Strauss - Alpine Symphony
London Symphony Orchestra / Haitink
LSO Live LSO0689

Release date February 2010

LSO Live’s latest release of Strauss’s monumental symphonic poem sees the welcome return of Bernard Haitink to the helm, his first recording for the label since his acclaimed Beethoven Symphony cycle in 2006. This recording was made in 2008 as part of Haitink’s Strauss/Mozart series held at the Barbican that year and the performance was much admired: ‘an outstanding performance of Richard Strauss’s Alpine Symphony. Rarely has the long haul to the summit seemed more purposeful. Haitink’s perfect control of the orchestral palette at sunrise and at dusk, as strands of colour rose out of and sank back into the dark monochrome contours, made this performance an incarnation of the music’s own metaphysical struggle and triumph.’ - The Times. It is immediately clear that the glories of the live performance have been captured vivdly on disc. From the eeriness of the opening Nacht up to the magnificent and thoroughly expansive Auf dem Gipfel (and down again) Haitink has coaxed every ounce of energy from his musicans. Vision is of epic proportions yet the individual parts are never lost, and the Thunderstorm is truly awesome. The bass sound is especially well recorded and well balanced throughout. The vast dynamic range has been exploited and credit must go to the sound engineers for the excellent production. This is a captivating performance of Strauss’s classic. Look out for Haitink and the LSO’s recording of Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, to be released on LSO Live later in the year.

Reviewed by Dawn Cooke