Richard Strauss / Clytus Gottwald (arr.) Zwei schlichte Weisen. Vocal transcriptions by Clytus Gottwald

The son of musician Franz Joseph Strauss and his wife Josephine began composing at the age of six, and by his 18th birthday he had already written around 140 pieces, including almost 60 songs and over 40 piano works. His stellar career began in 1881 with his opus 1, the Festive March for large orchestra. In 1886, Strauss took up a position as third conductor at the Court Opera in his hometown of Munich. There he had time to deepen his repertoire. In the following four years, he composed numerous songs, including Ständchen op. 17,2, which was published by Carus-Verlag together with Von dunklem Schleier umsponnen op. 17,4 and Nicht im Schlafe hab ich das geträumt op. 48,1. In 1905 and many song compositions later, the already celebrated Richard Strauss also wrote a success story with an opera. The opera adaptation of Oscar Wild's Salome, whose text Strauss himself translated into German, is regarded by his fans as the epitome of modern opera music. Personal details

The choral conductor, composer and musicologist Clytus Gottwald (1925 - 2023) made significant contributions to contemporary choral music. As editor for New Music at Südfunk Stuttgart and founder and director of the Schola Cantorum Stuttgart, he was in productive exchange with his contemporaries, Pierre Boulez, Mauricio Kagel, György Ligeti, Luigi Nono, Karlheinz Stockhausen and many others. With his Schola Cantorum, a 16-voice chamber vocal ensemble, Gottwald decisively shaped the a cappella choral culture of the highest technical level that is taken for granted today. Clytus Gottwald's transcriptions of piano songs and instrumental pieces for unaccompanied choir are appreciated by choirs all over the world. Modelled on the style of Ligeti, his works set the highest of musical standards. Clytus Gottwald has received several awards for his services, including the Cultural Prize of Baden-Württemberg in 2009, the European Church Music Prize in 2012, and the Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany in 2014. His importance for the development of contemporary choral music cannot be overestimated. Personal details