Eine Alpensinfonie
Encyclopedia
Richard Strauss
Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till...
in 1915. Though labelled as a symphony
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
by the composer, this piece forgoes the conventions of the traditional multi-movement symphony and consists of twenty-two continuous sections of music. The story of An Alpine Symphony depicts the experiences of eleven hours (from twilight just before dawn to the following nightfall) spent climbing an Alpine
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
mountain. An Alpine Symphony is one of Strauss's largest non-operatic works in terms of performing forces: the score calls for about 125 players in total. A typical performance usually lasts around 50 minutes.
This piece was the last symphonic poem
Symphonic poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music in a single continuous section in which the content of a poem, a story or novel, a painting, a landscape or another source is illustrated or evoked. The term was first applied by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt to his 13 works in this vein...
written by Strauss, a genre which gained the composer popularity in the late 1880s and 1890s with works such as Don Juan
Don Juan (Strauss)
Don Juan, Op. 20 is a tone poem for large orchestra by the German composer Richard Strauss, written in 1888. The composer conducted its premiere on 11 November 1889 with the orchestra of the Weimar Opera, where he served as Court Kapellmeister....
(1888), Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks (1895), Also Sprach Zarathustra (1896), Don Quixote
Don Quixote (Strauss)
Don Quixote, Op. 35, is a composition by Richard Strauss for cello, viola and large orchestra. Subtitled Phantastische Variationen über ein Thema ritterlichen Charakters , the work is based on the novel Don Quixote de la Mancha by Miguel de Cervantes. Strauss composed this work in Munich in 1897...
(1897), and A Hero's Life (1897–98). By the time of An Alpine Symphony's composition, however, Strauss had turned his attention away from the genre of tone poems and had become well-established as one of the period's greatest opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic composers.
Though considered to be one of Strauss's lesser-performed works (for a number of reasons, including the great number of musicians required), the piece is popular enough that in 1981 a recording of An Alpine Symphony made with Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan
Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years...
conducting the Berlin Philharmonic became the first compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
ever to be pressed.
Composition
Symphonia Domestica
Symphonia Domestica, Op. 53 is a tone poem for large orchestra by Richard Strauss. The work is a musical reflection of the secure domestic life so valued by the composer himself and, as such, harmoniously conveys daily events and family life.-History and composition:In 1898, Strauss became the...
. In 1911 Strauss wrote that he was "torturing [himself] with a symphony – a job that, when all's said and done, amuses me even less than chasing cockroaches".
One point of influence comes from Strauss's love of nature. As a boy, Strauss experienced an Alpine adventure similar to the one described in his An Alpine Symphony: he and a group of climbers lost their way heading up a mountain and were caught in a storm and soaked on the way down. Strauss loved the mountains so much that in 1908 he built a home in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a mountain resort town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, and the district is on the border with Austria...
, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
that boasted stunning views of the Alps. This interest in nature can also point to Strauss's followings of the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche was a 19th-century German philosopher, poet, composer and classical philologist...
.
The original drafts of An Alpine Symphony began in 1899. It was to be written in memory of the Swiss painter, Karl Stauffer-Bern
Karl Stauffer-Bern
Karl Stauffer-Bern was a Swiss painter.-References:*This article was initially translated from the German Wikipedia.*http://www.villageantiques.ch/fineart/Stauffer-Bern/index.html...
, and the work was originally titled Künstlertragödie (Tragedy of an Artist). This fell by the wayside, but Strauss began a new four-movement work called Die Alpen (The Alps) in which he used parts of the original 1899 draft. The first movement of Die Alpen evolved into the core of An Alpine Symphony. Sketches were made, but Strauss eventually left the work unfinished.
Years later, upon the death of his good friend Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
in 1911, Strauss decided to revisit the work. In his journal the day after he learned of Mahler's death, Strauss wrote:
-
- The death of this aspiring, idealistic, energetic artist [is] a grave loss ... Mahler, the Jew, could achieve elevation in Christianity. As an old man the hero Wagner returned to it under the influence of Schopenhauer. It is clear to me that the German nation will achieve new creative energy only by liberating itself from Christianity ... I shall call my alpine symphony: Der Antichrist, since it represents: moral purification through one's own strength, liberation through work, worship of eternal, magnificent nature.
