The “Alpine Symphony” by Richard Strauss is one of the crucial symphonic works of the early 20th century. Although the Alpine Symphony has been accused...

The “Alpine Symphony” by Richard Strauss is one of the crucial symphonic works of the early 20th century. Although the Alpine Symphony has been accused of being mere sound cinema; film music without a film, superficial tone painting without real symphonic depth; from the beginning of the first, quite different working concepts onwards it was more than its critics wanted to concede it to be. Rather, the Alps as a subject and their musical realisation were part of a larger construct. The poetic idea of the work creates its own form, just as Strauss described it in his ideal.