Composer. He is considered the last great figure of the German Romantic movement. Strauss is best-known for his opera "Der Rosenkavalier" (1910), a bittersweet look at lives and loves among the Viennese aristocracy of the 1700s. Set to a brilliant libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, its lilting waltzes and ensembles, scintillating wit and penetrating human observation have made it among the 20th Century's best loved operas. He is also celebrated for his tone poems and songs, and was one of the finest conductors of his day. Strauss was born in Munich, Germany. His father was a noted French horn player who gave him a thorough musical education. He started composing at age six and by the time he was 21 he'd had two symphonies, a Horn Concerto, and several chamber works performed. His precocity caught the attention of the great conductor Hans Guido von Bülow, who made him his protégé. After serving as an associate conductor in Munich and Weimar, Strauss was director of the Berlin Royal Opera (1898 to 1918) and the Berlin Philharmonic (1908 to 1918), and co-director of the Vienna State Opera (1919 to 1924). He commanded a wide repertory and excelled at interpreting his favorite composers, Mozart and Wagner. While at Weimar Strauss married Pauline de Ahna, a soprano known as much for her shrewish personality as for her voice. Their stormy, quarrelsome marriage lasted 55 years, until his death. As a composer Strauss initially won fame for his tone poems, orchestral pieces illustrating literary or pictorial subjects. The best of them are still concert hall favorites: "Don Juan" (1889), "Death and Transfiguration" (1889), "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks" (1895), "Thus Spake Zarathustra" (1896), "Don Quixote" (1898), and "A Hero's Life" (1898). The harmonic daring and instrumental virtuosity Strauss displayed in these compositions established him as the most cutting-edge musician of his time, but it is their memorable themes and wealth of emotion that keep them fresh and enjoyable. Strauss failed with his first two operas, "Guntram" (1894) and "Feuersnot" (1901); the former was too derivative of Wagner and the latter was a transitional piece. But with "Salome" (1905), adapted from Oscar Wilde's play, he was able to bring the range and style of his tone poems to the stage, and created an operatic masterpiece. Many listeners were outraged by its harsh, dissonant sound, and the scandal of its premiere assured it considerable popular success. Its instrumental number "The Dance of the Seven Veils" is sometimes played separately as a concert piece. Strauss carried the harmonic experiments of "Salome" even further, and caused even greater controversy, with the blood-curdling "Elektra" (1909), taken from the Greek tragedy by Sophocles. Relentlessly dark and savage, it is essentially atonal and was the most extreme-sounding music written up to then. It remains a gripping theatrical experience when performed by singers capable of meeting its demands. It was also the beginning of Strauss's association with Hugo von Hofmannsthal as his librettist. Having brought music to the brink of atonality with "Elektra," Strauss abruptly turned back and began writing in a more conservative style. He was still at the height of his powers and his next opera, "Der Rosenkavalier," became his greatest triumph. But after that he fell into a long creative slump. Success and the material comforts that went with it, as well as advancing age, made Strauss complacent and willing to compromise in his work. He wrote ten more operas over the next 30 years. Some, like "The Woman Without a Shadow" (1917) and "Arabella" (1933), both to Hofmannsthal texts, have merit, but the overall impression one gets is of the composer relying on his formidable technique rather than inspiration. It would take the cataclysm of World War II and its aftermath, when Strauss was in his 80s, to reawaken his dormant gifts. Abandoning opera forever after "Capriccio" (1942), he returned to the smaller-scale instrumental forms of his youth and enjoyed an Indian Summer of great compositions: the Horn Concerto No. 2 (1942), the Sonatina for Woodwind (1944), the masterful "Metamorphosen" for 23 strings (1945), the Oboe Concerto (1947), and the ravishingly beautiful "Four Last Songs" for soprano and orchestra (1948), his creative farewell. A gruff, self-centered man, Strauss cared for little outside of his music and his family, and was totally indifferent to politics and world events. This attitude cost him when Adolf Hitler took control of Germany. At first oblivious to Nazi ideology, Strauss accepted an appointment as president of the new Reich Chamber of Music, a position he held from late 1933 to early 1935. He was forced to resign for expressing disapproval of the regime's cultural policies and was thereafter held in official disfavor by the Nazis; only his fame spared him greater retribution. At the same time his brief, ill-considered association with Hitler seriously tarnished his international reputation. After Germany's defeat in 1945 Strauss was shunned as a Nazi collaborator and went into exile in Switzerland. A successful Strauss Festival was held in London in 1947, but when the nation of Israel was founded the following year Strauss's music was banned there, along with Wagner's. Strauss was ultimately cleared by an Allied de-Nazification tribunal and returned to Germany in time for celebrations of his 85th birthday in June 1949. He died three months later. His ashes were buried in the garden of his villa in