Richard Strauss (1864-1949)
Vier Lieder, Op. 27 (1894)
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64 (1915)
Louise Alder (soprano)
Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra/Nicholas Collon
rec. 2024, Helsinki Music Centre, Finland
German texts and English translations
Ondine ODE 1479-2 [64]

I have found previous releases conducted by Nicholas Collon to be a little cool and detached – but perhaps that was because he was conducting Finnish music and was specifically aiming for a chillier affect; here, he directs a suitably robust account of a Strauss blockbuster and the results are impressive. The opening is moody, broody and mysterious and the gradual crescendo to the explosive sunrise is cunningly contrived for maximum effect, even if one can hardly expect the excellent Finnish orchestra to have quite the heft of, for example, the BPO or VPO. The strumming bass beneath the melody is very present, the horns gleam and the strings sing but there isn’t quite the drive, glamour and depth of sound we hear in the recordings by Karajan, Sinopoli or Shipway. Collon’s grip over pacing is ideal; his timings for individual sections are conventionally sound. There is a freshness and directness to this performance enhanced by the clarity and balance of the digital sound, especially in passages such as “On the Alpine Pasture” with its clattering cowbells but I would welcome a little more menace in the darker, more dangerous episodes and the climax of track 17, “On the Summit” does not overwhelm the listener in the manner that Karajan achieves, good as it is. I miss a certain, almost indefinable, magic and mystique. Having said that, the best passage here is track 18, “Vision” where the orchestra really cranks up the torque and delivers more excitement. Likewise, the quiet music heralding the storm is atmospherically ominous and the tempest itself vividly depicted with splendid timpani and brass. The conclusion is intense and powerful, the organ being very present and majestic, and the sense of our coming “full circle” is highly satisfactory.

The main event is prefaced by four songs from Strauss’ youth. I have also heard Louis Alder live in what has become almost a signature role for her, Sophie in Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier, and was impressed by the purity and stamina of her lyric soprano. Hers is not the most characterful performance of these four songs in that her voice is not especially distinctive, but she sings confidently in excellent German. I would, however, note one slight niggle or worry: her vibrato appears to be broadening and loosening slightly since I heard her; loud, top notes pulse somewhat and I hope that is not a sign of vocal stress. It might be that the recording emphasises a feature not so noticeable live but still – she has to be measured against some great sopranos in this repertoire and even small flaws can compromise the listener’s enjoyment. I tested my response by comparing her version of the most famous of the songs here, Strauss’ wedding present to his wife, “Morgen”, with those by such stellar artists as Fleming, Te Kanawa, Isokoski, Hendricks, Janowitz and, above all, Janet Baker, and there is no doubt that they bring greater vocal glamour, personality and what noted critic Alan Blyth used to call “face” to their renderings. These by Alder are good but essentially flawed and unmemorable readings.

I have been hypercritical in my assessment here but that is because the very best recordings of this music have set such a high standard, and if I say I see no particular necessity for, or desirability in, this new recording, that is less a reflection upon the performances than an acknowledgement that we are already awash with great accounts of Eine Alpensinfonie (as per the recommendations in my survey) and do not in truth “need” more.

Ralph Moore

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