R. STRAUSS. Symphony in D minor. Interludio (for Mozart's "Idomeneo"). Music for 1924 film "Der Rosenkavalier"—Kampf und Sieg. Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra / Kenneth Scher- merhorn. Marco Polo/D Sharp digital C) 6220323; CD 8220323 (to be reviewed later). Recorded in association with Lufthansa.

Here is a collection of curiosities. The Symphony was written while Strauss was a 16-year-old schoolboy and was conducted by Hermann Levi in 1881. Then it was suppressed until a few years ago when BBC Radio 3 broadcast a German performance. To say that it is possible to detect in it any sign of the future great composer would be carrying the benefit of hindsight to the point of fraud, but if it were to be passed off as a recently discovered work by Schumann, Mendelssohn or Weber then it would, I think, get by. It is a remarkable example of how fully the boy had absorbed the classical-early-romantic style and of how at ease he already was in his handling of the orchestra.

The In terludio is much more interesting. This is from Strauss's version of Mozart's Idomeneo, made for the Vienna Opera in 1931 and contain ing a good deal of revision and re-composition. He even dispensed with the character of Electra— perhaps one of her was enough for him! But if this all sounds like sacrilege, remember that Strauss worshipped Mozart. One day, perhaps, someone will record the Strauss version—it must certainly rank as one of music's most enticing oddities. This Interludio was composed to come after the seamonster chorus and incorporates part of Idomeneo's aria "Torno al pace il core". Its brooding intensity whets the appetite for more. Kampf und Sieg was written in 1892, disinterred for the Rosenkavalier film and published in 1931. No great shakes, I may say. The Hong Kong Philharmonic, under its American music director, play these pieces well and the recorded sound, while a bit backward, is otherwise well balanced. Definitely for out-and-out Straussians, and worth it for the Interludio especially. M.K.