Composed 1887, arranged 1938; 3 minutes
Alongside his operas and tone poems, Richard Strauss composed more than 200 lieder, from his first at age six to his last at 85. Three-quarters of his songs date from the 19th century, particularly from the early years of his marriage to soprano Pauline de Ahna. He frequently accompanied her in recital, and the couple toured widely between 1894 and 1905. Over time, his taste in poetry evolved, reaching a pinnacle of elegiac nostalgia in the Four Last Songs (1948), set to texts by Eichendorff and Hesse.
Like Schubert, Strauss favored contemporary poets. “All I want is the right poetic vessel into which I pour my ideas,” he wrote. In Ständchen (Serenade), a rather flowery and conventional poem by the aristocrat and art collector Adolf Friedrich von Schack (1815–94), he found inspiration. He was 23 when he composed what became one of his most beloved songs. That same year, 1897, he met Pauline for the first time. With trembling ecstasy, Ständchen brings to life and consummates an evening tryst beneath that most romantic of German trees—the linden. American composer, pianist, and broadcaster Abram Chasins closely follows the contours of the Strauss song, highlighting its nocturnal, secretive atmosphere.