Classical Music : Strauss' "Don Quixote" and "An Alpine Symphony" - Thoughts?

Strauss' "Don Quixote" and "An Alpine Symphony" - Thoughts?

Don Juan, Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks, Death and Transfiguration, Thus Spake Zarathustra, and A Hero's Life are generally his Top Five most popular and frequently recorded tone poems. On the other end of the scale are his least popular tone poems: From Italy, Macbeth, and the Domestic Symphony. In between these poles lie his tone poems Don Quixote and An Alpine Symphony. The Alpine Symphony has surged in popularity in recent years, and has probably overtaken Don Quixote in the number of performances and recordings (although I could be mistaken). Don Quixote was once ranked along side the others in the Top Five but seems to have slipped a bit. I think the critics probably still rank it in higher esteem relative to his other tone poems than the general public does.

So the question is, how do you feel about Don Quixote and An Alpine Symphony in particular? Which is better, and do you think Don Quixote is as effective as some of his more popular and famous works? I find it a bit episodic, and it's the one tone poem where you almost have to know the program well to truly enjoy the music. It is a very beautiful work, however, especially the Dulcinea section and the closing part. Another question is do you consider An Alpine Symphony to be among his greater tone poems? Do people like it more and more these days because it is so colorful and the program relatively simple compared to Don Quixote?

P.S. Some sources label Metamorphosen a tone poem, others do not. I left it off the list.

Re: Strauss' "Don Quixote" and "An Alpine Symphony" - Thoughts?

I cannot compare the two works, because I haven't knowingly listened to An Alpine Symphony (probably heard it on the radio at some stage). However, I have heard Don Quixote once in a live concert and then bought a recording of it which has been much listened to (not so much in recent years though), and I must say I have always absolutely adored this piece of music. It is by far my favourite work by Richard Strauss (who is not a composer I'm particularly fond of). Of course, it helps that Don Quixote is also one of my favourite books, which I had read long before I got the chance to hear the music, meaning I was familiar with the story. Also, I probably should add that the live concert was the first time I heard Don Quixote, and that the programme booklet for the performance included a very detailed introduction and description of the music and the story it tells as well as the rather interesting orchestration. This may sound rather immature, but give me a piece of classical music that uses a wind machine and I'm sold!

Re: Strauss' "Don Quixote" and "An Alpine Symphony" - Thoughts?

I've tried Don Quixote but it can't help but bore me.

I'd listen to Alpine over Ein Heldenleben & Till every time, & is infinitely better than DQ. I love the journey, the power of At the Summit, the wonderful way in which he brings in the rain / storm, the beauty of the sunset (very moving). That ending, leading to the repeat of that magnificent opening with strings in that thick blanket chord, is quite magical. I think it was of this work that Strauss said 'at least I've learned how to orchestrate'. I thought the orchestration in ASZ & Don Juan was pretty good too!

No, Metamorphosen is in a different boat from the tone poems, imo.

Re: Strauss' "Don Quixote" and "An Alpine Symphony" - Thoughts?

I agree. I'm pretty familiar with most of Strauss' tone poems, except Don Quixote. I just haven't been able to get into it.

Alpine is a wonderfully evocative work, with really dazzling orchestration, moving climaxes, and a quite solemn, heart felt ending. I always feel I have journeyed through a beautiful countryside after listening to it.

However one categorizes Metamorphosen, it's also a great work.

Re: Strauss' "Don Quixote" and "An Alpine Symphony" - Thoughts?

An Alpine Symphony is one of my favourite Strauss works. Great to just relax and let it wash over you.

Pretty indifferent to DQ.


You're my wife now.

Re: Strauss' "Don Quixote" and "An Alpine Symphony" - Thoughts?

Judging from the recording history of An Alpine Symphony I've seen on Wikipedia, it looks like the 1980 DG recording with von Karajan and Berlin was the one that finally put it over the top, because there were only a few recordings before it, but many after. In fact, many consider this to be the benchmark recording, and indeed, it is truly electrifying from start to finish.

Re: Strauss' "Don Quixote" and "An Alpine Symphony" - Thoughts?

It's pretty fantastic, though regarding earlier recordings, Kempe's is wonderful too. Haven't decided as to a favourite recording yet...have you heard the recent Thielemann one? It's hard to ignore...& the sound is awesome.

Re: Strauss' "Don Quixote" and "An Alpine Symphony" - Thoughts?

The entire set of recordings by Kempe and the Staatskapelle are available on YouTube (at the moment). I should probably have a listen to them all before they get deleted. I'd imagine the sound for the Thielmann recording would be an improvement as you say.

