Richard STRAUSS
(1864-1949)
Orchestral works
Disc 1:
Aus Italien, Opus 16 (1886)
Macbeth, Opus 23 (1888)
Disc 2:
Ein Heldenleben, Opus 40 (1899)
Tod und Verklärung, Opus
24 (1889)
Disc 3:
Don Juan, Opus 20 (1888)
Till Eulenspiegel, Opus 28 (1895)
Also Sprach Zarathustra, Opus
30 (1896)
Disc 4:
Eine Alpensinfonie, opus 64 (1915)
Festliches Präludium, Opus
61 (1913)
Disc 5:
Metamorphosen (1944)
Vier letzte Lieder (1949) (Melanie
Diener, soprano)
Oboe Concerto (1945) (Simon Fuchs, oboe)
Disc 6:
Sinfonia Domestica, Opus 53 (1903)
Parergon, Opus 73 (1925) (Roland
Pöntinen, piano)
Disc 7:
Don Quixote, Opus 35 (1897) (Thomas
Grossenbacher, cello)
Romance in F major (1883) (Thomas
Grossenbacher, cello)
Serenade in E flat major, Opus
7 (1881)
Recorded: CD1: January 2000 CD2: January
2001 CD3: January-February 2001 CD4:
February 2002 CD5: May 2002 CD6: May
2002 CD7: January 2000 (Serenade), February
2003 (Don Quixote & Romance)
Venue: Tonhalle Zurich
ARTE NOVA 74321 98495-2 [7CDs:
CD1=65.27, CD2=74.28, CD3=65.48, CD4=52.36,
CD5=76.25, CD6=65.29, CD7=59.05]
Fresh from their successful
Beethoven cycle, which was most enthusiastically
received, David Zinman and his Zurich
Orchestra turn now to this substantial
compilation of the works of Richard
Strauss.
The new recording includes
both early pieces and music from Strauss’s
famous ‘Indian summer’. Throughout the
project there is no question that the
Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra play particularly
well, while the Arte Nova engineers
have produced an atmospheric acoustic
and a suitably opulent sound quality.
This is of course a combination which
is entirely right for this composer.
Among the earlier and
less celebrated works Macbeth
is by far the finest; in fact
it deserves a regular position in the
repertory. Zinman certainly has the
music's measure, generating real tension
and momentum as the drama unfolds. The
brass are perfectly balanced against
the remainder of the ensemble, and the
climaxes are potent indeed. Anyone who
enjoys the work's contemporary masterpiece,
Don Juan, will enjoy this, and will
find the music revelatory.
Aus Italien
is somewhat earlier, and here the teenage
composer is less assured than he was
to became in his twenties. That said,
the picture-postcard quality of the
work is never unappealing, though the
musical argument hardly sustains a work
lasting a full forty-five minutes. In
these circumstances it is tempting to
suggest that the performers might have
benefited from extra rehearsal time
before committing the music to disc,
since it needs all the polish it can
get.
The disc combining
Don Juan, Till Eulenspiegel and Also
Sprach Zarathustra contains three major
masterpieces, of course. Yet there is
no reason to be less than enthusiastic
about this version, which again shows
the Swiss orchestra and their American
conductor on excellent form, aided by
the rich and resonant Arte Nova sound.
The performance of
Don Juan has a real sweep
of momentum. Although the opening does
not have quite the élan of either
Rudolf Kempe (EMI) or Herbert von Karajan
(DGG), the attack and keenly articulated
ensemble remain of a high order. The
solo oboe is delicately coloured in
the lyrical episode, with the tempo
perfectly judged. The only real disappointment
is perhaps the great climax featuring
the horn section, since this seems a
little under-powered.
Till Eulenspiegel
is one of those pieces so rich in detail
that the problem can easily become one
of how to maintain a longer-term view
across the entire span. There are no
such dangers for Zinman here, since
he is so successful in reconciling the
different aspects of this most illustrative
of narrative tone poems. The highlight,
as Strauss surely intended it must be,
is the final scene of the hanging, which
is thrilling in its rhythmic confidence
and precision.
Also Sprach Zarathustra
is one of the largest of these symphonic
poems, and Zinman paces his performance
very well indeed. The famous sunrise
opening is recorded amid a sensitively
drawn atmospheric range, although the
organ sounds under-powered rather than
bringing a really climactic effect.
After that, however, the ebb and flow
of the complex lines of development
are expertly paced, and the sensitively
drawn final section is particularly
satisfying. At the Arte Nova super bargain
price, this represents a very competitive
issue, both in the single issue and
among the larger collection.
The coupling of the
massive orchestra of the Alpine
Symphony with the even more
massive orchestra of the Festival Prelude,
makes for an attractive combination.
Strauss composed the Alpine Symphony
during 1914-15, some ten years after
the completion of his previous large-scale
orchestral work, the Sinfonia Domestica.
This state of affairs had everything
to do with his successes in the opera
house, of course.
In the Alpine
Symphony there is an enormous
orchestra, including quadruple woodwind
and brass, an abundance of percussion
instruments, wind and thunder machines,
and even a 'distant' ensemble plus an
organ. All this is a reflection of the
resources Strauss lived with and had
come to expect in contemporary Germany.
The intention was to
translate into music his impression
of a journey on foot in the Bavarian
Alps, a choice of subject which was
no doubt inspired by his enthusiasm
for his new villa at Garmisch, built
out of the profits he had made from
Salome. Strauss uses his supreme
skills as a musical illustrator in evoking
every detail of his environment. The
progress of the mountain tour is reflected
in the structure - rising to an ascent
and then gradually descending again
- as well as in the manner in which
the themes develop. His mastery of the
orchestra is heard to magnificent effect,
and he knew it: 'Now at last I have
learned to orchestrate', he said.
