Laws of Solitude (Strauss: Four Last Songs) (CD) – Asmik Grigorian

Composer: Richard Strauss
Artists: Asmik Grigorian, Markus Hinterhäuser, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France
Conductor: Mikko Franck
Number of Discs: 1
Label: Alpha
Release Date: January 10, 2024

Singer Asmik Grigorian has chosen to record both versions of Richard Strauss’s ultimate masterpiece, composed in 1948: the version with orchestra and the much rarer version with piano. 

For her, this work is associated with the idea of solitude, but not an unhappy solitude, rather a journey towards infinity: “Now all my senses long to sink into slumber. And the soul, unguarded, longs to soar up in freedom, so that, in night`s magic circle, it may live deeply and a thousandfold,” writes Hermann Hesse in “Beim Schlafengehen” (Going to Sleep), the third song in the cycle. 

For this unique coupling, Asmik is joined by two long-time accomplices: conductor Mikko Franck, with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, and pianist Markus Hinterhäuser, artistic director of the Salzburg Festival. The combination of the two versions opens up new sensations: after the well-known abundance of Strauss’s orchestration, an incredible sensitivity is revealed by the piano version.

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