An Alpine Symphony
[10] In reference to this, his final purely symphonic work, Strauss famously commented at the dress rehearsal for An Alpine Symphony's premiere that at last he had learned to orchestrate.
[12] However, modern wind players make use of the technique of circular breathing, whereby it is possible to inhale through the nose while still sustaining the sound by matching the blowing pressure in the mouth.
"[10] In general, however, it is believed that comparisons to any kind of traditional symphonic form are secondary to the strong sense of structure created by the piece's musical pictorialism and detailed narrative.
Each new note is sustained until, eventually, every degree of the scale is heard simultaneously, creating an "opaque mass" of tone representing the deep, mysterious night on the mountain.
[12] Trombones and tuba emerge from this wash of sound to solemnly declaim the mountain theme, a majestic motive which recurs often in later sections of the piece.
In terms of form, the section labelled "The Ascent" can be seen as the end of An Alpine Symphony's slow introduction and beginning of the work's allegro proper.
The first is a marching theme full of dotted rhythms which is presented in the lower strings and harp, the shape of which actually suggests the physical act of climbing through the use of large upwards leaps.
[4] It is just after the appearance of this second climbing motive that we hear the distant sounds of a hunting party, deftly represented by Strauss through the use of an offstage band of twelve horns, two trumpets, and two trombones.
[16] The use of unique musical motives and instrumentation in this passage reinforces the idea of distance created by the offstage placement—these sounds belong to a party of people on an entirely different journey.
[4] In "Wandering by the Brook", there is an increasing sense of energy—rushing passage-work gives way to cascading scale figures in the winds and strings and marks the beginning of the section which takes place "At the Waterfall"[4] and "Apparition".
In the following section, which takes place "On the Alpine Pasture", the use of cowbells, bird calls, a yodeling motive first heard on the English horn, and even the bleating of sheep (depicted through flutter tonguing in the oboe and E♭ clarinet) creates both a strong visual and aural image.
As the climbers move along through the next two sections ("Through Thickets and Undergrowth on the Wrong Path" and "On the Glacier") the going gets a bit rougher, however, and when we get to "Dangerous Moments" the idea of insecurity and peril is cleverly suggested by the fragmentary nature of the texture and the use of the pointed second climbing theme.
Suddenly, we are "On the Summit" as four trombones present a theme known as "the peak motive", the shape of which (with its powerful upward leaps of fourths and fifths) is reminiscent of Strauss's famous opening to Also Sprach Zarathustra.
In this section, ominous drum rolls (distant thunder), stammering instruments, isolated raindrops (short notes in the upper woodwinds and pizzicato in the violins), flashes of lightning (in the piccolo), the use of a wind machine, and suggestions of darkness (through the use of a descending scale motive reminiscent of the opening "Night" theme) lead the piece into the full fury of the storm.
It is in this passage that Strauss calls for the largest instrumentation in the entire piece, including the use of a thundersheet (Donnermaschine), a "thunder trio" (two sets of timpani and a bass drum), the wind machine, piccolos (lightning), and heavy use of organ.
Some believe the symphony's "coda" begins at "Sunset"—rather than present any new musical material, these last three sections are full of "wistful nostalgia" for the beautiful moments earlier in the piece.
[21] The piece transitions into "Ausklang (Quiet Settles/Epilogue)", which is marked to be played "in gentle ecstasy", as it parallels the earlier "Vision" section, but with a much softer, more peaceful character.
Starting off the sun theme is played solemnly by organ and brass, followed by the peak theme on woodwinds first and then brass (similar to the triumphant tone in "Summit", albeit a more muted climax), then recapitulated on strings as the sun and peak motives are then brought together in a coda, followed by a solo piccolo (the same melody heard at the end of "On the Alpine Pasture").
Afterwards, as the sun theme appears for the last time, the harmony moves from the E♭ major established in "Ausklang" (a key which parallels that of "The Ascent", the start of An Alpine Symphony's "exposition") back to the darkness and mystery of B♭ minor.
[11] In these shadowy final moments of the piece, the sustained descending scale from the opening "Night" is heard once more, reaching a depth of six full octaves.
As the brass emerge from the sound to deeply proclaim the mountain theme one final time, it is almost as if "the giant outlines of the noble mass can just be discerned in the gloom".
[citation needed] His more ambitious 1941 recording, with the Bavarian State Orchestra, utilized the full orchestral forces called for by the score and was later issued on LP and CD.
