Strauss: Sinfonia Domestica / Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme

On this CD:

1. Sinfonia Domestica for orchestra, Op. 53
Composed by Richard Strauss
Performed by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Clemens Krauss

2. Der Bürger als Edelmann (Le bourgeois gentilhomme), suite for orchestra, Op. 60
Composed by Richard Strauss
Performed by Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Clemens Krauss

Tracks:

Horn Concerto No. 1 In E Flat Major, Op. 11: I: Allegro
Horn Concerto No. 1 In E Flat Major, Op. 11: II: Andante
Horn Concerto No. 1 In E Flat Major, Op. 11: III: Allegro
Horn Concerto No. 2 In E Flat Major: I: Allegro
Horn Concerto No. 2 In E Flat Major: II: Andante con moto
Horn Concerto No. 2 In E Flat Major: III: Rondo (Allegro molto)
Oboe Concerto In D Major: I: Allegro moderato
Oboe Concerto In D Major: II: Andante
Oboe Concerto In D Major: III: Vivace
Duett-Concertino: I; Allegro moderato
Duett-Concertino: II: Andante
Duett-Concertino: III: Rondo (Allegro ma non troppo)

Tracks:

Burleske
Parergon zur Sinfonia Domestica, Op. 73
Panathenaenzug, Op. 74

Tracks:

Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, Op. 28
Don Juan, Op. 20
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40: The Hero
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40: The Hero's Adversaries
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40: The Hero's Wife
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40: Certainty Of Victory
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40: The Hero's Battlefield
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40: War Fanfares
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40: The Hero's Work Of Peace
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40: The Hero's Withdrawl From The World
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40: Renunciation

Tracks:

Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 8: I: Allegro
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 8: II: Lento
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op. 8: III: Rondo
Sinfonia Domestica, Op. 53: Bewegt - Thema I - Thema II - Thema III
Sinfonia Domestica, Op. 53: Scherzo (Munter)
Sinfonia Domestica, Op. 53: Wiegenlied - Massig langsam
Sinfonia Domestica, Op. 53: Adagio - (Langsam)
Sinfonia Domestica, Op. 53: Finale (Sehr lebhaft)

Tracks:

Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30
Tod und Verklarung, Op. 24
Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59

Tracks:

Salome, Op. 54: Dance Of The Seven Veils
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: Overture
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: Jourdain - Minuet
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: The Fencing Master
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: Entrance and Dance of the Tailors
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: Minuet of Lully
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: Courante
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: Entry Of Cleonte
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: Intermezzo (Prelude To Act 2)
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: The Dinner
Schlagobers, Op. 70: Waltz
Josephslegende, Op. 63: Symphonic Fragment

Tracks:

Metamorphosen: Study For 23 Solo Strings
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Night
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Sunrise
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: The Ascent
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Entering The Forest
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Strolling By The Stream
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: By The Waterfall
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Apparition
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: In Flowery Meadows
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: In A Mountain Pasture
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Lost In The Thickets And Undergrowth
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: On The Glacier
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Dangerous Moments
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: On The Summit
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Vision
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Mists Rise Up
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: The Sun Grows Dark
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Elegy
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Quiet Before The Storm
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: A Thunderstorm - Descent
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Sunset
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Conclusion
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Night

Tracks:

Aus Italien, Op.16: I: Andante
Aus Italien, Op.16: II: Allegro molto con brio
Aus Italien, Op.16: III: Andantino
Aus Italien, Op.16: IV: Finale (Allegro molto)
Macbeth, Op. 23: Symphonic Poem

Tracks:

Don Quixote, Op. 35: Introduktion (Massiges Zeitmass)
Don Quixote, Op. 35: Massig (Don Quixote)
Don Quixote, Op. 35: Maggiore (Sancho Panza)
Don Quixote, Op. 35: Variation I: The adventure with the windmills
Don Quixote, Op. 35: Variation II: The battle with the sheep
Don Quixote, Op. 35: Variation III: Discourse between knight and squire
Don Quixote, Op. 35: Variation IV: The adventure with the pilgrims
Don Quixote, Op. 35: Variation V: The knight's vigil
Don Quixote, Op. 35: Variation VI: The meeting with Dulcinea
Don Quixote, Op. 35: Variation VII: The ride through the air
Don Quixote, Op. 35: Variation VIII: The voyage in the enchanted boat
Don Quixote, Op. 35: Variation IX: The combat with the two magicians
Don Quixote, Op. 35: Variation X: The defeat of Don Quixote
Don Quixote, Op. 35: Finale (Sehr ruhig)
Dance Suite from harpsichord pieces by Francois Couperin: I: Entree and stately round
Dance Suite from harpsichord pieces by Francois Couperin: II: Courante
Dance Suite from harpsichord pieces by Francois Couperin: III: Carillon
Dance Suite from harpsichord pieces by Francois Couperin: IV: Sarabande
Dance Suite from harpsichord pieces by Francois Couperin: V: Gavotte
Dance Suite from harpsichord pieces by Francois Couperin: VI: Tourbillon - Wirbeltanz
Dance Suite from harpsichord pieces by Francois Couperin: VIII: Allemande
Dance Suite from harpsichord pieces by Francois Couperin: VIII: March

