Richard Strauss: Josephs Legende
Status of copy at Case Memorial Library
Russell Platt wrote in the New Yorker: "'Josephs Legende' (1914) is the ultimate Richard Strauss sleeper. The only German composer to be commissioned by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, Strauss composed a lush sixty-five-minute orchestral tableau illustrating the Biblical tale of Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife that was designed specifically for the prodigious talents of Nijinsky. But when Nijinsky was fired by Diaghilev, his lover, out of revenge for marrying Romola de Pulszky, the role of Joseph in the Paris première was taken by the less experienced Léonide Massine, and the piece never got the launch it deserved. Now 'Josephs Legende' returns with an electrifying performance by the Budapest Festival Orchestra, led by Iván Fischer (on Channel Classics). While hardly profound, it is a bewitching piece that has something for every Strauss fan: the innocence of 'Der Rosenkavalier,' the decadence of 'Salome,' the grand bombast of the 'Alpine Symphony.'"
From the notes by Clemens Romijn: "Later on, Nijinski made the following remark … : 'Even if God himself were to descend to the earth, he would not be able to dance to this music'" (p. 8).
Russell Platt wrote in the New Yorker: "'Josephs Legende' (1914) is the ultimate Richard Strauss sleeper. The only German composer to be commissioned by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, Strauss composed a lush sixty-five-minute orchestral tableau illustrating the Biblical tale of Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife that was designed specifically for the prodigious talents of Nijinsky. But when Nijinsky was fired by Diaghilev, his lover, out of revenge for marrying Romola de Pulszky, the role of Joseph in the Paris première was taken by the less experienced Léonide Massine, and the piece never got the launch it deserved. Now 'Josephs Legende' returns with an electrifying performance by the Budapest Festival Orchestra, led by Iván Fischer (on Channel Classics). While hardly profound, it is a bewitching piece that has something for every Strauss fan: the innocence of 'Der Rosenkavalier,' the decadence of 'Salome,' the grand bombast of the 'Alpine Symphony.'"
From the notes by Clemens Romijn: "Later on, Nijinski made the following remark … : 'Even if God himself were to descend to the earth, he would not be able to dance to this music'" (p. 8).
posted by casemusic at 2:06 PM
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