STRAUSS, RICHARD. (1864-1949). German composer of the operas Der Rosenkavalier and Salome, as well as other 20th-century classics such as Also Sprach Zarathustra. AMusQS. (“Dr. Richard Strauss”). ½p. 8vo. N.p., N.d. Two boldly signed measures from his opera Elektra with the name “Agamem-non” written beneath the notes.

With a well-earned reputation as a composer and conductor, Strauss raised the expressiveness of the tone poem to new heights. Among his first works in this genre were Aus Italien, Macbeth, Don Juan, and Tod und Verklärung. In 1895, Strauss premiered his witty Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, followed by the tone poem Don Quixote. After 1900, Strauss turned to opera, producing such enduring works as Ariadne auf Naxos, Salome, and Der Rosenkavalier. Elektra, based on Hugo von Hofmannsthal’s libretto, is a modernist and expressionist retelling of Sophocles’ tragedy in which Electra and Orestes seek justice for their murdered father Agamemnon, the king of Mycenae and commander of the Achaeans during the Trojan War. The opera’s 1909 premiere in Dresden shocked audiences both with its atonality and the emotional expressions of its vengeful female protagonist.

Written on the top half of a lightly folded blank sheet of paper. Mounted to a larger black sheet and in excellent condition. Quotations from Elektra are rare.