RICHARD STRAUSS (1864-1949)

Der Rosenkavalier Suite, op.59 (1909-10)

Notes by Michael-Thomas Foumai

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A comic opera in three acts, Der Rosenkavalier (The Rose-Bearer) by Richard Strauss (1864-1949), centers on a plot of finding true love, 18th-century style. The protagonist, Octavian, is sent on behalf of Baron Ochs to present a silver rose to Sophie von Faninal as a ceremonial gesture of engagement. The twist, Octavian and Sophie fall in love instead, setting the stage for an opera.

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Arthur Rodzinksi (then conductor of the New York Philharmonic) is alleged to have arranged the 22-minute suite, which he premiered on October 5, 1944, in New York. The suite mainly preserves the order of the drama, with the composer's popular Viennese-styled waltzes serving as pillars. Beginning as the opera, the music unfolds with the presentation of the rose, the discovery of the affair, and the amicable resolution for all entangled.