Garmisch, in the Bavarian Alps. Towards the end of his life Strauss summed up his legacy. "I may not be a first-rate composer," he declared, "but I AM a first-class second-rate composer!" There is truth in this. Taken as a whole, his work is very uneven. Alongside his masterpieces are such questionable items as the "Sinfonia Domestica" (1904), the ballet "The Legend of Joseph" (1914), "The Alpine Symphony" (1915), and several of his operas and occasional pieces. His craftsmanship was always impeccable, but even his best compositions are sometimes marred by lapses of taste and musical judgement. And because he ceased to be innovative comparatively early in his career, and lived long enough to see his style become an anachronism, historians have tended to downplay his importance. But important he was, and Strauss's cool self-appraisal is too harsh. The complex harmony of "Salome" and "Elektra" had a definite influence on Arnold Schoenberg, making Strauss, along with Gustav Mahler, a vital progressive link between Wagner and the Serialists. His vast resources in instrumentation opened up new vistas of sound and color in the modern orchestra. And more than any other composer he made the tone poem (or symphonic poem) a viable musical genre. Unlike Mahler, Strauss suffered no long period of neglect; audiences have never stopped loving his music. His posthumous fame enjoyed a peak in the 1970s, after director Stanley Kubrick used the dynamic opening of "Thus Spake Zarathustra" as the theme music for his film "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968). A disco version of this tune later became a worldwide hit. That Strauss's melodies could cross over into pop music success nearly a century after they were written is a tribute to the durability of his genius.
Composer. He is considered the last great figure of the German Romantic movement. Strauss is best-known for his opera "Der Rosenkavalier" (1910), a bittersweet look at lives and loves among the Viennese aristocracy of the 1700s. Set to a brilliant libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal, its lilting waltzes and ensembles, scintillating wit and penetrating human observation have made it among the 20th Century's best loved operas. He is also celebrated for his tone poems and songs, and was one of the finest conductors of his day. Strauss was born in Munich, Germany. His father was a noted French horn player who gave him a thorough musical education. He started composing at age six and by the time he was 21 he'd had two symphonies, a Horn Concerto, and several chamber works performed. His precocity caught the attention of the great conductor Hans Guido von Bülow, who made him his protégé. After serving as an associate conductor in Munich and Weimar, Strauss was director of the Berlin Royal Opera (1898 to 1918) and the Berlin Philharmonic (1908 to 1918), and co-director of the Vienna State Opera (1919 to 1924). He commanded a wide repertory and excelled at interpreting his favorite composers, Mozart and Wagner. While at Weimar Strauss married Pauline de Ahna, a soprano known as much for her shrewish personality as for her voice. Their stormy, quarrelsome marriage lasted 55 years, until his death. As a composer Strauss initially won fame for his tone poems, orchestral pieces illustrating literary or pictorial subjects. The best of them are still concert hall favorites: "Don Juan" (1889), "Death and Transfiguration" (1889), "Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks" (1895), "Thus Spake Zarathustra" (1896), "Don Quixote" (1898), and "A Hero's Life" (1898). The harmonic daring and instrumental virtuosity Strauss displayed in these compositions established him as the most cutting-edge musician of his time, but it is their memorable themes and wealth of emotion that keep them fresh and enjoyable. Strauss failed with his first two operas, "Guntram" (1894) and "Feuersnot" (1901); the former was too derivative of Wagner and the latter was a transitional piece. But with "Salome" (1905), adapted from Oscar Wilde's play, he was able to bring the range and style of his tone poems to the stage, and created an operatic masterpiece. Many listeners were outraged by its harsh, dissonant sound, and the scandal of its premiere assured it considerable popular success. Its instrumental number "The Dance of the Seven Veils" is sometimes played separately as a concert piece. Strauss carried the harmonic experiments of "Salome" even further, and caused even greater controversy, with the blood-curdling "Elektra" (1909), taken from the Greek tragedy by Sophocles. Relentlessly dark and savage, it is essentially atonal and was the most extreme-sounding music written up to then. It remains a gripping theatrical experience when performed by singers capable of meeting its demands. It was also the beginning of Strauss's association with Hugo von Hofmannsthal as his librettist. Having brought music to the brink of atonality with "Elektra," Strauss abruptly turned back and began writing in a more conservative style. He was still at the height of his powers and his next opera, "Der Rosenkavalier," became his greatest triumph. But after that he fell into a long creative slump. Success and the material comforts that went with it, as well as advancing age, made Strauss complacent and willing to compromise in his work. He wrote ten more operas over the next 30 years. Some, like "The Woman Without a Shadow" (1917) and "Arabella" (1933), both to Hofmannsthal texts, have merit, but the overall impression one gets is of the composer relying on