Classical music you didn’t know you loved: “Also sprach Zarathustra”
For some people, classical music might feel elusive and mysterious. While there is so much great classical music out there, it’s hard to keep it all straight. For example, perhaps you’ve heard a piece you like in a commercial or a television show, but you don’t know the name of it or even who composed it. You might want to add the piece to a playlist, but you don’t even know where to start looking.
This series of articles is here to set you straight. We are here to demystify all of the classical music you didn’t know you already loved.
This season we are performing Richard Strauss’ Also sprach Zarathustra. The name may have you scratching your head, but you are sure to recognize the first section of this piece.
If you are at all familiar with the 1968 classic 2001: A Space Odyssey, you probably recognize this as the main theme of the movie. This theme, which was meant to depict the sunrise, is used very appropriately to mark the beginning of a new era for the hominids depicted in the film.
With a beginning that exciting, you would think that the rest of Strauss’ tone poem would be equally as amazing—and you would be right.