Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra, Don Juan, Till Eulenspiegel

Krzysztof Urbański conducts the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in three of Richard Strauss’s best loved tone poems. The ebullient Don Juan, a great early success, is followed by Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, a playful folk tale told through music. Rounding out the album is the epic Also sprach Zarathustra, Strauss’s visionary interpretation of Nietzsche.

Featuring

Krzysztof Urbański
Stefan Wagner
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester
Richard Strauss

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Composition History

Strauss's serious career as a composer began when he embraced programme music, a concept championed by Liszt and Wagner, moving away from older symphonic and chamber music forms.

Performer Biography

Krzysztof Urbański, the conductor on this album, became the first conductor ever to receive the prestigious Leonard Bernstein Award in June 2015.

Composition History

Richard Strauss's tone poem Don Juan, composed when he was just 25, marked his public debut in the new style of programme music.

Recording & Production

This album was recorded live in March and September 2016 at Laeiszhalle, Hamburg.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Richard Strauss, a master of "programme music," viewed all programmatic elements as "stimuli for new forms" rather than mere illustrations.

Cultural Impact

The famous opening of Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra gained cinematic fame through its use in Stanley Kubrick's film 2001.

Performer Biography

The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra was founded in 1945 as the orchestra of the NWDR (Northwest German Radio) as part of the post-World War II cultural rebuilding process.