his formidable technique rather than inspiration. It would take the cataclysm of World War II and its aftermath, when Strauss was in his 80s, to reawaken his dormant gifts. Abandoning opera forever after "Capriccio" (1942), he returned to the smaller-scale instrumental forms of his youth and enjoyed an Indian Summer of great compositions: the Horn Concerto No. 2 (1942), the Sonatina for Woodwind (1944), the masterful "Metamorphosen" for 23 strings (1945), the Oboe Concerto (1947), and the ravishingly beautiful "Four Last Songs" for soprano and orchestra (1948), his creative farewell. A gruff, self-centered man, Strauss cared for little outside of his music and his family, and was totally indifferent to politics and world events. This attitude cost him when Adolf Hitler took control of Germany. At first oblivious to Nazi ideology, Strauss accepted an appointment as president of the new Reich Chamber of Music, a position he held from late 1933 to early 1935. He was forced to resign for expressing disapproval of the regime's cultural policies and was thereafter held in official disfavor by the Nazis; only his fame spared him greater retribution. At the same time his brief, ill-considered association with Hitler seriously tarnished his international reputation. After Germany's defeat in 1945 Strauss was shunned as a Nazi collaborator and went into exile in Switzerland. A successful Strauss Festival was held in London in 1947, but when the nation of Israel was founded the following year Strauss's music was banned there, along with Wagner's. Strauss was ultimately cleared by an Allied de-Nazification tribunal and returned to Germany in time for celebrations of his 85th birthday in June 1949. He died three months later. His ashes were buried in the garden of his villa in Garmisch, in the Bavarian Alps. Towards the end of his life Strauss summed up his legacy. "I may not be a first-rate composer," he declared, "but I AM a first-class second-rate composer!" There is truth in this. Taken as a whole, his work is very uneven. Alongside his masterpieces are such questionable items as the "Sinfonia Domestica" (1904), the ballet "The Legend of Joseph" (1914), "The Alpine Symphony" (1915), and several of his operas and occasional pieces. His craftsmanship was always impeccable, but even his best compositions are sometimes marred by lapses of taste and musical judgement. And because he ceased to be innovative comparatively early in his career, and lived long enough to see his style become an anachronism, historians have tended to downplay his importance. But important he was, and Strauss's cool self-appraisal is too harsh. The complex harmony of "Salome" and "Elektra" had a definite influence on Arnold Schoenberg, making Strauss, along with Gustav Mahler, a vital progressive link between Wagner and the Serialists. His vast resources in instrumentation opened up new vistas of sound and color in the modern orchestra. And more than any other composer he made the tone poem (or symphonic poem) a viable musical genre. Unlike Mahler, Strauss suffered no long period of neglect; audiences have never stopped loving his music. His posthumous fame enjoyed a peak in the 1970s, after director Stanley Kubrick used the dynamic opening of "Thus Spake Zarathustra" as the theme music for his film "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968). A disco version of this tune later became a worldwide hit. That Strauss's melodies could cross over into pop music success nearly a century after they were written is a tribute to the durability of his genius.
Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/13380799/richard-strauss: accessed
), memorial page for Richard Strauss (11 Jun 1864–8 Sep 1949), Find a Grave Memorial ID 13380799, citing Friedhof Garmisch, Garmisch-Partenkirchen,
Landkreis Garmisch-Partenkirchen,
Bavaria,
Germany;
Maintained by Find a Grave.
Add Photos for Richard Strauss
Fulfill Photo Request for Richard Strauss
Photo Request Fulfilled
Thank you for fulfilling this photo request. An email has been sent to the person who requested the photo informing them that you have fulfilled their request
There is an open photo request for this memorial
Are you adding a grave photo that will fulfill this request?
Oops, some error occurred while uploading your photo(s).
Oops, something didn't work. Close this window, and upload the photo(s) again.
Make sure that the file is a photo. Photos larger than 8Mb will be reduced.
All photos uploaded successfully, click on the <b>Done button</b> to see the photos in the gallery.
General photo guidelines:
Photos larger than 8.0 MB will be optimized and reduced.
Each contributor can upload a maximum of 5 photos for a memorial.
A memorial can have a maximum of 20 photos from all contributors.
The sponsor of a memorial may add an additional 10 photos (for a total of 30 on the memorial).
Include gps location with grave photos where possible.
No animated GIFs, photos with additional graphics (borders, embellishments.)
This memorial already has a grave photo. Please indicate why you think it needs another.
There is no plot information for this memorial. Your photo request is more likely to be fulfilled if you contact the cemetery to get the plot information and include it with your request.
You are only allowed to leave one flower per day for any given memorial.
Memorial Photos
This is a carousel with slides. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigate, or jump to a slide with the slide dots. Use Escape keyboard button or the Close button to close the carousel.
