A short while back I asked for some suggestions for Peer Gynt and came away with Herbert Blomstedt as the one to get. Well, the Blomstedt disc turned out to be superb (I opted for the suites version, paired with Nielsen), so I'm back to ask for more suggestions.
Now I'm interested in the music of Richard Strauss. I have a decent selection of recordings of his operas, but at present the only non-opera disc I have is the Karajan / Janowitz take on the Vier letzte Lieder. 'Tis a superb disc. But I think I should try some more. First and foremost on my list are Don Juan, Ein Heldenleben, and Tod und Verklärung, though suggestions on other orchestral works would be welcome. Even another take on the last songs would be good. Again, I'd prefer excellent sound quality, but performance quality trumps all else. Any tips?
IMO this is close to being the Gold standard for many of these works. There can be equally good recordings, but seldom "better". Staatskapelle Dresden is in excellent form and Kempe is right at home in this repertoire. The sound quality is good for it's age. Considering the price - a must-have if there ever was one!
(http://www.jpc.de/image/w600/front/0/0724357361422.jpg)
Quote from: rubio on September 04, 2008, 07:31:56 AM
IMO this is close to being the Gold standard for many of these works. There can be equally good recordings, but seldom "better". Staatskapelle Dresden is in excellent form and Kempe is right at home in this repertoire. The sound quality is good for it's age. Considering the price - a must-have if there ever was one!
(http://www.jpc.de/image/w600/front/0/0724357361422.jpg)
I just ordered this set (still awaiting the delivery date any day now), and greatly anticipating it's arrival! :)
reiner/chicago.
dj
Quote from: ChamberNut on September 04, 2008, 07:40:39 AM
I just ordered this set (still awaiting the delivery date any day now), and greatly anticipating it's arrival! :)
I can't wait to hear your opinion on it, please!!!
You can't do wrong with Karajan on Strauss, I think. His Don Juan, Alpine Symphony etc. are fantastic.
Quote from: rappy on September 04, 2008, 09:33:24 AM
You can't do wrong with Karajan on Strauss, I think. His Don Juan, Alpine Symphony etc. are fantastic.
Agreed. But I haven't heard the Kempe yet.
The Kempe is a different kind of 'fantastic'. The works present a rich and full rendition of Strauss. I cannot praise it highly enough.
Meanwhile, an unusual one this, I'm not big on Haitink but his explorations of Strauss tone poems are unexpectedly (for me) BRILLIANT with the RCO. Here is the cover. It kind of opened me up to the more dynamic Strauss, like unto a series of well executed tsunami's. I think Haitink makes Strauss sound 'bigger' than ever.
Second the Haitink recommendation (and I have not yet heard the Kempe). Additionally, I love Ein Heldenleben, and can recommend these two recordings of it:
Jansons/Concertgebouw (available on CD and on DVD) - One of his first recordings after taking the helm with the orchestra. The DVD (video) version is marvelous to watch, very well filmed.
Dohnányi/Cleveland - Available at Archiv, and in this case I sort of agree with David Hurwitz (although I wouldn't characterize their Mahler as "duds"): "No major-label artists in the recording heyday of the late 1980s and early '90s received shabbier treatment than Dohnányi and the Cleveland Orchestra. Sure, they had their share of duds (most of their Mahler), but the list of excellent releases that either weren't distributed internationally, were instantly deleted, and in general were just plain ignored, is a long and sad one. Does anyone remember these performances?" I imagine the dismal cover art was one reason this release came and went so quickly--a real shame.
--Bruce
Or even: Doráti/Minneapolis Symphony
(http://www.arkivmusic.com/graphics/covers/full/17/172954.JPG)
Quote from: mahler10th on September 04, 2008, 10:43:22 AM
I think Haitink makes Strauss sound 'bigger' than ever.
oooOOOOO.
Quote from: karlhenning on September 04, 2008, 11:08:53 AM
Or even: Doráti/Minneapolis Symphony
(http://www.arkivmusic.com/graphics/covers/full/17/172954.JPG)
Heyy...here's one I haven't seen, and a conductor I respect.