Amazon.com essential recording

When it comes to the music of Richard Strauss, none of the world's great orchestras has a more distinguished tradition than the Staatskapelle Dresden. As pit orchestra of the Dresden Court Opera, the Staatskapelle was involved in the premieres, between 1901 and 1911, of Feuersnot, Salome, Elektra, and Der Rosenkavalier; later, with Karl Böhm conducting, its players participated in the premiere of Daphne. Most of Strauss's major tone poems have been in the Dresden orchestra's concert repertory since completion.

Back in the 1970s, EMI was able to capitalize on this association when it reunited the Staatskapelle with Rudolf Kempe--a native of Dresden, one of the master conductors of the 20th century, and an absolutely authoritative Straussian--for an integral recording of Strauss's orchestral works and concertos. The cycle was warmly received when it was originally released on LP, and it has become one of the treasures of the CD catalog since EMI reissued it whole, in three volumes, in 1992. With this latest repackaging, the whole impressive enterprise becomes available in one box.

Across the board, Kempe and the Dresdeners give magnificent readings of the music. Their Zarathustra is imposing and grand; their Heldenleben suitably heroic and quite smashingly played; their Till Eulenspiegel and Don Juan delightfully brisk, characterful, and exultant (the latter is dispatched in a blazing 16:06, and receives as ardent and exhilarating a reading as you are ever likely to encounter on disc). One of the finest of all the offerings is the account of Eine Alpensinfonie, a Kempe favorite and still a sonic knockout after nearly three decades.

The less familiar orchestral works are here, as well, including the early tone poems Aus Italien and Macbeth and the admittedly rather frothy ballet scores Josephslegende and Schlagobers. Of special value are the accounts of all Strauss's concerted works, from the early Violin Concerto (played by Ulf Hoelscher) and Burleske for piano and orchestra (with Malcolm Frager as soloist), through Don Quixote (featuring Paul Tortelier in magisterial form) and the two horn concertos, to the Oboe Concerto of 1946 and the final Duett-Concertino for clarinet and bassoon.

It's hard to imagine any label tackling such a project in today's bottom-line environment, or coming up with such definitive readings from today's performers. All the more reason to celebrate the appearance of this compendium. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews:

Outstanding performances.......2007-05-13

Rudolf Kempe's interpretations of Richard Strauss orchestral works (almost complete - one miss the orchestral songs) have been classic recordings since they first appeared on record in the early seventies (1970-75).

Especially fine are his interpretations of the core works, e.g., the symphonic poems Also sprach Zarathustra, Ein Heldenleben, Eine Alpensinfonie, Tod und Verklärung, Don Juan, Till Eulenspiegel, Don Quixote. All these are given first rate interpretations.

Furthermore, you get outstanding interpretations of Strauss' two horn concertos as well, with Peter Damm's superb horn playing, and an outstanding performance of Metamorphosen.

There is simply no rival to this collection of "core works of Richard Strauss".

In addition, this box collects also Strauss less interesting orchestral works - see Amazon's listing above. These minor works receive fine interpretations and performances too, but the main attraction is of course the core works above.

Sound quality is very fine - just excellent analogue stereo - and the orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, was one of the top orchestras in the world when these sessions were put on record.

Warmly recommended!

