“Everything was pretty normal in our family: Grandfather would sit at his desk; my brother and I, still as small boys, would storm into his office, pull on his coat tails and shout “Grandpa, come and play!”. This type of situation was unheard of in most other artistic families – where the atmosphere was “Quiet!! The Maestro is composing”. This was clearly not the case in our family.
When he was already 65 or 70, although he grumbled, he would still come outside with us and play soccer or go sledding. We still have a small family film where at the end we all fall off of the sled. After about 15 minutes, he would then try to “escape the enemy” and return to his office to continue his work. I only understood the significance of his fame as “The Great Richard Strauss” when I was 18 or 19”.
I believe there is no composer who has ever composed such beautiful dedications to his wife, which are still performed today: "A Hero’s Life", "Sinfonia Domestica” and the opera "Intermezzo", which tells the true story of his married life.”
His expectations and demands on us rascals were not always easy to handle. He would demand that we read Goethe, Wieland and Shakespeare. He was incredibly educated. He would sit every evening in his office and would read one of the 32 volumes of the complete Goethe edition. He would also read works by Ranke, Napoleon’s Autobiography, works by Gerhart Hauptmann… And he would expect the same from us, which naturally we were not able to do.”
When he was already 65 or 70, although he grumbled, he would still come outside with us and play soccer or go sledding. We still have a small family film where at the end we all fall off of the sled. After about 15 minutes, he would then try to “escape the enemy” and return to his office to continue his work. I only understood the significance of his fame as “The Great Richard Strauss” when I was 18 or 19”.
The Grandmother as the strong woman behind “Strauss”
“This relationship still gets misjudged and pointed remarks a la “Xanthippe” are still made about Grandma. She was definitely very difficult and eccentric. However, from around 1500 letters that they wrote each other, one thing was clear: without his wife, Strauss would never have achieved a third of what he had accomplished in his lifetime.I believe there is no composer who has ever composed such beautiful dedications to his wife, which are still performed today: "A Hero’s Life", "Sinfonia Domestica” and the opera "Intermezzo", which tells the true story of his married life.”
Fame protects from the US Occupation
“He was a man of 81 years old, and the house in Garmisch could no longer be heated. Grandma was in poor health. One morning I saw the occupation troops in our garden and I called up to his office: “The Americans want to seize our house!” He replied: “We shall see about that” and he went outside armed with honorary citizenships and honorary doctorates from New York, Michigan, Connecticut and so on. He said to the soldiers: "I am the composer of “Rosenkavalier” and “Salome” and I hope you feel well here in Garmisch." A few of the men truly knew who he was. In the span of about 30 minutes, one of the commanding officers put up a sign on our gate saying “off limits”. Thanks to that sign, our house stayed intact and was protected from occupation and plundering.”High Expectations for his Grandchildren
“When my brother and I were still very small, our grandfather tried to explain the big operas to us such as “The Ring of the Nibelung” and “Figaro” in the form of fairy tales. He tried to implant the love of the masterpieces into our hearts.His expectations and demands on us rascals were not always easy to handle. He would demand that we read Goethe, Wieland and Shakespeare. He was incredibly educated. He would sit every evening in his office and would read one of the 32 volumes of the complete Goethe edition. He would also read works by Ranke, Napoleon’s Autobiography, works by Gerhart Hauptmann… And he would expect the same from us, which naturally we were not able to do.”
Grandfather Strauss often dedicates himself to the upbringing of his grandchildren.
Fixed Daily Routine in the Strauss Household
“His day would always start in the same way: around 9 a.m. he would have breakfast in his bedroom. Our loyal Anni would bring him his coffee and a buttered bread roll “Semmel”. Then our grandmother would come and they would go for a 45 minute walk - “rain or shine”. “For Lunch – with clean nails
“Lunch was served at 1pm – it was a sacred moment. Five minutes early, my brother and I, (with clean hands and nails) would already be seated at the table. After lunch, he would lie down for half an hour on the sofa in his office. At around 3 p.m. he would begin to work at his desk again.At 6 p.m. Grandmother would come and take him for another walk, and at 7 p.m. dinner would be served. After this, there would be reading or conversation.
He did not have “free time”. He did however enjoy travelling, but these were cultural trips. When he was in Paris for a concert, he would already be at the Louvre at 9 a.m., in Vienna at the Art History museum, in London at the Tate gallery etc. He simply could not be unproductive.”
Richard Strauss, born on November 1, 1927 in Vienna, died on June 2, 2007, was the eldest son of Richard Strauss’ son Franz and his wife Alice. He was a trained opera director, and dedicated himself to the maintenance and management of his grandfather’s works along with his Gabriele, who was the daughter of the Star Baritone Hans Hotter.
(Source: "Richard Strauss – a visit to his villa" – Video, September 1999)