Re: Strauss' "Don Quixote" and "An Alpine Symphony" - Thoughts?

Re: Strauss' "Don Quixote" and "An Alpine Symphony" - Thoughts?

Apparently that DG recording was either the first CD released, or very nearly the first. It was a great piece to show off the capabilities of the CD, allowing a 50+ minute single movement to be played without interruption.

Re: Strauss' "Don Quixote" and "An Alpine Symphony" - Thoughts?

This list is interesting. From 1936, there were only 10 recordings of The Alpine Symphony. Then Solti and Karajan recorded it in 1979 and 1980 respectively. Then, there were 43 recordings in the 36 years after that, an average of more than one per year!

Richard Strauss/ Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra/ 1936
Karl Böhm/ Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra/ 1939
Richard Strauss/ Bavarian State Orchestra/ 1941
Richard Strauss Vienna Philharmonic 1944
Franz Konwitschny/ Orchestra of the Munich State Opera/ 1952
Karl Böhm/ Staatskapelle Dresden/ 1957
Yevgeny Mravinsky/ Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra/ 1964
Rudolf Kempe/ Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/ 1966
Zubin Mehta/ Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra/ 1975
Rudolf Kempe/ Staatskapelle Dresden/ 1971
Georg Solti/ Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra/ 1979
Herbert von Karajan/ Berlin Phiharmonic Orchestra/ 1980
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, Amsterdam/ 1985
Neeme Järvi/ Royal Scottish National Orchestra/ 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
Mariss Jansons/ Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra/ 2007
Fabio Luisi/ Staatskapelle Dresden/ 2007
Marin Alsop/ Baltimore Symphony Orchestra/ 2007
Marek Janowski/ Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra/ 2008
Bernard Haitink/ London Symphony Orchestra/ 2008
Philippe Jordan / Orchestre de l'Opéra National de Paris/ 2009
Andris Nelsons/ City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra 2010
Kazimierz Kord/ Warsaw Philharmonic/ 2013
Daniel Harding/ Saito Kinen Orchestra/ 2014
Michael Seal/ City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/ 2015
Kent Nagano/ Gothenberg Symphony Orchestra/ 2016

Re: Strauss' "Don Quixote" and "An Alpine Symphony" - Thoughts?

So much for the bad boy who wrote Salome. Seems like all of Richie's most popular music these days - the Alpine symphony, Rosenkavalier, the four songs before the perennial best career move - is from his later, Autumnal phase.

Moral, I guess, is that if you're German after Wagner, and your name isn't Brahms, you have two choices: specialize in nostalgia (Richie, Gus), or follow the boogeyman.


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I found the Strauss work Schönberg ripped for the moonlight in Erwartung

Putting this here because nobody cares, so no new thread.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKUY1hOLW50

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ghJsP0T_h0&t=5m16s (Time stamp: 5:16)


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Re: I found the Strauss work Schönberg ripped for the moonlight in Erwar

You're suggesting a similarity in the two works I assume. I have the Jarvi/Finne 2-CD Strauss song collection but completely forgot about this piece. I'll have to dig it out and put in on, then compare it with the Schoenberg and get back to you.

Re: I found the Strauss work Schönberg ripped for the moonlight in Erwar

A similarity between the Strauss work and a particular moment in the Schönberg's work.


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Re: I found the Strauss work Schönberg ripped for the moonlight in Erwar

Okay, so let's just put this here too. Max Reger's clarinet sonata, op. 107 (published 1909) is on the radio right now - never heard it before - and, first, it's a thing of desiccated beauty, but second, f-------ck, I hear Pierrot lunaire (premiered 1912, published 1914) all OVER it. I mean, I guess I always kind of assumed that some of what sounds like Brahms in Schönberg was probably mediated through Reger, but DAMN. And then you remember that in the post-WWI Society for Private Musical Performance concerts organized by Schönberg 1919-1921 (so this is mostly before the invention of the 12 tone system in summer of '21) the two most frequently performed composers were Debussy, whose influence on Pierrot lunaire has been noted, and - Reger.


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Re: I found the Strauss work Schönberg ripped for the moonlight in Erwar

Schönberg rather famously said that "in Erwartung, the aim is to represent in slow motion everything that occurs during a single second of maximum spiritual excitement, stretching it out to half an hour." But this is maybe especially meaningful when we consider that Erwatung is basically the tonally ambiguous passage in Strauss' Salome when the princess waits to receive the head of the prophet - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViLcRFqtTpk&t=1h22m (1:22:00 to 1:25:14) - except instead of resolving it after three minutes, Schönberg... stretches it out to half an hour.


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