Reviving a Lost Love.......2006-08-07

The highest praise for any conductor must be that he rekindles enthusiasm and love for music that had been recently abandoned. In his autobiography, the conductor Felix Weingartner confesses that he had grown out of touch with Strauss' music; until hearing this set, I had felt the same, with only a few exceptions. But Rudolf Kempe and his really great Staatskapelle Dresden have won me back to Richard's orchestral music. So far, I have only heard part of the set: Zarathustra, Heldenleben, Till, Tod und Verklaerung, Der Buerger als Edelmann, Don Juan, Burleske, and Sinfonia Domestica, but my appetite is whet for more. Because of the refined, subtle, and yet intense conducting of Kempe, what used to strike me as cheap and taudry now strikes me as profound and moving. And the sheer musical skill of Strauss in thematic invention and counterpoint never ceases to amaze. Kempe was truly, in my not so humble opinion, the greatest conductor of the German classics following Furtwaengler; Karajan was empty and shallow by comparison. Kempe brings to this music the same passion and dignity that he brought to Beethoven, Brahms, Wagner, Schumann, and other of "his" composers. To make just one comparison, Reiner's Zarathustra, once hallowed by me as by most listeners, now sounds like overripe, rotting fruit as compared to the passionate yet thoughtful quality that Kempe brings to it. The Staatskapelle Dresden, by the way, sounds like the greatest orchestra in the world, only matched by the Berlin Philharmonic under Kempe or Furtwaengler, an orchestra that produces incidentally beautiful sounds but whose main goal is the projection and characterization of the music. No virtuosity for its own sake, just musicianship, musicianship, and more musicianship. EMI's sound is the very epitome of how to record an orchestra: Impactful, yet smooth and detailed, with natural perspectives and no spotlighting. This set belongs in every music lover's library.

Not for beginners..........2006-07-16

Most boxed sets have their ups and downs because no conductor is equally sympathetic to all of a composer's works. Kempe is no exception to this rule.

The masterpieces, Zarathustra, Heldenleben, and Quixote, are superb here. Kempe clarifies Strauss' complex textures in a way that other conductors like Karajan don't. Most of the time, I prefer to hear these works Karajan's way, but it's nice to hear what Kempe does with them, too. No one does Sinfonia Domestica the way Kempe does it...with such gentleness and humor. I listened to Reiner's recording for years, but I put it up for sale on amazon after I heard the Kempe. With all four of these large tone poems, Kempe and Karajan are all I really need.

The Don Juan is just about the best I've ever heard. It is so vital and exciting! Better than Karajan or any other I know. It is hard to imagine that Macbeth will ever be done better than this either. Macbeth is one of the reasons I own this set, but it's hardly one of Strauss' masterpieces. Speaking of non-masterpieces, I also treasure Kempe's recordings of Strauss' strange works for piano and orchestra. The Burleske has more poetry but less excitement than the classic Byron Janis/Reiner recording.

Kempe's recordings of the Horn Concertos are truly awful. Listen to the weak, watery tones of the first-chair horn player stepping into the solo spotlight. One listen to the mono recordings of Dennis Brain conducted by Sawallisch shows what is missing: bold, ringing tone and lots of excitement. If I only knew Kempe's recordings, I wouldn't even care about these pieces.

The bad news continues with the Oboe Concerto (weak oboist) and the charming Duet Concertino (weak bassoon).

Kempe misses the raucous fun that charges the best recordings of Till Eulenspiegel. This is a limp dishrag of a performance (until the last few minutes). At the very start of the performance, you will hear a familiar sound -- our weak horn player from the concertos playing a solo -- and you will long to stop the CD and reach for a different recording.

Metamorphosen is one of my favorite pieces by Strauss. Kempe, as is his wont, tries mightily to clarify Strauss' dense counterpoint here, and I appreciate the effort. I hear things here that I miss in other recordings. But this reading does not move me the way others have. Ormandy, to name just one. Death and Transfiguration is another one that Ormandy did better. Kempe is too fast at times! Really fast!

My greatest disappointment with this set is a recording that has been acclaimed by many as one of the greatest Strauss recordings ever made...Kempe's take on Eine Alpensinfonie. I have lived for many years with the Karajan recording, and I must say that Kempe misses many of the moments that I have come to treasure in Karajan's version. One example would be those 20 horns playing! Karajan makes this absolutely thrilling, which I'm sure is what Strauss intended. With Kempe, this telling touch by Strauss passes by unremarkably. The slow, quiet passage at the summit lacks magic. The apotheosis at the top of the mountain is certainly thrilling in Kempe's hands, but he misses too much on the way up. By the way, his cowbells sound almost comically bad. He certainly does bring out the beauty of the closing sections of the work, though.

