Saito Kinen Orchestra, Daniel Harding – R. Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64 (2014) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Saito Kinen Orchestra, Daniel Harding – R. Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64 (2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 51:57 minutes | 919 MB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Decca

This sonically spectacular recording of Richard Strauss’ Alpine Symphony was made with the internationally hand-picked players of the Saito Kinen Orchestra and recorded at the Saito Kinen Festival, Matsumoto, at the heart of the Japan Alps. Daniel Harding was specially invited to conduct the orchestra in the absence of Seiji Ozawa who, at that time, was still recuperating from treatment for cancer.

Voted among the World’s Greatest Orchestras by Gramophone magazine, the Saito Kinen Orchestra boasts the best Japanese players from the leading orchestras of Europe and North America as well as selected wind and brass principals from Berlin, Vienna, Philadelphia and Boston among others. It is one of the world’s elite festival orchestras

Demanding an unprecedented orchestra of 125 players, the Alpine Symphony was the last of Strauss’ great series of tone poems. Specially released to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Richard Strauss’ birth and the centenary of the symphony’s composition, this is the first Decca recording since 1988 and utilizes the latest 24 bit 96khz technology for a truly spectacular sound.

. . . [the orchestra] climbs Strauss’s mountain with precision, suave colours, and decent taste. The recording catches the full range of dynamics, from tubas and trombones crawling in murk to the waterfall’s glittering sparkle . . . this “Alpine Symphony”, in lustrous sound, displays Strauss’s skills as an orchestrator. –Geoff Brown, The Times

. . . [a] sumptuous account of Strauss’s most grandiloquent orchestral score . . . the playing — especially the solo contributions from the woodwind and brass — is exceptional. Harding paces the huge structure with great care, too; it is obvious from the measured way that he builds up the opening section that his view of the work is going to be less about pictorial impressions and more about presenting an authentic symphonic argument. That’s not to say that his performance lacks in grandeur or sonic impact, just that those elements are simply parts of something much more wide-ranging and inclusive. –Andrew Clements, The Guardian

Under Daniel Harding, clarity is the watchword . . . a glorious “Sunrise” . . . an impressive gathering of offstage horns before the “Entry into the wood” . . . Harding’s “On Alpine pasture” enjoys [crystalline air] . . . with plenty of frosted sparkle among the upper frequencies . . . [the superb oboe soloist] falls on the ear with seductive grace . . . [the powerful sting of low brass is] effective on the Decca recording . . . “Thunder and tempest” [is] magnificent, with joist-shaking big drums . . . [the performance is] extremely good . . . [Harding gravitates] to blue skies, cold air and glacial contours. –Rob Cowan, Gramophone

Tracklist:
01. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Nacht (03:11)
02. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Sonnenaufgang (01:24)
03. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Der Anstieg (02:20)
04. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Eintritt in den Wald (05:16)
05. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Wanderung neben dem Bache (00:49)
06. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Am Wasserfall – Erscheinung (00:15)
07. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Erscheinung (00:49)
08. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Auf blumige Wiesen (00:52)
09. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Auf der Alm (02:19)
10. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Durch Dickicht und Gestrüpp auf Irrwegen (01:31)
11. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Auf dem Gletscher (01:15)
12. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Gefahrvolle Augenblicke (01:30)
13. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Auf dem Gipfel (04:48)
14. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Vision (03:32)
15. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Nebel steigen auf (00:19)
16. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Die Sonne verdüstert sich allmählich (00:53)
17. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Elegie (02:13)
18. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Stille vor dem Sturm (02:46)
19. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Gewitter und Sturm, Abstieg (03:47)
20. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Sonnenuntergang (02:59)
21. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Ausklang (06:40)
22. Saito Kinen Orchestra – Alpensymphonie, Op.64: Nacht (02:19)

Personnel:
Philippe Tondre oboe
Radek Baborák horn
Gabór Tarkövi trumpet
Daniel Harding conductor
Saito Kinen Orchestra

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