Three hitherto unreleased live recordings from 1971 and 1973 that exemplify the full range of Richard Strauss’s oeuvre: his monumental Alpine Symphony, the comedic-theatrical suite to Der Bürger als Edelmann (The Bourgeois Gentleman) and the intimate, ethereal Metamorphosen. The Munich Philharmonic plays under its principal conductor Rudolf Kempe. Kempe’s unmistakable interpretations are characterised by structural clarity and tonal transparency, combined with a subtle sense of drama – a document of its era and, at the same time, a timeless homage to one of the most important Strauss interpreters of the 20th century.

Rudolf Kempe was one of the twentieth century’s most distinguished German conductors. Central to his artistic work was the Austro-German repertory, his interpretation of the music of Richard Strauss earning him particular acclaim. As a young oboist with the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig, he even performed until Strauss’s own direction. After formative periods with the Dresden State Opera, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Royal Philharmonic in London and the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich, Rudolf Kempe became general music director of the Munich Philharmonic in 1967, a post that he retained until his death. The Munich Philharmonic, too, can look back on a long Strauss tradition.