Die Zeit, Die Ist Ein Sonderbar

Following it's audio biographies of Mahler, Wagner and Verdi, BR-KLASSIK now presents the fourth in the series: an audio biography of Richard Strauss, to coincide with the Strauss anniversary year of 2014. In operas such as "Elektra" and "Salome", the Munich-born composer made masterly use of established traditions, placing them brilliantly into new contexts and also pointing the way ahead especially where musical theatre was concerned. The three CDs in the edition contain the exciting audio biography (CD1), a selection of letters from Richard Strauss to famous contemporaries such as Hans von Bülow, Cosima Wagner, Stefan Zweig and Hugo von Hofmannsthal (CD2), and also a representative selection of works with a special focus on Strauss's work as a composer of tone-poems and operas (CD3). Anette Unger, the author of the audio biography, is already widely known as a Strauss expert; her works include the book "Who was Richard Strauss? - Nineteen Answers". The Austrian conductor Franz Welser-Moest, currently Musical Director of the Vienna State Opera and Principal Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, has been a welcome guest at the helm of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks for the past 25 years. The two live recordings from the Munich Herkulessaal in 2010 and 2013 include the symphonic poem "An Alpine Symphony" (1915) and the four symphonic interludes from the opera "Intermezzo" (1924).