This performance evokes the power and awe of Strauss’ beloved mountains. The Göteborgs Symfoniker’s long affinity for the German composer is clearly evident in the passionate reading of the work, which traces a wanderer’s sunrise-to-sunset journey through Alpine terrain. But we love this recording most for its detailed clarity; Nagano not only unleashes the explosive power of the enormous ensemble, but also brings subtlety and delicate emotion to the score’s pastoral beauty.
- Lorin Maazel & Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
- Lorin Maazel & Berlin Philharmonic
- Gerd Albrecht, Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra, Cologne West German Radio Chorus, Cologne West German Radio Orchestra, Peter Gülke, Gernot Süssmuth, Hans-Jakob Eschenburg, James Conlon, Cologne Gurzenich Orchestra, Thomas Duis, Reinhold Friedrich, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Sandor Vegh, Berlin Deutsches Symphony Orchestra, Roger Epple, Petersen Quartet, Hans E. Zimmer, Joachim Pliquett, Henry Krtschil, Lotte Lenya, Studio Orchestra, Gisela May, Till Alexander Körber, North German Radio Chorus, Gabriele Schreckenbach, Roland Hermann, RIAS Chamber Chorus & Celina Lindsley
- Daniel Benyamini, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Barenboim, Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire & William Steinberg
- Rundfunkchor Leipzig, Gewandhausorchester & Kurt Masur
- Franz Welser-Möst, The Philadelphia Orchestra & Barbara Hendricks
- Claudio Abbado, Jacques Zoon, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Douglas Boyd, Richard Hosford, James Sommerville & Matthew Wilkie