The resulting draft of the work was to be a two-part work titled Der Antichrist: Eine Alpensinfonie; however, Strauss never finished the second part. Instead, he dropped the first half of the title (named after an essay by Nietzsche written in 1888) and called his single-movement work simply An Alpine Symphony. After so many years of intermittent composition, once Strauss began work on the piece in earnest the progress was quick. Strauss even went so far as to remark that he composed An Alpine Symphony "just as a cow gives milk". Orchestration for the work began on November 1, 1914 and was completed by the composer only three months later. In reference to this, his final purely symphonic work, Strauss famously commented at the dress rehearsal for
An Alpine Symphony's premiere that at last he had learned to orchestrate. The entire work was finished on February 8, 1915. The score was dedicated "in profound gratitude" to Count Nicolaus Seebach, director of the Royal Opera in Dresden
Semperoper
The Semperoper is the opera house of the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden and the concert hall of the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden . It is located near the Elbe River in the historic center of Dresden, Germany.The opera house was originally built by the architect Gottfried Semper in 1841...
, where four of the six operas Strauss had written by that time had been premiered.
Premiere and reception
An Alpine Symphony was premiered on October 28, 1915, with Strauss conducting the orchestra of the Dresden Hofkapelle in Berlin. The performance had mixed reactions. Some even called it "cinema music". Strauss himself was happy with how this piece turned out, however, and wrote a friend in 1915 that "you must hear the Alpine Symphony on December 5; it really is quite a good piece!"Though somewhat controversial, it is generally believed that the American premiere of An Alpine Symphony was performed by Ernst Kunwald
Ernst Kunwald
Ernst Kunwald was an Austrian conductor.Ernst Kunwald was born and died in Vienna. He studied law at the University of Vienna, earning his Dr. Juris in 1891. He also studied piano with Teodor Leszetycki and composition with Hermann Graedener...
leading the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on April 25, 1916. Kunwald and certain "influential Cincinnatians" had taken great pains to get the piece from wartime Germany and to be the first orchestra to perform Strauss's new work in America. As a result, An Alpine Symphony had originally been scheduled to be premiered in Cincinnati on May 4 of that year. However, when Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Stokowski
Leopold Anthony Stokowski was a British-born, naturalised American orchestral conductor, well known for his free-hand performing style that spurned the traditional baton and for obtaining a characteristically sumptuous sound from many of the great orchestras he conducted.In America, Stokowski...
suddenly announced that he would premiere the work with the Philadelphia Orchestra
Philadelphia Orchestra
The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...
on April 28, Kunwald and the Cincinnati Orchestra immediately began preparation of the piece. On April 25, the orchestra was finally able to rehearse An Alpine Symphony all the way through at a rehearsal in Cincinnati and two days later, sent word to local papers inviting patrons to a performance of the piece that very day at noon. Ultimately, two thousand people attended this somewhat unofficial American premiere of the work. Due to their swiftness in organizing the concert, this premiere took place just over 24 hours before the Philadelphia performance.
First recording
Strauss himself conducted the Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra in the work's first recording, in 1936. His more ambitious 1941 recording, with the Bavarian State Orchestra, utilized the full orchestral forces notated in the score (see below) and was later issued on LP and CD. Due to the wide dynamics of the music, the symphony became very popular for high fidelityHigh fidelity
High fidelity—or hi-fi—reproduction is a term used by home stereo listeners and home audio enthusiasts to refer to high-quality reproduction of sound or images, to distinguish it from the poorer quality sound produced by inexpensive audio equipment...
and stereophonic
Stereophonic sound
The term Stereophonic, commonly called stereo, sound refers to any method of sound reproduction in which an attempt is made to create an illusion of directionality and audible perspective...
recordings, beginning with Karl Böhm
Karl Böhm
Karl August Leopold Böhm was an Austrian conductor. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century.- Education :...
's 1957 recording.
Instrumentation
Strauss scored An Alpine Symphony for the following large orchestra:- WoodwindsWoodwind instrumentA woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed, causing the air within its resonator to vibrate...
