A few months ago I was welcoming four new Heroes to Compact Disc, three of them American and two of those from Cleveland. Summing up, I found Ashkenazy on Decca the best of the recordings, even if the performance did not always add up to the sum of its parts. Much more Straussian in terms of sound was its Denon rival from the Staatskapelle and Herbert Blomstedt. Dresden, of course, has a long Strauss tradition and although Blomstedt can be Kapellmeinsterish he shaped this performance with both authority and poetry—indeed, so far as CD is concerned, he would be my own first choice. But I noted then that it could only be a matter of time before one of the great Straussians—Beecham, Karajan or Kempe—are transfered to CD. However DG have gone one better and given us an altogether new Hendenleben from Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic: an event to be approached with the keenest expectations. Those who heard them on their last visit to London will surely not dispute that they are the greatest Strauss partnership now before the public. Moreover, whereas Blomstedt is available only on Compact Disc, the Karajan comes in all three formats.
This is Karajan's third Heldenleben on record and his second for DG, being separated from the first by no less than a quarter-of-a century. His reading of this score has tremendous sweep and all the authority and mastery we have come to expect—and, indeed, take for granted. Nor is the orchestral playing anything other than glorious—in fact, in terms of sheer virtuosity they have never surpassed this. I think it is the architectural mastery, the sheer grip that Karajan exerts over the canvas as a whole that is so impressive together with his tremendous command of the long-arched melodic line. Yet when one returns to his 1959 DG account (2535 194, 8/76—LP only) what is so striking is the consistency of his view over the years even in small matters of detail. I thought, for example, that there was less tenderness than I had remembered from earlier performances, in the violins' phrase marked molto espressivo (fig. 16) just after the ''Critics'' have subsided, only to find that his view is substantially unaltered. (I must say that I like the melting quality Beecham used to achieve here—and that Blomstedt does with the Dresden orchestra, though there is much to be said for preserving the sense of line as Karajan does.) The nobility of the closing pages in this new version is most moving, and (at fig. 94) just after the last section begins, there is a dramatic fire and virtuosity that is quite electrifying. Leon Spierer gives a highly characterized account of the long solo violin cadenzas, with which some might quarrel, emphasizing the domineering, shrewish quality: undoubtedly, Michel Schwalbe on the 1959 Karajan LP had the greater finesse and portrayed a more cultured Hero's Companion. I think that in this respect Peter Mirring of the Dresden orchestra succeeds in conveying a more rounded portrayal of Pauline. However, make no mistake, in terms of orchestral playing and interpretative mastery, this newcomer is in a class of its own. The recording, on the other hand, is not in the very first flight by present-day standards, though it has no want of firmness and body.
The upper strings, however, are a bit lacking in bloom and by today's standards a shade congested. Comparing the ''Critics'' section with the 1959 recording and making allowances for the difference in frequency range and dynamic spectrum, I was struck by the greater space around each instrument, the deeper perspective and the richer bloom on the strings on the earlier LP. The new DG recording is neither so transparent nor so finely detailed as Decca's for Ashkenazy—or for that matter, the Philips for Haitink (LP only). Oddly enough, the sound on the Blomstedt comes much closer to the sound we used to associate with DG—warm, with articulate detail but great tonal homogeneity. All the same, I would not want to make too much of this, for Karajan's is a performance of a commanding stature that many collectors will want despite sonic reservations. I can report that the LP has admirably silent surfaces and is only marginally less wide-ranging than the CD, and the cassette is equally good. I heard the latter on headphones and although there sounds as if there is an edit four bars before fig. 93, I can't say it is greatly disturbing. On LP Haitink is still very competitive at mid-price, though I would not prefer it except as a recording, while cassette collectors should remeber that the Kempe is still available (HMV TCC2-POR54279, 10/85). However, collectors who possess either of the earlier Karajan versions on LP may well elect to go for the Dresden on Compact Disc, but those coming to the work afresh can rest assured that this new Karajan offers unirvalled playing.'