Exploring Richard Strauss’s Lieder with Jakub Hrůša
Conductor Jakub Hrůša has become a pop star of Czech classical music. In this episode of Sunday Music, he takes us on a journey through Richard Strauss’s Lieder, spanning nearly seventy years of the composer’s creative life. Hrůša – here not only conducting but also accompanying on piano – works in harmony with soprano Kateřina Kněžíková to guide us from Strauss’s youthful early songs to the deeply reflective ‘Vier letzte Lieder,’ composed near the end of his life.
Recorded live at Prague’s Rudolfinum with the Bamberger Symphoniker, the album ‘Richard Strauss: Vier letzte Lieder & Songs with Piano – Tag und Nacht’ (Supraphon, 2024) captures Strauss’s extraordinary gift for musical intimacy, lyrical beauty, and nuanced emotional expression. Kněžíková, one of the most sought-after sopranos in the Czech Republic, has been praised for her “willowy, seductive voice and natural interpretative skill, drawn straight from the heart” (Gramophone). In this recording, she immerses herself in Strauss’s world of micro-dramas, transparent emotion, and subtle intimacy.
Hrůša, chief conductor of the Bamberg Symphony since 2016 and music director of the Royal Opera, Covent Garden from 2025, provides a perfectly sensitive musical partner, whether leading the orchestra or at the piano. The result is a recording in which each song stands out, enhanced by the seamless interplay between singer and conductor, and offering listeners a rare insight into the full expressive spectrum of Strauss’s Lieder.
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