There is no question
that Zinman has the measure of the scope
and scale of this work. There is always
a clear sense of direction and a well
articulated phrase structure. What is
less certain is the recorded sound,
which ultimately lacks a certain degree
of bloom in the string sound, something
which in this of all works is an important
issue. It remains the case, however,
that the listener is swept along by
the colour and even the sheer grandeur
of the music, though rival versions
by the likes of Karajan (DG), Kempe
(EMI) and Solti (Decca) offer greater
opulence.
The same might be said
also for the Festive Prelude.
This occasional piece was written in
order to precede a special performance
of Beethoven's Choral Symphony on
the occasion of the consecration of
the Konzerthaus in Vienna, in October
1913.
This building was constructed
on a lavish scale, the largest of its
three halls designed to accommodate
an audience of four thousand, and in
these circumstances Strauss felt compelled
to rise to the occasion and on the grand
scale too. He opted for some imposing
contrasts: as large a string body as
possible, huge wind and brass sections
with at least six (but if possible 12)
onstage trumpets, supported by the full
weight of the organ.
In the light of this
it is hardly surprising that the Festival
Prelude has remained an 'occasional
piece', impressive and imposing by virtue
of its sheer scale and grandeur. Inevitably
it proves so in this new recording,
even if the more powerful passages sound
a little strained. There are abundant
compensations, as Zinman and his enlarged
orchestra rise to the challenge this
epic work presents.
Disc five collects
music from what is rightly described
as Strauss’s ‘Indian summer’: Metamorphosen
for string orchestra, the Oboe Concerto,
and the celebrated Four Last Songs.
As far as the credibility of the collection
as a representative Strauss orchestral
compilation is concerned, some serious
questions arise here, whatever the quality
of the performances. For there seems
a certain laziness in the planning if
the Oboe Concerto is considered
valid while the Second Horn Concerto
and the Duet concertino (clarinet and
bassoon) are not. Likewise the later
pieces for large wind ensemble do not
appear.
Having come so near
to providing a complete Strauss collection,
it seems a pity that there remains some
distance before completeness is achieved.
The other major omissions are at the
earlier end of the Strauss canon: works
such as the First Horn Concerto and
the Burleske for piano and orchestra.
Back to the disc featuring
the later music in performances that
continue the high standards found elsewhere.
Zinman can have every reason to be proud
of the richly sonorous performance of
Metamorphosen, one of
the composer’s most deeply felt and
keenly articulated compositions. So
too the Oboe Concerto is most sensitively
performed, with an excellent balance,
well recorded, between the solo of Simon
Fuchs and the string orchestra.
In the celebrated Four
Last Songs Melanie Diener is
a satisfying soloist, recorded in excellent
balance with a sensitively drawn solo
part. If to some extent her performance
seems under-characterised, it is probably
because the microphone does not unduly
favour her, while the personality of
her vocal tone is less distinctive than
some of her celebrated rivals. That
said, let us remember that a good definition
of a masterpiece is that it is greater
than any single performance of it. And
Diener’s performance certainly does
give satisfaction.
Disc 6 has an appropriate
combination: the Sinfonia Domestica
that Strauss completed while on holiday
on the Isle of Wight, and the little
known Parergon for piano
and orchestra that Strauss built out
of its musical material, more than twenty
years later. The progress of the Domestica
seems hampered by the indulgence of
a large tone poem created out of the
composer’s domestic circumstance. Yet
the music itself explores ground unexpectedly
satisfying from so routine a source,
including some of Strauss’s most glorious
and radiant orchestral opulence. Zinman
and his orchestra relish their opportunities,
while the phrasing and tempi always
seem just right.
The Parergon
is more problematic, though Roland Pöntinen
is a skilful soloist, always in command.
If the music adds up to less than the
sum of its parts, this may be the result
of listening to it in the reflected
glory of greater masterpieces. Therefore
the domestic listener, having acquired
the whole set, might care to afford
this disc a special and careful attention.
The final disc (disc
7) is dominated by one of the greatest
of the symphonic poems: Don Quixote.
Weighed against Rostropovich or Tortelier,
Thomas Grossenbacher is a smaller personality,
but his playing has plenty of bight
and a character of its own that makes
the performance hugely rewarding too.
Yet again the Arte Nova engineers do
justice to Strauss’s wonderfully colourful
orchestral world. The variations move
onwards compellingly, the performance
therefore more than the sum of its parts.
Grossenbacher fares
well also in the little known Romance,
an early work lurking on the fringes
of the Strauss repertoire. The music
is slighter than in Don Quixote, of
course, but the results remain idiomatic
and satisfying. The collection also
finds space for the early Wind
Serenade, Opus 7. This too has
its own particular brand of personality,
aided by good recorded sound and a clear,
unfussy performance style. For here
as elsewhere in this ambitious collection,
Zinman shows how much he knows and loves
the music. While this is by no means
the only consideration for the prospective
purchaser, neither should it be ignored.
Romantic music, expressively and sensitively
performed, will inevitably brings its
rewards, and so it proves.
Seven CDs is undoubtedly
a major collection. There will inevitably
be some frustrations that the enterprise
was not more thorough in terms of repertoire,
and as discussed, there are some howling
omissions. Having made the point, let
me conclude by acknowledging the high
standards of performance and recording
that lie at the heart of this set. While
there may be a few regrets that it is
not as comprehensive as it might (as
it ought to?) have been, what we do
have is undoubtedly well worth having.
Terry Barfoot
