Richard Strauß: Eine Alpensinfonie

Waltzing happiness and alpenglow
A breeze comes up, a storm rages and cowbells ring—all of this in large doses—on the CD marking the beginning of the partnership between the Dresden Philharmonic and Leipzig's Genuin label. From the forbidding tones of the first measures of An Alpine Symphony, an entire world comes into being which suffuses the orchestra and audience in light, only to fade airily to nothing in the end. Under Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, this concert recording presents a truly top-rate orchestra which need not fear comparison with its peers. Expansive lines, a velvet, lush tone, full-bodied force are well-known traits of the Dresden orchestra, earning it the rightful name of a “Bruckner orchestra”—an orchestra influenced by such conductors as Schuricht, Masur, and Janowski. And as an outsized treat—the Philharmonic, who were once conducted by Richard Strauss—performs one of his most ingenious marketing campaigns, the orchestral suite based on his opera Rosenkavalier. The magical orchestral colorist distilled a quarter hour of undiminished happiness from three hours of love, longing and passion. Music lovers will be faced with a tough decision: whether to go out and enjoy nature first, or go straight to the velvet-lined salon chambers of Vienna...

"Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos’s sanguine temperament enters into a symbiosis with the warm, glowing sound of the Dresden Philharmonic which agrees well with Strauss’s symphonic colossus. Although the voluptuous sound is enjoyed to the full, Frübeck ensures that it is precise and transparent." Fono Forum 12/06

"The flawlessly playing Philharmonic need not fear any comparisons as regards technique. Especially the precision achieved by the winds leaves nothing to be desired." Rondo, Online