Don Juan Archive
RICHARD STRAUSS: Macbeth; Don Juan; Death and Transfiguration; Festmarsch – Staatskapelle Weimar/ Kirill Karabits – Audite
Familiar and unfamiliar orchestral selections from Richard Strauss receive energetic readings from conductor Karabits. RICHARD STRAUSS: Macbeth, Op. 23; Don Juan, Op. 20; Death and Transfiguration, Op. 24; Festmarsch in C Major – Staatskapelle Weimar/ Kirill Karabits – Audite 97.755, 70:25 (5/18/18) [Distr. by Naxos] ****: In 1884, Richard Strauss became, through the support of conductor Hans von Bulow, the deputy at the Meiningen court orchestra, where Strauss nurtured a slow but abiding respect for Wagner’s music and for the condensed, symphonic poems of Franz Liszt. In 1886, Strauss selected a proper Shakespearean subject for musical treatment, the “Scottish tragedy” of Macbeth. The gestation of this “harsh and gruesome” text took Strauss the better part of four years and three revisions: it premiered 13 October 1890 in Weimar, the very “home ground” of Franz Liszt, progenitor of the form of the tone-poem. Following the psychological rather than the chronological aspects of the play, the violent, often dissonant music depicts the brief monarchy amiable King Duncan, but the music soon erupts with dark ambition and ruthless fury, especially in the use of a new instrument in Strauss arsenal, the bass trumpet. Music boastful, savage, and intermittently tender compete in various paroxysms […]
Cantelli: New York Phil. Orch. = CRESTON: Dance Overture; SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 4; BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 4, No. 5; VIVALDI: Concerto Grosso; R. STRAUSS: Don Juan, Op. 20 – Wilhelm Backhaus (piano)/ Walter Gieseking (piano)/ New York Philharmonic/ Guido Cantelli – Pristine
Cantelli: New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Vol. 2 = CRESTON: Dance Overture; SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 4 in d minor, Op. 120; BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, Op. 58; VIVALDI: Concerto Grosso in d minor, Op. 11, No. 3, RV 565; BEETHOVEN: Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat Major, Op. 73 “Emperor”; R. STRAUSS: Don Juan, Op. 20 – Wilhelm Backhaus, piano (Op. 58)/ Walter Gieseking, piano (Op. 73)/ New York Philharmonic/ Guido Cantelli- Pristine Audio PASC 510 (2 CDs) TT: 2:23:36 [www.pristineclassical.com] ****: Pristine’s Andrew Rose restores two Cantelli concerts in New York that exemplify his kinetic, ardent style. Guido Cantelli (1920-1956) appears before the Carnegie Hall audience in two successive New York concerts, 18 and 25 March 1956. Cantelli complained bitterly about the lack of cooperation afforded him by “Murderers’ Row”—the Philharmonic players—but no less so than for their regular conductor, Dimitri Mitropoulos, they grudgingly gave much of their expert musicianship to the performances gleaned on this compilation restored by Andrew Rose. Like Mitropoulos, Cantelli did not shy away from contemporary American scores, and his opening Dance Overture by Paul Creston, which includes some syncopated clapping by the players, has character and energy to spare. I recall […]
RESPIGHI: Sinfonia Drammatica; Belfagor Ov. ‒ Orch. Philharmonique Royal de Liège / John Neschling ‒ BIS
RESPIGHI: Sinfonia Drammatica; Belfagor Ov. ‒ Orch. Philharmonique Royal de Liège / John Neschling ‒ BIS multichannel SACD BIS-2210; 70:03 (7/8/16) ****: Respighi off the beaten track. Stimulating and enjoyable. Jean-Pascal Vachon’s useful notes to this recording lay out the complex history of Ottorino Respighi’s musical education by way of explaining why this great big Sinfonia Drammatica sounds so unlike what we’ve come to think of as Respighi’s musical language. It’s easy to hear the influence of Respighi’s teacher Rimsky-Korsakov in his highly colorful and effective orchestration. In the numerous pieces based on medieval and Renaissance music (Ancient Airs and Dances, Concerto Gregoriano. Concerto in modo misolidio, The Birds, Church Windows, Metamorphosen), Respighi pays tribute to his teacher Luigi Torchi, a musicologist and expert on ancient music. In the Roman Trilogy, Respighi’s best-known works, we note that as his musical language matured, the composer took his lead increasingly from France and specifically Claude Debussy. However, the composer also studied with Giuseppe Martucci—whose music reflects the influence of his musical heroes, Schumann and Brahms—and with the echt German Romantic Max Bruch. Martucci happened also to be one of the first champions of Wagner in Italy. Small wonder, then, that early in […]
MOSZKOWSKI: From Foreign Lands – Rediscovered Orchestral Works – SF Ballet Orch./ Martin West – Reference Recordings
