Strauss, Richard

Strauss, Richard – Tanzsuite aus Klavierstücken von François Couperin, TrV 245 (1923)

(b. Munich, 11 June 1864 – d. Garmisch-Partenkirchen, 9 September 1949)

TrV 245 (1923)

Einzug und feierlicher Reigen (Pavane) p. 3
Courante p. 8
Carillon p. 15
Sarabande p.2 1
Gavotte p. 24
Wirbeltanz p. 35
Allemande p. 45
Marsch p.54

Preface
Throughout his long career, Strauss often turned to the past for inspiration. Like Brahms before him, he sought renewal in older forms and styles—not through imitation but through transformation. Among his lesser-known pieces is an arrangement of selections from François Couperin’s Pièces de clavecin (Harpsichord Pieces) (1713–1730) for chamber orchestra. The result was Tanzsuite aus Klavierstücken von François Couperin (TrV 245), which reimagines the stylized keyboard dances as orchestral movements.

This was the first of three related works in which Strauss reinterpreted Couperin’s music. The Tanzsuite later formed the basis of the 1941 ballet Verklungene Feste (TrV 245a), from which he would in turn extract and expand into the Divertimento, Op. 86. Together these pieces trace a twenty-year fascination with Baroque dance and showcase Strauss’s talent for translating earlier styles into his own orchestral voice.

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The Tanzsuite was conceived in 1922 for a Viennese dance production organized by choreographer Heinrich Kröller, who asked Strauss to arrange music in the style of Baroque court entertainment. Strauss chose to work with Couperin’s keyboard pieces, selecting and orchestrating several movements from the Pièces de clavecin. He retained their melodies, phrasing, and ornamentation while enriching the texture through modern instrumentation. The score calls for a chamber orchestra complemented by glockenspiel, harp, celesta, and harpsichord. This gives the ensemble a brighter, more iridescent sound than Couperin’s originals would suggest. …

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