There are plenty of performances of both these works where the first thing that strikes you is the orchestra’s or the conductor’s virtuosity. Not here‚ where eloquent characterisation seems foremost in everyone’s minds. Another characteristic‚ audible especially in Heldenleben‚ is Haitink’s recognition that the orchestral players are his partners in character portrayal. This is most noticeable of course in the Concertgebouw leader Herman Krebbers’ delicious sketch of the Hero’s companion: one senses the Hero (Strauss himself‚ of course) responding almost with wonder as well as ardour to the companion’s (Pauline Strauss’s) demure but capricious seductiveness. The Hero’s adversaries – small‚ mean creatures – are led by a most spiteful flute‚ and the Hero is sincerely pained by them. How proud he is of his victory‚ and how haughtily he turns his back on the world! The stages of dissolution in Tod und Verklärung are also vividly pictured‚ with real urgency to the sufferer’s despair and a most touching innocence to his memories of childhood. Virtuosity‚ of course‚ is abundantly present‚ but you hear it in the clarity of even the fullest climaxes (and‚ in Tod und Verklärung‚ in the way that they are satisfyingly huge without pre­empting the final one)‚ not in showy speed or exaggerated dynamics. Exceptional performances‚ in short‚ and they are cleanly but spaciously recorded.