Richard Strauss understood like few others how to use the rich palette of instrumental colors to portray larger-than-life passions and emotions. He did so in a series of pioneering symphonic poems. In his very first tone poem, he composed a portrayal of Macbeth. It is with this rarely played work that Lan Shui and the Singapore Symphony Orchestra open their all-Strauss disc. Also included is another early tone poem, Tod und Verklärung. These two works frame a suite from one of the composer’s most lighthearted ventures – the opera Der Rosenkavalier.