Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES Summer 2019 19 A World of Music premiered performances of his songs) and also a prominent and exacting conductor. In the United States, he was maestro at Carnegie Hall and in over twenty other cities. It is still possible to hear and even purchase some of his recordings. In 2014, to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the birth of Richard Strauss, an exhibit about him only in German traveled around Germany, and those panels are now being used for exhibits at the Institute. So far only some explanations and interesting side notes have been translated into English; however, soon everything will be available in both languages. One especially interesting set of placards contains the composer's portraits painted by artists at different times throughout his long career. ere are a few listening stations, each with an earphone. Since I was in the Alps, it seemed especially appropriate to take time to hear part of his composition An Alpine Symphony, Op. 64; so I did! Chamber music and lieder concerts are sometimes held in a small, 70-person room in the museum, but during my visit, there was a wedding instead. In a small cafeteria downstairs is a multimedia terminal with interactive touch screens enabling visitors to watch videos about his life. An exhibit with models of the stage for his various operas is in a nearby hall. On the walls in locked glass cases, is an extensive collection of Strauss recordings, including one with my late brother, concert pianist Malcolm Frager, playing the composer's Burleske in D Minor for Piano and Orchestra with Rudolf Kempe conducting the Dresden Staatskapelle (EMI Classics, 1976). Using headsets and sitting in comfortable leather chairs in the audiovisual studio on the same level, one can watch films as well as key in five-digit codes found in a large alphabetized booklet to hear available Strauss selections. e Strauss Festival is held annually for a week during June in three different-sized halls. In the past, there have been special programs for children, such as a workshop for youngsters age 4-6 and a children's concert performed by a youth orchestra. e ice hockey stadium is the site for Strauss's largest works and operas. Most, but not all, of the repertoire performed is by the composer. He wrote chamber music, sonatas, overtures, concertos, symphonies, operas, a mass, choral music, ballet music, and more than 200 songs. He wrote and conducted the hymn for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin; tone poems top the list of his most popular symphonic works. On a display telephone typical of the time period, you can listen to Strauss's answers to questions, such as this one: "How did you feel about returning to Garmisch- Partenkirchen in May 1949?" He replied: "I am fortunate that, aer a long absence away, my wife and I had the privilege of returning home to the company of my family and the pleasures of my own house and garden." In a section in the documentary Richard Strauss: At the End of the Rainbow, it is possible to see the inside of his home. at whet my appetite to see it! Perhaps when the 70-year royalties for the composer's music end in 2019, the family will open this residence to the public. What a wonderful museum that would be! Jayne I. Hanlin is an initiate of Alpha Omicron and current member of the St. Louis Alumnae chapter. Mrs. Hanlin, the sister of famed pianist Malcolm Frager, is the co-author of Learning Latin Through Mythology (Cambridge University Press, 1991). The Richard Strauss timeline in the Institute. Below, a diorama. For more information, visit www.richard-strauss-institut.de

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