Description
This Pure Analogue Vinyl Edition combines Richard Strauss's An Alpine Symphony with a consistently analogue production process. The live performance by the Wiener Symphoniker under their Chief Conductor Petr Popelka, recorded in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein Vienna on 26 February 2026, was captured on analogue tape using a reel-to-reel process and mastered directly from tape to vinyl without any digital intervention. The result is an exceptionally authentic listening experience, preserving the natural dynamics, spatial depth, and tonal warmth of the live performance in all its immediacy. Strauss's monumental tone poem unfolds in all its orchestral splendour--from the mysterious colours of night and the ascent to the summit to the elemental force of the storm and the serenity of the closing pages. With commanding musical insight and a finely judged sense of the work's architecture, the Wiener Symphoniker and Petr Popelka guide the listener through a musical journey that reaches far beyond the depiction of Alpine landscapes, emerging as a profound reflection on the human experience. An insightful essay on the work by Thomas Leibnitz offers fresh perspectives on Strauss's final tone poem. The edition is further enriched by Martin Hoffmeister's specially commissioned essay, "Melancholy, Reflection and Quiet Happiness: Vinyl as a Mark of Distinction", an exploration of the long-playing record as a cultural artefact, a collector's object, and a uniquely mindful way of experiencing music.
