Strauss: Ein Heldenleben - Burleske

Antonio Pappano conducts the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in two thrilling works from the earlier phase of Richard Strauss's career: the Burleske for piano and orchestra, with Bertrand Chamayou as soloist, and the epic tone poem Ein Heldenleben.

"It's a fascinating piece - strongly autobiographical," says Pappano of Ein Heldenleben. "Strauss always thought dramaturgically. Recording his music in Italy, the link has to be through opera, with all its theatricality, contrast and colour ... The cantabile, singing quality of the Santa Cecilia orchestra matters a great deal, because Strauss was such a great melodist. You need a certain charisma in the sound.

"Strauss, barely out of his teens, originally conceived the mercurial Burleske for the pianist Hans von Bülow, a pupil (and son-in-law) of Liszt. As it turned out, von Bülow found its virtuoso challenges too great. "Your hands need to be as agile as a cat," says Bertrand Chamayou, who senses the spirit of both Schumann and Liszt in the Burleske. "Perhaps it is best described as a kind a symphonic poem ... It's full of surprises, you never quite know where it's going. Not only does it have a sense of humour, it has a sense of the absurd."