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Till Eulenspiegel einmal anders!
Op. 28 (1894–5)
18 FEB 2024Chamber Classics | Beethoven Septet

Richard Strauss (1864–1949)
arr. Franz Hasenöhrl (1885–1970)


Till Eulenspiegel einmal anders!
Op. 28 (1894–5)


Richard Strauss’ orchestral tone poem Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche (Till Eulenspiegel’s merry pranks) tells the story of crafty German folk hero and trickster Till Eulenspiegel, represented by a quirky ascending horn line introduced at the beginning of the piece.

Strauss was reluctant to provide a specific story for the work’s premiere (he was worried if he put his ideas into words they might seem at best ‘peculiar’ and at worst ‘give offence’) except to identify the work’s two main themes, which ‘run right through the work in all manner of disguises, moods and situations’.

The first theme is the violin’s slinky introduction and the second is the famous ‘Till’ horn line.

Completed in 1895, Strauss’ tone poem has been wildly popular in concert halls ever since – so much so that when Austrian composer Franz Hasenöhrl wrote this light-hearted chamber version for violin, double bass, clarinet, bassoon and horn, he gave it the title ‘Till Eulenspiegel differently, for once!’ (alongside the description ‘grotesque musicale’).

Hasenöhrl taught at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and wrote this humorous reworking of Strauss’ music under the pseudonym Franz Höhrl.

Premiered in 1954, it is a favourite of chamber groups and audiences thanks to Hasenöhrl’s clever distillation of Strauss’ spritely orchestral writing into a lean and agile five voices.

© Angus McPherson 2023