Tarmo Peltokoski and his excellent Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse make the journey from France to the heart of the glorious Alhambra, joined by star soprano Elsa Dreisig in a high Romantic program from the 2024 Festival de Granada! Following the majestic Overture from Wagner's Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Dreisig takes the stage for Richard Strauss's Vier letzte Lieder (Four Last Songs), profound meditations on mortality written just before the composer's death that rank among his most exquisite works and, indeed, among the crown jewels of vocal music. Peltokoski and the ONCT finish in a similar vein with the final work by Anton Bruckner, his Ninth Symphony, which he died before completing — but which stands, even without the intended fourth movement, as a grand final testament by one of our greatest symphonists, dedicated to God himself.

Photo © Simon Fowler
Tarmo Peltokoski appears courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon.