The Total Perspective Vortex

Strauss, Nietzsche and Ein Alpensinfonie. 
by Paul J. Pelkonen

The climactic moment of Strauss' Ein Alpensinfonie.

Before he rose to fame as the creator of operas like Salome, Elektra and Der Rosenkavalier, Richard Strauss was famed for his tone poems. Of these, his last and most ambitious is Ein Alpensinfonie from 1915. It is a mind-boggling 22-movement work which follows some of the conventions of a proper symphony but is designed to be played as one single unit, telling the story of a day's journey up an Alp in his native Bavaria.

Recordings Review: Release the Horns

The Thielemann Bruckner Eighth.

by Paul J. Pelkonen

Christian Thielemann. Photo © 2010 Dresden Staatskapelle

This live recording of the Bruckner Eighth marks Christian Thielemann's first recording with the Dresden Staatskapelle since accepting the post of Principal Conductor with that historic German orchestra. It is the finest Bruckner recording to emerge from a major orchestra in several years.