: 4 fluteFluteThe flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s (flutes 3 and 4 double piccoloPiccoloThe piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
s), 3 oboeOboeThe oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s (oboe 3 doubles English horn), heckelphoneHeckelphoneThe heckelphone is a musical instrument invented by Wilhelm Heckel and his sons. Introduced in 1904, it is similar to the oboe but pitched an octave lower.-General characteristics:...
, clarinet in E-flat, 2 clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s in B-flat, bass clarinetBass clarinetThe bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
(doubles clarinet in C), 4 bassoonBassoonThe bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s (bassoon 4 doubles contrabassoonContrabassoonThe contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon or double-bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower...
)
- BrassBrass instrumentA brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
: 8 hornsHorn (instrument)The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
(horns 5-8 double Wagner tubaWagner tubaThe Wagner tuba is a comparatively rare brass instrument that combines elements of both the French horn and the tuba. Also referred to as the "Bayreuth Tuba", it was originally created for Richard Wagner's operatic cycle Der Ring des Nibelungen. Since then, other composers have written for it, most...
s), 4 trumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, 4 tromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, 2 tubaTubaThe tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
s, 12 offstageOffstage brass and percussionAn offstage brass and percussion part is a sound effect used in Classical music, which is created by having one or more trumpet players , horn players, or percussionists from a symphony orchestra or opera orchestra play a note, melody, or rhythm from behind the stage...
horns, 2 offstage trumpets, 2 offstage trombones
- PercussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
: timpaniTimpaniTimpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
(2 players), snare drumSnare drumThe snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...
, bass drumBass drumBass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
, cymbalCymbalCymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s, triangleTriangle (instrument)The triangle is an idiophone type of musical instrument in the percussion family. It is a bar of metal, usually steel but sometimes other metals like beryllium copper, bent into a triangle shape. The instrument is usually held by a loop of some form of thread or wire at the top curve...
, tam-tam, cowbells, wind machineWind machineThe wind machine is a specialist musical instrument used to produce the sound of wind. One type uses an electric fan with wooden slats added to produce the required sound...
, thunder machineThunder machine (instrument)A thunder machine is a percussion instrument used to imitate the sound of thunder. Usually, this is a large sheet of metal that is shaken or a large drum....
, glockenspielGlockenspielA glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
- KeyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
: celestaCelestaThe celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
, organPipe organThe pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
- StringsString sectionThe string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...
: 2 harpHarpThe harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
s, 18 violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
s I, 16 violins II, 12 violaViolaThe viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
s, 10 celloCelloThe cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
s, 8 double bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
es.
Strauss further suggested that the harps and some woodwind instruments should be doubled if possible, and indicated that the stated number of string players should be regarded as a minimum.
The use of Samuel's Aerophone is prescribed in the instrumentation listing. This long-extinct device, invented by Belgian flautist Bernhard Samuel in 1912 to assist wind players in sustaining long notes without interruption, was a foot-pump with an air-hose stretching to the player's mouth.
Program
- Nacht (Night)
- Sonnenaufgang (Sunrise)
- Der Anstieg (The Ascent)
- Eintritt in den Wald (Entry into the Wood)
- Wanderung neben dem Bache (Wandering by the Brook)
- Am Wasserfall (At the Waterfall)
- Erscheinung (Apparition)
- Auf blumigen Wiesen (On Flowering Meadows)
- Auf der Alm (On the Alpine Pasture)
- Durch Dickicht und Gestrüpp auf Irrwegen (Wrong Path Through the Thicket and Undergrowth)
- Auf dem Gletscher (On the Glacier)
- Gefahrvolle Augenblicke (Dangerous Moments)
- Auf dem Gipfel (On the Summit)
- Vision (Vision)
- Nebel steigen auf (Mists Rise)
- Die Sonne verdüstert sich allmählich (The Sun Gradually Becomes Obscured)
- Elegie (Elegy)
- Stille vor dem Sturm (Calm Before the Storm)
- Gewitter und Sturm, Abstieg (Thunder and Tempest, Descent)
- Sonnenuntergang (Sunset)
- Ausklang (Waning Tones/Dying Away of Sound)
- Nacht (Night)
In terms of formal analysis, attempts have been made to group these sections together to form a "gigantic Lisztian symphonic form, with elements of an introduction, opening allegro, scherzo, slow movement, finale, and epilogue." In general, however, it is believed that comparisons to any kind of traditional symphonic form are secondary to the strong sense of structure created by the piece's musical pictorialism and detailed narrative.