If you are really serious about getting to know Strauss' music, this is a necessary purchase for the rarities that will probably never be done better like the Violin Concerto and the pieces I've already mentioned. If you just want Strauss' most famous works, this is a waste of your money (no matter how cheap it is!)because there's a lot of stuff here that either isn't very good or that you probably won't want to listen to that often. You would be better off buying Karajan's recordings (the 1970s recordings, not the remakes from the 80s) of the big three tone poems and then filling in the smaller ones as your interests dictate. Casual listeners will never need to hear pieces like Macbeth or the piano works that make this set so vital to Strauss-aholics like me!

One of the very best of all EMI sets! The 2nd coming for all Straussians!.......2006-02-10

The great Strauss tone poems soar to the highest level imaginable! With Kempe's genius, the lesser works become great! Kempe resists all temptation to be banal or bombastic. He directs the Staatskappele Dresden with a silken, burnished tone yet with restraint that has a radiant glow that never sacrifices the inherent capacity of the music to thrill, deeply move, or elevate to another plain. Each work played is in itself the guide: conductor and orchestra let the works deliver their own brilliance. The Don Juan and Dead and Transfiguration are soul piercing, along with Ein Heldenleben, and....... The Staatskapelle Dresden has always been an inspired ensemble and in Kempe's hands they are simply put, magnificent, delivering one thrilling performance after another. Like Wagner and Faith, you get Strauss or you don't. If you do get it, this set is beyond self recommendation; Buy this set before it disappears from the shelves. Classical Cd shelves these days have hidden boomerangs. One minute here, next minute.....boing going gone)...! The concert hall may never hear greater performances of Strauss' orchestral works as we hear on these nine disks. The sound is nothing short of a rich, full timber as Kempe leads then with inspired and interpretive genius . This all may sound over the edge but I don't think so and I don't think you will be disappointed. Strauss has been served in splendor by the Dresden musicians under Kempe's baton. [Although in an aside I must say that Raphael Fruhbeck de Burgos and the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra's performance this past summer of Don Juan and the Rosenkavalier suite were superb.] Then I think of the BSO with Levine...., their Strauss should be something else. Bravo and kudos to all for bringing us this gift. Booklet is very well done with one exception. There is not a word in the booklet about Rudolf Kempe and/or the orchestra itself. 10 stars anyway!!

terrible, awful, hideous, lousy.......2005-04-22

The problem with the "classics" is that too many hacks have hacked them to pieces. My opinion of these recordings, for whatever it is worth, is that they simply do not do justice to Strauss's magnificent music.

There is a reason they are a "bargain". I would avoid this set.
Sometimes a boxed set is a good deal, but this one is not. I find the entire set unspeakably dull and literally unlistenable.

In any event, this is merely my opinion. The majority of the other reviewers think its terrific.

Average customer rating:

Kemp Conducts Richard Strauss-2

Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000002S3M
Release Date: 1992-09-29

Tracks:

Violin Concerto in D minor, Op.8: Allegro
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op.8: Lento
Violin Concerto in D minor, Op.8: Rondo
Sinfonia Doimestica, Op.53: Bewegt - Thema I - Thema II - Thema III
Sinfonia Doimestica, Op.53: Scherzo (Munter)
Sinfonia Doimestica, Op.53: Wiegenlied - Massig langsam
Sinfonia Doimestica, Op.53: Adagio
Sinfonia Doimestica, Op.53: Finale

Tracks:

Salome, Op.54: Dance Of The Seven Veils
Le Gourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: Overture
Le Gourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: Jourdain - Minuet
Le Gourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: The Fencing Master
Le Gourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: Entrance And Dance Of The Tailors
Le Gourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: Minuet Of Lully
Le Gourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: Courante
Le Gourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: Entry Of Cleonte
Le Gourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: Intermezzo
Le Gourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: The Dinner
Schlagobers, Op. 70
Josephslegende, Op. 63

Tracks:

Also sprach Zarathustra, Op.30
Tod und Verklarung, Op.24
Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59

Amazon.com essential recording

By the time he reached the twilight of his life, in the 1940s, Richard Strauss was viewed as a throwback, a conservator of the German romantic tradition. But that was hardly his reputation as a young man, when each new symphonic poem to issue from his pen seemed more extreme and outlandish than its predecessor. Certainly that was the case with the 32-year-old Strauss's mammoth meditation on Nietzsche's Also sprach Zarathustra, famous for its opening (used in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey) and enigmatic final cadence. This was modern music in 1896, its profligate orchestral effects about as far out as anyone thought music could get. Strauss even said he wanted to subtitle the piece "Symphonic Optimism in Fin-de-siècle Form, Dedicated to the 20th Century."

