Two symphonic masterworks employing vast orchestras, one powerfully portraying a day in the mountains, the other Strauss's day-to-day life at home with his wife, Pauline. Eine Alpensinfonie
(1911–15) is nature painting on a grand scale, a magnificent showcase for Strauss's gifts for sumptuous orchestration. The Symphonia Domestica (1902–3), despite its broad instrumentation, has more of the intimate feel of a chamber work. The full orchestral scores of both are reprinted here in one inexpensive volume from authoritative German editions.