Themes, form, and analysis
Strauss's An Alpine Symphony opens on a unison B-flat in the strings, horns, and lower woodwinds. From this note a dark B-flat minor scaleMinor scale
A minor scale in Western music theory includes any scale that contains, in its tonic triad, at least three essential scale degrees: 1) the tonic , 2) a minor-third, or an interval of a minor third above the tonic, and 3) a perfect-fifth, or an interval of a perfect fifth above the tonic, altogether...
slowly descends. Each new note is sustained until, eventually, every degree of the scale is heard simultaneously, creating an "opaque mass" of tone representing the deep, mysterious night on the mountain. Trombones and tuba emerge from this wash of sound to solemnly declaim the mountain theme, a majestic motive which recurs often in later sections of the piece. This passage is a rare instance of Strauss's use of polytonality
Polytonality
The musical use of more than one key simultaneously is polytonality . Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time...
, as the shifting harmony in the middle part of the mountain theme (which includes a D minor triad) clashes intensely with the sustained notes of the B-flat minor scale. As night gives way to daylight in "Sunrise", the theme of the sun is heard—a glorious descending A Major scale which is thematically related to the opening scale depicting night time.
Motif (music)
In music, a motif or motive is a short musical idea, a salient recurring figure, musical fragment or succession of notes that has some special importance in or is characteristic of a composition....
which will prominently return throughout the entire piece. The first is a marching theme full of dotted rhythms which is presented in the lower strings and harp, the shape of which actually suggests the physical act of climbing through the use of large upwards leaps. The second theme is a pointed, triumphant fanfare
Fanfare
A Fanfare is a relatively short piece of music that is typically played by trumpets and other brass instruments often accompanied by percussion...
played by the brass which comes to represent the more rugged, dangerous aspects of the climb. It is just after the appearance of this second climbing motive that we hear the distant sounds of a hunting party, deftly represented by Strauss through the use of an offstage band
Offstage brass and percussion
An offstage brass and percussion part is a sound effect used in Classical music, which is created by having one or more trumpet players , horn players, or percussionists from a symphony orchestra or opera orchestra play a note, melody, or rhythm from behind the stage...
of twelve horns, two trumpets, and two trombones. As Norman Del Mar
Norman Del Mar
Norman Del Mar CBE was a British conductor, horn player, and biographer. As a conductor, he specialized in the music of late romantic composers; including Edward Elgar, Gustav Mahler, and Richard Strauss. He left a great legacy of recordings of British music, in particular Elgar, Vaughan Williams,...
points out, "the fanfares are wholly non-motivic and neither the hunting horns nor their phrases are heard again throughout the work". The use of unique musical motives and instrumentation in this passage reinforces the idea of distance created by the offstage placement—these sounds belong to a party of people on an entirely different journey.
Upon entering the wood there is an abrupt change of texture and mood—the "instrumental tones deepen as thick foliage obscures the sunlight". A new meandering theme is presented by the horns and trombones followed by a more relaxed version of the marching theme. Birdcalls are heard in the upper woodwinds and a solo string quartet leads the transition into the next musical section.
"On the Alpine Pasture", the use of cowbells, bird calls, a yodeling
Yodeling
Yodeling is a form of singing that involves singing an extended note which rapidly and repeatedly changes in pitch from the vocal or chest register to the falsetto/head register; making a high-low-high-low sound.The English word yodel is derived from a German word jodeln meaning "to...
motive, and even the bleating of sheep (depicted through flutter tonguing
Flutter-tonguing
Flutter-tonguing is a wind instrument tonguing technique in which performers flutter their tongue to make a characteristic "FrrrrFrrrrr" sound. The effect is similar to the growls used by jazz musicians.- Notation :...
in the oboe and E-flat clarinet) creates both a strong visual and aural image. As the climbers move along the going gets a bit rougher, however, and in "Dangerous Moments" the idea of insecurity and peril is cleverly suggested by the fragmentary nature of the texture and the use of the pointed second climbing theme.
