 Norman Del Mar compared it to the "Festliches Präludium" (Festive Prelude for Orchestra and Organ) in which “a vast orchestra piles one towering climax upon another”.Strauss conducted the work for recording in late 1940 with the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra (possibly he recorded it before the Tokyo premiere); this recording was issued on CD in 1990 by Deutsche Grammophon in a 3-CD set of Strauss conducting his own works (catalogue number 429 925-2 GDO3), and four years later on Preiser 90205.The duration of the work is approximately fourteen minutes.