"I love how Strauss can make us feel as though we are in another dimension"

At first, I thought Richard Strauss’s music was massive and overwhelming. But the first time I played Also sprach Zarathustra, I became truly emotional.

After the explosive opening, it transitions into warm and intimate chamber music, which grows as the strings enter one by one. That’s when the orchestra finally becomes a single, unified entity. It’s captivating as an orchestral musician when everyone in the room plays with the same energy and intensity.

When I hear the music, I get images from the film “2001: A Space Odyssey” in front of me. I love how Strauss can make us feel as though we are in another dimension, larger than ourselves.

It’s interesting to see the same piece conducted by different conductors and realise how each of them imagines the music in their own way. Sometimes, it almost feels like a new piece. I hope the audience leaves the Concert Hall with the sense of a new experience, as if they’ve travelled to another time and place.

Manon Briau
Viola, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra

In the video Manon plays music from Concerto for Orchestra by Béla Bartók.