Historical recordings: apart from Strauss's own recordings on various labels, there are Mitropoulos live - Alpine symphony, Sinfonia Domestica & Also sprach Zarathustra (Orfeo);
Mengelberg - Don Juan, Ein Heldenleben w/NYPO 1927 (various labels) Albert Coates - Tod und Verklärung.
Vier letzte Lieder - Böhm/Della Casa, 2-4 Sebastian/Flagstad. Orchestral songs - Patzak/Krauss or Strauss (Andromeda).
One set that has slipped under the radar a bit is Previn's survey of most of Strauss' major tone poems with the Vienna Philharmonic on Telarc. I'm not even sure if the set or its components are still in print. Ein Heldenleben, Eine Alpensinfonie, and the Four Last Songs (with Auger) are fantastic. His interpretations of Don Juan, Don Quixote, Death and Transfiguration, and Also Sprach Zarathustra are also quite good. Till is sadly missing. I'd recommend Kempe first, but Previn's certainly worth a listen for the excellent recorded sound and playing by the Vienna Philharmonic.
My personal favorite Don Juan is still Kempe/S.Dresden, my favorite Ein Heldenleben however is this:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514BJ64PM3L._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
As for Also Sprach Zarathustra, there is one that i liked:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/316PMWEBTML._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
Boehm/BP
Quote from: rappy on September 04, 2008, 09:33:24 AM
You can't do wrong with Karajan on Strauss, I think. His Don Juan, Alpine Symphony etc. are fantastic.
Sure you can go wrong with Karajan. He was a great Strauss conductor, and I was lucky to have had the opportunity to hear him conduct most of the major tone poems live in Berlin in the 80s. Those concerts are still among the most impressive concert experiences of my life. But HvK on disc is a very different matter. Especially his DG discs from the same period are often spoilt by the dry, glaring, blary recordings which do not reflect the deep, rich, but very finetuned sound the BP had under him, especially in these complex pieces which he rehearsed and worked on tirelessly, even in the last years, when they had played them countless times together, and made several recordings of many of them.
The worst case, as I have pointed out before, is the Alpensinfonie which is sonically a catastrophe. One of DG's first digital recordings and the first they released on CD, they severely misjudged the new format and produced a recording which was supposed to be really spectacular, but is really just one giant sonic mess which does not do the performances they gave of the piece justice at all. It was also the first time HvK actually conducted the piece. DG hadn't had a recording of it since Böhm's 1957 recording from Dresden (still in mono), and they asked HvK, who, strangely, had never conducted the piece to make a recording. They also paid for an unusually large number of rehearsals just for the recording. So the orchestra was definitely well prepared and HvK usually came with a well thought-through concept even to pieces he did for the first time. But although the playing is technically very good, his later live performances were much more flexible, flowing, much richer in detail projection and the long-line vision of the music.
This is fortunately preserved in the live concert (from 1984 or so) which is available on CD. The sound isn't really great either, but it is much "truer" to what that actually sounded like than the DG disc. Even the "Karajan Gold" remastering is not that big of an improvement. I actually know from DG people that internally, they weren't happy with how the recording sounded either, and they actually discussed going back to the original multi-track master and completely redoing it, but that would be too time-consuming (meaning too expensive) to justify.
The same applies to his last DG recording of Zarathustra which does sound somewhat better than the Alpensinfonie, but again, the live concert film from 1987 is a much better version which gives the listener/viewer a much better impression of how good that orchestra could play that music under HvK. That was also the last time ever that he conducted that piece, BTW.
The best of his late Strauss recordings on DG is Don Quixote which is also sonically much better than the other ones. I think it was actually the last one to be recorded (1986 or so), and by that time, DG's approach to recording in the new digital medium had drastically improved. So that one is both musically and sonically very rewarding.
Thanks, I didn't know that. I'm too young to have heard Karajan live, so I can't compare. I think I simply got used to the sound, because I don't know the original.
I think in general people who like that recording don't really know what a big symphony orchestra sounds like. Certainly not like that.
I would really give a lot to have a recording which reflects what the BP under HvK sounded like in that piece (at least in "miniaturized" form), which I heard twice with them and which really were among the most impressive performances of anything I have ever heard, so I have tried to "make peace" with that recording for a quarter of a century now, trying to at least hear echoes of that in that recording, but no, it is just too bad. Well, at least there is that very nice concert film.
