For the best all-round performance of the Alpine Symphony, i.e. interpretation, orchestral playing and technical recording, I would still recommend Haitink's Philips disc with the Royal Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Haitink really does treat it as a symphony and finds all the depths in the music which complement the sheer physical exhilaration of Strauss's graphic depiction of the heights of the Zugspitz. Through Haitink one comes closest to understanding what Strauss meant when he spoke of calling the symphony ''Antichrist'' because of its ''moral purification through one's own strength, deliverance through labour, and worship of nature, eternal and magnificent''.
The best value for money on CD is Jarvi's SNO version for Chandos, since it is an exceptionally fine performance and is followed by four of Strauss's songs with orchestra sung by Felicity Lott. So where does that leave this new Eurodisc recording by the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra conducted by Horst Stein? Well, if you have either of the above and are happy with it, then you won't want or need to spend money on acquiring this. On the other hand, if you like and can afford to have several versions of a piece, then don't hesitate for a moment. Stein's is a splendid interpretation, more physical than Haitink's but coming near to it in the second half of the symphony especially where a spiritual darkness enters the music in such episodes as ''Mists arise'', ''The sun gradually disappears'' and ''Elegy''.
It is also the most graphic recording yet to appear of Strauss's astonishing orchestration in this work. Without the kind of close-focus zooming-in on a group of instruments which mars Karajan's last Strauss recordings, we hear the staccato and glissando strings in the ''Waterfall'' section as never before the cascade is there before our eyes, even though we see it through our ears. As for the ''Storm'', the wind-machine is a particularly good example of its notoriously tricky kind, and the impression of blinding, lashing rain is extraordinary. I listened to it first on a stiflingly hot summer night, and I nearly ran from my chair for shelter! The Bambergers are a splendid orchestra today, as I heard in Munich last year when they played in Strauss's Intermezzo, and although on occasions the strings lack the sheer richness of the Amsterdam orchestra's, there is always an incisiveness to their playing that is compensation enough. The brass section is superb in all departments. For some reason, Stein's interpretation of the opening of the work brought home to me very forcefully how strongly it is inspired by the opening of Das Rheingold A fine effort. If you don't possess an Alpine and want to, you won't be disappointed if you make this your choice.'