Richard Strauss Toot Und

Celebrating one of the most revered conductors of the 20th century, this series was originally released to commemorate Herbert von Karajan’s 100th birthday in 2008. Using innovate technology to recreate the original concert acoustics, the audio for these DVDs has been re-recorded at the Philharmonic Hall in Berlin and the Musikverein in Vienna, Karajan’s two favourite concert venues, to create re-mastered surround-sound versions of these classic performances. With each DVD featuring von Karajan conducting either the Berlin Philharmonic or Vienna Philharmonic orchestras, two of the highest regarded orchestras in the world, this series really does marry the greatest music, the highest calibre performers, and the best possible audio-visual presentation.

The discography of Strauss’s last opera is not exactly crowded, but the two existing accounts provide formidable competition for any newcomer. First there was Sawallisch, conducting the Philharmonia for EMI in 1957 (unfortunately in mono) and a cast led by Schwarzkopf, Ludwig and Fischer-Dieskau. Then, in 1971, came that other supreme Straussian, Karl Böhm, with Janowitz, Troyanos and (again) Fischer-Dieskau, recorded in Munich for DG. The new Decca set brings together many of today’s leading exponents of Strauss’s roles, dominated, for me, by the unsurpassed Clairon of Brigitte Fassbaender, now alas, never to be heard on stage again following her retirement. Heilmann and Bär make an ardent pair of rival suitors, Hagegård an admirable Count and Halem a sonorous, characterful La Roche. (There is a delightful link with the past history of the opera in the person of Hans Hotter: he sang Olivier in the 1942 premiere, La Roche in the 1957 Sawallisch set, and here, at 84 when recorded in December 1993, a one-line cameo as a servant.) For many, though, the set’s desirability will rest on Te Kanawa’s Countess.

Am 14. Januar 1966 befand sich New York, unter einer Schneedecke, fest im Griff von Minus-Temperaturen. Doch als Elisabeth Schwarzkopf die Columbia-Studios betrat, um mit Glenn Gould Lieder von Richard Strauss aufzunehmen, war es nicht etwa nur mollig warm, es muss eine Bullenhitze geherrscht haben. Der dauerfröstelnde Kanadier Gould hatte die Thermostate aufdrehen lassen – und daran sollte sich zum Leidwesen der Stimmbänder der Schwarzkopf nichts ändern. So hört man die Sopranistin immer wieder mal kräftig durchkeuchen, mit den Worten „I´m full of Schleim!“

Much like Richard Wagner, Arnold Schoenberg, and Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss truly stretched the abilities and the dimensions of the orchestra in his works, especially the symphonic tone poems by which most of the general music public know him by. Apart from creating works that require very large orchestral forces, Strauss also took chances in the musical keys that he utilized throughout his works, never actually settling on just one for his pieces, but often many. And to make thing seven more interesting, he often made very difficult subject matters, including literary works, the basis for his tone poems. Such is the case with this 1980 London/Decca recording by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and Antal Dorati that highlights three of the composer's works in that arena.

Reiner's classic account of Tod & Verklärung is no doubt one of the most sublime and richly expressive versions on record, and can stand test of time, a kind of performance which never loses freshness. Each time you listen, there's something new to discover.

The Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France and Mikko Franck continue their collaboration with Alpha and here invite one of the label’s flagship pianists, Nelson Goerner. The programme is devoted to Richard Strauss, coupling several of the German composer’s early works. The Burleske for piano and orchestra, written at the age of twenty, is brimming with lyricism and Romantic ardour; its tone colours herald Strauss’s operas, while the orchestration anticipates his symphonic poems. The piano part is exceptionally virtuosic: Hans von Bülow, for whom Strauss wrote it, called it unplayable! The Serenade for thirteen wind instruments harks back to Mozart’s Gran Partita K361 for similar forces.

Die Wiener Philharmoniker sind häufig so etwas wie eine sichere Bank für R. Strauss - und für die Alpensymphonie allemal (man denke nur an die phantastische Aufnahme unter Thielemann). Und auch hier gelingt ihnen - unter dem sehr engagierten Dirigat von S. Ozawa eine herausragende Interpretation.

Josephs Legende (1912-14), die Partitur für Ballett von Richard Strauss, ist eines der reiferen Werke von Strauss, das selbst nach so langer Zeit bisher nur wenig Beachtung fand. Es wird nicht aufgeführt (möglicherweise wegen seines mysteriösen Themas) und nur selten aufgezeichnet. Der Katalog verzeichnet eine vollständige, inzwischen bereits vergriffene Interpretation, und eine Version der kürzeren Orchestersuite (1947), von der es bei Chandos 9506 eine ausgezeichnete Version gibt.

This DVD of Ariadne is a 1978 film based on Filippo Sanjust’s Vienna State Opera production. The bustling Prologue is set in the backstage area of the mogul’s palace and the 18th century costumes fit neatly. In the opera proper, the stage is transformed into a very stagey desert island with an improbable set of stairs leading to the heroine’s cave, the action spilling over into the theatre’s side boxes at times. While there’s nothing particularly imaginative about the production, it never distracts from the main event–the music. Strauss was profligate in his melodic gifts, his ability to make a reduced orchestra sound big, and his wonderful obsession with the female voice, which yields many glorious moments in the opera. Lavish casting helps.