A delightful set of rediscovered orchestral works of Moszkowski. MORITZ MOSZKOWSKI: From Foreign Lands – Rediscovered Orchestral Works [TrackList follows] – San Francisco Ballet Orch./ Martin West – Reference Recordings HDCD RR-138, 72:45 [Distr. by Naxos] ****: Although Moszkowski composed an opera, ballet, three orchestral suites, a symphony, songs, concertos, and chamber music, if this neglected composer is given any attention at all it is for his salon-type piano compositions. He arranged some of these for full orchestra, and the first five selections on this CD are those. The other two were orchestrated by others in 1912 and 1884. Four of the Moszkowski selections are world premiere recordings. These are memorable and melodious orchestral compositions which, especially in their full orchestra versions, seem much more than mere salon pieces from the 19th century. The opening Torch Dance is based on a tradition at some German weddings in a certain area of a dance with torches featured. The From Foreign Lands is a nearly half-hour suite which has been a San Francisco Ballet performance. This ballet orchestra is one of the leading ones in the world, and the excellent recording was made in the low-noise environment of Skywalker Sound with engineer […]
Home Page for August 1, 2014
Our drawing/giveaways for August will be for two very special Deutsche Grammophon collections of The Complete Analog Recordings of conductor Herbert Von Karajan in the music of Richard Strauss, remastered at 96K/24-bit. This limited edition numbered set consists of 11 standard CDs plus a Pure Audio Blu-ray. Each CD runs nearly an hour and the Blu-ray is five and quarter hours! Included is a complete 1960 performance of Der Rosenkavalier, as well as classics such as A Hero’s Life, Till Eulenspiegel, Don Juan, Death and Transfiguration, Don Quixote, Also sprach Zarathustra, and the horn concerti. The sets come with an 80-page book including the opera libretto in German and English. All you need do to be considered as one of the two winners (plus having a Blu-ray deck and being into classical) to be selected is to register using our simple form this month. (Those who don’t completely fill out the form will not be considered for the drawing.) The three lucky winners will be listed on our Editorial Page next month, where this month you’ll find more details on this drawing.
R. STRAUSS: Don Juan; Till Eulenspiegel; Death and Transfiguration; Vier letze Lieder – Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, sop./Vienna Philharmonic/ Wilhelm Furtwaengler/ Philharmonia Orch./ Otto Ackermann (Last Songs) – Praga Digitals
Gripping, “transcendent,” the Furtwaengler readings of Richard Strauss powerfully capture the composer’s symphonic ethos.
“An Amadeus Affair” – BUSONI: Duettino concertante. MOZART: Sonata For Two Pianos K. 448. LISZT Reminiscences de Don Juan. MOZART: “Soave sia il vento”; Grand Scherzo; Ragtime alla Turca – Greg Anderson & Elizabeth Joy Roe, duo-pianos – Steinway & Sons
A totally delightful combination of bubbly Mozart for two pianos.
R. STRAUSS: Also Sprach Z.; Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks; Don Juan – Berlin Philharmonic Orch./ Gustavo Dudamel – DGG
A standard Richard Strauss symphonic-poem package, impressively mounted and recorded in gorgeous sound and production values to sell its charismatic conductor.
* R. STRAUSS: Don Juan; Death and Transfiguration; Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks – Pittsburgh Sym. Orch./ Manfred Honeck – Reference Recordings/Fresh!
************* MULTICHANNEL DISC OF THE MONTH ************
R. Strauss’ best-known works in multichannel by the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.
“O’Riley’s LISZT”: = Reminiscences de Don Juan (after MOZART); Fruhlingsnacht (after SCHUMANN); Prelude & Liebestod (after WAGNER, ed. Moszkowski and O’Riley); Fruhlingslaube (after SCHUBERT); BERLIOZ: Symphonie fantastique (trans. LISZT) – Christopher O’Riley, p. – Oxingale Records (2 CDs)
Christopher O’Riley performs an illustrious series of Liszt transcriptions—each brilliant, audacious, and sensuous in its own way, a dazzling tribute to the transcriber and architect of keyboard magic.
Clemens Krauss conducts RICHARD STRAUSS: Also Sprach Zarathustra; Don Juan; Till Eulenspiegel – Vienna Philharmonic / Clemens Krauss – Pristine
Krauss seemed to have a special magic in the scores of Richard Strauss.
Carmen's Revenge, by Osias Wilenski – Navona
A cluttered storyline and eerily disconnected music make for a strange listening experience.
R. STRAUSS: Don Juan, Op. 20; Metamorphosen for 23 Solo Strings; 9 Songs for Soprano and Piano – Joan Rodgers, soprano/ Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg/ Jan Latham-Koenig, conductor and piano – Avie
This all-Strauss disc features two youthful and gifted British artists in collaboration.
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 3 “Eroica”; R. STRAUSS: Don Juan – Concertgebouw Orch./ Willem Mengelberg – Pristine
The iconoclastic Willem Mengelberg has an Eroica to complete his rousing 1940 survey of the Beethoven Nine.
LISZT: Don Juan Fantasy; Hungarian Rhapsody No. 13 in A Minor; Funerailles; Hungarian Rhapsody No. 5 in E Minor; Hunnenschlacht (trans. Cameron); Valse oubliee No. 1; Les Preludes (trans. Cameron) – Matthew Cameron, piano – Cala
Matthew Cameron plays the “Liszt card” with a decided vengeance, sporting long thin hair and the concert pose we know from various Romantic portraits of Liszt.
Stereotypes Audio
Cembal d’amour
Pure Pleasure / Speakers Corner
Cedille