Suddenly we are "On the Summit" as four trombones present a theme known as "the peak motive", the shape of which (with its powerful upward leaps of fourths
Perfect fourth
In classical music from Western culture, a fourth is a musical interval encompassing four staff positions , and the perfect fourth is a fourth spanning five semitones. For example, the ascending interval from C to the next F is a perfect fourth, as the note F lies five semitones above C, and there...
and fifths
Perfect fifth
In classical music from Western culture, a fifth is a musical interval encompassing five staff positions , and the perfect fifth is a fifth spanning seven semitones, or in meantone, four diatonic semitones and three chromatic semitones...
) is reminiscent of Strauss's famous opening to Also Sprach Zarathustra
Also sprach Zarathustra (Richard Strauss)
Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 is a tone poem by Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical treatise of the same name. The composer conducted its first performance on 27 November 1896 in Frankfurt...
. This passage is the centerpiece of the score, and after a solo oboe stammers out a hesitant melody the section gradually builds up using a succession of themes heard previously in the piece, finally culminating in what Del Mar calls the "long-awaited emotional climax of the symphony": a recapitulation of the sun theme, now gloriously proclaimed in C Major.
With a sudden switch of tonality
Tonality
Tonality is a system of music in which specific hierarchical pitch relationships are based on a key "center", or tonic. The term tonalité originated with Alexandre-Étienne Choron and was borrowed by François-Joseph Fétis in 1840...
to F# Major, however, the piece is propelled into the next section, entitled "Vision." This is a somewhat developmental passage which gradually incorporates several of the main musical subjects of the symphony together and which is composed of unstable, shifting harmonies. It is during this portion of the piece that the organ first enters, adding even more depth to Strauss's already enormous performing forces. With the declamation of the mountain motive in the original key of B-flat minor by the full brass section at the end of this passage, Del Mar believes "the sense of fulfilment is complete, the recapitulation has begun, and the structure of the symphony has, in Bruckner
Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, complex polyphony, and considerable length...
-like manner, found its logical climax."
Just after this musical climax, however, there is an abrupt shift of mood and character as the section titled "Mists Rise" begins. This atmosphere of tension and anxiety continues to grow through the next two sections ("The Sun Gradually Becomes Obscured" and "Elegy"). By the time the piece reaches the "Calm Before the Storm" an ominous drum roll
Drum roll
A drum roll is a technique the percussionist employs to produce a sustained sound on a percussion instrument. Rolls are used by composers to sustain the sound and create other effects, the most common of which is using a roll to build anticipation.- Snare drum roll :The most common snare drum roll...
, failed attempts to recreate the stammering oboe motive heard previously at the peak, isolated raindrops (short notes in the upper woodwinds and pizzicato
Pizzicato
Pizzicato is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of stringed instrument....
in the violins), flashes of lightning (in the piccolo), the use of a wind machine, and suggestions of darkness (through the use of a descending scale motive reminiscent of the opening "Night" theme) lead the piece into the full fury of the storm.
"Thunder and Tempest, Descent" marks the start of the last phase of the journey described in An Alpine Symphony. It is in this passage that Strauss calls for the largest instrumentation in the entire piece, including the use of a thunder machine (Donnermaschine) and heavy use of organ. In modern performances these storm sounds can be supplemented with synthesized sound effects to create an even more tremendous effect. As the sodden climbers quickly retrace their steps down the mountain and pass through one familiar scene after another, many of the musical ideas introduced earlier in the piece are heard once again, though this time in reverse order, at a very quick pace, and in combination with the raging fury of the tempest. Eventually, however, the musical storm begins to subside. The heavy, driving rain is replaced once again by isolated drops in the woodwinds and pizzicato strings, the mountain theme is proclaimed by the brass in the original key of B-flat minor, and the piece is gradually ushered into a beautiful "Sunset". It is here that some believe the symphony's "coda
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
" begins—rather than present any new musical material, these last three sections are full of "wistful nostalgia" for the beautiful moments earlier in the piece.
