Also sprach Zarathustra (NCPE. Nieweg, Serio)

Richard Strauss completed “Also sprach Zarathustra” in 1896, drawing freely on Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical work of the same name. This tone poem in a single movement lasts approximately 33 minutes and unfolds across several seamlessly connected sections, painting a fascinating panorama of human and cosmic experience — from the primordial opening of the famous sunrise to the dancing and nocturnal visions of the close.

The present edition is an NCPE critical new edition, prepared by Clinton F. Nieweg and Nancy M. Serio. It is based on a careful comparison of the autograph, the first edition, and historical performance materials, and corrects numerous errors in dynamics, articulation, and voice leading that had been perpetuated in the existing sources. Conductors and orchestral musicians are thus provided with a reliable, source-based text for use in performance.

“Also sprach Zarathustra”, Op. 30, ranks among the most frequently performed and influential orchestral works of the late Romantic era. The vast forces required — including expanded brass and percussion sections as well as organ — combined with its philosophically charged program make this work a pinnacle of Richard Strauss's symphonic output and an indispensable part of the concert repertoire.