Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949)
Der Bürger als Edlemann Op. 60 - Orchestral Suite
[35:16]; Four Last Songs [21:22]; Wiegenlied Op. 41/1 [3:50];
Zueignung Op. 10/1 [1:46]; Morgen! Op. 27/4 [4:23]
Lisa Larsson (soprano)
Musikkollegium Winterthur/Douglas Boyd
rec. Stadthaus, Winterthur, 5-9 September 2011
text and English translations included
MUSIKPRODUKTION DABRINGHAUS UND GRIMM MDG 9011738-6 SACD [66:41]
In 1912 Strauss wrote a set of incidental music for a performance of
Molière’s comedy Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme. The play had
been translated and adapted by Hugo Hofmannsthal at the request of Max
Reinhardt. The original ending of the play - a Turkish scene - was replaced
by an opera about Ariadne’s stay on the island of Naxos. The whole was
first performed in Stuttgart but was only a limited success, probably
largely as a result of its length - the evening as a whole had lasted over
six hours. The opera in the final section alone had been intended to be
brief but extended to well over an hour. The rethink which followed resulted
in the opera Ariadne auf Naxos, one of the composer’s most
fascinating and successful works. It comprised a newly written first part
and an extended version of the opera. This meant however that the incidental
music Strauss had written for the play which had formed the first part of
the evening was no longer needed. The result was the orchestral Suite
performed on this disc (and which confusingly has the same Opus number as
the opera), one of the composer’s most enjoyable works. It is in a
markedly lighter and less tortured vein than the works for which he was best
known at that time. This paved the way for the wonderful works of his latter
years. It consists of nine movements, including an Overture, a Minuet based
on Lully’s music for Molière’s original play, and an
hilarious finale entitled “The Dinner” depicting its various
courses.
There have been many recordings of the work, including superb
performances conducted by Reiner, Krauss and Beecham, all great champions of
the composer. Even when compared with them however the present performance
is worth hearing for its very particular qualities. It has wit and charm,
both essential here. Unsurprisingly it has the merit of superb and very well
balanced modern recording quality. Above all it essentially has the sense of
a chamber work. It is perhaps a paradox that whilst I am sure that Douglas
Boyd worked very hard to produce this performance the result does not sound
so much conducted as the result of the companionable coming together of a
group of superlative chamber musicians. The scoring requires only some 34
musicians and includes a prominent part for piano. This tends to emphasise
the links with the composer’s later masterpieces.
The Four Last Songs are also well known from previous recordings -
even greater in number. Most listeners will come to a new version with a
bias towards a particular previous version, or at least to a particular
approach. These can vary from the almost instrumental purity of a singer
such as Lisa della Casa to a very detailed essentially word-based approach.
I suspect that Lisa Larsson would say that she was attempting something
midway between these extremes. The result is certainly well considered and
generally convincing if perhaps lacking in the last ounce of conviction. The
real heroes of the performance are the orchestra which again plays with a
chamber-like refinement, making apparent details that tend to get lost in
more obviously impassioned versions. The same applies to the three short
songs included to fill the disc.
The very considerable merits of this disc are enhanced by lengthy and interesting
notes and the essential inclusion of the text and an English translation.
Even if you already have a version or versions of the main works here this
disc is worth having for the freshness and transparency of its approach.
John Sheppard
Freshness and transparency of approach.