Printable Version: R STRAUSS Lieder - Marston 530172 [JW] Musicweb International Classical Reviews

Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949)
Selected Lieder Recordings 1901-1946
Full notes but no texts
MARSTON 53017-2 [3 CDs: 235:26]

To mark the 150^th birthday of Richard Strauss, which fell in 2014, Marston released this 3-CD boxed set. To state the contents briefly, there are 40 songs in 82 performances by 57 singers. A valuable sub-set is those songs accompanied by Strauss himself, especially the wartime Viennese radio survivals, and allied to this is the number of singers who worked closely with Strauss. The selected lieder recordings come from the period 1901-46 and astute mathematicians will already have worked out that there are numerous performances of the more famous songs included: there are seven different recordings of Morgen, for example, and more than a handful of Ständchen. The performances are sequenced alphabetically by artist across all three discs so one starts with Alda, Frances on disc one and ends disc three with Wittrisch, Marcel. This also means that recorded chronology is at the mercy of the alphabet or – if you prefer – there are plenty of exciting discoveries to be made and old friendships to be renewed.

Each listener will respond differently to these selections perhaps find favourite singers essaying less well-known examples from their discography – but that’s all to the good, in many cases. There is youthful Peter Anders singing Ich trage meine Minne with Walter Lutze conducting an anonymous band for Telefunken in 1938: I’d forgotten that Anders died in a car crash in 1954 at only 46. That reminds me that the notes, as always, are up to this label’s high standards with full biographies and an extended essay by Michael Aspinall on singers and performances. It’s instructive to hear Giuseppe Anselmi in 1910 sing one of the only two Strauss songs he recorded, namely Die Nacht – the other one was inevitably Morgen. Katherine Arkandy is terrifically virtuosic but erratic in Berlin in 1922 in Amor but Erna Berger’s wartime Berlin radio recording of Als mir dein Lied erklang – very forwardly recorded - offers evidence of her authoritative stylistic assurance in this repertoire. David Bispham made one of the very earliest recordings here, in London in 1901: his patrician if stylistically unconvincing reading of Ich trage meine Minne, is sung in English as To none will I e’er my love discover. Some singers are given two bites of the cherry. Björling is one of the lucky few in his two HMVs from 1938. Another is Flagstad with two performances from 1936 only published on Historic Masters HM175, but never on 78. Herbert Janssen gets room for three songs, the first a studio recording with Gerald Moore of Die Nacht, but the other two somewhat mysterious live recitals with unidentified orchestras that appeared on an Eterna 10" LP.

Scattered throughout the box are those Strauss accompanied pieces, of which the wartime Viennese ones have splendid sound. He accompanies Anton Dermota in 1942 – though don’t overlook his brilliantly energising playing for Hilde Konetzni in 1943 - a performance immediately followed by the excellent disc Claire Dux made of – yes – Morgen in New York in 1922. There is the occasional concert performance; Easton’s Ich schwebe was recorded in New York recital in 1939 and first released on IRCC70. Elise Feinhals is saddled with a wobbly piano – as recorded – in her not-very-good Ruhe, meine Seele disc of 1901. Sabine Kalter’s HMV contribution with the ever-busy Moore was unissued on 78. Meanwhile Selma Kurz has the decided advantage of Harold Craxton as her pianist in Ständchen, recorded for HMV in London in 1924. Lotte Lehmann is represented by a single Odeon in 1928, but McCormack has two slices of the Straussian pie. Another Anglophone singer, Heddle Nash, is here with his famous minstrelsy at its peak in Ständchen, in English. The Rose Pauly brace come from New York broadcasts in 1938 with Barbirolli conducting for her. Strauss is back in Vienna, accompanying the Finnish Lea Piletti in Kling! in 1942 and Alfred Poell the following year in Wozu noch, Mäadchen.

Thus it goes onwards alphabetically from P to W inclusive and back chronologically as far as the strained vocalising of Lotte Schloss singing the two most popular songs in Hamburg in 1901. It then proceeds forward in the third disc, inevitably, to the long sequence that Schlusnus made with Strauss in Berlin in 1920. These have often been reissued but remain an essential component of any Strauss collection. The sound is good and forward. Note that there is also a 1943 Liebeshymnus from Schlusnus with the orchestra conducted by Gerhard Steeger. The other main sequence is the series of five songs by Elisabeth Schumann with Karl Alwin either playing the piano or conducting. Joseph Schwarz is an exciting exponent of Heimliche Aufforderung in 1918 – one of the most explosive in the set in fact – though Leo Slezak offers his versions of the Top Two nearly a quarter of a century apart. There’s some knowing rubati in his 1905 recording of Ständchen. A famous quartet of songs from Tauber comprise two songs from pre-war Berlin, and two from (just) post-war London.

