Here's an enterprising disc (there is a cassette equivalent but no LP) which helps to fill out our knowledge of Strauss. The Burleske is becoming quite popular these days. It's an odd mixture of immaturity with flashes of the later genius, but it works, mainly because the material is so inventive throughout. Ian Hobson, good as he is, can't rival Barenboim's brilliance and effervescence, let alone his technique but I prefer Del Mar's treatment of the orchestral part: he shapes it with more character than Mehta obtains from the Berlin Philharmonic (CBS). The Arabesque recording quality is high.
What makes this issue a must for Straussians is the inclusion of two rarities. The Stimmungsbilder are solo piano pieces written in his late teens. Although they are obviously Schumannesque, they have a charm and, yes, originality which puts them outside the category of juvenilia. Hobson plays them with admirable poise and precision which do not exclude poetry.
The big work is the Parergon (''Afterthought'') zur Symphonia Domestica, written for the left-hand-only Paul Wittgenstein in 1925. It's a one-movement concerto, formidably challenging and tiring for the soloist, and being by Strauss it's programmatic too. The title tells all: the work was written while Strauss's son (the Child of Domestica) was seriously ill. The Child theme is distorted by chromatic harmonies and a persistent C sharp denotes the danger to his life. The work ends happily with ''Bubi'' restored to health, but the representation of pain and anguish is impressive. Not top-quality Strauss, but not negligible. Del Mar gives every indication by his conducting of thinking higher of it now than when he wrote his book. Hobson is equal to all its challenges and it's well recorded.'