Riding with the Reich

All this week, Donald Macleod explores key figures in the life of Richard Strauss. Today we have an uneasy encounter with the Nazi High Command, with whom the composer enjoyed what was, for some, an uncomfortably close relationship.

In January 1933, Adolf Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. In November of that year, Strauss, one of the most famous and successful composers in the world, and an elder statesman of German music – by then not far off his 70th birthday – was appointed President of the Reichsmusikkammer, the Reich Chamber of Music, the body charged with “keeping music Aryan”. He seems to have genuinely, if naively, believed that this ‘honour’ would put him in a position to influence German musical life for the better (in particular, he wanted to bring about the extension of the term of copyright in Germany from 30 to 50 years after a composer’s death, something that was in fact achieved the following year). ‘Keeping music Aryan’ involved a number of things – above all the proscription of music by Jewish composers. The work of Jewish librettists was similarly considered beyond the pale, which could only put Strauss on a collision course with the Nazis over his current opera Die Schweigsame Frau, The Silent Woman, for the libretto of which he had chosen a Jewish writer called Stefan Zweig. In view of the developing political situation, Zweig wrote to Strauss offering to withdraw from the project; Strauss wrote back forcefully rejecting Zweig’s offer and adding “Who has told you I’ve become so deeply involved in politics? Because I pose as President of the Reichsmusikkammer?” The letter was intercepted by the Gestapo and brought to the attention of Hitler. The opera reached the stage in June 1935, but was cancelled after just a few performances. Early the following month, Strauss was forced to resign his presidency of the Reichsmusikkammer, due to “ill health”. The composer has been criticised for cosying up to the Nazis, but he seems to have genuinely believed that he could manage his relationship with them – as he once said, “I made music under the Kaiser and under Ebert. I’ll survive under this lot as well.”

Das Bächlein (The Little Brook), Op 88 No 1
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone
Gerald Moore, piano

Die schweigsame Frau (The Silent Woman), Op 80 (Act 1, “Ha!” “Was ist?” “Mir fällt etwas ein!”)
Wolfgang Schöne, baritone (Barber)
Trudeliese Schmidt, mezzo-soprano (Carlotta)
Jeanette Scovotti, soprano (Aminta)
Carola Nossek, soprano (Isotta)
Klaus Kirte, baritone (Morbio)
Werner Haseleu, bass (Vanuzzi)
Helmut Berger-Tuna, bass (Farfallo)
Eberhard Büchner, tenor (Henry Morosus)
Chorus of Dresden State Opera
Staatskapelle Dresden
Marek Janowski, conductor

Friedenstag (Peace Day), Op 81 (extract)
Deborah Voight, soprano (Maria)
Alfred Reiter, bass (Sergeant-major)
Tom Martinsen, tenor (Private soldier)
Jochen Kupfer, baritone (Corporal)
Albert Dohmen, baritone (Commandant)
Jochen Schmeckenbecher, baritone (Officer)
Jon Villars, tenor (Mayor)
Sami Luttinen, baritone (Bishop)
Johan Botha, bass (The Holsteiner)
Chor der Staatsoper Dresden
Staatskapelle Dresden
Giuseppe Sinopoli, conductor

Metamorphosen, study for 23 solo strings, TrV 290
Staatskapelle Dresden
Rudolf Kempe, conductor

Produced by Chris Barstow for BBC Audio Wales & West