In "Sunset" the established sun theme is given a slow, spacious treatment, eventually reaching a radiant climax which dies away into "Ausklang (Waning Tones)". This section, marked to be played "in gentle ecstasy", parallels the earlier "Vision" section, but with a much softer, more peaceful character. Eventually the harmony moves from the E-flat major established in "Ausklang" (a key which parallels that of "The Ascent", the start of An Alpine Symphonys "exposition
Exposition (music)
In musical form and analysis, exposition is the initial presentation of the thematic material of a musical composition, movement, or section. The use of the term generally implies that the material will be developed or varied....
") back to the darkness and mystery of B-flat minor. In these shadowy final moments of the piece the sustained descending scale from the opening "Night" is heard once more, reaching a depth of six full octaves. As the brass emerge from the sound to deeply proclaim the mountain theme one final time, it is almost as if "the giant outlines of the noble mass can just be discerned in the gloom". In the final few measures the violins play a slow, haunting variation of the marching theme, ending with a final, dying glissando
Glissando
In music, a glissando is a glide from one pitch to another. It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French glisser, to glide. In some contexts it is distinguished from the continuous portamento...
to the last note.
Suggested discography
| Conductor | Orchestra | Year Recorded | Label | Catalog Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Strauss Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, which include Der Rosenkavalier and Salome; his Lieder, especially his Four Last Songs; and his tone poems and orchestral works, such as Death and Transfiguration, Till... |
Bavarian State Orchestra Bavarian State Orchestra The Bayerisches Staatsorchester is the orchestra of the Bavarian State Opera.- History :Founded in the times of Ludwig Senfl the orchestra, specializing in musica sacra, belonged to the finest ones in Europe already under Orlando di Lasso . In 1651 the Italian opera was introduced in Munich... |
1941 | Preiser Records | 90205 |
| Karl Böhm Karl Böhm Karl August Leopold Böhm was an Austrian conductor. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest symphonic and operatic conductors of the 20th century.- Education :... |
Staatskapelle Dresden Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden The Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden is an orchestra based in Dresden, Germany founded in 1548 by Kurfürst Moritz of Saxony. It is one of the world's oldest orchestras... |
1957 | Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label... |
463190 |
| Rudolf Kempe Rudolf Kempe Rudolf Kempe was a German conductor.- Biography :Kempe was born in Dresden, where from the age of fourteen he studied at the Dresden State Opera School. He played oboe in the opera orchestra of Dortmund and then in the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra, from 1929... |
Staatskapelle Dresden Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden The Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden is an orchestra based in Dresden, Germany founded in 1548 by Kurfürst Moritz of Saxony. It is one of the world's oldest orchestras... |
1971 | EMI Classics | 64350 |
| Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta is an Indian conductor of western classical music. He is the Music Director for Life of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.-Biography:... |
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra Los Angeles Philharmonic The Los Angeles Philharmonic is an American orchestra based in Los Angeles, California, United States. It has a regular season of concerts from October through June at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, and a summer season at the Hollywood Bowl from July through September... |
1975 | Decca | 470954 |
| Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian orchestra and opera conductor. To the wider world he was perhaps most famously associated with the Berlin Philharmonic, of which he was principal conductor for 35 years... |
Berliner Philharmoniker | 1981 | Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label... |
439017 |
| Herbert Blomstedt Herbert Blomstedt Herbert Blomstedt is a Swedish conductor.Herbert Blomstedt was born in Springfield, Massachusetts and two years after his birth, his Swedish parents moved the family back to their country of origin... |
San Francisco Symphony San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony is an orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980, the orchestra has performed at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall. The San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Chorus are part of the organization... |
