New-York tribune., 1903-01-04
STRAUSS AND HIS IT'LL EULENSPIEGEL."
IUSIC4L COMMENT UPON THIS WEEK IS OFFERINGS
-DESDEMON4S SONG OF tHILLOW"

The holiday season being over in which our n1slsi-
cal enterprises generally fare ill., there will be a
revival interest this week. especially In the
cert field. At concerts music win be brought
forward which ought interest the student well
as delight the simple listener. The fourth Phil
harmonic concert is set down for next Saturday
evening and will be preceded by the usual public
rehearsal Friday afternoon. Nine. kirkby
I,unn viii sing Bexlioz's la Captive and
songs and this feature win doubtless be pleasur-
able yet the chief interest in the concert will
be in the orchestral numbers. which. as set down
in the programme, are Beethoven's seventh SYM
rsony Richard Strauss's It'll Eulenspiegers
Merry Franks anG the last movement CTheme
and Varistions) from the Suite in G major by
Tschaikonsks-. with which the composer stirred up
a memorable enthusiasm when he to New
York :n 1891 take part in the festival with which
Carnegie Hall was dedicated.
All this music is familiar except the composition
ny Richard Strauss. which had single perform
ance here by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra,
der Theodore Thomas. in March, 1896 Whatever
impression IL made then has long ago been eTaeed.
for the work is singular and precipitated
upon public wholly unprepared to find beginning.
middle or end the composers purposes. 1t
seems TO have pleased the composer of this rondo
oapriccioso ito attempt to give it name outside
Of its titlel to take waggish subject and by his
treatment Of it to play joke upon musicians.
critics and public alike. The title of the piece in
its original tongue is It'll Eulenspegel's Lustige
Streiche, mach alter Schelmenweise-in Rondeau
forn-fjr crosses Dorchester gesetz Won Richard
Strauss" There is puzzle here at the outset even
for persons intimately familiar with the German
language Mr. Apthorp attempting translation
in the annotated programmes of the Boston Sym
phony Orchestra some years ago, admitted that
he d9d not know whether mach alter Schelmen-
vgeise-' meant After an Old Rogue's Tune"
after oldtime Rngue's fashion" He finally de-
cided TO venture with It'll Eulenspiegel's Merry
Franks. set to Grand orchestra-in Rondo form
after an Old Rogue's tune, by Richard Strauss
Dr. H. Reimann in a programme book of the
Berlin Philharmonic Society gave the phrase
similar Interpretation and identified the theme of
the Introduction 'the old Rogue's Tune" Now
mach alter Schelrnenweise" does not mean After
an old Rogue's Tune but s'after the old roguish
manner lin the style Of oldtime waggery
The reference goes not the therrlatic material
Of the piece but we fancy, TO its structure This
is indicated not only by its grammatical form but
also by the parenthetical explanation-'in rondo
form What connection exists between rogulsh-
ness or waggishness and the rondo form ii might
be difficult explain The rogue, the wag' in
this case is Richard Strauss himself, who, be-
sides putting the puzzle into his title, refused TO
provide the position with the smallest explana-
tory note which might give a clew TO It's conlehIs
Till Eulenspiegei's Merry Franks had its first
performance at a Gurzenich concert in Cologne on
November s. 1895 At the time Dr.. Wullner, the
conductor asked him for note which should ex-
plain his intentions. Strauss replied In a general
way that it was impossible for him TO furnish
programme for the piece. Were he TO put the
thoughts which occupied his mind at olnerehI
times while working the composition into "oros
they would look strange and might even give or
fence He preferred TO let the merry people or
Cologne crack the nut he had given them for them
selves and guess at the meaning OF the musicaI
5oke which wag had played on them II "oulo
seem to follow either that Strauss did not want TO
Rave his music associated too closely with SPECIFIC
incidents in the tales which mis- title refers oio
rot want to be bourd down to either musical
fo,-,-,la or 2 scheme Of dramatic contents, that
he thought the beauty and hunaor OF his music
s,oula make a stronger appeal # the Imagination
of the listeners were left unfettered
The IMAGINATION OF English speaking people is not
much helped by the title this The dfverting
accounts Of the mschievous pranks practical jokes
nlllrI lrIr,dS nftn