Strauss, R: Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64
Saito Kinen Orchestra, Daniel Harding
Under Daniel Harding, clarity is the watch-word...Harding's princely-sounding [oboist] Philippe Tondre falls on the ear with seductive grace.
Strauss, R: Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64
Saito Kinen Orchestra, Daniel Harding
Purchase product
Under Daniel Harding, clarity is the watch-word...Harding's princely-sounding [oboist] Philippe Tondre falls on the ear with seductive grace.
About
This sonically spectacular recording of Richard Strauss’ Alpine Symphony was made with the internationally hand-picked players of the Saito Kinen Orchestra and recorded at the Saito Kinen Festival, Matsumoto, at the heart of the Japan Alps. Daniel Harding was specially invited to conduct the orchestra in the absence of Seiji Ozawa who, at that time, was still recuperating from treatment for cancer.
Voted among the World’s Greatest Orchestras by Gramophone magazine, the Saito Kinen Orchestra boasts the best Japanese players from the leading orchestras of Europe and North America as well as selected wind and brass principals from Berlin, Vienna, Philadelphia and Boston among others. It is one of the world’s elite festival orchestras
Demanding an unprecedented orchestra of 125 players, the Alpine Symphony was the last of Strauss’ great series of tone poems. Specially released to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Richard Strauss’ birth and the centenary of the symphony’s composition, this is the first DECCA recording since 1988 and utilizes the latest 24 bit 96khz technology for a truly spectacular sound.
Contents and tracklist
- Saito Kinen Orchestra
- Daniel Harding
- Recorded: 2012-08-23
- Recording Venue: Kissei Bunka Hall, Matsumoto
Awards and reviews
September 2014
Under Daniel Harding, clarity is the watch-word...Harding's princely-sounding [oboist] Philippe Tondre falls on the ear with seductive grace.
15th May 2014
While the string tone could use a bit more depth and sheen, the playing...is exceptional. Harding paces the huge structure with great care, too; it is obvious from the measured way that he builds up the opening section that his view of the work is going to be less about pictorial impressions and more about presenting an authentic symphonic argument
28th February 2014
Barring some overly shiny string tone, the orchestra founded by Seiji Ozawa climbs Strauss’s mountain with precision, suave colours, and decent taste...this Alpine Symphony, in lustrous sound, certainly displays Strauss’s skills as an orchestrator. I only wish Harding had helped the composer by bringing a bigger pot of glue.
