Richard Strauss

1864-1949

Moliere’s comedy Le bourgeois gentlehomme (The Would-Be Noble) is an amazing caricature of a nouveau riche cloth merchant who aspires, by self improvement, to be accepted into the aristocracy. He hires a dancing master, a tailor, a fencing master, and a philosopher. Strauss’s orchestral suite perfectly describes these endeavors. (The bass trombone solo in the “Fencing Master” is a particular favorite of mine.)