BTW, a much better impression (again in "miniaturized" form, so to speak) of what the BP sounded like in that piece is the Sony recording with Mehta conducting which was made a few years later.
Kempe's Alpine symphony is very near the top of my favorite classical recordings list.
Karajan's Metamorphosen/Tod Und Verklarung recording is also a favorite.
you absolutely MUST!!! hear lisa della casa in the four last songs with karl bohm and the vpo. she honestly might have the most beautiful voice i've ever heard.
http://www.amazon.com/Strauss-Songs-Arabella-letzte-Lieder/dp/B00004XQ8H/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1220574760&sr=1-2
this is a good place to start for the tone poems:
http://www.amazon.com/Strauss-Eulenspiegels-Merry-Pranks-Transfiguration/dp/B0000025JH/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1220574804&sr=1-1
My suggestion is:
Four last Songs: Janowitz/Karajan or Schwarzkopf/Ackermann
Other Lieder Anthologies: Souzay/Baldwin, Shirai/Holl
Orchestral music:
Don Juan: BPO, Furtwängler (1947), VPO, Karajan (1960)
Till Eulenspiegel: VPO, Clemens Krauss (1951)
Also sprach Zarathustra: VPO/Karajan (1959)
Ein Heldenleben: Chicago/Reiner
Sinfonia Domestica: VPO, Clemens Krauss (1952)
Don Quixotte: Rostropovitch/Karajan
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme: VPO, Clemens Krauss (1953)
Metamorfosen: BPO, Karajan
2 Horn Concertos: Dennis Brain/Sawallisch
Oboe Concerto: Lothar Koch/Karajan
Quote from: M forever on September 04, 2008, 03:40:55 PM
Sure you can go wrong with Karajan.
What's your opinion on the
Metamorphosen "Originals" reissue,
M?
It's Kempe for me and an antidote to Karajan.
There is a truly great Todd und Verklarung and Sinfonia Domestica from Szell, a fine 'Aus Italien' from Muti, a 'Alpinesinfonie' with terrific attack from Welser-Most and a fine survey from Blomstedt which I find is very much in the Kempe mould.
Personally, I would not be without Beecham's or Barbirolli's 'Ein Heldenleben' but it is a favourite.
Avoid Solti's OTT performances and I found Reiner cold in comparison to the above but I know his Strauss is much admired so this is very much a personal view based on the years I had his RCA LPs in my collection.
Quote from: Hector on September 05, 2008, 05:59:52 AM
It's Kempe for me and an antidote to Karajan.
There is a truly great Todd und Verklarung and Sinfonia Domestica from Szell, a fine 'Aus Italien' from Muti, a 'Alpinesinfonie' with terrific attack from Welser-Most and a fine survey from Blomstedt which I find is very much in the Kempe mould.
agree :)
Anyone can comment on Szell's Don Juan and which mastering/version to get please?
Quote from: karlhenning on September 05, 2008, 03:57:36 AM
What's your opinion on the Metamorphosen "Originals" reissue, M?
I haven't heard that release yet. Good as they are, I don't think Karajan's recordings of Metamorphosen are among the most desireable to have. He generally overemphasizes lushness and melody at the expense of balance and texture. HvK also typically used an enlarged ensemble, not just 23 string soloists.
Quote from: M forever on September 05, 2008, 05:21:14 PM
I haven't heard that release yet. Good as they are, I don't think Karajan's recordings of Metamorphosen are among the most desireable to have. He generally overemphasizes lushness and melody at the expense of balance and texture. HvK also typically used an enlarged ensemble, not just 23 string soloists.
I would characterize Karajan's early 70's Metamorphosen (currently available as an "Original") as much less appealing than his circa 1980 digital recording. The older recording is less expressive, less transparent, and less pleasant in its timbre. In addition to the greater transparency (vital in this dense string writing) the digital recording, has a warmer sound, an unusual feature, given that it was made in the early digital era. The old recording as a "chalk on a blackboard" sound that I find unpleasant.
The Kempe recordings are probably a good and cheap place to start, but it can't be counted to reveal all the facets of Strauss' glorious music - its harmonies, instrumentation, the humanity. It's like having a great, famous landscape, filmed/photographed from the best angle to spectacular effect. But there are many other possibilities.
