Salomé Strauss

Christoph von Dohnanyi is one of those conductors, like Wolfgang Sawallisch, Rafael Kubelik and Josef Keilberth, who were relatively ignored by the journalist school of music critics and later, usually after they are dead, lauded to the skies as undiscovered geniuses of the podium. Well, Maestro Dohnanyi is alive and well and with us and still conducting, mostly at the Zurich opera, and it is a good thing that his performances are being filmed, if not recorded, for posterity because he is a giant of the operatic podium, especially in the operas of Richard Strauss and Richard Wagner.

Richard Strauss - Ein Heldenleben / Salome (Closing Scene)
NDR-Sinfonieorchester, Hamburg / Alessandra Marc, soprano / Donald Runnicles
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 284 MB | Full Artwork: 33 MB | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Teldec # 8573-89365-2 | Country/Year: Germany 2001
Genre: Classical | Style: Early 20th Century

Donald Runnicles is a highly successful Scottish conductor who mostly worked in opera houses until the 1990s, the decade he successfully branched out into the concert hall. He has generally divided his career equally between operatic and symphonic conducting since. Though he has worked extensively in the U.K. and Germany, he may be better known for his activity in the U.S. as conductor of the San Francisco Opera (since 1992), as principal guest conductor of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and for his many popular recordings on the American label Telarc…

Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and during World War II he conducted at the Berlin State Opera. Generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a controversial but dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime. By one estimate, he was the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time, having sold an estimated 200 million records.

Herbert von Karajan was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years. During the Nazi era, he debuted at the Salzburg Festival, with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, and during World War II he conducted at the Berlin State Opera. Generally regarded as one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, he was a controversial but dominant figure in European classical music from the mid-1950s until his death. Part of the reason for this was the large number of recordings he made and their prominence during his lifetime. By one estimate, he was the top-selling classical music recording artist of all time, having sold an estimated 200 million records.

..The brilliance of Strauss' thematic manipulation and the skills of his orchestration were perceived from the beginning, while the exuberant presentation of his ideas came under suspicion as aimless meandering..

Toscanini conducted the music of Bruckner on five separate occasions. In December of 1896 in Turin, Toscanini led the Adagio of the Seventh Symphony in commemoration of Bruckner’s passing. In March of 1931, Toscanini conducted the NY Phil in a series of concerts featuring the complete Bruckner 7. Toscanini and the NY Phil performed the Bruckner 4 in November, 1932, and February, 1934 (in a 1932 response to a questionnaire from the Berliner Börsen Zeitung, Toscanini revealed: “In recent years I have thoroughly studied Bruckner’s monumental symphonies”). January 1935 concerts included the Bruckner 7. The January 27, 1935 NY Phil performance of the Bruckner 7 is the only recording of Toscanini conducting music by the great Austrian composer.