How different the 20th century turned out to be. Yet this music has certainly become one of its icons. It is heard to great advantage here, along with a remarkable array of other Straussian concoctions, some quite familiar, some not. Of the world's great orchestras, none has a more distinguished Strauss tradition than the Staatskapelle Dresden. As the pit orchestra of the Dresden Court Opera, it gave the premieres of Feuersnot, Salome, Elektra, and Der Rosenkavalier between 1901 and 1911; later, with Karl Böhm conducting, it played the premiere of Daphne.

Most of Strauss's major tone poems have been in the Dresden orchestra's concert repertory since the day they were written. Back in the 1970s, EMI was able to capitalize on this fact when it reunited the Staatskapelle with Rudolf Kempe--a native of Dresden, one of the master conductors of the 20th century, and an absolutely authoritative Straussian--for an integral recording of Strauss's orchestral works and concertos. The cycle was warmly received when it was originally released on LP, and it has become one of the treasures of the CD catalog since EMI reissued it whole, in three volumes, in 1992. Across the board, Kempe and the Dresdeners give magnificent readings of the music. Their Zarathustra is heroic and exultant, though it's the one recording in this set where EMI has allowed the somewhat veiled sound of its original digital remastering (done in 1987) to stand. Everything else on these discs was remastered in 1992, and sounds splendidly immediate and full-bodied. --Ted Libbey

Richard Strauss: Sympohnia Domestica, OP. 53; Suite from Le bourgeois gentilhomme, Op. 60
Average customer rating:

Still the one.

More great Reiner/R. Strauss/Chicago performances!

Richard Strauss: Sympohnia Domestica, OP. 53; Suite from Le bourgeois gentilhomme, Op. 60

Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Strauss: Don Quixote; Don Juan

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Bartók: Concerto for Orchestra; etc. [Hybrid SACD]

ASIN: B000007RSX
Release Date: 1998-06-16

Tracks:

Symphonia domestica, Op.53: Bewegt
Symphonia domestica, Op.53: Scherzo
Symphonia domestica, Op.53: Wiegenlied - Cradle Song
Symphonia domestica, Op.53: Adagio
Symphonia domestica, Op.53: Finale
Le burgeois gentilhomme: Suite,Op.60: Overture
Le burgeois gentilhomme: Suite,Op.60: Minuet
Le burgeois gentilhomme: Suite,Op.60: The Fencing Master
Le burgeois gentilhomme: Suite,Op.60: Entrance and Dance of the Tailors
Le burgeois gentilhomme: Suite,Op.60: Entrance of Cleonte
Le burgeois gentilhomme: Suite,Op.60: Prelude to Act II (Intermezzo)
Le burgeois gentilhomme: Suite,Op.60: The Dinner

Customer Reviews:

Still the one........2005-12-31

I was given the mono lp recording of this issue, along with several other RCAs, by an uncle 'in the business' back in the 1950s. It was my introduction to Richard Strauss; one could ask for a better introduction, but you would not have convinced me of that at the time. I really loved this recording, and I still do in this new incarnation. It is all the more valuable with the inclusion of the other Strauss pieces on the disc -- far preferrable in my opinion to the Strauss-Wagner collection on the von Karajan EMI recording.

As for the sound, I think RCA got it right the first time with their minimal setup. This sounds like a recording of a great orchestra in its hall, rather than the souped up soundtrack for a wide-screen, action-packed Hollywood movie (whether from Cleveland, Dresden or Berlin). There is plenty of clarity and just enough detail -- within the overall impression of warmth and brilliance -- to hold one's attention through the span of Strauss' day in the life.

Welcome home, my dear.

More great Reiner/R. Strauss/Chicago performances!.......1999-04-27

Strauss' "Symphonia Domestica" (Domestic Symphony) is a piece that is not played all that often by the world's symphony orchestras. Not only is this difficult music to play, but the subject matter doesn't exactly lend itself to large orchestra treatment. At this point in his life, Strauss, already financially successful as a composer and musician, decided to take time out from inspiration by literary and historical subjects for his compositions to that of his family, which is why this is called the "Symphonia Domestica." Reiner and Chicago make something of this music, both artistically and technically, and the result is a product worth listening to from time to time. Sound on this 1957 recording is very good.