Some odds and ends that offer a different and superb artistic POV to the music:
Metamorphosen and one of the wind serenades with Previn and the WP (Philips). Profoundly moving, suffused with regret and drama (no cheap emoting).
Ein Heldenleben under Böhm and the WP (DG), in fabulous sound: transparent and luminous, with a real narratice thread.
Alpensinfonie under either Haitink COA (Philips) or Mehta BP (Sony). Very different from each other, but equally beautiful. Simply perfect.
Don Quixote under Haitink COA and the wonderful Tibor de Machula as the cello protagonist. On LP it was paired with an awesomely played Don Juan. The only Quixote where fragility, ridicule and sadness can be heard in the music instead of the liner notes.
The overwhelimingly exciting Zarathustra of Steinberg and the BSO (DG).
I personally don't like Reiner CSO as much a s others here (have Zarathustra, Heldenleben, Sinfonia Domestica, Bourgeois gentilhomme suite). They don't give me the feeling that Strauss is a likable composer.
Quote from: Lilas Pastia on September 06, 2008, 05:54:11 AM
The Kempe recordings are probably a good and cheap place to start, but it can't be counted to reveal all the facets of Strauss' glorious music - its harmonies, instrumentation, the humanity. It's like having a great, famous landscape, filmed/photographed from the best angle to spectacular effect. But there are many other possibilities.
Some odds and ends that offer a different and superb artistic POV to the music:
Metamorphosen and one of the wind serenades with Previn and the WP (Philips). Profoundly moving, suffused with regret and drama (no cheap emoting).
Ein Heldenleben under Böhm and the WP (DG), in fabulous sound: transparent and luminous, with a real narratice thread.
Alpensinfonie under either Haitink COA (Philips) or Mehta BP (Sony). Very different from each other, but equally beautiful. Simply perfect.
Don Quixote under Haitink COA and the wonderful Tibor de Machula as the cello protagonist. On LP it was paired with an awesomely played Don Juan. The only Quixote where fragility, ridicule and sadness can be heard in the music instead of the liner notes.
The overwhelimingly exciting Zarathustra of Steinberg and the BSO (DG).
I personally don't like Reiner CSO as much a s others here (have Zarathustra, Heldenleben, Sinfonia Domestica, Bourgeois gentilhomme suite). They don't give me the feeling that Strauss is a likable composer.
Unfortunately, both Kempe and Karajan blow away your list of what I would term "second stringers." OK but not the best.
The Steinberg is a particularly unfortunate choice, sadly.
A pity, indeed.
Quote from: Hector on September 09, 2008, 07:08:49 AM
The Steinberg is a particularly unfortunate choice, sadly.
Why?
Quote from: Hector on September 09, 2008, 07:08:49 AM
Unfortunately, both Kempe and Karajan blow away your list of what I would term "second stringers." OK but not the best.
I wouldn't say "blow away" and neither would I use the term "second stringers", but it is true that in this thread, like in most others, there is a tendency for people to name just a few recordings they happen to know and like - which is, of course, the main point of message exchanges - but without really knowing where these performances stand in the interpretive spectrum. Which is fairly wide when it comes to this composer, and because his orchestral works are so often performed and recorded, there are many very good recordings of his music. Most of the ones mentioned in this thread are definitely very good.
But, when it comes to prime recommendations, one should know a little bit more about what makes particular performances really "outstanding". In that case, the recommendation will have more weight and more value for those seeking it.
Hi haven't come across this before but listening to it right now it's obviously very fine, with blending, colour, contrast and excitement. It dates from the same year as Reiner's superb Verdi Requiem with Price & Bjorling I used to have on LP... Maybe a full review later.
Okay, my little post is in its right place now.
My favourite Strauss remains Don Quixote and the Four Last Songs. For Don Quixote the classic Rostropovich/Karajan has been recommended at least once already. This is a superb version which I recoemmend you get, but my own personal favourite is a live recording of Jacqueline DuPre's - her last before her illness stopped her being able to play. A superbly characterised Don Quixote, beautifully played and if the sound recording isn't quite the best you will forgive it for the warmth and brilliance on offer here. One of my desert island discs.
