Macbeth, Op. 23, is a symphonic poem written by Richard Strauss between 1886 and 1888. The work was his first tone poem, which Strauss described as "a completely new path" for him compositionally.MacDonald, New Grove (2001), 24:506. Written in some semblance of sonata form,MacDonald, New Grove (2001), 24:805. the piece was revised more thoroughly than any of Strauss's other works; these revisions, focused primarily on the development and recapitulation sections, show how much the composer was struggling at this point in his career to balance narrative content with musical form. Bryan Gilliam writes in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians that:
Instrumentation The piece is scored for 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, English horn, 2 clarinets, bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 3 trumpets, bass trumpet, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, snare drum, cymbals, tam-tam and strings.
Adaptations Strauss's symphonic poem was adapted as a one-act ballet with choreography by Roman Mykyta, first performed by the Ballet Theatre of Maryland in February, 2024 in Annapolis, MD.
References
Scott Warfield, "The Genesis of Richard Strauss's Macbeth, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Ph.D. dissertation, 1995 ed. Stanley Sadie, The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, (London: Macmillan, 2001) Bryan Gilliam, "Strauss, Richard (Georg)" MacDonald, Hugh, "Symphonic poem"
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