Most Common Question: Something to do with Richard Strauss and his relation to the Vienna Strauss family ("Why don't you have anything about Tales from the Vienna Woods or Die Fledermaus?", or "Which Andre Rieu album would you recommend?", etc.)
    Answer: Richard Strauss is unrelated to the famous family of waltz-composing Strausses (Johann Sr. and Jr., etc.). Richard's father was Franz Strauss, and an article on his life can be found in the 'Various Strauss Links' section of the main page. The only connection Richard shares is the same last name. Radio announcers occasionally omit the first name when citing a work by either Richard or Johann, et.al., which just adds to the confusion.

    Question: "There was a link on your page in the past that is no longer there." Or, "A link on your page no longer works." Or, "There's something missing from your site -- discussion of ____________."
    Answer: The primary purpose of this site is provide links to external sources on the life and works of Richard Strauss. As a result, I have virtually no say or control over what information is provided, and if it is taken down at some point. Certain information is much more transitory than others: most major orchestras and opera companies do not leave their program information up permanently, as it creates a problem with the rights to the program notes (which are 'first publication only', in most cases). Since they don't (or can't) pay for permanent rights, they get taken down and will not return.
    Therefore, the challenge is finding as many active links as possible, and replacing those that go away. If you discover links that are no longer active, please e-mail me and I will take care of them at the next update point. I will do my best to keep as much information available as possible.

    Question: "Strauss didn't really say that about himself [the quote on the main page], did he?" (Occasionally, this is posed more as an accusation...)
    Answer: Yes, Strauss really did say that about himself. (He had a remarkably self-depreciating sense of humor about his works and career.) For confirmation, please refer to the definitive source -- Richard Strauss: A Critical Commentary on His Life and Works, by Norman Del Mar.

    Question: "What are the dates [birth and death] for Strauss?"
    Answer: June 11, 1864 to September 8, 1949.

    Question: "I'm an elementary/secondary/high-school student writing a paper on Strauss. Can you do my research for me?"
    Answer: No. (Not that I'm bitter that my formative years still involved trips to the library and that the height of available scholarship was the Encyclopedia Brittanica.) There's a lot of information linked on the main page.

    Question: "I'm an undergraduate student doing a paper on Strauss. Can you recommend some good books for research?"
    Answer: Check the Bibliography page. There are some very good books that have come out in the last several years. If you can find it, the Del Mar work is the gospel on Strauss.

    Question: "I'm a graduate student doing a thesis/disseration on Strauss. Can you recommend some good research sources?"
    Answer: I'd strongly recommend getting in touch with the folks involved with www.richard-strauss.com. They are very interested in advancing the scholarship on Strauss, and have contacts to all of the official organizations in Germany.

    Question: "Why don't you have more material linked from non-English sources?"
    Answer: Sadly, I'm pathetically monolingual. If anyone has any links to suggest, I'm quite willing to post them.

    Question: "I'm new to the music of Richard Strauss. What works would you suggest starting with?"
    Answer: This is always a difficult question, as I'm of the opinion that the best first pieces are determined by the person's disposition and interests. However, I'll make a couple of recommendations.
    The early 'tone poems' are a good entry to the style of Strauss -- Don Juan and Till Eulenspiegel are probably the best starters. Then, I'd introduce an opera: my favorite, Der Rosenkavalier. (If you don't want to listen to the entire opera, there are some good albums of excerpts, as well as a great Orchestral Suite.) Finally, I'd jump right to the end: the Four Last Songs, which one visitor proclaimed "the most beautiful music ever written". And I'm inclined to agree.

    Question: "Are you the David Meek who teaches voice in Vancouver?"
    Answer: You wouldn't believe how many times I've been e-mailed about this. I've lost count. While I'm hesitant to put too much personal information out on the Web, I'll provide the basics that a dedicated searcher could find for themself: I'm a staff member at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas (hence, the unt.edu site). I have a background in music (BM in Percussion Performance from Southern Methodist University), but I'm a computer specialist now. I've never even visited Vancouver. I hope this helps.

    Question: "No, really: are you the David Meek that teaches in Vancouver? I really want to submit my audition tapes."
    Answer: No, I'm really not.

    Question: "Are you single? Are you looking for a wife? Would you like to marry me?"
    Answer: OK, no one has actually asked this question.

    Question: "I'm interested in writing a review of a particular recording. Should I send it to you?"
    Answer: I've added a Message Board specifically for the purpose of allowing visitors to post recording reviews, performance notes, etc. Hopefully this will allow visitors to get things posted without waiting for me.

    Question: "I'm looking for a CD of an obscure performance from 1953 that's been out of print for 26 years. Do you have it?"
    Answer: Sorry. My CD collection isn't very extensive, and I don't have access to any diferent sources than the rest of you. So if you can't find it in one of the music guides (Gramophone, etc.) or online, then I can't help you.

    Question: "I'm looking for sheet music or a score for something specific. Where can I look?"
    Answer: My best suggestion is linked on the front page: Sheet Music Plus. If they don't have it, then I'd suggest talking with the closest full-line music store.

    Question: "I need to know about the copyright status of a specific work for performance/recording/adaptation. Can you help me with this?"
    Answer: The complete works list at www.richard-strauss.com (linked on the front page) has the most complete publisher information I've run across. The publisher should be able to provide current copyright status for your given location (copyright status can vary from country to country).

    Question: "I have a collectable item involving Richard Strauss. Can you help me determine its value? Do you want to buy it?"
    Answer: In general, I'm not in the market for collectable items. And I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to provide any good information on the value of such an item.

    Question: "We've added a link to your site. Would you be willing to do a reciprocal link?"
    Answer: I'm grateful that a number of sites have provided links to this page. (Getting folks here to find the info they're looking for is, obviously, very important to me.) However, after trying to find a place to fit general-interest reciprocal links into the format I've devised, I decided to politely decline such requests. As a result, I only provide links to sites with relevant Strauss-related content, as part of the normal categorical listings. Again, I appreciate the interest, and I certainly understand if you choose to only link to sites who do reciprocal links.

    Question: "If I have a question not covered here, can I still send it to you?"
    Answer: Of course. My e-mail address is: dmeek@unt.edu. I receive a large volume of e-mail as part of my work, so I may not get to your message very quickly. One thing that will help insure I don't inadvertently delete your message (I delete large batches that appear to be 'spam'): put the name 'Strauss' or 'Richard Strauss' in the Subject line. That will make it stand out.

More Questions and Answers will be added as they come up.

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This page maintained (in a manner of speaking) by David Meek.

This page last updated: 2 Dec 2002