Dresdner Philharmonie / Marek Janowski / Francesco Piemontesi by Strauss, Schumann, Ó (2023/2023), Seoltóir Marek Janowski, NOSPR, Katowice, Poland

The second half of the 19th century was marked with a fight between the “classics”, gathered around Johannes Brahms, and the “new German school” of Liszt and Wagner fame. In between the two camps, the young Richard Strauss was able to find a place of his own as a composer. The jocularity of his 1885 Burleske does not yet resemble the fireworks of the Till Eulenspiegel, restrained by the sedate orchestra. The piece, however, remains an unappreciated but shining pearl. The above also applies to the Macbeth – the first attempt at a symphonic poem, a form which Strauss was to become a symbol of. The audiences did not take to it at first – how tastes change! Today, Strauss’s works are no more beloved than Schumann’s, the latter also long misunderstood. How can one, however, refrain from plunging into the mad enthusiasm of the “Spring” Symphony, when it is conducted by such a master as Marek Janowski?