An Alpine Symphony

Strauss's An Alpine Symphony was completed in 1915, eleven years after the completion of its immediate predecessor in the genre of the tone poem, Symphonia Domestica. In 1911, Strauss wrote that he was "torturing [himself] with a symphony – a job that, when all's said and done, amuses me even less than chasing cockroaches". One point of influence comes from Strauss's love of nature. As a boy, Strauss experienced an Alpine adventure similar to the one described in his An Alpine Symphony: he and a group of climbers lost their way heading up a mountain and were caught in a storm and soaked on the way down. Strauss loved the mountains so much that in 1908 he built a home in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Bavaria, that boasted stunning views of the Alps. The original drafts of An Alpine Symphony began in 1899. It was to be written in memory of the Swiss painter, Karl Stauffer-Bern, and the work was originally titled Künstlertragödie (Tragedy of an Artist). This fell by the wayside, but Strauss began a new four-movement work called Die Alpen (The Alps) in which he used parts of the original 1899 draft. The first movement of Die Alpen evolved into the core of An Alpine Symphony. Sketches were made, but Strauss eventually left the work unfinished. Years later, upon the death of his good friend Gustav Mahler in 1911, Strauss decided to revisit the work. In his journal the day after he learned of Mahler's death, Strauss wrote: :: The death of this aspiring, idealistic, energetic artist [is] a grave loss ... Mahler, the Jew, could achieve elevation in Christianity. As an old man the hero Wagner returned to it under the influence of Schopenhauer. It is clear to me that the German nation will achieve new creative energy only by liberating itself from Christianity ... I shall call my alpine symphony: Der Antichrist, since it represents: moral purification through one's own strength, liberation through work, worship of eternal, magnificent nature. The resulting draft of the work was to be a two-part work titled Der Antichrist: Eine Alpensinfonie; however, Strauss never finished the second part. Instead, he dropped the first half of the title (named after an 1888 book by Nietzsche) and called his single-movement work simply An Alpine Symphony. After so many years of intermittent composition, once Strauss began work on the piece in earnest the progress was quick. Strauss even went so far as to remark that he composed An Alpine Symphony "just as a cow gives milk". In reference to this, his final purely symphonic work, Strauss famously commented at the dress rehearsal for ''An Alpine Symphony's'' premiere that at last he had learned to orchestrate. == Scoring and structure ==

An Alpine Symphony is scored for a large orchestra consisting of: ;Woodwinds : : :1 heckelphone :1 clarinet in E :2 clarinets in B : : ;Brass : :4 trumpets :4 trombones :2 tubas :12 offstage horns :2 offstage trumpets :2 offstage trombones ;Percussion : timpani (2 players) :snare drum :bass drum :cymbals :triangle :tam-tam :7-12 cowbells :wind machine (sometimes 2 in some performances) :thunder machine (sometimes 2 in some performances) :glockenspiel ;Keyboard :celesta :organ ;Strings :2 harps :18 violins I :16 violins II :12 violas :10 cellos :8 double basses (5- part string section) Strauss further suggested that the harps and some woodwind instruments should be doubled if possible (so in total according to score, 5 oboes, 2 E-flat clarinets, 4 harps and 2 C clarinets) and indicated that the stated number of string players should be regarded as a minimum. The use of "Samuel's Aerophon" is suggested in the instrumentation listing. (Strauss probably misunderstood the name – it was originally called the Aerophor.) This long-extinct device, invented by Dutch flautist Bernard Samuels in 1911 to assist wind players in sustaining long notes without interruption, was a foot-pump with an air-hose stretching to the player's mouth. However, modern wind players make use of the technique of circular breathing, whereby it is possible to inhale through the nose while still sustaining the sound by matching the blowing pressure in the mouth. Another oddity with the scoring is that the part written for the heckelphone goes down to F2, while the lowest note the heckelphone can play is A2. Attempts to address this issue have led to the invention of the lupophone. Program in Southern Bavaria, where Strauss drew inspiration for the composition. Although performed as one continuous movement, An Alpine Symphony has a distinct program which describes each phase of the Alpine journey in chronological order. The score includes the following section titles (not numbered in the score): • Nacht (Night) • Sonnenaufgang (Sunrise) • Der Anstieg (The Ascent) • Eintritt in den Wald (Entry into the Forest) • Wanderung neben dem Bache (Wandering by the Brook) • Am Wasserfall (At the Waterfall) • Erscheinung (Apparition) • Auf blumigen Wiesen (On Flowering Meadows) • Auf der Alm (On the Alpine Pasture) • Durch Dickicht und Gestrüpp auf Irrwegen (Through Thickets and Undergrowth on the Wrong Path) • Auf dem Gletscher (On the Glacier) • Gefahrvolle Augenblicke (Dangerous Moments) • Auf dem Gipfel (On the Summit) • Vision (Vision) • Nebel steigen auf (Mists