The Vienna Philharmonic interprets Strauss and Bruckner — With Christian Thielemann and Camilla Nylund

The program begins with two posthumous works by Strauss: Malven and Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs). While the latter, composed in 1948, was long considered the composer’s final work, the lovely Malven was actually written later that year. Composed for voice and piano, the song is dedicated to opera singer Maria Jeritza, a close friend of Strauss who helped him create Ariadne auf Naxos. Here, Nylund’s gorgeous rendition of Malven leads into the widely known and beloved Four Last Songs. Thematically unrelated, the four poems are similar in their twilight atmosphere, a truly glorious farewell by the 84-year-old Strauss.

Christian Thielemann and the Vienna Philharmonic have a history with Bruckner, having performed his Third and Eighth Symphonies together. To round off the evening in style, they perform his Symphony No. 6 in A Major, an intimate composition in four movements. While the first movement is characterized by bright sonorities, the tone becomes more solemn and lyrical in the following movements, before returning to a triumphant tonality with the Finale.

Photo: Christian Thielemann © Terry Linke

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