The scandalous story of the insatiable Don Juan forms the inspiration for a tone poem which is rich in imagination and dramatic flourishes. Tod und Verklärung is further testament to Strauss’s vivid imagination; his exploration of the mystery of death and what may follow was written when he was only twenty-five. Ticciati is a consummate Straussian, as his triumphant Rosenkavalier at Glyndebourne demonstrated, and his complete control of phrase shape and dynamics delivers performances of tremendous power and lucidity.

Soprano Louise Alder joins Ticciati and the DSO to record what she describes as ‘a fiendish but beloved cycle of Strauss songs’: Sechs Lieder, Op. 68, affectionately known as the Brentano Lieder. Alder won Best Young Singer at the International Opera Awards 2017 and represented England in the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition 2017, winning both the third round and the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize.

The recording is released to coincide with Ticciati’s fourth season as Music Director of the DSO in September 2020.