Credits:

Marc Minkowski

Description:

The 100th anniversary concert of the birth of R. Strauss with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Takashi Asahina! Alpine Symphony & Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 22 in stereo! Takashi Asahina has often talked about the "Alpine Symphony" that he performed in Germany in 1964 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Richard Strauss' birth. The concert was part of a series of performances and recordings by German broadcasters featuring Strauss's works, and Karl Böhm was in charge of the "Home Symphony," a truly historically important concert. At this time, Asahina was still in his prime, at the age of 56. Of course, this was his first time to play the "Alpine Symphony. A few years later, he gave a joint performance with the Kyoto Symphony Orchestra and the Dai-Philharmonic Orchestra to commemorate his 60th birthday. He continued to perform the piece on his 80th birthday and on the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Philharmonic Orchestra. Notably, he also performed this piece when he was a guest of the North German Radio Symphony Orchestra in 1990, and received enthusiastic applause from the audience there (the EMI disc was cut from this recording. When he conducted the All Japan Symphony Orchestra in Japan in 1991, he gave a superb performance despite his poor health, impressing Henry Vogel, the president of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, who was in the audience, and leading to his appearance with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in 1996. In other words, the repertoire was more than just Bruckner.The tempo is faster than in later years, but the dignity and style have already been established after descending from the summit, and one cannot help but be moved by the heartfelt performances of "Sunset," "Conclusion," and "Night. Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 22, the first half of the program, is also a rare piece of repertoire. The melancholy and deep lyricism spun by Lillian Kalil (mother of Pamela Frank, wife of Claude Frank), a famous American woman artist, is also irresistible. A photo was found of her as a young woman, taken close to the time of the performance, and used for the cover. Good stereo recording. Includes liner notes in English, Japanese, and German.