| Strauss, Richard (1864-1949) | Der Rosenkavalier, Op.59: Suite | |
| Strauss, Richard (1864-1949) | Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs) | |
| Strauss, Richard (1864-1949) | Eine Alpensinfonie (An Alpine Symphony), Op.64 |
| Philharmonia Orchestra | |
| Santtu-Matias Rouvali | Conductor |
| Sophie Bevan | Soprano |
He opens with the suite from Der Rosenkavalier, an opera so successful that special trains ran from Berlin to Dresden to whisk audiences to its opening run. The music paints vivid portraits of the four main characters – the Marschallin, Octavian, the young lover she knows she cannot keep, the graceful Sophie and the foolish Baron von Ochs – and their aristocratic world.
Composed when he was 84, Strauss’s late masterpiece, the Four Last Songs, speak of gratitude for a life well lived, the riches of creation, and the joy of human love. Strauss wrote to soprano Kirsten Flagstad that his Four Last Songs ‘should be at your disposal for a world premiere… with a first-class conductor and orchestra’. And it was with the Philharmonia Orchestra that she gave the first performance – acclaimed British soprano Sophie Bevan follows in illustrious footsteps.
In the Alpine Symphony, Strauss calls upon a 125-player orchestra, including organ, cowbells and wind and thunder machines, to describe a day in the mountains. Inspired by an expedition Strauss took part in aged 15, the piece vividly depicts dawn, rivers and meadows; a hunting party in the distance; the struggles of the climbers and triumph when they reach the summit; a storm as they descend; and the peaceful return of night. Strauss wrote in his journal that for him the piece represented ‘the worship of eternal, magnificent nature’.
Ticket sales open on 6th February 2018
