These performances are classics. The Staatskapelle Dresden and
conductor Herbert Blomstedt were one of the greatest artistic
forces of the 1980s. This set of Richard Strauss tone poems was
recorded at the peak of their collaboration. If they are not
in your collection already, Dal Segno’s reduced price and
ready availability leaves you no excuse.
These recordings were originally released by the Japanese label
Denon, as part of a series from Dresden which also included
Ein
Heldenleben and two of the Bruckner symphonies. The Bruckner
Seventh which resulted from this collaboration, recorded in 1980,
is legendary among collectors: one could say that it is one of
the greatest performances of
anything ever to be caught
on tape. Naturally, then, my expectations were high for this
set, which has been licensed from Denon by way of Union Square
Music.
Begin with the second disc: this program, of
Till Eulenspiegels
lustige Streiche,
Metamorphosen and
Tod und Verklärung,
features three of the great Strauss tone poems taken at rather
more relaxed tempi than some listeners might be used to.
Metamorphosen clocks
in at 29 minutes, well over a minute faster than Herbert von
Karajan’s classic Deutsche Grammophon reading with the
Berlin Philharmonic. Although there are a few minutes early on
where the music’s repetition becomes a bit too obvious,
the last half of this tragic arc of melody is masterfully sculpted.
The broadly-paced
Tod und Verklärung does not quite
measure up to Rudolf Kempe’s achievement with the Staatskapelle
Dresden a decade earlier, with its peerless combination of elegiac
sorrow and dramatic tension. I particularly missed Kempe’s
gripping control over the introduction and final coda; nevertheless,
this Blomstedt reading remains one of the greats, with harrowing
climaxes aided by great timpani and brass playing.
The other performances are even finer.
Till Eulenspiegel is
just about perfect, playful and mischievous, and
Don Juan is
given a fantastic performance too, with each successive entry
of the opening motif more and more frantic than the last; great
trumpets, too. The crowning achievement of this set, however,
is of
Also Sprach Zarathustra, which is frankly jaw-dropping,
even in direct comparison to my reference versions: the 1974
Karajan/Berlin reading on DG Originals and Kempe’s 1971
performance with the Staatskapelle Dresden. I am honestly at
a loss for words to describe this performance. Only a slight
lack of assertiveness from the brass in the “Tanzlied” (track
8, at 7:00) made me miss Kempe for a second. Highlights include
a general genius for transitions (especially from the climax
of “Tanzlied” through to the hushed mood of the conclusion),
glorious stereophonic brass in the Introduction, a clearly audible
organ in “Von den Hinterweltern” and the wistful
violin solos in the Night Wanderer’s song (track 9, at
1:41; I love the soloist’s hesitation at 1:51). The entire “Von
der Wissenschaft” section is powerfully built, with a glacial
pace and equally glacial sense of inevitability, from its quiet
beginning up until the brass whip-crack which sets the orchestra
delightfully alive. The entire second half strikes me as utterly
perfect, and the orchestra really does sound, in this acoustic,
like the best in the world. When it comes to Strauss tone poems,
they are. No listener with a pulse could remain unaffected by
music-making of this calibre.
In this
Zarathustra the adjective ‘spectacular’ could
easily be applied to the score, the orchestra, the life with
which the players invest the music, and the Denon recording itself
in equal measure. Here we have glorious playing preserved in
a recording which at the time was state-of-the-art, and which,
to all intents and purposes, remains so. It is hard to imagine
any of the major labels today being able to replicate this set’s
combination of acoustic clarity, impact and atmosphere. At the
price Dal Segno is charging, and despite a typo or two on the
back of the jewel case, this is a mandatory purchase.
One caveat: my review copy came with two-second gaps between
each section of Zarathustra, often with ruinous consequences.
Dal Segno assured me that this was a manufacturing defect, and
that they had set it right as soon as they had learned about
it. A replacement copy was sent free of charge. It is good to
know that the art of fine customer service is still alive and
well.
Brian Reinhart
Review index: Strauss tone poems
Staatskapelle Dresden/Herbert Blomstedt 
