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R. Strauss: Alpensinfonie Op 64; Bruckner: Te Deum / Welser-möst, Eaglen, Remmert, London Po, Et Al


Release Date: 08/19/2008 
Label:  Emi Classics Encore Catalog #: 08277   Spars Code: n/a 
Composer:  Richard Strauss,  Anton Bruckner
Performer:  Jane Eaglen,  Alfred Muff,  Birgit Remmert,  Deon Van der Walt
Conductor:  Franz Welser-Möst
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra,  Linz Mozart Choir,  London Philharmonic Orchestra
Number of Discs: 1 
Recorded in: Stereo 
Length: 1 Hours 7 Mins. 

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Notes and Editorial Reviews

The only obvious link between the performances coupled here is the conductor, Franz Welser-Möst. The recordings were made nearly ten years apart, with different orchestras. As for the pieces themselves, the first is by the implacably atheist Strauss, the other by the deeply devout Bruckner. Nonetheless there is a strong unseen link in the person of Richard Wagner, whose influence is to be felt in each work, though in very different ways. In Strauss it is principally the orchestration, with its rich string writing, and multiple horn fanfares recalling the world of The Ring. There is even an explicit reference to Wagner’s Magic Fire music from Die Walküre, appropriately enough in the episode Auf dem Gipfel (On the summit, track 14, Read more 0:25). In Bruckner, it is the Wagnerian harmonic language which colours much of the music, though naturally the orchestration is also influenced. Despite all that, though, it is still a somewhat uncomfortable coupling, and perhaps the best one can say about the disc is that it is undoubtedly good value, for most recordings of the Alpine Symphony offer that work alone.

The Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester is one of the world’s finest youth orchestras, with young players drawn from all over Europe. By any standards, this is a thrilling performance of the Alpine Symphony, which has to be rated as among the more demanding works in the orchestral repertoire. The symphony tells the story of a party of hikers who set out to climb an alpine peak. Starting from the Stygean gloom before dawn, we follow them on their journey to the summit and back, encountering a violent storm en route home. It’s an ideal subject for Strauss, for the programme provides a ready-made structure, with ample opportunities for graphically descriptive orchestration, while the philosophical aspect – the journey as a metaphor for human life etc. – is too obvious to labour.

The playing is remarkably fine throughout, and Welser-Möst steers the young musicians through the work with purpose and enthusiasm. Strings produce a rich, luxuriant tone, intensely expressive where needed, woodwind solos are characterfully projected, and the brass playing is confident and stylish. Can you feel a ‘but’ coming? Well, there are a couple as a matter of fact; firstly, the recording. Granted this was a live event, which took place in the Vienna Musikverein during a tour of the orchestra in 2005. Even so, the balance is very eccentric, with sudden close-ups of individual instruments at, for example, track 10 around 0:20 and onwards, with woodwind and first horn suddenly thrust under our noses. Important detail in heavy brass often loses out; take for example the powerful (should be) entry of trombones near the beginning of track 13 – virtually inaudible. And it’s the same story in the storm, though here it is, I have to say, wonderful to be able to hear all the details of scoring that are often completely lost amongst deafening percussion, organ, wind machine and the rest.

The other ‘but’ concerns Welser-Möst’s tempi, which are on the swift side throughout, not necessarily a problem But in one place - the great peroration at the centre of the work, to be found at track 13, 1:45 - he virtually bolts forward, robbing the music of most of its grandeur; very strange. Looking at the score, I have to confess that Strauss is not clear here; he simply indicates that the music is to be felt as 2 beats to the bar, which implies a quicker tempo than that adopted by most conductors. The acid test, though, is that the music sounds rushed, and does not seem to me to realise adequately Strauss’s indication of Maëstoso (majestically).

Not a great or definitive version of this symphony, then, but an interesting and exciting one, and of great interest to Strauss lovers. The Bruckner Te Deum is more straightforward, for this is a highly commendable reading. Welser-Möst paces the work splendidly, and has not only the LPO, but a fine, young sounding choir in the Mozart-Chor Linz. The sopranos are able to negotiate the often cruelly high writing with apparent ease – for example the passage at track 27 around 4:00 - though their tone is sometimes lacking in colour. The team of soloists is equally impressive, with Jane Eaglen and tenor Deon van der Walt in particularly good voice.

Some slight reservations but a worthwhile issue nevertheless, and great value.

-- Gwyn Parry-Jones, MusicWeb International
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Works on This Recording

1. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64 by Richard Strauss
Conductor:  Franz Welser-Möst
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1911-1915; Germany 
 Length: 40 Minutes 42 Secs. 
2. Te Deum in C major, WAB 45 by Anton Bruckner
Performer:  Jane Eaglen (Soprano), Alfred Muff (Baritone), Birgit Remmert (Mezzo Soprano),
Deon Van der Walt (Tenor)
Conductor:  Franz Welser-Möst
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Linz Mozart Choir,  London Philharmonic Orchestra
Period: Romantic 
Written: 1881-1884; Vienna, Austria 
 Length: 20 Minutes 31 Secs. 

Sound Samples

Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Nacht
Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Sonnenaufgang
Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Der Anstieg
Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Eintritt in der Wald
Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Wanderung neben dem Bache
Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Erscheinung
Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Auf blumigen Wiesen
Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Auf der Alm
Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Durch Dickicht und Gestrüpp auf Irrwegen
Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Auf dem Gletscher
Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Gerfahrvolle Augenblicke
Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Auf dem Gipfel
Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Vision
Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Die Sonne verdüstert sich allmählich
Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Elegie
Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Stille vor dem Sturm
Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Gewitter und Sturm
Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Sonnenuntergang
Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Ausklang
Eine Alpensinfonie Op. 64: Nacht
Te Deum: Te Deum laudamus (choir/solo quartet)
Te Deum: Te ergo quaesumus (solo quartet)
Te Deum: Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis (solo quartet/choir)
Te Deum: Salvum fac populum tuum (solo quartet/choir)
Te Deum: In te, Domine, speravi (choir/solo quartet)

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