Till Eulenspiegel

Karetnikov’s opera Till Eulenspiegel has been described as “the finest Russian opera since Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth” (Gramophone). The product of almost 20 years’ work, a true fusion of many types of opera, thanks to the buffa elements of Till’s trickster personality, the drama of Klaas’ death, and the opéra engagé nature that introduces the characters of Charles V, Philip II and the Count of Egmont.

Strauss’s ‘Fantastic variations on a theme of knightly character’, as Don Quixote is subtitled, is one of the composer’s most popular tone poems, principally because of the beautifully drawn central characters of the Don (performed by a solo cellist) and Sancho Panza (viola). These roles are luxuriously cast in this new recording, being taken by Hyperion artists Alban Gerhardt and Lawrence Power. The merry tale of Till Eulenspiegel completes this release.

Sergiu Celibidache (1912-1996) has been called a "musical giant", a "magician" "a brilliant lion-tamer" and an enfant terrible of classical music. These films from 1965 and 1982 are among the very few visual records we have of the legendary rehearsal work of this highly charismatic Maestro; they provide a unique insight into his Stuttgart years, bringing to light the marvels he achieved with the Radio Orchestra, which he conducted from 1971-1983. Celibidache was a master Straussian and his reading of the symphonic tale Till Eulenspiegel ranks among the best recordings available. His version of Rimsky-Korsakov's Sheherazade is full of sensuality and subtlety. Both documents last almost an hour - they give today's listeners an exclusive opportunity to observe Celibidache in rehearsal and concert, making it a must for lovers of symphonic music.

The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and their Chief Conductor Sir Andrew Davis continue their acclaimed survey of the orchestral music of Richard Strauss with two contrasting, characterful and ambitious works.

This Blu-ray disc features rising star conductor Andris Nelsons leading the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in a program of popular Richard Strauss orchestral works: Till Eulenspiegel, Macbeth and Also Sprach Zarathustra. Andris Nelsons is one of todays most sought-after young conductors, having worked with the worlds most important orchestras including the Berlin, Vienna, New York, Royal Concertgebouw and Philharmonia Orchestras. He is a regular guest at Covent Garden, the MET, Wiener and Deutsche Staatsoper and at Bayreuth.

Herbert von Karajan's post-war debut with Deutsche Grammophon was this classic 1959 recording of , coupled here with a sizzling account of from 1972/1973. Apart from Karajan himself, one of its stars was violinist Michel Schwalbé, who became the orchestral leader of the Berliner Philharmoniker in 1957. According to critic Deryck Cooke, Karajan's performance has a fire and sweeping breadth which results, "surprisingly, not in bombast but in true nobility".

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.

..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..