| Four Last Songs (1948) | 22' |
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For orchestra 3(III=picc).picc.2.corA.2.bcl.3(III=dbn)-4.3.3.1-timp-harp-cel-strings Ben Stevenson/Houston Ballet Maurice Béjart/Marseilles - "Serait-ce la mort?" Rudi van Dantzig/Dutch National Ballet |
| Josephslegende | 60' |
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Ballet for orchestra 4.picc.4.heckelphone.3.bcl.3.dbn-6.4.4.2-timp.perc-pft-cel-organ-4harp-strings A little-performed ballet written for Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes to a scenario by Hugo von Hofmannsthal and Count Harry Kessler. The work was given a striking new choreography in 1983 by John Neumeier at the Hamburg Ballet. Interest in the ballet's music is growing thanks to a recent Denon recording. |
| Schlagobers | 60' |
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Ballet for orchestra 4(IV=picc).2.corA.3.bcl.4(IV=dbn)-4.3.3.1-timp.perc-harp-cel-strings First performed in 1924 on the composer's 60th birthday. The title of the ballet refers to the whipped cream beloved by the Viennese, and the scenario tells of a child's fantasies centering around a pastry shop. The subject matter did not find favour in post-war Austria, and the work has been rarely revived. However, in an imaginative staging, the ballet could offer a welcome seasonal alternative to the Nutcracker. The music can be heard on a recent Denon recording. |
| Tanzsuite nach Couperin | 20' |
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Ballet for orchestra 2.2(II=corA).2.2-2.1.1.0-perc-harp-cel-harpsichord-strings(4.3.2.2.2) |
| Verklungene Feste | 60' |
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Ballet for orchestra 2.2(II=corA).2.2-2.1.1.0-perc-harp-cel-harpsichord-strings(4.3.2.2.2) Strauss arranged for small orchestra a number of Couperin harpsichord pieces to create the 20-minute ballet Tanzsuite nach Couperin, premiered in 1924. In 1940 a second suite was composed, and the two were combined into the hour-long ballet Verklungene Feste using choreography by Le Feuillet from the turn of the 18th Century. With the addition of two further pieces, the second suite is familiar as Strauss's 40-minute concert work Divertimento. The work was recently danced in new choreography by Robert La Fosse in Danses de Cour for New York City Ballet. The music of Verklungene Feste can be heard on a recent Denon disc. |