Philippe Jordan conducts Strauss’s “Alpine Symphony” by Various, Berg, lr. 22 urt. 2022, Noiztik (2022/2022), Zuzendaria Philippe Jordan, Berliner Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany

When a storm erupts during an orchestral work, there is a moment of overwhelming energy, followed by a lessening of tension and relief: a reflection of the struggles of an agitated soul. Philippe Jordan, music director of the Vienna State Opera, conducts two powerful works in which such scenes occur at a crucial place: Richard Strauss’s Alpine Symphony and excerpts from Wagner’s Rheingold. Expressive energy is also unleashed in Alban Berg’s Altenberg Lieder, with a blizzard and a thunderstorm. The soloist is Anja Kampe, who has enjoyed worldwide success, particularly as a Wagner interpreter.