In 'The Ballet Collaborations of Richard Strauss', Heisler considers Strauss's ballet scores alongside story, mise-en-scène, and choreography, revealing Strauss's shift from a parodic conception of classical dance in the years leading up to World War I to a belated obsession with Romantic-era ballet in its aftermath. Heisler explores issues central to Strauss's relationship to modernism: his mining in 'Die Insel Kythere' (1900) of the decorative aspects of dance, suggesting a shared sensibility with fin-de-siècle Jugendstil and a critique of Romanticism; the dynamics of collective creation and Strauss's penchant for parody in relation to 'Josephslegende' (1914); his stance on interwar cultural politics through the 1923 'Ballettsoirée' and 'Schlagobers' (1924); and 'Verklungene Feste' (1941) as this composer's autumnal meditation on the conceit of music and dance as vehicles for transcendence. 'The Ballet Collaborations of Richard Strauss' is a richly interdisciplinary study that promises to nuance the popular, critical, and academic reception of this ever-popular composer. Wayne Heisler Jr. is assistant professor and Coordinator of Historical and Cultural Studies in Music at The College of New Jersey.

Build[s] a case for Strauss as a spiritual ancestor of Parisian neoclassicism. . . . Lucid detail. . . . Considerable interdisciplinary virtuosity. . . . Energetic sleuthing. . . . A careful teasing apart of the modernist implications of nostalgia, irony, pastiche, and so on. . . . Rich and sensitively conceived.'

Charles Youmans Source: Journal of Musicological Research

Admirably clear in structure. . . . The nearest thing to a definitive study we are ever likely to have. . . . Will [help evade] the boundary traditionally maintained between musicology and dance studies. . . . Expertly carried out. . . Entertaining prose and robust conclusions.'

Hugo Shirley Source: Music & Letters

A truly interdisciplinary work. . . . Extensively illustrated with an abundant mixture of pictorial and musical examples . . . Meticulous research. . . . A valuable addition to musicological literature on Strauss and to emergent dance-musicology.'

Source: Journal of the Society for Musicology in Ireland