Richard Strauss (1864 - 1949)
Festfanfare der Stadt Wien, Op. 133
ed. Geoffrey Emerson

Strauss had a stormy and chequered relationship with the city of Vienna, which in the 1920s was no longer the centre of international musical life it had once been. His inspiration for composing was at a low ebb in this period, too, which saw the writing of a few ceremonial pieces, including two brass fanfares, and his later, more neglected operas. He tended to rely on past fame and successes, and thus neglected his duties at the Vienna Opera. But Richard Strauss, like Vaughan-Williams, was a long lived composer, and in his late 70s and 80s the creative spirit returned. The fanfare we play tonight, variously known as Festmusik or Festfanfare "for Vienna city trumpeters" was written for brass and timpani in 1943, but not published until after his death.