Fresh from two concerts in Lucerne, the Vienna Philharmonic travelled to the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam to perform Strauss’ immensely powerful Ein Heldenleben and Mendelssohn’s Third Symphony the “Scottish”.
I had immense fun researching and writing this review. There is SO much shared history between Vienna and Amsterdam regarding Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben, and to think that Strauss actually recorded the work with the Vienna Phil in 1944 is just amazing.
The programme
The Vienna Phil on tour
This was the third concert of the Vienna Phil’s 2024 European tour before heading off to Ghent, Luxembourg, Dortmund, Hamburg, Berlin, Dresden, Prague and finally Linz.
They love to tour and were last in Amsterdam May 12th, 2023 with Jakub Hrůša performing Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet Suite and Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony.
A shared history: Richard Strauss’ Ein Heldenleben
After learning that Heldenleben was dedicated to William Mengelberg, chief conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam at the time of the work’s premiere in 1899, I was curious to learn more about the shared links between the two giants of the music world.
An extract from the orchestra’s archive below brings some clarity, listing some of the many occasions when the Vienna Phil performed Heldenleben with Mengelberg on the podium.
The Vienna Phil in concert in Amsterdam
“All started well as an immense wall of brass was equalled by sonorous and disciplined strings. Two truly ominous tubas echoed, blasting away any latent dust particles, famously left untouched so as not to alter the unique acoustics of the Concertgebouw. The music critic Doktor Dehring, represented by the tuba leitmotif, must have been particularly reviled!”
Clare Varney @ Bachtrack
The brass, staring those “two pesky tubas” who stole the show
And with the trumpets in the Concertgebouw
Sebastian Glaser | © Simon van Boxtel
Strauss’ heroism depicted by the horns
Further listening: Ein Heldenleben – “A Hero’s Life” explained
Watch this incredibly interesting 1994 video of the London Symphony Orchestra playing Strauss’ tone poem. Conductor Michael Tilson Thomas gives a most engaging introduction where he explains how Strauss wrote Heldenleben as a response to the harsh criticism he had received after the disastrous opening of his first opera, Guntram.
Trumpets are the legendary Maurice Murphy & Malcolm Hall
Tilson Thomas also reminds us of certain maxim’s which Strauss himself used on the podium as he travelled the world conducting many of the world’s most acclaimed orchestras of the day. Advice which still seems pertinent today.
- Remember that you are making music not to amuse yourself, but to delight your audience.
- You should not perspire when conducting. Only the audience should get warm.
- Never look encouragingly at the brass, except with a brief glance to give an important cue.
- Never let the horns and woodwinds out of your sight. If you can hear them, they are too loud.
- When you think you have reached the limits of prestissimo, double the pace.
- If you follow these rules carefully, you will, with your fine gifts and your great accomplishments, always be the darling of your listeners.
Richard Strauss, Ten Golden Rules for the Album of a Young Conductor (1927)
Timothy Jones, Hugh Seenan, Richard Clews, William Haskins, Jonathan Lipton, John Peskett, R. Clark, A. Fletcher, & P. Pritchard | Names kindly supplied by LSO archivist Libby Rice
The review
Click on the link below to read my review for Bachtrack
Read more from Clare
This concert was reviewed in the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam on 9th September 2024
Follow Clare Varney on Facebook or Instagram to read more about Music, Food and Culture
