Richard Strauss (1864 - 1949) Op.119
This music is recorded 1936. Richard Strauss conducts his "Olympia", for choir and orchestra. Op.119
Enjoy a fantastic historical recording with a legend holding the conductor's stick!
mp3: Olympia - Richard Strauss conducts live 1936:
http://rasiel.web.infoseek.co.jp/mil/mp3/olympia.mp3
Relive Jesse Owens's (USA-athletics) legendary performance at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.
He won four gold medals in track and field events.
Watch the American athlete Jesse Owen's winning gold four times:
http://wm.video.olympic.org/wms/dvd_s_19win100-500.wmv
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May 1945
He was a man of 81, the house in Garmisch could no longer be heated, grandma was unwell. One day I saw the occupying troops in the garden and called him out of his study: "the Americans want to occupy the house!” "We’ll see about that,” he replied, and went out, armed with his honorary doctorates and honorary citizen awards from New York, Michigan, Connecticut etc. He said to the soldiers, "I am the composer of Rosenkavalier and Salome and I hope you feel well here in Garmisch.” Some of the men really knew who he was. Within half an hour an "off limits” sign stamped by the commander was attached to the fence. Thankfully, the house was spared occupation and looting.
tip: watch the Jesse Owen clip in fullscreen.
Historical overview of Richard Strauss:
Richard Strauss - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"They called me the Prussian Bastard when I worked in Munich, also "The Hungarian disaster!", says Sir Georg Solti bursting out in laughter in his famous documentary. But within a short time Solti had captured everybody's heart and the warm friendship with Richard Strauss and his wife Pauline changed the public's attitude forever.
Sir Georg Solti was born Gyorgy Stern in Budapest in 1912, the son of a jewish corn merchant.
At 6, he began studying piano at the Liszt Academy in the city and later began a career as a concert pianist. At 20, he joined the Budapest Opera, there taking the name Solti, and made his debut as a conductor with the opera in 1938.
Solti spent much of the Second World War in Switzerland to escape from persecution of the Jewish people by the Nazi-influenced Horthy regime in Hungary.
Immediately after the war, he was invited to conduct the Munich-based Bavarian State Opera and served as its musical director from 1946-52.
During this period, he changed his name to the German form, Georg, and became friends with the German composer Richard Strauss, then living near Munich. Solti arranged the composer's 85th birthday celebrations in 1949.
more about Solti:
Georg Solti - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Strauss and Mahler, colleagues and friends for life:
Symphony I