A difficult, engaging orchestral piece will be performed this weekend for the first time at BYU, or on any college campus in Utah.
The Brigham Young University Philharmonic Orchestra will perform Richard Strauss’ monumental “Ein Heldenleben,” on Feb. 18. Strauss’ autobiographical piece, translated to “A Hero’s Life” at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall.
“Ein Heldenleben” is a tone poem — a piece of music that tells a story.
Kory Katseanes, the philharmonic conductor, spoke about Strauss’ story of a heroic life.
“Strauss is telling the story of his own life,” he said. “He sort of is presenting himself as a hero, but in my view, it’s only about heroism and what a heroic life represents.”
The piece is separated into segments that represent different phases of the hero’s life. The first two sections introduce the hero and his companion, played by the violin.
Strauss’ work then transitions into a battle, as the hero struggles with critics and cynics.
“The second section is about his enemies, which he has labeled as critics,” Katseanes said. “There’s a lot of hard feelings he has about people who are critical. He goes forward against his enemies, the battles.”
The final pieces of “Ein Heldenleben” feature the hero’s victories and period of peace.
“The closing section is titled ‘A Hero’s Retreat from the World and fulfillment,'” Katseanes said. “Which really sounds more like growing old and passing on and being rewarded for living a heroic life and the attempt at living a heroic life.”
Aubrey Woods, 21, a music major from Provo, plays violin in the orchestra, and in this piece the violin represents Strauss’ wife.
She spoke about the complexity of the piece, and how understanding what the different segments mean, will help the audience make sense of the work.
“I think that it’s hard to understand the piece unless you understand the background,” she said. “It’s a heroic journey, the hero’s companion is a violin series, there’s a war series. Knowing what all the segments represent will help it make a lot more sense.”
“Ein Heldenleben” has never been played by a collegiate orchestra in Utah because of it’s difficult and complex nature.
“In some ways, it’s the hardest violin solo in orchestra,” Woods said. “It’s so romantic. You need to really know your part in order for it to sound professional.”
Spencer Park, 22, another music major from Albuquerque, N.M., plays the french horn, which represents the hero.
Park also spoke about the accomplishment and challenge of playing Strauss’ masterpiece.
“Kory was even telling us that it’s a stretch for professional orchestras to play,” he said. “It’s very demanding for every single section to play. To get a college orchestra to play it is kind of scary to put together.”
Despite the difficult nature of “Ein Heldenleben,” the Philharmonic Orchestra has mastered the piece.
“It’s one of the hardest pieces to play, but we’ve all really pulled together,” Park said.
Tickets for “Ein Heldenleben” are $6-$10.