Bizzarely it is cheaper to buy this superb 4 CD boxed set containing the entire standard cello concerto repertoire recorded by DuPre than it is to buy the CD separately. This is a superb collection - the Schumann, Dvorak, Haydn C and Elgar are all amongst the bet versions available, and having the lovely Delius concerto in this superb reading is also a great bonus. And her reading of the short Silent Woods by Dvorak is without doubt the best available and one of the most moving things you'll ever hear.
http://www.amazon.com/Jacqueline-du-Pr%C3%A9-Concerto-Collection/dp/B00004RIU5/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1221487574&sr=8-2
His best lieder performances I've ever heard: Hermann Prey with W.Sawallish(p)
If your drawn to Karajan in Strauss, as I am, I want to recommend his 1970s version of Death and Transfiguration over his 1980s digital remake, as good as the Metamorphosen coupling of the '80s version is.
The 1970s version can be found in several incarnations with other Strauss works on CD.
I find it much more thrilling, transcendentally beautiful, even spooky at times, than the 1980s version. The only drawback, and I consider it slight, is that the digital version has somewhat better sound, though the 70s version sounds just fine. But the performance of the 70s version is miles ahead of the digital remake. Same goes for his Zarathustra, by the way.
Also, although you already have the Four Last Songs, and in a nice interpretation, give a listen to Jessie Norman's version with Kurt Masur conducting his old Gewandhaus Orchestra. Her German is bit more guttural than it need be but the depth of vision in the interpretation is truly breathtaking. It's one of my favorite recordings of anything by anybody.
Then there are the operas, which are magnificent, but that's another discussion.
Quote from: bhodges on September 04, 2008, 10:59:58 AM
Second the Haitink recommendation
--Bruce
Allrighty, that's two strong recommendations from two strong recommenders, gonna give this one a shot (have I mentioned I love this forum?) :D
You won't be disappointed by the Haitink recordings, but you can definitely get better ones. Like the Kempe set. I wouldn't rely on recmmendations from people who don't even know that. Enjoy the truly authentic sound and playing style of Strauss' favorite orchestra. You derserve the best.
Quote from: M forever on September 28, 2008, 04:42:37 PM
You won't be disappointed by the Haitink recordings, but you can definitely get better ones. Like the Kempe set. I wouldn't rely on recmmendations from people who don't even know that. Enjoy the truly authentic sound and playing style of Strauss' favorite orchestra. You derserve the best.
Oy. My wallets going to take a beating again. ;D
What Strauss recordings do you already have?
I have a Karajan Zarathustra, a Gould Sonata B minor and a Gould Burleske (coupled with Beethoven's Emperor Conceto).
That's it? Then you should definitely get the Kempe box. In addition to all of the tone poems and most of the other orchestral works, you get excellent version of the solo concertos, and all that in exemplary performances which are played so stylishly that Gramophone called that, very aptly, "played with almost arrogant authority", which basically means that they don't play the music as bombastic orchestral blockbusters, but as complex, lucid, and remarkably flexible chamber music. There just happen to be a lot more people involved than there normally are in chamber music, but that is only a question of numbers, not of the quality and nature of the music making. And Kempe shapes the music with a complete understanding for its "idiom" and the larger contexts. Which means that he doesn't try to make every single forte a spectacular highlight, but that he builds up over long stretches to the real climaxes.
Like I said, there are many, many very nice and competently done recordings of Strauss' orchestral music, but these here stand out very clearly.
Quote from: M forever on September 28, 2008, 07:54:05 PM
"played with almost arrogant authority"
I like this description.
As for
Burleske,
adamdavid80, I'd further recommend the
Argerich/Abbado version.
Quote from: adamdavid80 on September 28, 2008, 04:44:40 PM
Oy. My wallets going to take a beating again. ;D
Quote from: adamdavid80 on September 28, 2008, 05:03:58 PM
I have a Karajan Zarathustra, a Gould Sonata B minor and a Gould Burleske (coupled with Beethoven's Emperor Conceto).
you could sell your Karajan Zarathustra and gold sonata and Gould burleske on ebay, and use that money to get the Kempe Boxset.
No no, don't do that.
The Gould sonata is maybe the finest recording he ever made.