Given the excellence of the production, which includes the forward-sounding transfers, this is a treat for Straussians who would like a snapshot of Strauss on song in the first half of the twentieth century.

Jonathan Woolf

Availability

Marston Records

Track-listing

CD 1 [79:58]

FRANCES ALDA (soprano)
1. Morgen!, Op. 27, No. 4 3:30
with Gutia Casini, cello and Frank La Forge, piano 7 April 1913, Camden, New Jersey; (B-13085) Victor 64339

ROSETTE ANDAY (mezzo)
2. Befreit, Op. 39, No. 4 4:32
with Franz Rupp, piano September 1928, Berlin; (DGG 1243 bm1) 95165

PETER ANDERS (tenor)
3. Ich trage meine Minne, Op. 32, No. 1 2:29
with orchestra ; Walter Lutze, conductor 15 September 1938, Berlin; (Telefunken 23458) A 2782

GIUSEPPE ANSELMI (tenor)
4. Die Nacht, Op. 10, No. 3 (La notte) 2:27
with Angelo Bettenelli, piano 17 January 1910, Milan; (Fonotipia xPh 4254) 62437

KATHERINE ARKANDY (soprano)
5. Amor, Op. 68, No. 5 2:44
with Bruno Seidler-Winkler, piano *December 1922, Berlin; (DGG 1024 as) 65698

FLORENCE AUSTRAL (soprano)
6. Cäcilie, Op. 27, No. 2 1:59
with Percy Kahn, piano 28 September 1927, London; (HMV Bb 11640-1) E 491

ERNA BERGER (soprano)
7. Als mir dein Lied erklang, Op. 68, No. 4 3:45
with Michael Raucheisen, piano 6 October 1944, Berlin; radio studio recording

EMMY BETTENDORF (soprano)
8. Wiegenlied, Op. 41, No. 1 3:49
with Michael Raucheisen, piano 13 April 1937, Berlin; (Odeon xxb 8610) O-7962

DAVID BISPHAM (baritone)
9. Ich trage meine Minne, Op. 32, No. 1 (To none will I e’er my love discover) 2:37
with piano 20 August 1903, London; (G&T 4101 b) 2-2979

JUSSI BJÖRLING (tenor)
10. Cäcilie, Op. 27, No. 2 1:59
with Harry Ebert, piano 15 July 1939, Stockholm; (HMV 0SB 986-3) DA 1704
11. Morgen!, Op. 27, No. 4 3:27
with Harry Ebert, piano 15 July 1939, Stockholm; (HMV 0SB 985-3) DA 1704

ANTON DERMOTA (tenor)
12. Breit’ über mein Haupt, Op. 19, No. 2 1:31
with Richard Strauss, piano 25 April 1942, Vienna; radio studio recording

CLAIRE DUX (soprano)
13. Morgen!, Op. 27, No. 4 3:37
with Fredric Fradkin, violin and Frederic Persson, piano early October 1922, New York; (Brunswick 8814) 15027-A

FLORENCE EASTON (soprano)
14. Ich schwebe, Op. 48, No. 2 1:39
with Lester Hodges, piano 14 July 1939, New York City recital; IRCC 70

CLOE ELMO (mezzo)
15. Ständchen, Op. 17, No. 2 (Serenata) 2:54
with Mario Salerno, piano 8 May 1942, Turin; (Cetra 2-70713) AB-30001

ERNESTINE FÄRBER-STRASSER (alto)\t
16. Wiegenliedchen, Op. 49, No. 3 2:19
with Bruno Seidler-Winkler, piano *Autumn 1921, Berlin; (DGG 1228 ar) 62381

ELISE FEINHALS (alto)
17. Ruhe, meine Seele, Op. 27, No. 1 2:11
with piano 1901, Hamburg; (G&T 672g) 43060

KIRSTEN FLAGSTAD (soprano)
18. Ach, Lieb’, ich muss nun scheiden, Op. 21, No. 3 2:29
with Edwin McArthur, piano 25 July 1936, Copenhagen; (HMV 2CS 386) published only on Historic Masters HM 175
19. Zueignung, Op. 10, No. 1 1:53
with Edwin McArthur, piano 25 July 1936, Copenhagen; (HMV 2CS 386) published only on Historic Masters HM 175