Rise) • Die Sonne verdüstert sich allmählich (The Sun Gradually Becomes Obscured) • Elegie (Elegy) • Stille vor dem Sturm (Calm Before the Storm) • Gewitter und Sturm, Abstieg (Thunderstorm and Tempest, Descent) • Sonnenuntergang (Sunset) • Ausklang (Quiet Settles / Epilogue) • Nacht (Night) In terms of formal analysis, attempts have been made to group these sections together to form a "gigantic Lisztian symphonic form, with elements of an introduction, opening allegro, scherzo, slow movement, finale, and epilogue." Strauss's An Alpine Symphony opens on a unison B in the strings, horns, and lower woodwinds. From this note, a dark B minor scale slowly descends. Each new note is sustained until, eventually, every degree of the scale is heard simultaneously, creating an "opaque mass" of tone representing the deep, mysterious night on the mountain. Harmonically, this passage moves away from the dark B minor of the opening and firmly establishes the key of E major. It is in "The Ascent", the first subject theme, that Strauss presents two more main musical motives which will prominently return throughout the entire piece. The first is a marching theme full of dotted rhythms which is presented in the lower strings and harp, the shape of which actually suggests the physical act of climbing through the use of large upwards leaps. : \new Staff \relative c { \clef bass \time 4/4 \key ees \major \tempo "Sehr lebhaft und energisch." 4=126 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"string ensemble 1" \partial 4 g-\ff->(ees'-> g-> bes,-> aes'8. f16 bes2.) c8.(d16 ees4 c8. d16 bes4 ees8. f16 g2.) } The second is a pointed, triumphant fanfare played by the brass which comes to represent the more rugged, dangerous aspects of the climb. The use of unique musical motives and instrumentation in this passage reinforces the idea of distance created by the offstage placement—these sounds belong to a party of people on an entirely different journey. Upon entering the wood there is an abrupt change of texture and mood—the "instrumental tones deepen as thick foliage obscures the sunlight". A new meandering theme in C minor, which acts as the second subject theme, is presented by the horns and trombones: : \new Staff \relative c { \clef bass \time 4/4 \key c \minor \tempo "" 4=126 \partial 4 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"trombone" 4-\f^\markup{\italic "espr."} (2. \times 2/3 {8 } 4 \times 2/3 {8 } 2~q4) 4 (4. 8 4 2~q4 4 2~q2. \times 2/3 { 8 } 1 ) } This is followed by a more relaxed version of the marching theme, presented in A major. This theme serves as a closing theme of the exposition. Birdcalls are heard in the upper woodwinds and a solo string quartet leads the transition into the next musical section. Development The following portion of the piece can be interpreted as a large development-like section which encompasses several different phases of the climb. With a sudden switch of tonality to F major, however, the piece is propelled into the next section, entitled "Vision." This is a somewhat developmental passage which gradually incorporates several of the main musical subjects of the symphony together and which is composed of unstable, shifting harmonies. It is during this portion of the piece that the organ first enters, adding even more depth to Strauss's already enormous performing forces. There is an abrupt shift of mood and character as the section titled "Mists Rise" begins. This atmosphere of tension and anxiety continues to grow through the next two sections ("The Sun Gradually Becomes Obscured" and "Elegy"). By the time the piece reaches the "Calm Before the Storm", a combination of a motif heard during the Elegy and the stammering oboe motive heard previously at the peak is repeated ominously and quietly in a minor key. : \new Staff \relative c'' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \key c \major \tempo "" 4=66 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"oboe" r8 d-\p^\markup{\italic"espr."}\ b8\!) r8 cis-.( r8 eis-. r8 fis-.\> r8 ais-.) cis2-\pp~(cis8. bis16) bis8.(cis16) cis8.(d16) d8.(cis16) cis8.(gis16) gis8.(a16 f!1~f2~f8) } In this section, ominous drum rolls (distant thunder), stammering instruments, isolated raindrops (short notes in the upper woodwinds and pizzicato in the violins), flashes of lightning (in the piccolo), the use of a wind machine, and suggestions of darkness (through the use of a descending scale motive reminiscent of the opening "Night" theme) lead the piece into the full fury of the storm. There is also a long dominant pedal on the bass at the end of this section; we are moving back to the work's original key of B minor. Recapitulation , an instrument that is used to create storm effects "Thunderstorm and Tempest, Descent" marks the start of the last phase of the journey described in An Alpine Symphony. It is in this passage that Strauss calls for the largest instrumentation in the entire piece, including the use of a thundersheet (Donnermaschine), a "thunder trio" (two sets of timpani and a bass drum), the wind machine, piccolos (lightning), and heavy use of organ. Heavy downpours of rain are depicted by rapid descending scale passages on the strings (again reminiscent of the opening "Night" theme). In modern performances, these storm sounds