1988 | Decca | 421815 |
| André Previn André Previn André George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in... |
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra | 1990 | Telarc | 80211 |
| Christian Thielemann Christian Thielemann -Career:Thielemann studied viola and piano at the Hochschule für Musik in Berlin and took private lessons in composition and conducting before becoming répétiteur aged 19 at the Deutsche Oper Berlin with Heinrich Hollreiser and working as Herbert von Karajan's assistant... |
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra The Vienna Philharmonic is an orchestra in Austria, regularly considered one of the finest in the world.... |
2006 | Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label... |
469519 |
| Antoni Wit Antoni Wit Antoni Wit is a Polish conductor. He is the present musical director of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra.Wit graduated from Kraków's State Higher School of Music, studying conducting under Henryk Czyz and composition under Krzysztof Penderecki, going on to study under Nadia Boulanger in... |
Staatskapelle Weimar Staatskapelle Weimar The Deutsche Nationaltheater and Staatskapelle Weimar is the most important musical and theatrical venue in Weimar in Germany. It is a twin institution, consisting of the theatrical Deutsches Nationaltheater and the symphony orchestra known as the Staatskapelle Weimar... |
2006 | Naxos | 8.557811 |
| Bernard Haitink Bernard Haitink Bernard Johan Herman Haitink, CH, KBE is a Dutch conductor and violinist.- Early life :Haitink was born in Amsterdam, the son of Willem Haitink and Anna Haitink. He studied music at the conservatoire in Amsterdam... |
London Symphony Orchestra London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:... |
2009 | LSO Live | 689 |
Comprehensive discography
| Conductor | Orchestra | Recorded |
|---|---|---|
| Richard Strauss | Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra | 1936 |
| Karl Böhm | Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra | 1939 |
| Richard Strauss | Bavarian State Orchestra | 1941 |
| Franz Konwitschny | Orchestra of the Munich State Opera | 1952 |
| Karl Böhm | Staatskapelle Dresden | 1957 |
| Yevgeny Mravinsky | Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra | 1964 |
| Zubin Mehta | Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra | 1975 |
| Rudolf Kempe | Royal Philharmonic Orchestra | 1966 |
| Rudolf Kempe | Staatskapelle Dresden | 1971 |
| Georg Solti | Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra | 1979 |
| Herbert von Karajan | Berliner Philharmoniker | 1981 |
| Andrew Davis | London Philharmonic Orchestra | 1981 |
| André Previn | Philadelphia Orchestra | 1983 |
| Pierre Bartholomée | Orchestre philharmonique de Liège | 1983 |
| Kurt Masur | Gewandhausorchester Leipzig | 1983 |
| Bernard Haitink | Concertgebouw Orchestra | 1985 |
| Neeme Järvi | Scottish National Symphony | 1986 |
| Vladimir Ashkenazy | Cleveland Orchestra | 1988 |
| Herbert Blomstedt | San Francisco Symphony | 1988 |
| Horst Stein | Bamberg Symphony Orchestra | 1988 |
| Edo de Waart | Minnesota Orchestra | 1989 |
| André Previn | Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra | 1989 |
| Zubin Mehta | Berliner Philharmoniker | 1989 |
| Takashi Asahina | NDR Symphony Orchestra | 1990 |
| Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos | London Symphony Orchestra | 1990 |
| Daniel Barenboim | Chicago Symphony Orchestra | 1992 |
| Giuseppe Sinopoli | Staatskapelle Dresden | 1993 |
| Zdenek Kosler | Czech Philharmonic Orchestra | 1994 |
| Choo Hoey | Singapore Symphony Orchestra | 1994 |
| Seiji Ozawa | Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra | 1996 |
| Takashi Asahina | Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra | 1997 |
| Andreas Delfs | Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra | 1998 |
| Kazimierz Kord | Warsaw Philharmonic | 1998 |
| Lorin Maazel | Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra | 1998 |
| Vladimir Ashkenazy | Czech Philharmonic Orchestra | 1999 |
| Hartmut Haenchen | Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra | 1999 |
| Giuseppe Sinopoli | Staatskapelle Dresden | 1999 |
| Christian Thielemann | Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra | 2000 |
| David Zinman | Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra | 2002 |
| Gerard Schwarz | Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra | 2003 |
| Andrew Litton | National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain | 2004 |
| Franz Welser-Möst | Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester | 2005 |
| Antoni Wit | Staatskapelle Weimar | 2005 |
| Fabio Luisi | Staatskapelle Dresden | 2007 |
| Marin Alsop | Baltimore Symphony Orchestra | 2007 |
| Marek Janowski | Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra | 2008 |
| Bernard Haitink | London Symphony Orchestra | 2008 |