Richard Strauss: An Alpine Symphony – Bernard Haitink / Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Newton Classics CD)

• UPC: 8718247710546
• MPN: 8802054
• Brand Name: Newton Classics

Overview

This Newton Classics reissue captures Bernard Haitink’s monumental interpretation of Richard Strauss’s “Eine Alpensinfonie” (An Alpine Symphony), Op. 64, recorded in January 1985 with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam. A symphonic tone poem of majestic scale and philosophical depth, Strauss’s Alpine Symphony traces a single day’s ascent and descent of a mountain—an allegory for human striving, beauty, and impermanence.

Haitink’s reading, polished and architecturally clear, reveals the intricate orchestral layers of this late-Romantic masterpiece with both grandeur and restraint. The Concertgebouw’s legendary acoustics enhance every radiant sunrise and thundering storm in one of the most natural-sounding digital recordings of the 1980s.

Product Features

• Format: Single CD
• Sound: DDD Stereo
• Total Duration: 49′27
• Recording Date: January 1985
• Location: Grote Zaal, Concertgebouw, Amsterdam
• Original Label: Decca / Universal International Music BV (1986)
• Reissue Label: Newton Classics BV (2010)
• Producer: Decca Music Group Ltd.
• Country of Manufacture: Netherlands
• Genre: Classical
• Style: Late Romantic / Symphonic Poem

Performers:

• Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam
• Bernard Haitink – Conductor

Interesting Facts

• A Symphony of Nature and Spirit: Composed in 1915, Eine Alpensinfonie is Strauss’s last and grandest tone poem, depicting a mountain journey from night to night, complete with waterfalls, meadows, glaciers, and storms.

• A Master of Clarity: Bernard Haitink’s interpretation emphasizes structure and texture, balancing orchestral richness with refined pacing—a hallmark of his long partnership with the Concertgebouw Orchestra.

• An Audiophile Classic: One of Decca’s early digital recordings, it captures the Concertgebouw’s natural resonance with remarkable fidelity, later lovingly remastered for Newton Classics collectors.

• Philosophical Undertones: Beyond its programmatic imagery, the work expresses Strauss’s fascination with Nietzschean ideals—self-overcoming, nature’s sublimity, and human transience.

• Iconic Dutch Collaboration: The Haitink–Concertgebouw pairing represents one of Europe’s great musical institutions at its peak, performing Strauss with unmatched authority.

Track Listing

Richard Strauss – Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64 (An Alpine Symphony)

1. Nacht (Night) – 3′29
2. Sonnenaufgang (Sunrise) – 1′20
3. Der Anstieg (The Ascent) – 2′10
4. Eintritt in den Wald (Entry into the Wood) – 6′01
5. Wanderung neben dem Bache (Wandering by the Brook) – 0′15
6. Am Wasserfall (At the Waterfall) – 0′44
7. Erscheinung (Apparition) – 0′50
8. Auf blumigen Wiesen (On Flowering Meadows) – 1′58
9. Auf der Alm (On the Alpine Pasture) – 1′27
10. Durch Dickicht und Gestrüpp auf Irrwegen (Through Thickets on the Wrong Path) – 1′02
11. Auf dem Gletscher (On the Glacier) – 1′24
12. Gefahrvolle Augenblicke (Dangerous Moments) – 4′43
13. Auf dem Gipfel (On the Summit) – 3′23
14. Vision (Vision) – 0′19
15. Nebel steigen auf (Mists Rise) – 0′58
16. Die Sonne verdüstert sich allmählich (The Sun Gradually Becomes Obscured) – 2′27
17. Elegie (Elegy) – 2′49
18. Stille vor dem Sturm (Calm Before the Storm) – 3′44
19. Gewitter und Sturm, Abstieg (Thunder and Tempest, Descent) – 2′17
20. Sonnenuntergang (Sunset) – 5′56
21. Ausklang (Waning Tones) – —
22. Nacht (Night) – 2′11

Publishers

Decca Music Group Ltd. – Original Recording © 1986 Newton Classics B.V. – Reissue © 2010 Art Direction & Design: Jan Martin Wilschut (BND Amsterdam / Hotsprings) Cover Image: Courtesy of Decca / HH LC 24605 Manufactured and printed in the Netherlands

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