can be supplemented with synthesized sound effects to create an even more tremendous effect. This section would also mark the recapitulation of the tone poem, as it brings back the elements that were previously heard in this work. As the sodden climbers quickly retrace their steps down the mountain (as an inversion of the "Ascent" theme is heard in the work's original minor key) and pass through one familiar scene after another, many of the musical ideas introduced earlier in the piece are heard once again, though this time in reverse order, at a very quick pace, and in combination with the raging fury of the tempest. For instance, there is a stormy return of the "Woods" theme in E major (which now serves as the second subject theme of the recapitulation). Eventually, however, the musical storm begins to subside, with some echos of thunder still heard in the distance. The heavy, driving rain is replaced once again by isolated drops in the woodwinds and pizzicato strings. The section ends off with a brief motif of the night theme (the mountain motif, from the opening). Coda After the storm the piece is gradually ushered into a beautiful "Sunset", with the sun theme being proclaimed the strings in G major. In "Sunset", the established sun theme is given a slow, spacious treatment, eventually reaching a radiant climax which then transitions into a minor key as it apparently dies away in favor of the night theme. Some believe the symphony's "coda" begins at "Sunset"—rather than present any new musical material, these last three sections are full of "wistful nostalgia" for the beautiful moments earlier in the piece. The piece transitions into "Ausklang (Quiet Settles/Epilogue)", which is marked to be played "in gentle ecstasy", as it parallels the earlier "Vision" section, but with a much softer, more peaceful character. Starting off the sun theme is played solemnly by organ and brass, followed by the peak theme on woodwinds first and then brass (similar to the triumphant tone in "Summit", albeit a more muted climax), then recapitulated on strings as the sun and peak motives are then brought together in a coda, followed by a solo piccolo (the same melody heard at the end of "On the Alpine Pasture"). Afterwards, as the sun theme appears for the last time, the harmony moves from the E major established in "Ausklang" (a key which parallels that of "The Ascent", the start of An Alpine Symphony's "exposition") back to the darkness and mystery of B minor. In these shadowy final moments of the piece, the sustained descending scale from the opening "Night" is heard once more, reaching a depth of six full octaves. As the brass emerge from the sound to deeply proclaim the mountain theme one final time, it is almost as if "the giant outlines of the noble mass can just be discerned in the gloom". In the final few measures, the violins play a slow, haunting variation of the marching theme, ending with a final, dying glissando to the last note, and in the key of B minor. == Premiere and reception ==

An Alpine Symphony was premiered on 28 October 1915, with Strauss conducting the orchestra of the Dresden Hofkapelle in Berlin. The performance provoked mixed reactions. Some even called it "cinema music". Strauss was happy with how this piece turned out, however, and wrote to a friend in 1915 that "you must hear the Alpine Symphony on December 5; it really is quite a good piece!" The American premiere of An Alpine Symphony was performed by Ernst Kunwald leading the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on 27 April 1916. Kunwald and certain "influential Cincinnatians" had taken great pains to get the piece from wartime Germany and to be the first orchestra to perform Strauss's new work in America. As a result, An Alpine Symphony had originally been scheduled to be premiered in Cincinnati on 4 May of that year. However, when Leopold Stokowski suddenly announced that he would premiere the work with the Philadelphia Orchestra on 28 April, Kunwald and the Cincinnati Orchestra immediately began preparation of the piece. On 25 April, the orchestra was finally able to play An Alpine Symphony all the way through at a rehearsal in Cincinnati and, two days later, sent word to local papers inviting patrons to a performance of the piece that very day at noon. Ultimately, two thousand people attended this unofficial American premiere of the work, which took place a little over 24 hours before the Philadelphia performance. == Recordings ==

On DVD: 2003, BMG Ariola Classics GmbH, 2002 Arte Nova. 82876 50663 9. "Photo-film" by Tobias Melle from the Alpes without visible orchestra. Tonhalle-orchester Zurich, David Zinman. Oskar Fried recorded the work in 1925 with the Berlin State Opera Orchestra. Strauss himself conducted the Munich Radio Symphony Orchestra in the work's next recording, in 1936. His more ambitious 1941 recording, with the Bavarian State Orchestra, utilized the full orchestral forces called for by the score and was later issued on LP and CD. Due to the wide dynamic range of the music, the symphony became very popular for high fidelity and stereophonic recordings. The first test pressing of a compact disc was of An Alpine Symphony, made with Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berlin Philharmonic. == Notes ==