that he believed himself to be â€Å"no less interesting than Napolean.† Ein