ELENA GERHARDT (mezzo)
20. Wiegenlied, Op. 41, No. 1 3:59
with Arthur Nikisch, piano 30 June 1911, London; (HMV 5114 f) 043198

DUSOLINA GIANNINI (soprano)
21. Heimliche Aufforderung, Op. 27, No. 3 3:12
with Michael Raucheisen, piano 24 March 1933, Berlin; (HMV 0D 1531) DA 1319
22. Ständchen, Op. 17, No. 2 2:34
with Michael Raucheisen, piano 24 March 1933, Berlin; (HMV 0D 1532) DA 1319

KARL HAMMES (baritone)
23. Liebeshymnus, Op. 32, No. 3 2:13
with Bruno Seidler-Winkler, piano March 1937, Berlin; (HMV ORA 1886) EG 3953

FRIEDA HEMPEL (soprano)
24. Ständchen, Op. 17, No. 2 2:29
with orchestra Autumn 1921, Berlin; (DGG 334 av) 85296

HEINRICH HENSEL (tenor)
25. Heimliche Aufforderung, Op. 27, No. 3 2:58
with Bruno Seidler-Winkler, piano *3 August 1910, Berlin; (HMV 11082 L) 4-42466

GERHARD HÜSCH (baritone)
26. Zueignung, Op. 10, No. 1 2:04
with orchestra ; Otto Dobrindt, conductor 18 May 1934, Berlin; (HMV OD 2091-1) EG 3056

ROBERT HUTT (tenor)
27. Breit’ über mein Haupt, Op. 19, No. 2 2:03
with Richard Strauss, piano Autumn 1920, Berlin; (DGG 19248 L) 62363
28. Morgen!, Op. 27, No. 4 3:21
with Richard Strauss, piano Autumn 1920, Berlin; (DGG 19249 L) 62363

HERMANN JADLOWKER (tenor)
29. Winterweihe, Op. 48, No. 4 3:09
with Bruno Seidler-Winkler, piano *April 1921, Berlin; (DGG 388 as) 72768

CD 2 [77:35]

HERBERT JANSSEN (baritone)
1. Die Nacht, Op. 10, No. 3 2:24
with Gerald Moore, piano 15 June 1937, London; (HMV 0EA 4973-1) DA 1581
2. Hymnus, Op. 33, No. 3 4:42
with orchestra unidentified broadcast; issued on Eterna 10 inch LP 759
3. Pilgers Morgenlied, Op. 33, No. 4 3:42
with orchestra unidentified broadcast; issued on Eterna 10 inch LP 759

SABINE KALTER (mezzo)
4. Allerseelen, Op. 10, No. 8 3:07
with Gerald Moore, piano 23 June 1936, London; (HMV 2EA 3723-1) unpublished

ALEXANDER KIPNIS (bass)
5. Traum durch die Dämmerung, Op. 29, No. 1 3:04
with Arthur Burgh, piano 23 October 1929, New York; (Columbia W-149173) 2088M

MARGARETE KLOSE (mezzo)
6. Befreit, Op. 39, No. 4 4:22
with Michael Raucheisen, piano Spring 1943, Berlin; (DGG 2310-2 ge9) 68124A

HILDE KONETZNI (soprano)
7. Schlechtes Wetter, Op. 69, No. 5 2:17
with Richard Strauss, piano 7 April 1943, Vienna; radio studio recording

SELMA KURZ (soprano)
8. Ständchen, Op. 17, No. 2 2:36
with Harold Craxton, piano 25 June 1924, London; (HMV Bb4771) DA 632

LOTTE LEHMANN (soprano)
9. Mit deinen blauen Augen, Op. 56, No. 4 2:42
with piano and violin3 September 1928, Berlin; (Odeon Be 7183) O-4846

EMMI LEISNER (mezzo)
10. Wiegenlied, Op. 41, No. 1 3:48
with orchestra , Alois Melichar, conductor January 1933, Berlin; (DGG 640 be8) 27326

JOHN MCCORMACK (tenor)
11. Du meines Herzens Krönelein, Op. 21, No. 2 2:25
with Edwin Schneider, piano 1 September 1927, London; (HMV Bb 11338-2) DA 932
12. Allerseelen, Op. 10, No. 8 2:54
with Edwin Schneider, piano 1 September 1927, London; (HMV Bb 11339-2) DA 932

