Merry Pranks of Master Till (Maestro Classics)

The Story: Till is a very clever young man, perhaps too clever for his own good. He plays tricks on people to show them that they may not be as high and mighty as they think. Twisting the words of professors and bakers, tailors and priests, he travels the countryside. In the end, however, Till discovers that the world has little patience for his antics. These medieval tales are true social commentary.

The Extras: A performance of the original tone poem without the narration. A child-friendly, spoken biography of Richard Strauss, the composer. A little-know version of the piece for violin, clarinet, horn, bassoon, and bass. A 24-page activity booklet with musical information and games and beautiful illustrations by noted children’s book illustrator Giles Laroche.

Why buy this unknown work? Richard Strauss (the composer of the 2001: A Space Odysseytheme) composed Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks in 1894-5. Today it is probably considered the greatest tone poem (music that tells a story) ever written. The music for french horn is memorable.