Quickly see who the memorial is for and when they lived and died and where they are buried.
Show Map
If the memorial includes GPS coordinates, simply click 'Show Map' to view the gravesite location within the cemetery. If no GPS coordinates are available, you can contribute by adding them if you know the precise location.
Photos
For memorials with more than one photo, additional photos will appear here or on the photos tab.
Photos Tab
All photos appear on this tab and here you can update the sort order of photos on memorials you manage. To view a photo in more detail or edit captions for photos you added, click the photo to open the photo viewer.
Flowers
Flowers added to the memorial appear on the bottom of the memorial or here on the Flowers tab. To add a flower, click the Leave a Flower button.
Family Members
Family members linked to this person will appear here.
Related searches
Use the links under See more… to quickly search for other people with the same last name in the same cemetery, city, county, etc.
Sponsor This Memorial
Remove advertising from a memorial by sponsoring it for just $5. Previously sponsored memorials or famous memorials will not have this option.
Share
Share this memorial using social media sites or email.
Save to
Save to an Ancestry Tree, a virtual cemetery, your clipboard for pasting or Print.
Edit or Suggest Edit
Edit a memorial you manage or suggest changes to the memorial manager.
Have Feedback
Thanks for using Find a Grave, if you have any feedback we would love to hear from you.
You may not upload any more photos to this memorial
"Unsupported file type"
Uploading...
Waiting...
Success
Failed
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
This photo was not uploaded because this memorial already has photos
This photo was not uploaded because you have already uploaded photos to this memorial
Invalid File Type
Uploading 1 Photo
Uploading 2 Photos
1 Photo Uploaded
2 Photos Uploaded
Added by
GREAT NEWS! There is 1 volunteer for this cemetery.
Sorry! There are no volunteers for this cemetery. Continuing with this request will add an alert to the cemetery page and any new volunteers will have the opportunity to fulfill your request.
Enter numeric value
Enter memorial Id
Year should not be greater than current year
Invalid memorial
Duplicate entry for memorial
You have chosen this person to be their own family member.
Reported!
This relationship is not possible based on lifespan dates.
0% Complete
Saved
Sign in or Register
Sign in to Find a Grave
Sign-in to link to existing account
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
There is a problem with your email/password.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
We’ve updated the security on the site. Please reset your password.
Your account has been locked for 30 minutes due to too many failed sign in attempts. Please contact Find a Grave at [email protected] if you need help resetting your password.
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
This account has been disabled. If you have questions, please contact [email protected]
Email not found
Please complete the captcha to let us know you are a real person.
Sign in to your existing Find a Grave account. You’ll only have to do this once—after your accounts are connected, you can sign in using your Ancestry sign in or your Find a Grave sign in.
We found an existing Find a Grave account associated with your email address. Sign in below with your Find a Grave credentials to link your Ancestry account. After your accounts are connected you can sign in using either account.
Please enter your email to sign in.
Please enter your password to sign in.
Please enter your email and password to sign in.
There is a problem with your email/password.
A system error has occurred. Please try again later.
A password reset email has been sent to EmailID. If you don't see an email, please check your spam folder.
We encountered an unknown problem. Please wait a few minutes and try again. If the problem persists contact Find a Grave.
Password Reset
Please enter your email address and we will send you an email with a reset password code.
Registration Options
Welcome to Find a Grave
Create your free account by choosing an option below.
or
Ancestry account link
To create your account, Ancestry will share your name and email address with Find a Grave. To continue choose an option below.
or
If you already have a Find a Grave account, please sign in to link to Ancestry®.
New Member Registration
Email is mandatory
Email and Password are mandatory
This account already exists, but the email address still needs to be confirmed. Resend Activation Email
Your password is not strong enough
Invalid Email
You must agree to Terms and Conditions
Account already exists
Please check the I'm not a robot checkbox
Internal Server error occurred
If you want to be a Photo Volunteer you must enter a ZIP Code or select your location on the map
You must select an email preference
We have sent you an activation email
Your new password must contain one or more uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more numbers or special characters.
We just emailed an activation code to
Please check your email and click on the link to activate your account.
cemeteries found in will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within miles of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
cemeteries found within kilometers of your location will be saved to your photo volunteer list.
Within 5 miles of your location.
Within 5 kilometers of your location.
0 cemeteries found in .
0 cemeteries found.
Add a cemetery to fulfill photo requests
You can customize the cemeteries you volunteer for by selecting or deselecting below.
Search above to list available cemeteries.
Getting location…
Loading...
Loading...
No cemeteries found
Find a Grave Video Tutorials
Default Language
Translation on Find a Grave is an ongoing project. If you notice a problem with the translation, please send a message to [email protected] and include a link to the page and details about the problem. Thanks for your help!
Preferred Language
We have set your language to based on information from your browser.