Composer: Richard Strauss
Orchestra: Philharmonia Orchestra
Conductor: Santtu-Matias Rouvali
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Signum
Catalogue: SIGCD720
Release: 2023
Size: 2.16 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
01. Don Juan, Op. 20, TrV 156
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64, TrV 233
02. I. Nacht
03. II. Sonnenaufgang
04. III. Der Anstieg
05. IV. Eintritt in den Wald
06. V. Wanderung neben dem Bache
07. VI. Am Wasserfall
08. VII. Erscheinung
09. VIII. Auf blumigen Wiesen
10. IX. Auf der Alm
11. X. Durch Dickicht und Gestrüpp auf Irrwegen
12. XI. Auf dem Gletscher
13. XII. Gefahrvolle Augenblicke
14. XIII. Auf dem Gipfel
15. XIV. Vision
16. XV. Nebel steigen auf
17. XVI. Die Sonne verdüstert sich allmählich
18. XVII. Elegie
19. XVIII. Stille vor dem Sturm
20. XIX. Gewitter und Sturm, Abstieg
21. XX. Sonnenuntergang
22. XXI. Ausklang
23. XXII. Nacht
Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30, TrV 176
24. I. Prelude ‘Sonnenaufgang’
25. II. Von den Hinterweltlern
26. III. Von der großen Sehnsucht
27. IV. Von den Freuden und Leidenschaften
28. V. Das Grablied
29. VI. Von der Wissenschaft
30. VII. Der Genesende
31. VIII. Das Tanzlied – Das Nachtlied
32. IX. Nachtwandlerlied
33. Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op. 28, TrV 171
Santtu conducts Strauss is a 2-CD deluxe album with four works by Richard Strauss conducted by Principal Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, two of which are live recordings of Santtu’s 2021/22 opening concert and first concert as Principal Conductor at Royal Festival Hall. Eine Alpensinfonie and Also sprach Zarathustra are live recordings of Santtu’s opening concert of the 2021/22 season, and his first concert with the Philharmo- nia as Principal Conductor. The concerts received great reviews. Tim Ashley (The Guardian) said “With the Philharmonia on tremendous form, Rouvali proved a fine Straussian, measured in his approach, and careful in his attention to detail and colour”. Rebecca Franks (The Times) awarded 5-star reviews: “There were “wow” moments aplenty as the Philharmonia laced up its hiking boots and happily hit every waymark in Strauss’s mountain journey: the glorious sunrise, the resplendent summit, the violent storm with wind machine, thun- der sheet and organ.”
Founded in 1945, The Philharmonia Orchestra creates thrilling performances for a global audience and has premiered works by Richard Strauss, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Errollyn Wallen, Kaija Saariaho and many others. The Philharmonia has an extraordinary 77-year recording legacy, and has recorded around 150 soundtracks, with film credits stretching back to 1947. In the 2021/22 season the Orchestra performs in Romania, Spain, Finland, Greece and Germany.
Santtu-Matias Rouvali is a Finnish conductor and percussionist, and is currently principal conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra. Rouvali continues his relationships with orchestras across Europe, including with the Berlin Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Munich Phill- harmonic and the the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
This hefty 2023 release on Signum Classics — a double album of Strauss tone poems — marks several new developments. At its core are two Strauss works performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra in 2021 on its first concert with its new conductor, Santtu-Matias Rouvali. Moreover, this was the first concert by the orchestra since reopening after the COVID-19 pandemic. With Rouvali, the news is all good, and one might argue that the live setting added a special intensity. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64, and Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30, were recorded live, and these are impressive performances that have a bit more of an edge that the studio recordings of Don Juan, Op. 20, and Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op. 28, that frame them. The pictorial vividness of the Alpensinfonie makes the mountain scenes almost palpable, and the Philharmonia’s long history with Strauss really shows in the instrumental work in exposed sections like the “Stille vor dem Strum” (“The Calm Before the Storm”). With the sound recording on the Philharmonia’s in-house label (distributed here by Signum Classics) the situation is less happy; the sound is a bit muddy in thick passages like the big fugue toward the end of Also sprach Zarathustra. It improves noticeably in the two outer tone poems, which receive beautifully characterized performances. Nothing impeded audience from putting this excellent Strauss reading on classical sales charts in the spring of 2023.