Classical Hour
François-Xavier Roth Richard Strauss

R. Strauss: An Alpine Symphony

When Richard Strauss (1864–1949) was young, he lived in the town of Garmisch, with a view of Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze. One day, he and a few friends decided to climb the mountain. They set out before sunrise and spent 11 hours on the journey. This experience inspired him to write the tone poem An Alpine Symphony. The work is an attempt to express, through music, the feeling of ascending a great mountain. It is also a tribute to nature.

An Alpine Symphony requires an orchestra of 125 musicians and was written between 1911 and 1915. In many ways, it marks a final full stop to the late Romantic style. It could not be more grandiose or dramatic than An Alpine Symphony.