HEDDLE NASH (tenor)
13. Ständchen, Op. 17, No. 2 (Serenade) 2:15
with Gerald Moore, piano 7 March 1945, London; (HMV 0EA 10428-1) B 9412

MARGARETHE OBER (alto)
14. Mit deinen blauen Augen, Op. 56, No. 4 2:06
with Arthur Arndt, piano 22 April 1914, Camden, New Jersey; (Victor B-14745-1) 64447

MARIA OLSZEWSKA (alto)
15. Ruhe, meine Seele, Op. 27, No. 1 3:17
with Bruno Seidler-Winkler, piano *Summer 1922, Berlin; (DGG 819 at) 70651

JULIUS PATZAK (tenor)
16. Heimliche Aufforderung, Op. 27, No. 3 3:01
with orchestra ; Richard Strauss, conductor September 1944, Vienna; radio studio recording

ROSE PAULY (soprano)
17. Verführung, Op. 33, No. 1 7:15
with orchestra ; John Barbirolli, conductor 27 February 1938, New York; broadcast, first issued on IRCC LP L-7018
18. Gesang der Apollopriesterin, Op. 33, No. 2 6:06
with orchestra ; John Barbirolli, conductor 27 February 1938, New York; broadcast, first issued on IRCC LP L-7018

LEA PILTTI (soprano)
19. Kling!, Op. 48, No. 3 1:31
with Richard Strauss, piano 1 May 1942, Vienna; radio studio recording

ALFRED POELL (baritone)
20. Wozu noch, Mädchen, Op. 19, No. 1 1:43
with Richard Strauss, piano 3 April 1943, Vienna; radio studio recording

ELISABETH RETHBERG (soprano)
21. Freundliche Vision, Op. 48, No. 1 3:56
with Max Jaffé, piano 4 August 1921, Berlin; (Odeon xxB 6640) 76229

MARCELLA ROESELER (soprano)
22. Einerlei, Op. 69, No. 3 2:04
with piano Autumn 1925, Berlin; (DGG 140 bg) 62525

HELGE ROSWAENGE (tenor)
23. Ach, Lieb’, ich muss nun scheiden, Op. 21, No. 3 2:27
with Bruno Seidler-Winkler, piano 17 March 1936, Berlin; (HMV 0RA 1135) DA 4412

LOTTE SCHLOSS (soprano)
24. Ständchen, Op. 17, No. 2 1:50
with piano 1901, Hamburg; (G&T 668 g) 43056
25. Morgen!, Op. 27, No. 4 2:01
with piano 1901, Hamburg; (G&T 669 g) 43057

CD 3 [77:53]

HEINRICH SCHLUSNUS (baritone)
1. Zueignung, Op. 10, No. 1 1:45
with Richard Strauss, piano Summer 1920, Berlin; (DGG 14120 r) 62365
2. Die Nacht, Op. 10, No. 3 2:51
with Richard Strauss, piano Summer 1920, Berlin; (DGG 14121 r) 62366
3. Heimkehr, Op. 15, No. 5 2:39
with Richard Strauss, piano Spring 1920, Berlin; (DGG 14102 r) 62634
4. Das Geheimnis, Op. 17, No. 3 2:22
with Richard Strauss, piano Summer 1920, Berlin; (DGG 14125 r) 62366
5. Ruhe, meine Seele, Op. 27, No. 1 3:08
with Richard Strauss, piano Spring 1920, Berlin; (DGG 14106 r) 62365
6. Ich liebe dich, Op. 37, No. 2 2:19
with Richard Strauss, piano Spring 1920, Berlin; (DGG 14105 r) 62364
7. Liebeshymnus, Op. 32, No. 3 2:15
with orchestra ; Gerhard Steeger, conductor Early June 1943, Berlin; (DGG 2233-GS 9) 68131 B

LOTTE SCHÖNE (soprano)
8. Schlechtes Wetter, Op. 69, No. 5 2:17
with Felix Günther, piano 6 May 1924, Berlin; (Odeon xxB 7010-2) 80214
9. Ständchen, Op. 17, No. 2 2:36
with Felix Günther, piano 6 May 1924, Berlin; (Odeon xxB 7011-2) 80215

