Richard Strauss’s original working title for the work was 'My home. A symphonic portrait of myself and my family' and was intended as a homely sequel to Ein Heldenleben (1898). Instead of the hero’s struggle for supremacy, Symphonia Domestica presents a portrait of a family, with the husband, wife and child each characterised by themes.

Family and home as the theme of a symphony? The musical aspect of subjects such as visiting relatives, children’s play, lullabies, a love scene and an argument between spouses most certainly did not correspond to the themes that were usually combined with absolute music. All the commotion around it was silenced by Strauss’s famous remark, “I do not see why I should not make a symphony about myself. I consider myself just as interesting as Napoleon and Alexander”.

One fascinating feature of Symphonia is based on another contradiction, which Strauss manages to solve here in a brilliant manner. The intimate family situation is paired with a huge orchestral force. He makes use of the full orchestra when required, but when the piece turns into an intimate dialogue, he portrays it masterfully.