The Conquest of Bayreuth 

On the recommendation of Wagner enthusiasts amongst his friends – Alexander Ritter, Hans von Bülow - Strauss was appointed Music Assistant in Bayreuth in 1889, even before he got his position in Weimar. He acted as répétiteur for the production of Parsifal, played a certain role in society and began to appreciate the Bayreuth atmosphere: “I should like to present a hectolitre of beer to the spa orchestra, how much do you think will that cost? Could you perhaps see to it, Dad? Actually Uncle George might easily treat them to a barrel, or at least let us have it at half the price”.

Shortly thereafter Strauss, then Second Kapellmeister at Weimar, conducted his first Wagner opera, and his promise to Wagner’s widow, Cosima, to promote Wagner and Liszt, resulted in an intensive exchange of letters between them: Cosima wrote, “I do appreciate your taking your promise so seriously - at a time when the big theatres deplore the disgraceful state of our art, it is moving and gratifying to see that the spirit that has made us Germans great is still cherished by the smaller stages”. Their acquaintance soon turned into genuine friendship: in 1890, Strauss was invited by the Wagner family for Christmas, and Cosima jokingly announced that she would love her daughter Eva to become Strauss’ wife. She might well have liked the idea of having both a son and a son-in-law devoted to Bayreuth, but Strauss had already fallen in love with the soprano Pauline de Ahna, who was also highly esteemed in Bayreuth. Cosima took the slight disappointment in her stride, and both Eva and Cosima’s eldest daughter from her marriage with Bülow, Daniela von Bülow-Thode, became Strauss’ life-long friends. Cosima's son, the composer Siegfried Wagner, benefited from his contacts with the older colleague. “Firmly and safely settled in our art like none beside him”, is how Cosima described her “Sträusschen”, the form of endearment she was wont to use when speaking of Richard. Reconcilement with his father followed in due course, and by 1891 the two were seen going for walks arm in arm.

Numerous letters were exchanged and finally, in 1894, Richard was entrusted with conducting the Bayreuth performances of Tannhäuser, as he had keenly wished for a long time. Pauline de Ahna, who became Richard’s wife in September, was again cast in the part of Elisabeth. However, when Strauss felt that no heed was paid to his wishes concerning performances and cast, the tone of his correspondence with Cosima began to change. It was in particular the disparagement of his Salome by the Wagner family (whose anti-Semitism was clearly betrayed by references to “that Jewish girl”) that resulted in a rift between Strauss and Cosima. Strauss was to return to Bayreuth only after a long interval – one of 39 years.