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Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life), Op. 40: Full Orchestra, Ensemble Works Conductor Score & Parts

$320.00 USD
$320.00 USD
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Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life), Op. 40 Cover Image
Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life), Op. 40: Full Orchestra, Ensemble Works Conductor Score & Parts

Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life), Op. 40: Full Orchestra, Ensemble Works Conductor Score & Parts

By Richard Strauss / arr. Stuart S. Serio, Clinton F. Nieweg

Item: 36-A212402
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Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life), Op. 40: Conductor Score

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Description
Written in a Bavarian mountain resort in 1898, Richard Strauss' (1864-1949) eighth tone poem Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life) was a response to Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 ('Eroica'). Although he played a bit coy when asked the question, many believe that Strauss had cast himself as the hero given the numerous musical references to his own previous works and his acknowledgement that the violin solo depicted his own wife. This likely self-reference was described by one critic as "a monstrous act of egotism and as revolting a picture of this revolting man as one might ever encounter. He is, then, honest." But Strauss' swipe at his critics in "The Hero's Adversaries" section, where he portrayed them unflatteringly with both chattering woodwinds and leaden brass shows that he took his critics' dislike for him in stride. While the work is through-composed, it originally had six titled sections: 1. The Hero, 2. The Hero's Adversaries, 3. The Hero's Companion, 4. The Hero's Battlefield, 5. The Hero's Works of Peace, and 6. The Hero's Retreat from the World and Fulfillment. While the music has not changed in anyway, this critical edition by Clinton Nieweg and Stuart Serio, which consults six different sources, does not show the section titles as the composer himself had requested that they be removed. Instrumentation: 3+Picc.4(4dEH).2+Eb+BCl.3+CBsn: 8.5.3.2: Timp.Perc(4). 2Hp: Str(9-8-7-6-5 in set).

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Additional Details
Series: Kalmus Critical Editions
Publisher: Keiser Productions, Inc.
UPC: 735816380427
SKU: 36-A212402
Instrumentation: 3+Picc.4(4dEH).2+Eb+BCl.3+CBsn: 8.5.3.2: Timp.Perc(4). 2Hp: Str(9-8-7-6-5 in set)

More about this title

About the Composer: Richard Strauss

Richard Strauss (1864-1949) stands as one of the most consequential orchestral composers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A master of the symphonic poem form, he expanded the expressive and structural possibilities of the orchestra through works of unprecedented harmonic boldness and programmatic scope. Beyond composition, Strauss maintained a conducting career that gave him intimate knowledge of orchestral sonority and capability, a understanding that shapes every page of his scores.

Why we love this

Ein Heldenleben remains one of the most rewarding large-scale works to conduct because its architecture is so clear and its orchestration so brilliant that the ensemble feels the narrative unfolding even as they navigate its technical demands. The critical edition here honors Strauss' original vision by consulting multiple authoritative sources, giving you confidence in every marking and transposition. For orchestras ready to tackle a masterwork that tests every section and rewards meticulous preparation, this is the standard to program.

What to expect

Ein Heldenleben unfolds as a sweeping, introspective journey through struggle, critique, love, and artistic achievement. The orchestration shimmers with post-Wagnerian harmony and Straussian warmth; moments of triumph and vulnerability alternate with passages of brash, unapologetic self-assertion, creating a work that is simultaneously grand and deeply personal.

Who it's for

This score and parts set is for orchestras with experienced musicians, a conductor trained in late-romantic repertoire, and the technical security to manage the work's demands across all sections. Advanced high school orchestras with strong players, university orchestras, and professional ensembles will find the orchestration idiomatically written and the musical payoff substantial.

How to get the most out of it

  • Balance the prominent violin solo (depicting Strauss' wife) so it sings through the orchestration without forcing; the orchestral texture is rich enough that a soloist must play with ease and natural projection rather than volume.
  • Attend carefully to the woodwind and brass characterizations in 'The Hero's Adversaries' section, where chattering clarinets and ponderous brass are meant to caricature critical voices; clarity of articulation and rhythmic precision will make the satire land.
  • Shape the harmonic progressions across longer phrases rather than emphasizing individual chords; Strauss writes through-composed material that breathes as melodic continuity, not sectional blocks.
  • Coordinate the two harpists so their figurations lock rhythmically; they function as both textural color and harmonic anchor throughout the work.

How to use it

Program this as a centerpiece for an all-Strauss evening, pairing it with shorter tone poems to create a narrative arc across the concert, or feature it as the climactic work in a season exploring romantic and early-modern orchestral literature. The work's length and intensity make it an appropriate capstone concert for advanced orchestras or a festival-closing piece.

Skills your students will build

  • Reading complex meter and sudden tempo changes within through-composed form
  • Balancing transparent textures where multiple independent lines carry equal musical weight
  • Coordinating transposing instruments (English horn, E-flat clarinet, bass clarinet, contrabass clarinet) with concert-pitched instruments
  • Shaping long lyrical lines across phrase boundaries without losing momentum
  • Executing rapid articulation patterns and rhythmic precision in satirical passages
  • Responding to nuanced dynamic and expressive markings that shape character and narrative

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