Tracks:

Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 Sunrise
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 Of The People Of The Unseen World
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 Of The Great Longing
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 Of Joys And Passions
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 Dirge
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 Of Science
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 The Convalescent
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 Dance Song And Night Song
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 Night Wanderer's Song
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40 The Hero
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40 The Hero's Adversaries
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40 The Hero's Companion
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40 The Hero's Battlefield
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40 The Hero's Works Of Peace
Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40 The Hero's Retreat From The World And Fulfillment

Tracks:

Don Quixote, Op. 35 Introduction
Don Quixote, Op. 35 Theme: Don Quixote, The Knight Of The Sorrowful Countenance
Don Quixote, Op. 35 Sancho Panza
Don Quixote, Op. 35 Variation I: (The Adventure With The Windmills)
Don Quixote, Op. 35 Variation II: (The Battle With The Sheep)
Don Quixote, Op. 35 Variation III: (Dialogue Of Knight And Squire)
Don Quixote, Op. 35 Variation IV: (The Adventure With the Penitents)
Don Quixote, Op. 35 Variation V: (The Knight's Vigil)
Don Quixote, Op. 35 Variation VI: (The False Dulcinea)
Don Quixote, Op. 35 Variation VII: (The Ride Through The Air)
Don Quixote, Op. 35 Variation VIII: (The Adventure With The Enchanted Boat)
Don Quixote, Op. 35 Variation IX: (The Combat With The Two Magicians)
Don Quixote, Op. 35 Variation X: (The Defeat Of Don Quixote By The Knight Of The White Moon)
Don Quixote, Op. 35 Finale: (The Death Of Don Quixote)
Don Juan, Op. 20

Tracks:

Elektra Elektra's Soliloquy: Allein! Weh, Ganz Allein
Elektra Recognition Scene: Was Willst Du, Fremder Mensche?
Elektra Finale: Elektra! Schwester! Komm Mit Uns!
Salome Dance Of The Seven Veils
Salome Final Scene: Ah! Du Wolltest Mich Nicht Deinen Mund

Tracks:

Symphonia Domestica, Op. 53 Bewegt
Symphonia Domestica, Op. 53 Scherzo
Symphonia Domestica, Op. 53 Wiegenlied/Cradle Song
Symphonia Domestica, Op. 53 Adagio
Symphonia Domestica, Op. 53 Finale
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme: Suite, Op. 60 Overture
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme: Suite, Op. 60 Minuet
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme: Suite, Op. 60 The Fencing Master
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme: Suite, Op. 60 Entrance And Dance Of the Tailors
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme: Suite, Op. 60 Entrance Of Cleonte
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme: Suite, Op. 60 Prelude To Act II (Intermezzo)
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme: Suite, Op. 60 The Dinner

Tracks:

Burleske
Der Rosenkavalier: Waltzes
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 Introduction
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 Of The Inhabitants Of The Unseen World
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 Of The Great Longing
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 Of Joys And Passions
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 Dirge
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 Of Science
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 The Convalescent
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 Dance Song And Night Song
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 Night Wanderer's Song

Customer Reviews:

Reiner's Chicago Richard Strauss: A Touchstone.......2004-10-09

Fritz Reiner was more than a fanatical, perfectionistic musical technocrat...His greatest recordings are stamped with undeniable
humanity, humor, flexibility, even charm- apart from their
bedrock interpretative honesty and (I choose these words carefully) sheer lust for quality. All these things are represented by Reiner's fabled Living Stereo Chicago recordings of Richard Strauss.

Of course, there are gaps : no AUS ITALIEN or MACBETH, and no ALPENSINFONIE; you must turn to Rudolf Kempe's Dresden box for definitive stereo versions of these. And Reiner's only stereo versions of TOD & TILL (Vienna, 1956) are on a Decca Legends disc. Now, John Culshaw waxed enthusiastic about these sessions, because, no doubt, Reiner got the Vienna to play more accurately than Culshaw & Co. were used to hearing them play. But, overall, these versions lack the focus and sheer characterization of the 1950 RCA mono versions. (The mono TILL is finally available in the Reiner volume of GREAT CONDUCTORS OF THE 20th CENTURY. The TOD UND VERKLARUNG was available on a 1990 BMG CD, coupled with an earlier transfer of the SYMPHONIA DOMESTICA than the one in this present box. This TOD is currently available on a German BMG 2-fer ( # 74321846082), along with Reiner's '54 ZARATHUSTRA & HELDENLEBEN, and Eugen Jochum's ( ! ) TILL.)

