Strauss's Don Juan

[tjguitar]

What are your recommended recording(s)?

[BorisG]

[uffeviking]

Close call! I was searching he net for my favorite performance, the one I have on LVD, but could not find it on either CD nor DVD. But there is the collection, not much different than the one recommended by Boris:

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=1904

It's still Herbert von Karajan with the Berliners; it could even be a reissue of my old LVD!

[hautbois]

Herbert Blomstedt with the San Francisco Symphony, which probably is out of issue... I vaguely remember a recording of Don Juan that fails anyway, so the Karajan would be a good choice.

Howard

[val]

In my opinion, Szell wit Cleveland recorded the best version, extraordinary dynamic.

But I have other good versions:

Furtwängler with the VPO (1954) and, better yet, with the BPO (1947).
Karajan with the VPO (1960)
Knappertsbusch with the Paris Conservatory Orchestra

and the very subtle Clemens Krauss with the VPO (1951), perhaps the best after Szell.

[uffeviking]

Second on my list of favourites - after the Karajan - is Sergiu Celibidache conducting the SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphonie Orchestra in a brilliant, sensitive, 11 June 1976 performance issued by DG.

[Grazioso]

Szell/Cleveland, Solti/CSO

[Drasko]

Karajan '73 Berlin on DG would be my first choice (same one already mentioned by Boris and Lis).

Furtwangler live (Berlin '42 or '47) is preferable to comparatively dull studio recording with Wiena on EMI.
'42 can be streamed from russiandvd (click on Preview/Прослушать)
http://www.russiandvd.com/store/product.asp?sku=35755&genreid=

Mengelberg with Concergebouw can be downloaded for free, not the greatest bitrate but enough to get the idea of performance.
http://pagesperso-orange.fr/mengelberg/t%e9l%e9chargements.html

Szell I had on LP and have fond memories but it has been quite some time.

Knappertsbusch and especially Krauss sound tempting.

[Iago]

Fritz Reiner/CSO - 1962 recording.

Reiner was NOT usually associated with anything musically romantic. But 'ol Fritz hits this nail right on the head. Absolutely lush/microscopically accurate playing by the Chicago Symphony along with an experienced Straussian on the podium and beautiful "Living Stereo" sound on RCA. Engineered by Lewis Layton.
The BEST!!!. Szell although very good, can't compare.

[Lethevich]

Second on my list of favourites - after the Karajan - is Sergiu Celibidache conducting the SWR Stuttgart Radio Symphonie Orchestra in a brilliant, sensitive, 11 June 1976 performance issued by DG.

Is that the one coupled with Pines of Rome? It IS a good performance - I was surprised how much I liked his Strauss, considering the allergic reactions I get with him in Bruckner Another very strong one is Kempe from the amazing EMI/Brilliant Strauss box.

[Drasko]

Fritz Reiner/CSO - 1962 recording.

1960 probably

Is that the one coupled with Pines of Rome? It IS a good performance - I was surprised how much I liked his Strauss, considering the allergic reactions I get with him in Bruckner

Celibidache pre 1980s is not the same as post. I like his Stuttgart Bruckner, 7th is particularly fine.

[uffeviking]

Is that the one coupled with Pines of Rome? It IS a good performance

Yes, that's the one! His other Strauss Tone Poems are worth checking out also. Don Quixote, Tod und Verklärung and his very special humourous one: Till Eulenspiegel are among my favourites.

[brpaulandrew]

Is that the one coupled with Pines of Rome? It IS a good performance - I was surprised how much I liked his Strauss, considering the allergic reactions I get with him in Bruckner Another very strong one is Kempe from the amazing EMI/Brilliant Strauss box.

Kempe moves me along with the other Strauss warhorses in that series. I also put in a vote for Karajan VPO '60.
Reiner and his forces are great although Don Juan is the older CD with Heldenleben as companion.
What an audacious young man at 24 shooting this piece of musical fireworks into the firmament..and what orchestration!

[MichaelRabin]

Another very strong one is Kempe from the amazing EMI/Brilliant Strauss box.

There is also another fine Kempe performance on Chesky with the RPO too.

[MishaK]

Solti/CSO

No to that. Any of the other recommendations in this thread are superior. Solti manages to suck the life out of the second half of the piece.

[Marcel]

Don Juan -  Klaus Tennstedt with London Philharmonic Orchestra is brilliant.