The year 2014 marks the 150th birthday of the Munich-born composer Richard Strauss, and this CD highlights two key genres in his oeuvre: the Alpine Symphony, composed in 1915, his last and greatest tone poem, and the four symphonic interludes from the opera Intermezzo, first performed in Dresden in 1924.

The Austrian conductor Franz Welser-Möst, currently Musical Director of the Vienna State Opera and Principal Conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra, is also a popular guest conductor of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. The music of Strauss lies on the threshold of the modern age, and Welser-Möst interprets it with a musical dramatic style enhanced by the classical-romantic tradition.

This CD from the BR-Klassik label celebrates not only the 150th anniversary of Strauss's birth but also the 25th anniversary of Franz Welser-Moest's regular appearances as a guest conductor with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. It contains a combination of live recordings made in Munich's Herkulessaal in 2010 (Eine Alpensinfonie) and 2013 (Interludes).