About the Concert

The symphonic works of Richard Strauss ("tone poems," as he himself called them), are famous for their vividness. The monumental Alpine Symphony is no exception. Certainly also because he had experienced live, so to speak, what he then composed: In August 1879, the 15-year-old Strauss had undertaken a mountain tour from Murnau to the 1800-meter-high Heimgarten. He had already set out at night in order to be able to experience the sunrise on the summit. On his way down, he got caught in a thunderstorm and only reached a farmhouse in the evening, where he was able to spend the night. How impressive the tour, including the thunderstorm, was for him is tangible, so to speak, with his ears in the music. 
Jean Sibelius also put his heart and soul into his violin concerto. He would have liked to become a violin virtuoso himself. The concerto demands a lot from the soloist, especially in the furious finale, which was once even called a "Polonaise for Polar Bears".