Symphoniekonzert II

Richard Strauss
Vier letzte Lieder
Eine Alpensinfonie op. 64

From his early youth, Richard Strauss engaged with the art song, initially in the combination of voice and piano, and from the 1890s onward also in the form of songs with orchestral accompaniment. Among his final compositions are the Vier letzten Lieder, completed in 1948, which revolve around the great themes of life and death, featuring a sensitively balanced relationship between text and music and a powerful impact; they are deeply personal and moving.

With the Alpensymphonie, premiered in 1915, Strauss concluded his series of tone poems, through which he elevated both the art of program music and that of orchestration to a new level. The experience is a musical journey through the high mountains, from early morning into the night, featuring sunrise and the exhilaration of reaching the summit, but also perilous moments and a powerfully erupting thunderstorm. Once again, Strauss has composed a sonically opulent work of multifaceted content, in which virtually all orchestral possibilities are brought to life, featuring tone-painting qualities and sophisticated sound effects.