R. Strauss: Orchestral Works
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Richard Strauss
Label: Polskie Nagrania
Magazine Review Date: 3/1991
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 58
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: PNCD050
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Don Juan |
Richard Strauss, Composer
Antoni Wit, Conductor Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Richard Strauss, Composer |
| Tod und Verklärung |
Richard Strauss, Composer
Antoni Wit, Conductor Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Richard Strauss, Composer |
| Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche |
Richard Strauss, Composer
Antoni Wit, Conductor Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra Richard Strauss, Composer |
Composer or Director: Iván Fischer, Richard Strauss
Label: Hungaroton
Magazine Review Date: 3/1991
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 55
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: HCD12899
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Don Juan |
Richard Strauss, Composer
Budapest Festival Orchestra Iván Fischer, Composer Richard Strauss, Composer |
| Tod und Verklärung |
Richard Strauss, Composer
Budapest Festival Orchestra Iván Fischer, Composer Richard Strauss, Composer |
| Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche |
Richard Strauss, Composer
Budapest Festival Orchestra Iván Fischer, Composer Richard Strauss, Composer |
Composer or Director: Richard Strauss
Label: Naxos
Magazine Review Date: 3/1991
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 59
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 8 550250
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Don Juan |
Richard Strauss, Composer
Richard Strauss, Composer Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra Zdenek Kosler, Conductor |
| Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche |
Richard Strauss, Composer
Richard Strauss, Composer Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra Zdenek Kosler, Conductor |
| Tod und Verklärung |
Richard Strauss, Composer
Richard Strauss, Composer Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra Zdenek Kosler, Conductor |
Author:
Judging by these three discs, one might imagine that the orchestras of Eastern Europe were doing nothing except record Strauss's three most popular tone-poems! They make an excellent programme, of course, and these performances can all be recommended. None is quite in the class of Karajan's 1984 DG Tod und Verklarung (a Gramophone Award-winner), either as performance or interpretation, but not many Strauss recordings are.
The discs provide an instructive contrast in national styles—Polish, Slovak and Hungarian. One has to accustom oneself to the peculiar timbre of the horns and trumpets. The latter sound particularly tinny in the Polish orchestra's playing of the climax of Don Juan—indeed, for sheer beauty of orchestral sound, none of these orchestras can match the Philharmonia in its recording of Don Juan for Kashif (ASV), though the Slovak Philharmonic's woodwind section has a lustre of its own. The Budapest strings are the lushest and most flexible.
Of the three discs, my favourite is the Budapest under Ivan Fischer. Their performances were all recorded live and have the vitality and immediacy one expects in the circumstances. Against this, a few imperfections of ensemble and the odd slip here and there scarcely matter. The performance of Don Juan is especially thrilling and almost exactly reproduces Strauss's own tempos in one of his recordings. Muti's recent Berlin Philharmonic performance on Philips almost falls to pieces because of his languorous approach: Strauss rarely repays very slow tempos.
Fischer's interpretation is both ardent and richly romantic, and he is a faithful observer of the markings in the score. Neither the Slovak nor Polish oboist conveys the agitato marked on the solo just after the big horn theme as faithfully as the Budapest player. The solo violinist's pure tone and smooth playing are also noteworthy in this work and in Tod und Verklarung, where the build-up to the coda is beautifully played and recorded, with the tam-tam prominent. Fischer obtains a real pianissimo at the opening of Tod und Verklarung.
Antoni Wit's conducting of the Polish orchestra marks him out as a notable Strauss interpreter, at any rate where these pieces are concerned. Inner parts are clear, in spite of the rather boxy acoustic. His Don Juan is not quite as brisk as Fischer's but more exciting than Kosler's. His is perhaps the finest of the Tod und Verklarung performances, with a raspingly angry sound in the music depicting the artist's death-agonies and a steady and impressive approach to the final climax.
Where the conductors differ markedly is in their approach to Till Eulenspiegel. Kosler's—the slowest—is too ponderous, with over-careful woodwind articulation. Some of the music's impishness is quashed; this is a well-groomed, tidy Till, with every hair in place even when he is scattering pots and pans in a market. Fischer's is again the fastest, very bright and crisp, while Wit is particularly successful in stressing the charm and wit (no pun intended). But the Budapest performance is the one that reminds us what a 'modern' and daring piece it still is and how it must have astounded listeners in 1895.
The Kosler disc was made in a rather resonant acoustic (the Reduta Hall, Bratislava). It is, by the way, very inexpensive and anyone who wants these works on one disc and is prepared to overlook the reservations I have mentioned above will not be disappointed. But out-and-out Straussians are recommended for this coupling to Fischer, with Wit a strong challenger, especially in Tod und Verklarung.'
The discs provide an instructive contrast in national styles—Polish, Slovak and Hungarian. One has to accustom oneself to the peculiar timbre of the horns and trumpets. The latter sound particularly tinny in the Polish orchestra's playing of the climax of Don Juan—indeed, for sheer beauty of orchestral sound, none of these orchestras can match the Philharmonia in its recording of Don Juan for Kashif (ASV), though the Slovak Philharmonic's woodwind section has a lustre of its own. The Budapest strings are the lushest and most flexible.
Of the three discs, my favourite is the Budapest under Ivan Fischer. Their performances were all recorded live and have the vitality and immediacy one expects in the circumstances. Against this, a few imperfections of ensemble and the odd slip here and there scarcely matter. The performance of Don Juan is especially thrilling and almost exactly reproduces Strauss's own tempos in one of his recordings. Muti's recent Berlin Philharmonic performance on Philips almost falls to pieces because of his languorous approach: Strauss rarely repays very slow tempos.
Fischer's interpretation is both ardent and richly romantic, and he is a faithful observer of the markings in the score. Neither the Slovak nor Polish oboist conveys the agitato marked on the solo just after the big horn theme as faithfully as the Budapest player. The solo violinist's pure tone and smooth playing are also noteworthy in this work and in Tod und Verklarung, where the build-up to the coda is beautifully played and recorded, with the tam-tam prominent. Fischer obtains a real pianissimo at the opening of Tod und Verklarung.
Antoni Wit's conducting of the Polish orchestra marks him out as a notable Strauss interpreter, at any rate where these pieces are concerned. Inner parts are clear, in spite of the rather boxy acoustic. His Don Juan is not quite as brisk as Fischer's but more exciting than Kosler's. His is perhaps the finest of the Tod und Verklarung performances, with a raspingly angry sound in the music depicting the artist's death-agonies and a steady and impressive approach to the final climax.
Where the conductors differ markedly is in their approach to Till Eulenspiegel. Kosler's—the slowest—is too ponderous, with over-careful woodwind articulation. Some of the music's impishness is quashed; this is a well-groomed, tidy Till, with every hair in place even when he is scattering pots and pans in a market. Fischer's is again the fastest, very bright and crisp, while Wit is particularly successful in stressing the charm and wit (no pun intended). But the Budapest performance is the one that reminds us what a 'modern' and daring piece it still is and how it must have astounded listeners in 1895.
The Kosler disc was made in a rather resonant acoustic (the Reduta Hall, Bratislava). It is, by the way, very inexpensive and anyone who wants these works on one disc and is prepared to overlook the reservations I have mentioned above will not be disappointed. But out-and-out Straussians are recommended for this coupling to Fischer, with Wit a strong challenger, especially in Tod und Verklarung.'
R. Strauss: Orchestral Works
R. Strauss: Orchestral Works
R. Strauss: Orchestral Works
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