IDAGIO | Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra - Debussy: Jeux 0822231183365

Featuring

François-Xavier Roth
London Symphony Orchestra
Richard Strauss
Claude Debussy

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Performer Biography

François-Xavier Roth, the conductor, has been made a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur for his achievements as a musician, conductor, music director, and teacher.

Composer Biography

Richard Strauss, whose father was a brilliant horn player, had his first piano lessons at age four and produced his first composition two years later.

Recording & Production

This album was recorded live in London's Barbican Hall, with Richard Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra recorded in DSD 256fs and Debussy's Jeux in DSD 128fs.

Compositional Technique

Richard Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra was his first tone poem to completely abandon traditional formal schemes like sonata form, rondo, and variations.

Performer Biography

François-Xavier Roth, the conductor, is the founder of Les Siècles, an innovative orchestra that performs on both modern and period instruments, often in the same concert.

Cultural Impact

Debussy's ballet Jeux was initially puzzling to audiences, but it later gained a distinguished place in the concert repertory, boosted by figures like Boulez in the 1950s.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Richard Strauss intended his Also sprach Zarathustra to convey the evolution of the human race, from its origins through religious and scientific phases, up to Nietzsche's idea of the Superman.