3. RICHARD STRAUSS “Till Eulenspiegel and his Merry Pranks,” Op. 28 Conducted by the Composer Great preparations were made for this event and much money was spent, for Strauss not only received a large fee, but much had to be used for advertising. PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, March 5th, 1904: “RICHARD STRAUSS AT THE ACADEMY “FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE FAMOUS COMPOSER MADE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON. HE CONDUCTS A FINE PERFORMANCE OF HIS OWN “DEATH AND TRANSFIGURATION,” AND HIS WIFE SINGS FOUR SONGS “There was a very large audience at the Academy of Music yesterday afternoon, when the Philadelphia Orchestra gave its last Friday afternoon performance for the current season. The occasion was made notable by the first appearance in this city of the famous composer, Richard Strauss, who had arranged to guide the orchestra through the mazes of the tone poem entitled, “Death and Transfiguration,” one of his best and most characteristic works; and it was rendered additionally interesting and important by the Philadelphia début of Mme. Strauss-de Ahna, who has the reputation of being an exceptionally skillful and sympathetic interpreter of her distinguished husband’s songs.” * * * * * “After his wife had finished her group of songs, and the enthusiastic and long continued applause which her work had elicited had died away, Mr. Richard Strauss returned to the platform to conduct his own “Tod und Verklaerung.” He is a singularly modest and unobtrusive looking man, with an appearance more suggestive of a school teacher than of a musician, and with nothing about him to betray any large estimate of his own consequence, but there can be no question as to his ability as a conductor. That had already been indicated in the manner he played the accompaniments to his wife’s singing, but it was conclusively demonstrated by the way in which he conducted the orchestral feature of the programme. In its lucidity and balance, in its delicate sense of proportion; in its wide and pregnant variations of light and shade; in the splendor of its climaxes and the salient force with which each detail was projected and each nuance given its proper value, his performance of “Death and Transfiguration” has certainly never been equalled in this city. It was a very great achievement and the audience rightly recognized it as such.” * * * * * _Philadelphia Ledger_, March 5th, 1904: “STRAUSS CONCERT A GREAT SUCCESS “WARM GREETING FOR THE COMPOSER AND HIS WIFE * * * * *