Strauss: Salome, Op. 54 (German Version)

Description

Richard Strauss composed his single-act opera Salome with a German text and created an additional French version in which he undertook alterations to the vocal parts. He subsequently made retouches in the original score for a performance featuring Maria Rajdl in 1929 which, together with alterations referring to the method of conducting, also displays the character of an altered version. According to most recent research, the Reduced version and other forms of the work were not undertaken personally by Richard Strauss.

The current volume features the printed musical text of the German version dating from 1905. The French version and the retouches is published in Series I - Volume 3b.

The musical text of the current edition is fundamentally based on an early printed edition of the score which was supervised by Strauss and must initially be considered as the latest valid version to be approved by the composer. This version was compared in a careful consideration with the autograph and other historical musical sources relevant to the current edition such as also the supervised and therefore authorised first and early print material (piano reduction, parts and galley proofs). Smaller and more substantial alterations were however undertaken to the musical text after the printing process, originating from performance practice; what is more, a new edition of the work in the form of a study score was planned in the 1930s. It was therefore necessary to consider all of these alterations realised in the musical text after printing to assess their relevance to the current edition.