Richard Strauss’ Metamorphosen (excerpts) – a lament for the destruction of German culture

Richard Strauss had a complicated relationship with the Nazi regime.

In 1933 he’d become President of the Reich Music Chamber – seemingly lending his name and reputation to the regime. Was this collaboration or simply self-protection?

By the closing months of WW2, when he composed Metamorphosen, Strauss was under no illusions – it’s a doleful lament for the destruction of the culture he loved.