Richard Strauss' Alpine Symphony is an overwhelming sound document. Although the composer had already more or less put the symphonic poem behind him and concentrated on opera, in 1915 he put a majestic exclamation point with a grandly manned orchestra. An organ, cowbells, wind and thunder machines and many brass instruments provided lifelike weather conditions.

Strauss

Actually, the Alpine Symphony is nothing but a biographical sketch of a hike Strauss took as a teenager to the top of the Heimgarten in the Alps. In twenty-two episodes he outlines his adventures of that day in this masterpiece. From the beginning even before sunrise through the hike past waterfalls and shepherds, to the breaking loose of the thunderstorm at the summit, everything passes like a resounding photo album.

Weber and Korngold

The Residentie Orkest has made the performance of the Alpine Symphony a wonderful project. To complete the orchestra of some one hundred and thirty musicians, the orchestra calls on a large number of conservatory students. They add an extra charge to the concert with their fresh enthusiasm. Weber's Der Freischütz and Korngold's Violin Concerto are fine measurements to this spectacle.

In collaboration with students from the Royal Conservatoire The Hague.