http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.69002&rws=%2Frichard-strauss%2Fmusic-videos.rssConsidered by many to be the last of the great romanticists, the thoroughly German Richard Strauss wrote in a style that early in his career was progressive and explorative, but during and after the World Wars came to be considered old-fashioned (a belief likely due to humanity's loss of innocence). As a youth, Strauss' hidden infatuation with Wagner later found full expression in his penchant for enormity and power. His <i>Alpine Symphony</i>, for example, requires a full 150 players for its portrayal of the Alps' heavy storms full of winds and snow. Humor is often present, as evidenced in his opera <i>Feuersnot</i> and his popular tone poem about a youth whose goofy antics hilariously lead to his untimely death, <i>Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche</i> -- a work seen today opening many a concert program. Some of his music has even found its way into the collective consciousness of the masses: <i>Thus Spake Zarathustra</i> has, in recent decades, been revitalized by Stanley Kubrick's <i>2001: A Space Odyssey</i>. - Henry B.Romanticen720Wed, 23 Dec 2009 01:56:38 -0800 http://static.realone.com/rotw/images/logo_rhapsody_113x22.gif http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.69002&rws=%2Frichard-strauss%2Fmusic-videos.rss Considered by many to be the last of the great romanticists, the thoroughly German Richard Strauss wrote in a style that early in his career was progressive and explorative, but during and after the World Wars came to be considered old-fashioned (a belief likely due to humanity's loss of innocence). As a youth, Strauss' hidden infatuation with Wagner later found full expression in his penchant for enormity and power. His <i>Alpine Symphony</i>, for example, requires a full 150 players for its portrayal of the Alps' heavy storms full of winds and snow. Humor is often present, as evidenced in his opera <i>Feuersnot</i> and his popular tone poem about a youth whose goofy antics hilariously lead to his untimely death, <i>Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche</i> -- a work seen today opening many a concert program. Some of his music has even found its way into the collective consciousness of the masses: <i>Thus Spake Zarathustra</i> has, in recent decades, been revitalized by Stanley Kubrick's <i>2001: A Space Odyssey</i>. - Henry B.