FRIEDRICH SCHORR (bass-baritone)
10. Traum durch die Dämmerung, Op. 29, No. 1 3:02
with Bruno Seidler-Winkler, piano *July 1921, Berlin; (DGG 1113 ar) 62379

ELISABETH SCHUMANN (soprano)
11. Blauer Sommer, Op. 31, No. 1 2:26
with piano 1 June 1919, Berlin; (Odeon xxB 6428) XX 76750
12. All’ mein Gedanken, Op. 21, No. 1 1:16
with Karl Alwin, piano 6 January 1930, Vienna; (HMV CW 3110-2) EJ 557
13. Hat gesagt – bleibt’s nicht dabei, Op. 36, No. 3 2:10
with Karl Alwin, piano 6 January 1930, Vienna; (HMV CW 3110-2) EJ 557
14. Muttertändelei, Op. 43, No. 2 2:23
with orchestra ; Karl Alwin, conductor 15 October 1928, Vienna; (HMV BW 1910) ER 304
15. Die heiligen drei Könige, Op. 56, No. 6 4:18
with orchestra ; Karl Alwin, conductor 15 October 1928, Vienna; (HMV CW 1909-2) EJ 432

ERNESTINE SCHUMANN-HEINK (alto)
16. Traum durch die Dämmerung, Op. 29, No. 1 2:42
with Katharina Hoffman, piano 5 October 1923, Camden, New Jersey; (Victor B-28636-2) 1045-B

JOSEPH SCHWARZ (baritone)
17. Heimliche Aufforderung, Op. 27, No. 3 3:25
with Bruno Seidler-Winkler, piano *Spring 1918, Berlin; (DGG 19097 L) 4-42660
18. Freundliche Vision, Op. 48, No. 1 3:05
with Bruno Seidler-Winkler, piano *Spring 1918, Berlin; (DGG 19098 L) 4-42649

META SEINEMEYER (soprano)
19. Traum durch die Dämmerung, Op. 29, No. 1 3:04
with orchestra ; Frieder Weissman, conductor 19 January 1928, Berlin; (Parlophon 2-20578) P9870

LEO SLEZAK (tenor)
20. Ständchen, Op. 17, No. 2 2:38
with piano April 1905, Vienna; (G&T 6849 b) 3-42298
21. Morgen!, Op. 27, No. 4 3:21
with Michael Raucheisen, piano November 1929, Berlin; (DGG 595 bt6) 23017

GRETE STÜCKGOLD (soprano)
22. Morgen!, Op. 27, No. 4 3:34
with orchestra April 1921, Berlin; (DGG 354 as) 19234

RICHARD TAUBER (tenor)
23. Freundliche Vision, Op. 48, No. 1 3:13
with Mischa Spolianski, piano 8 January 1926, Berlin; (Odeon xxB 7409-2) Rxx 80450
24. Ständchen, Op. 17, No. 2 2:37
with orchestra 15 February 1933, Berlin; (Odeon Be 10233-1) 0-4522
25. Allerseelen, Op. 10, No. 8 3:08
with Percy Kahn, piano 28 June 1946, London; (Parlophone CE 11700-1) RO 20555
26. Ich trage meine Minne, Op. 32, No. 1 2:47
with Percy Kahn, piano 28 June 1946, London; (Parlophone CE 11701-1) RO 20555

VIORICA URSULEAC (soprano)
27. Frühlingsfeier, Op. 56, No. 5 (orchestration by Strauss) 3:15
with orchestra ; Clemens Krauss, conductor 29 May 1936, Berlin; (DGG 2923-gn 8) this take issued on Brunswick 35032

MARCEL WITTRISCH (tenor)
28. Heimliche Aufforderung, Op. 27, No. 3 3:14
with orchestra ; Erich Orthmann, conductor 21 April 1931, Berlin; (HMV 0D 339-2) EG 3056

All tracks are sung in German except: Italian (CD 1, Track 4; CD 1, Track 15); English (CD 1, Track 9; CD 2, Track 13)

* Bruno Seidler-Winkler was the music director of the Gramophone Company’s Berlin operation beginning in 1903. After the German branch split from the English company, he continued to work for Deutsche Grammophon until 1923. During these twenty-one years, he served as accompanist and conductor for virtually all of the recordings made by the company in Berlin. It is presumed, therefore, that unless a pianist is otherwise known to have accompanied a particular recording, Bruno Seidler-Winkler is the likely pianist or conductor.