Quote from: M forever on September 28, 2008, 07:54:05 PM
"played with almost arrogant authority",
GREAT quote. So much better than a recent review for the new Richard gere vehicle: "It will make you want to fall in love."
as Stephen Colbert said, "Finally! A reason to want to fall in love!!!!"
off to find the kempe!
Annnnnnnd.....GOT IT!!! Thanks!!!
That was fast. Did you order online or find the box in a shop? Did you get the complete green box with 9CDs?
Quote from: M forever on September 29, 2008, 05:44:55 PM
That was fast. Did you order online or find the box in a shop? Did you get the complete green box with 9CDs?
I am single-handedly keeping Academy Records on w 18th st ny ny flush during these though economic times!
A used set - all 9 discs, all in perfect conidition, as the box and book - was right in the window display, and I grabbed that sucker, all for the very reasonable price of $29.91 (really), plus tax. God obviously loves me, as much as He loves those nuns you billed today!
I didn't actually bill them. Our office manager does that. I just brought Jesus back on screen. And that wasn't even that difficult. Because God in his infinite wisdom had decided to equip the video AD converter they had with a trimpot for horizontal sync adjust. He also gave me a test signal generator (actually, that was my senior colleague, but God worked through him, obviously). I turned the trimpot, but He guided my hand. Hallelujah!
Quote from: M forever on September 29, 2008, 06:16:02 PM
I didn't actually bill them. Our office manager does that. I just brought Jesus back on screen. And that wasn't even that difficult. Because God in his infinite wisdom had decided to equip the video AD converter they had with a trimpot for horizontal sync adjust. He also gave me a test signal generator (actually, that was my senior colleague, but God worked through him, obviously). I turned the trimpot, but He guided my hand. Hallelujah!
Hallowed Be Thy Senior Colleague's Test Signal Generator, indeed.
Been spending the day listening to Disc 1's Horn Concertos... 0:)
Quote from: adamdavid80 on September 30, 2008, 01:29:18 PM
Been spending the day listening to Disc 1's Horn Concertos... 0:)
Love the Horn Concertos! I just got the Kempe set a few weeks ago. It really is fantastic, all around. My three favorite works are Eine Alpensinfonie, Ein Heldenleben and Don Quixote. Hope you enjoy the rest of the box set, Adam! :)
Please don't forget Gundula Janowitz's superlative Four Last Songs with Karajan/BPO on DG Originals. Pure magic.
Also, Birgit Nilsson as Salome with Solti/VPO.
Horn and Oboe Concertos and Duett-Concertino with the CSO principals and Barenboim/CSO on Teldec (of particular value here is the Oboe concerto with the incredible Alex Klein, who sadly had to retire prematurely due to focal dystonia).
Jacqueline Du Pre's Don Quixote with Sir Adrian Boult is an underappreciated gem that is my personal favorite.
Finally, what I've heard on the radio of Fabio Luisi with the Staatskapelle Dresden sounds absolutely stunning, especially Alpensinfonie and Heldenleben. If his recordings are half as good, they're worth getting.
Lisa della Casa under Bøhm in 4 letzte Lieder
Capriccio (always the easiest to digest of his operas with its glorious tunes, related to the 4 letzte Lieder), either
Bøhm/DG (Arleen Auger, Anton De Ridder, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gundula Janowitz, Karl Kohn, Hermann Prey, Karl Ridderbusch, Peter Schreier, David Thaw, Tatiana Troyanos) - actually playing now
or
Sawallisch/EMI (Schwarzkopf Wachter Gedda Fischer-Dieskau Hotter Ludwig Christ Moffo Schmitt-Walter Troy Philharmonia Orchestra)
Anybody liking the "Lieder", should try one of these.
Quote from: adamdavid80 on September 30, 2008, 01:29:18 PM
Been spending the day listening to Disc 1's Horn Concertos... 0:)
Glad you enjoy these. Of course, I could have "warned" you about the pretty strong vibrato Damm uses, for some, that is somewhat an acquired taste, but I didn't, hehehe...
But apart from that, the performances are musically outstanding and his playing is just incredibly smooth and elegant, very lyrical and expressive. It sounds like it was really easy to play the horn when you listen to him playing.
