Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59
Richard Strauss (1864-1949)

THE STORY

Set in Vienna of the 1740s, Der Rosenkavalier (“The Cavalier of the Rose”) is not a typical tragic romance between starry-eyed lovers. Instead, a mature woman called the Marschallin (“wife of the Field Marshal”) carries on an affair with a young count, Octavian, while her husband is away. When Baron Ochs reveals his love for a young girl, Sophie, the Marschallin suggests Octavian as a go-between—not realizing that her young lover might himself fall in love with Sophie. As the story unfolds, the Marschallin reaches the conclusion that Octavian and Sophie are better suited for one another.

Der Rosenkavalier quickly won international fame and became the most popular opera among Strauss’s fruitful collaborations with the Viennese poet and author Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The Suite weaves sections of the three-act opera together in varied order.

LISTEN FOR

• The heavy brass and lush strings in the opening measures, depicting amorous exchanges
• The solo oboe song conveying the pure tenderness between Octavian and Sophie falling in love
• A simple Viennese waltz with solo violin

INSTRUMENTATION

Piccolo, three flutes, three oboes, English horn, three clarinets, bass clarinet, E-flat clarinet, three bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, three trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion, two harps, celesta, strings

Notes on the music by Joanna Chang