With those details out of the way, what a LIVING STEREO treasure chest, here! And all 20-bit remastered, in that famous warm, sweet, tube-electronicish sound from the master tapes...Let's take them on, in order of recording:

The March 1954 HELDENLEBEN (just LISTEN to it, I won't waste space trying to describe it), starts off a journey into a lost world of disciplined melos and relative historical proximity to the composer himself. The '54 ZARATHUSTRA (admittedly with an orchestra-and-organ pitch clash, at the end of the Sunrise) and the SALOME DANCE OF THE SEVEN VEILS are still "demo" recordings...The December '54 DON JUAN is even more urgently passionate than the 1941 Pittsburgh version or the 1960 remake (which IS available, coupled with all of Reiner's Living Stereo Wagner).

The SALOME & ELEKTRA scenes, with Inge Borkh, are stupendous;
too bad RCA Victor didn't spring for one more singer and include Klytaemnestra's dream sequence- the most bone-chilling part of the score. (Search out Reiner's 1952 Met broadcast of ELEKTRA, with Astrid Varnay.)

The BURGER ALS EDELMANN Suite of April 1956 (minus the 5th & 6th movements) is one of the greatest Strauss recordings of all time: awash in tonal beauty, yet acerbic in its ruthless satire of Monsieur Jourdain. A wiseass-ness coupled with extremely disciplined culture. Which shows why he was Fritz Reiner, and we're not.

As if all that weren't enough, six months later Reiner achieves the impossible: he miraculously holds together the sprawly,
nearly-out-of-control structure of the SYMPHONIA DOMESTICA,
and brings out the humor and high spirits which this piece
MUST have if is is not to either fall apart, or come off as hopelessly trivial.

The BURLESKE of March 1957, with Byron Janis, is not without its poetic structure, and the sparks fly without ceasing- in a way almost identical with (and perhaps more fitting in) their '59 recording of Liszt's TOTENTANZ (which is available on THE REINER SOUND.) For a recording that captures more of this work's subtle wit and beauty, go to Kempe's Dresden version, with pianist Malcolm Frager.

The ROSENKAVALIER WALTZES, in an arrangement by Reiner himself, are good enough to be frustrating, because one finds one self wanting to hear ALL of this opera, with Reiner and his Chicago. (No such luck, but you CAN get Reiner's fabled 1949 MET production on imported Naxos.)

The April 1959 DON QUIOXTE, with Antonio Janigro on cello, is a spell of autumnal regret and incisive musical characterization, never tippping over into the cartoon-like.

Finally, there's the 1962 remake of ZARTHUSTRA, Reiner's very last Strauss recording...The orchestra-organ pitch clash is MUCH less severe, but, overall, it must be admitted that, both sonically and musically, the '54 version has far more electricity and characterization (i.e., "higher highs, and lower lows"). Still, the '62 version is worth having for the greater contemplative warmth which Reiner brings to the last five minutes of the score. As if Der Fritzl were contemplating his own not-too-distant end. This is so affecting that it almost makes one cease to regret that the energy/time/money put into this not-entirely-necessary remake COULD have gone into, say, a Reiner/Living Stereo ALPENSINFONIE, Beethoven's FOURTH & EIGHTH, a LE SACRE, a FIREBIRD, or a Brahms FIRST- to name some of the glaring omissions in the Reiner studio discography.

Still, these recordings opened the commercial way for other eventual treasures, such as Kempe's Dresden set and some of Szell's Cleveland Strauss.

Sadly, this set may "go," soon. Snap it up ASAP and be intrigued, enraptured, and instructed.

Reiner's Strauss.......2003-10-22

Probably no one conducted the music of Richard Strass better than Fritz Reiner. I've heard most of these recordings in other packages, including the original RCA Victor "Living Stereo" LPs. The digitally-reprocessed versions are even more astounding. The earliest of the recordings was made in March 1954 and it doesn't seem possible because the sound is every bit as good as today's digital recordings. It's a real tribute to the RCA engineers, who were experimenting with stereophonic sound using a triple track tape recorder. The 1954 "Also sprach Zarathustra" remains a milestone for intensity, drive, and excitement; the waltz sections are particularly haunting and relentless. The 1962 recording of the same piece is not as sensational as the 1954 version, perhaps because Reiner's health was failing (he died the following year), but it's still quite good. I especially like his "Dance of the Seven Veils" from "Salome"; it is one of the more intense performances of the works, perhaps only matched by Antal Dorati's 1963 recording with the Royal Philharmonic of London for a special Reader's Digest boxed set. Overall, Reiner's performances with the Chicago Symphony were only matched by Strauss' own 1944 recordings with the Vienna Philharmonic, recorded with a Magnetophon tape recorder in the Vienna State Opera House. What a shame that all those recordings are not currently available; they last appeared in a special box set of LPs issued by Vanguard.

