Also sprach Zarathustra, op. 30 is a symphonic poem by Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by the book of the same title by Friedrich Nietzsche. It was first performed in Frankfurt, with the composer conducting. It is widely known for its use in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey and as pro wrestler Ric Flair's entrance music. The introduction is one of the most recognized pieces of music of the last 125 years. A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, in one movement, in which some extra-musical programme provides a narrative or illustrative element. ... This article is about the German composer of tone-poems and operas. ... Year 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display calendar). ... The cover for the first part of the first edition. ... Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (October 15, 1844 – August 25, 1900) (IPA: ) was a 19th-century German philosopher. ... For other uses, see Frankfurt (disambiguation). ... “Kubrick” redirects here. ... Year 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ric Flair (born February 25, 1949 [1] and named Richard Morgan Fliehr upon his adoption several weeks later), is an iconic American professional wrestler currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment on its RAW brand. ...

Instrumentation

The work is scored for piccolo, 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), 3 oboes, English horn, 3 clarinets in E-flat and B-flat, bass clarinet in B-flat, 3 bassoons, contrabassoon, 6 horns in F, 4 trumpets in C, 3 trombones, 2 tubas, timpani, triangle, bass drum, cymbals, Glockenspiel, bell on "Low E", organ, 2 harps and strings. The piccolo is a small flute. ... The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. ... The piccolo is a small flute. ... The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. ... Cor anglais The cor anglais or English horn is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. ... Two soprano clarinets: a Bâ™­ clarinet (left, with capped mouthpiece) and an A clarinet (right, with no mouthpiece). ... The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. ... The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers and occasionally even higher. ... This is a contrabassoon. ... The horn (popularly known also as the French horn) is a brass instrument decended from the natural horn that consists of tubing wrapped into a coiled form. ... The trumpet is the highest brass instrument in register, above the French horn, trombone, baritone, euphonium, and tuba. ... The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. ... The tuba is the largest and lowest pitched of brass instruments. ... This article or section includes a list of works cited or a list of external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks in-text citations. ... The triangle is an idiophonic musical instrument of the percussion family. ... A bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. ... It is also possible that you want to know about the Cymbalum instrument. ... Most orchestral glockenspiels are mounted in a case. ... Tubular bells (also known as chimes) are musical instruments in the percussion family. ... Organ in Katharinenkirche, Frankfurt am Main, Germany The organ is a keyboard instrument played using one or more manuals and a pedalboard. ... The harp is a stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicular to the soundboard. ...

Structure

The work runs for about half an hour. It is divided into nine sections that are played with only three clear breaks. The sections (named after selected chapters in the book) are:

1. Einleitung (Introduction)
2. Von den Hinterweltlern (Of the Backworldsmen)
3. Von der großen Sehnsucht (Of the Great Yearning)
4. Von den Freuden und Leidenschaften (Of the Joys and Passions)
5. Das Grablied (The Grave-Song)
6. Von der Wissenschaft (Of Science)
7. Der Genesende (The Convalescent)
8. Das Tanzlied (The Dance Song)
9. Nachtwandlerlied (Song of the Night Wanderer)

The brass fanfare of the Introduction introduces the "Dawn" motif (from "Zarathustra's Prologue," the text of which is included in the printed score) that permeates the structure of the entire work.

"Of the Backworldsmen" begins in the low strings before opening up into a lyrical passage for the entire section. The following two sections, "Of the Great Yearning" and "Of Joys and Passions," both introduce motifs that are more chromatic in nature.

"Of Science" features an unusual fugue beginning in the basses and cellos, which consists of all twelve notes of the chromatic scale. It is one of the very few sections in the orchestral literature where the basses must play a contra-b (lowest b on a piano). In music, a fugue (IPA: ) is a type of contrapuntal composition or technique of composition for a fixed number of parts, normally referred to as voices, irrespective of whether the work is vocal or instrumental. ...

"The Convalescent" acts as a reprise of the original motif, and climaxes with a massive chord in the entire orchestra.

"The Dance Song" features a very prominent violin solo throughout the section.

The end of the "Song of the Night Wanderer" leaves the piece half resolved, with high flutes and violins playing a B major chord, while the lower strings pluck a C.

External links

• Also Sprach Zarathustra, opening movement. Semyon Bychkov, conductor.