He called himself (with characteristic self-deprecating wit) "a first-class second-rate composer." The truth was Richard Strass (June 11, 1864 – September 8, 1949) was practically peerless and brought an extraordinary level of craftsmanship to music to a body work that (paraphrasing a phrase once applied by Nicholas Slonimsky to Erich Korngold), "the last breath of the spirit of musical romanticism" (in the case of Strauss then, perhaps the penultimate breath).
In honor of the birthday of this giant of modern music, Foley sample selections from across his oeuvre—and much more—Wednesday afternoon on Blue Lake Public Radio.
You can hear Foley Schuler's musical selections—and stories behind the music—every weekday afternoon from 1 until 5 on Blue Lake Public Radio.
