Is this a decent recording of Strauss' tone poems?

[Guido]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/R-Strauss-Five-Great-Poems/dp/B000004198/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=gateway&qid=1202590175&sr=8-8

[PerfectWagnerite]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/R-Strauss-Five-Great-Poems/dp/B000004198/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=gateway&qid=1202590175&sr=8-8

In short, the answer is yes. It is probably not a standout but can stand shoulder to shoulder with anything out there, especially at that price. I don't like Haitink normally but here he is fabulous.

[bhodges]

Another enthusiastic "yes."  IIRC, the recordings are from the mid-1980s and the sound is superb.

--Bruce

[Guido]

Ordered. Cheers!

[bhodges]

I like all of them, but am especially fond of his version of Eine Alpensinfonie, which I bought about the same time as Karajan's on DG.  The latter is not bad at all, but Haitink has superb sound, and the playing of the Concertgebouw (especially during the storm sequence) is pretty awesome.

--Bruce

[M forever]

I think these recordings are from the 70s (the Jochum item probably earlier), but that doesn't matter because they sound indeed very good, they all have that nice, warm sound Philips cultivated in their recordings from the period, good presence and transparency, fairly "natural" and not artificially blown up. That also applies to the playing and interpretation which are very solidly and decently done. Not necessarily "top" choices but still good recordings to have.

[Steve]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/R-Strauss-Five-Great-Poems/dp/B000004198/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&s=gateway&qid=1202590175&sr=8-8

Absolutely. I don't much care for Haitink's Strauss, but this is a real gem. Entirely compelling. Order now! 

[BorisG]

Not top choice, but a good getting to know them collection.

[jwinter]

I have Haitink's Strauss set and agree that it's excellent; maybe not quite as exceptional as the famous Kempe SD set, but highly enjoyable.

Rather than start another thread, might I extend the inquiry, and solicit opinions on this?



and these?



Thanks!

[BorisG]

Zinman's Sinfonia Domestica with Parergon satisfies. Z's the first who has made sense of "Domestica" for me. I have not heard the others in that series. I suspect their sound projection may fall short in the bigger moments of the bigger works--"Alpine" and "Also".

Previn somewhat disappoints. The playing is not bad, and the sound is good, but I feel he could have extracted more from the VPO. For "Also", listen to Karajan's 1959 VPO recording. Or, 1954 Reiner.

Some may be surprised to learn that Ashkenazy excels in "Alpine" (Czech Phil.) and Ein Heldenleben (Cleveland).

Don Quixote, Boult and du Pre. Don Juan, Karajan 1972.

[M forever]

I have Haitink's Strauss set and agree that it's excellent; maybe not quite as exceptional as the famous Kempe SD set, but highly enjoyable.

Rather than start another thread, might I extend the inquiry, and solicit opinions on this?



and these?



Thanks!

All of the above are decent recordings, but still more or less totally superfluous in a field in which there are many good recordings available of these pieces. The WP have made many recordings of these works, and for basically every single one, there are better alternatives than Previn's competently directed but faceless readings and the sound isn't all that great either. The whole "Telarc sound" thing is more hype than reality. They can be heard in better recordings of Zarathustra under Karajan and Maazel, of Heldenleben under Böhm, of the Alpensinfonie under Thielemann and even Ozawa's recording is more interesting (no, really). That said, they are often avaialable for very little money, so there is nothing wrong with "checking them out" at least.
Zinman's contributions are also well done and quite pleasant to listen to, but there are still a lot more interesting recordings to have. His rather slender and transparent style is something the SD can still do better and with more character, sound quality, and style. If you are looking for some good recordings in "modern" sound, there are new ones with them under Luisi of Alpensinfonie, Don Q, and Heldenleben (with the original, quiet ending!), and some not much older ones with Sinopoli which are all very good, especially the Heldenleben which is simply mindblowingly good and one of the best sounding recordings I have ever heard. You should also check out Sinopoli's revelatory Zarathustra and TuV with the NYP. Then there is a series of fairly recent recordings with the SOBR conducted by Maazel on RCA which are rather luxurious from the orchestral playing and sound point of view, well conducted by Maazel and very nicely recorded.

[Daverz]

My favorite Strauss is Also Sprach Zarathrustra, and the best recordings of those I've heard so far are Böhm on a DG Lp (lucious strings) and Mehta/LAPO (both the London Lp and the Decca CD set with recordings by Mehta and others are great).

Here's a CD of the Böhm.  Again, I've heard only the Lp.



Some kind of inflation has hit the Mehta box.  The conducting is shared with Maazel and Dorati, but the bulk of it is Mehta.

[Bonehelm]

When it comes to Strauss, nothing beats Karajan.

[david johnson]

for trumpet players, the rco used schilke horns during some of the haitink years.  sometimes that's a little different sound.  great horns.

dj

[Sean]

Haitink's early Zarathustra is very sophisticated and accomplished and compares with the Karajan, indeed sounds like it in parts. I thought his Heldenleben an example of his edges being bevelled a little, contrasting with Karajan who has an entirely unique grip over the canvass, and indeed is a peerless Straussian- his D&T and Quixotes are classics of the discography; he also makes the most of Domestica , still an underrated work but with amazing vigour, even with Strauss's thinking slipping a touch.

[jwinter]

Thanks for the tips everybody!    I am indeed looking for something a little more modern, and the Zinman and Previn are what my local CD shop has in stock, which is why I asked.

I currently have the Kempe box, Haitink's 2fer, Bohm's set, and various singles by Furtwangler, Karajan, Szell, and Blomstedt/SD.  I may end up trying some of the Previn, as it is the WP, and I can indeed get it very cheaply, though I generally find Previn an extremely mixed bag (I have some of his Prokofiev [R&J & A Nevsky] which I quite like, but otherwise haven't been much impressed). 

I am tempted by the Sinopoli, though the NYPO disc that M mentions is currently $69.95 on Amazon, natch.     I might pick up some of the others, although the bulk of my Strauss is already with Dresden, and I should branch out a bit.   Hmmm, food for thought...

[rubio]

I am tempted by the Sinopoli, though the NYPO disc that M mentions is currently $69.95 on Amazon, natch.     I might pick up some of the others, although the bulk of my Strauss is already with Dresden, and I should branch out a bit.   Hmmm, food for thought...

Is this the Sinopoli/NYPO recording of Zarathustra? Or has has he recorded the piece several times (with different orchestras)?

http://www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail/1937024

[BorisG]

Is this the Sinopoli/NYPO recording of Zarathustra? Or has has he recorded the piece several times (with different orchestras)?

http://www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail/1937024

Yes, and No, as far as I know.
Don Juan - Dresden. Salome - German Opera/Berlin.
This CD is also available at Crotchet.

And for your added enjoyment, his You Tube vid of Salome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPBBCusBSDk

[M forever]

I am tempted by the Sinopoli, though the NYPO disc that M mentions is currently $69.95 on Amazon, natch.     I might pick up some of the others, although the bulk of my Strauss is already with Dresden, and I should branch out a bit.   Hmmm, food for thought...

Then you should reach for the SOBR/Maazel recordings. Munich has an authentic Strauss tradition of its own which belongs to the same spectrum as Dresden but is quite distinct. Rather more lush and rich in color. Maazel understands that very well and directs the SOBR very competently in these "luxury" readings.

[rubio]

Has anybody here heard this Dohnanyi recording, and can comment on it?