NOBODY conducted Richard Strauss better!.......1999-03-24

Fritz Reiner was the greatest authority on the music of Richard Strauss, with the likely exception being the composer himself. RCA knew that they had the "cream of the crop" with Reiner in these works, and had the foresight to accord Reiner cutting-edge 1950's technology (early high-quality 3-track stereo), and the best available recording technicians in this country (Jack Pfeiffer, Leslie Chase, Richard Mohr, and Lewis Layton). You absolutely CANNOT go wrong with purchasing this set, for as the years go by, the pennies spent will continue to return musical dividends that will reinvest themselves with each hearing, as you learn over time just how good Reiner was with this music in comparison to others. Indicative of this was when I attended a banquet featuring National Symphony Orchestra superstar conductor Leonard Slatkin, when someone asked him what recordings he planned to make with that orchestra. He answered that he didn't plan to make recordings of the "warhorses," for why should he make a recording of Richard Strauss' "Ein Heldenleben," when Reiner said all that there is to say about it? Enough said!

The only disappointments (and they are small) are the omission of Reiner's later 1960 recording of "Don Juan" and the recordings of "Till Eulenspiegel" and "Death and Transfiguration" he made with the Vienna Philharmonic, which initially appeared on RCA Living Stereo LPs. The likely reason for the omission of the Vienna recordings is that these are currently under license to Polygram (Decca/London). Buy this set and enjoy/cherish!

Simply the Best.......1998-09-11

Except for the openings of Zarathustra, these are the absolute best recordings of these Strauss tone poems available. Even though they were recorded in the 50's and 60's the recorded sound is extremely good, sometimes better than newer recorded sound. The Chicago Brass section was born to play this music

Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra; Don Juan

Average customer rating:

Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra; Don Juan

Manufacturer: Preiser Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Don Juan, Op.20: Tondichtung Nach Nikolaus Lenau
Till Eulenspiegels Lustige Streiche, Op.28: Nach Alter Schelmenweise In Rondeauform
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Op.30: Tondichtung Frei Nach Nietzsche

Tracks:

Ein Heldenleben, Op.40: Tondichtung
Der Burger Als Edelmann, Op.64: Orchestersuite

Tracks:

Tod Und Verklarung, Op.24: Tondichtung
Sinf Domestica, Op.53

Strauss: Sinfonia Domestica / Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme

Average customer rating:

Strauss: Sinfonia Domestica / Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme

Manufacturer: Testament
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Suites | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Testament
Don Quixote/Don Juan/Till Eulenspeigel's Merry Pranks

ASIN: B00004THEG
Release Date: 2000-09-12

Tracks:

Sinfonia Domestica, Op.53: Thema l - Bewegt
Sinfonia Domestica, Op.53: Thema ll
Sinfonia Domestica, Op.53: Thema lll
Sinfonia Domestica, Op.53: Scherzo - Munter
Sinfonia Domestica, Op.53: Wiegenlied - Massig langsam
Sinfonia Domestica, Op.53: Adagio - Langsam
Sinfonia Domestica, Op.53: Finale - Sehr lebhaft
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Der Burger als Edelmann - Suite, Op.60: Overture
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Der Burger als Edelmann - Suite, Op.60: Menuet
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Der Burger als Edelmann - Suite, Op.60: The Fencing Master
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Der Burger als Edelmann - Suite, Op.60: Entrance And Dance Of The Tailors
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Der Burger als Edelmann - Suite, Op.60: Minuet Of Lully
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Der Burger als Edelmann - Suite, Op.60: Courante
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Der Burger als Edelmann - Suite, Op.60: Entrance Of Cleonte
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Der Burger als Edelmann - Suite, Op.60: Intermezzo
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme - Der Burger als Edelmann - Suite, Op.60: The Dinner

Music Track:

Music Track

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