Strauss, R.: Alpensinfonie (Eine) (An Alpine Symphony)

Featuring

Antoni Wit
Staatskapelle Weimar
Richard Strauss

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Notable Performances

The premiere of An Alpine Symphony in October 1915 was performed by the Dresden Court Orchestra, to whom Strauss felt a particular debt due to their premieres of his earlier operas.

Composer's Artistic Vision

An equally important source of inspiration for An Alpine Symphony was the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche, particularly his work 'Der Antichrist: Fluch auf das Christentum'.

Composition History

Richard Strauss's An Alpine Symphony was inspired by a schoolboy mountaineering trip where he and his companions got lost and were caught in a thunderstorm.

Composer Biography

Richard Strauss, the composer, was the son of a distinguished horn-player and had already achieved some success as a composer before leaving school.

Composition History

Strauss had considered naming An Alpine Symphony 'The Antichrist' and making it more closely follow Nietzsche's literary source.

Performer Biography

Antoni Wit, the conductor, studied conducting with Henryk Czyz and composition with Krzysztof Penderecki at the Academy of Music in Cracow, and also graduated in law.

Compositional Technique

An Alpine Symphony requires a very large orchestra, including double woodwind, fourteen brass players, four harps, a varied percussion section with thunder and wind machines, and a concert organ.