Also sprach Zarathustra, op. 30 is a symphonic poem by Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by the book of the same title by Friedrich Nietzsche. It was first performed in Frankfurt, with the composer conducting. It is best known for its use in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film A Space Odyssey (film) (which was also inspired at least in part by Nietzsche's book).

Structure

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The work runs for about half an hour. It is divided into nine sections that are played with only three clear breaks. The sections (named after chapters in the book) are: The Introduction, Of the Backworldsmen, Of the Great Yearning, Of Joys and Passions, The Song of the Grave, Of Science and Learning, The Convalescent, The Dance Song, and the Song of the Night Wanderer.

The brass fanfare of the Introduction introduces a motif that permeates the structure of the entire work.

Of the Backworldsmen begins in the low strings before opening up into a lyrical passage for the entire section. The following two sections, Of the Great Yearning and Of Joys and Passions, both introduce motifs that are more chromatic in nature.

Of Science and Learning features an unusual fugue, which consists of all twelve notes of the chromatic scale.

The Convalescent acts as a reprise of the original motif, and climaxes with a massive chord in the entire orchestra.

The Dance Song features a very prominent violin solo all throughout that particular section.

The end of the Night Wanderer movement leaves the piece half resolved, with the flutes and violins playing a B major chord, while the lower strings pluck a C.

Use in sports and music performances, in popular culture, and in history

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The piece recorded for Stanley Kubrick's A Space Odyssey (film) was played during the Apollo 13 launch prior to its famous disaster (the Command Module's call sign was "Odyssey").

Since being popularized by its use in the movie, the "Dawn" section has been used as the entrance music for singer Elvis Presley and professional wrestling star Ric Flair (and other pro wrestlers), and also at many occasions at the University of South Carolina. The use of this piece at South Carolina began in 1983, when the school's late football coach Joe Morrison introduced it as the team's entrance music, intending it for the school's bicentennial in 2001. This has spread to pre-game introductions for basketball and it is now played for baseball also, and is even used in graduation ceremonies at the university held at the Colonial Center.

In the opening videogame sequence of Toy Story 2, the music is played a single note at a time as Buzz Lightyear leaps on a series of floating disks. The music is interrupted after 5 notes as the disks and Buzz fall down.

During the Boston Red Sox 2005 Opening Day ceremony, members of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops played Strauss' Also sprach Zarathustra, while a huge banner proclaiming "World Series 2004 Champions" dropped from the top of the Green Monster and covered nearly all of the 37-foot-high wall.

At Princeton University's football annual homecoming game (played against either Harvard or Yale in alternate years), the Princeton University Band performs the "Dawn" section as the finale of the halftime show.

The St George Illawarra Dragons, a rugby league team in the Australian National Rugby League, use the piece at home matches when the team enters the field.

In two Futurama episodes (Godfellas and The Sting), this music plays in the background of part of the episodes.

In the United Kingdom the musical work is popularly associated with the BBC's coverage of the Apollo Moon landings.

Andy Kaufman also used this work as a device to transform from "Foreign Man" into Elvis while doing his impersonations.

The punk rock band Green Day walks out on stage, during concerts, while this work is played.

The opening sequence is used in Sid Meier's Civilization 2, when the player succedes in sending a manned space ship to Alpha Centauri.

Covers

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• Eumir Deodato had a worldwide popular hit in 1972 with a funk arrangement of the piece.
• The late musical group Phish was also known to often play a reinvented jam version of the piece live in concert (often labeled as "2001"), though this is widely considered to be more a cover of Deodato's version than Strauss'.
• Dave Matthews Band played it a handful of times as an intro to "Ants Marching" (from their 1994 album Under the Table and Dreaming) during 1993.
• Elvis, considered by many to be the King of Rock and Roll, would often open his shows in the 1970s with this song (sometimes labeled as "2001" or "2001 Theme").
• K-1 fighter, Bob Sapp, uses this score as his entrance music.
• Johnny Maestro and the Brooklyn Bridge covered the DAWN portion with vocal group harmony in sync with brass instruments.
• Gene Krupa and His Orchestra recorded a song called "Dust" in 1950 that begins with a quote from the piece; the chart was arranged by George Williams.
• American Doom band Toadliquor covers the song on their 2003 album The Hortators Lament.

External links

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• MIDI version of Dawn (MIDI Audio file)

Compositions by Richard Strauss | Symphonic poems | Pieces | Songs popular at sporting events | University of South Carolina

Also sprach Zarathustra (Strauss) | Ainsi parlait Zarathoustra (Richard Strauss) | 자라투스트라는 이렇게 말했다 (슈트라우스) | Так говорил Заратустра (Штраус) | Also sprach Zarathustra