An ideal supplement to these performances is this CD:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61mlMbiKZrL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
which contains the two horn concertos played on the Viennese F horn and the oboe concerto played on the Viennese oboe by principals of the orchestra - the only recordings available of these pieces played on these specific instruments, apart from a live recording of the 2nd concerto with Gottfried von Freiberg, who played the premiere - as well as the duet concertino.
Quote from: M forever on October 01, 2008, 11:34:18 AM
Glad you enjoy these. Of course, I could have "warned" you about the pretty strong vibrato Damm uses, for some, that is somewhat an acquired taste, but I didn't, hehehe...
But apart from that, the performances are musically outstanding and his playing is just incredibly smooth and elegant, very lyrical and expressive. It sounds like it was really easy to play the horn when you listen to him playing.
An ideal supplement to these performances is this CD:
(http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61mlMbiKZrL._SL500_AA240_.jpg)
which contains the two horn concertos played on the Viennese F horn and the oboe concerto played on the Viennese oboe by principals of the orchestra - the only recordings available of these pieces played on these specific instruments, apart from a live recording of the 2nd concerto with Gottfried von Freiberg, who played the premiere - as well as the duet concertino.
I LOVED the vibrato! Wonderfully fluid playing, arresting, and, yes, with grace and elegance. I can't even imagine the first without the vibrato...that MAKES the horn part and piece for me. I also really appreciated some of the rhythms in the second movement.
I may be reading too much into it, but it seemed Damm was using a somewhat different technique for the second concerto...as if to express the amount of years and experience and development in between the compositions.
What's the horn technique on the Previn like?
What do you mean by that?
Does it also use so much vibrato? Did you recommend it as a sort of counterpoint to Damm's interpretation?
Oh, duh...wait...now I'm rereading your post and answering my own queston...
Yes. The traditional Viennese horn style uses absolutely no vibrato. They play everything on the Viennese F horn instead of the double F/Bflat horns of many various types used by virtually everyone else which are much easier to play but their tone generally is less full and rich than the Viennese F horn which is the valve horn type used today which is closest to the sound characteristics of a natural horn. That doesn't mean it makes it the only "authentic" type of horn, but it does give it a high degree of "authenticity" when it comes to the music of the late 19th and early 20th century. Again, that's not the only traditional way of playing the horn. The Dresden sound used to be somewhat more bright and slender even before they started playing with vibrato, and they always aimed at producing a very flexible, "singing" tone even as can be heard on "pre-vibrato" era recordings of the orchestra. So the vibrato style that basically came - and went - with Damm's generation of players is not a stylistical break, but an extension of the traditional style. But I miss it a little bit since they use hardly any vibrato anymore - not only in Dresden, but in many other orchestras in Eastern Europe which were distinguished by their vibrato brass style, such as Czech, Polish, and Russian orchestras.
On that album, you can also hear the Viennese oboe with its markedly different sound. Basically, the Viennese oboe is the kind of instrument that used to be played in many parts of central Europe before the French system came into wide use in the early decades of the 20th century, even though many national schools still pursued their traditional sound ideals by using very different types of reeds and playing techniques. Now, you can hear it in Vienna and some other Austrian orchestras.
Quote from: M forever on October 02, 2008, 04:06:49 PM
So the vibrato style that basically came - and went - with Damm's generation of players is not a stylistical break, but an extension of the traditional style. But I miss it a little bit since they use hardly any vibrato anymore - not only in Dresden, but in many other orchestras in Eastern Europe which were distinguished by their vibrato brass style, such as Czech, Polish, and Russian orchestras.
I'm surprised to hear that vibrato is hardly used anymore - it brings so much expression and stylistic identity. I imagine some players are instantly recognizable for their vibrato technique, just like within other genres and instruments. as it was originally conceived, did Strauss have no intention for vibrato to be employed? (and the first concerto was originally written to be played by his father, yes?)
I am starting to explore the tone poems of Richard Strauss, and lately have been listening to a disk of Strauss conducting some of his music (don't have the disk info with me at the moment). The music is capturing me like it hasn't before. I've always wanted to get into Richard Strauss, and now it is happening. I've always loved "Thus Spake..." but now I'm branching out into his other works. And it is highly rewarding.
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