The Richard Strauss Project: Complete Works for Piano Solo,

This new release is the second volume of the complete solo piano works of Richard Strauss. The pieces selected for this second volume were composed during the composer’s childhood and adolescence, which makes them even more admirable as we see Strauss’s progressing talent. Most of the works featured on this album are world premiere recordings. Performing these works is pianist Dario Bonuccelli.

This is the fifth and final installment of the Strauss Complete Tone Poems Cycle performed by the Symphony Orchestra Baden-Baden and Freiburg under their chief conductor Francois-Xavier Roth. The other volumes in this cycle have been positively reviewed all over the world. The orchestra and conductor are a perfect match for Richard Strauss’ lively and ecstatic music. Completed on New Year’s Eve, 1903, Strauss’ Symphonia domestica, like his ensuing final tone poem, Eine Alpensinfonie, are paradoxically termed ‘symphonies.’ Symphonic poems are usually based on an extra-musical programme, while the genre of the symphony embodies the concept of absolute music, intended as a counter-world to reality. Strauss disregarded this separation and designed the Symphonia domestica as a symphony, but with a programme, namely “a symphonic self-and family-portrait.” The composer depicts both himself, his wife, and his son in various musical tableaux. Revolving around the banalities of everyday life, the music has a twinkle in its eye.

This notable new compilation will be of special interest to Strauss fans for it contains some of the composer's earliest work. The charming, rarely recorded Second Symphony in F minor was premiered when the composer was just twenty and the rich and flowing Romanze in F major dates from a year earlier. It is generally acknowledged that Järvi's accounts of Richard Strauss's orchestral works ranks amongst the finest available and here he works his usual magic to provide readings that have sweep, atmosphere and grandeur.

All tracks have been digitally mastered using 24-bit technology.

Reviews:

The moments of hustle and bustle are wonderfully easy-going, while the Berlin RSO's corporate virtuosity is often breathtaking - I can't remember when I last heard the finale's final couple of minutes, from the outrageous whooping horns to the finish line, rattled through with such apparently nonchalant ease.

– Gramophone

Those who don't know the least often heard of the symphonic poems should be amazed by Marek Janowski's sympathetic, detailed interpretation; but even Straussians don't often get to hear Die Tageszeiten. I fell in love with the work, contrary to all previously held common wisdom on its not being very good, and have played it over and over. This would be worth the cost of the disc alone, but Janowski's Domestica is also up there among the best, as you get to hear more inner detail than on any other recording.

– BBC Music Magazine

Also available on Blu-ray

Richard Strauss
SALOME

Salome – Nadja Michael
Herodias – Michaela Schuster
Herod – Thomas Moser
Narraboth – Joseph Kaiser
Jokanaan – Michael Volle

The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Philippe Jordan, conductor

David McVicar, stage director

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on 3, 6, and 8 March, 2008.

Bonus material:
- Documentary: "David McVicar: A work in process"
- Illustrated synopsis and cast gallery

Picture format: NTSC 16:9 anamorphic
Sound format: LPCM Stereo / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (all regions)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, German, French, Spanish, Italian
Running time: 168 mins
No. of DVDs: 2

WARNING: Contains nudity and scenes of violence.

R E V I E W:

I’ll be coming back to this again and again.

One of the most hotly anticipated, controversial and downright exciting opera productions of this year arrives quickly onto DVD. David McVicar, one of the most in-demand opera directors at work today, produces a visceral, exciting realisation of Strauss’s lurid masterpiece. It has lots to recommend it, though it won’t be to everyone’s taste.

McVicar has moved from an enfant terrible of the operatic world to being one of its safest pairs of hands. He has a reputation for being meticulous in his attention to detail, and he begins and ends with an intimate knowledge of the score. This translates into a close relationship with his collaborators: singers, designers, choreographers et al, something illustrated in a hugely enjoyable South Bank Show Documentary included here as a DVD extra. McVicar is interested in every aspect of a production: design, acting and music, and his recent work in this country has been revelatory, such as the Glyndebourne Giulio Cesare, the Covent Garden Faust and ENO’s Clemenza di Tito. One of the things that marks him out as remarkable is the way in which he builds his productions around certain visual themes, and it is instructive that his main reference point here is not Biblical Palestine, but Pasolini’s 1975 film Salò, based on the Marquis de Sade, which charts the descent into degeneracy of a group of oligarchs in fascist Italy. McVicar’s main focus in this production, then, is the depravity that runs through Salome’s story. Yes, the sensuousness and allure so evident in Strauss’s music are there, but they share the stage with - and are often eclipsed by - the sheer horror of the action.

With the opening gurgle on the clarinet the curtain draws back very slowly, like a suggestive striptease. In the very top part of the stage we can just make out Herod entertaining his guests at a riotous banquet. The main action takes place below stairs, however, in a large chamber, halfway between a communal bathroom and a slaughterhouse. It would be difficult to imagine a more inappropriate venue for Herod to move his dinner party into, which renders it all the more shocking when he does so. References to sex and death hit the viewer immediately. Two naked women (whores?) languish around the stage, but the most disquieting thing is that no-one pays the slightest bit of attention to them, presumably because it is so commonplace. Servants swab down the floors, perhaps to remove the evidence of some earlier debauchery, while the carcass of an animal swings in the background. The scene is lit with the naked light-bulbs of the torture chamber. This gritty, unsettling room is the prison in which not only the characters but we as viewers are confined for the next 100 minutes, and the claustrophobia adds to the our sense of growing horror as the opera builds to its climax.

The below stairs staff, mostly dressed as fascist-era soldiers, seem cold and disinterested in their surroundings, which makes the young Narraboth, sensuously sung by Joseph Kaiser, stand out all the more as he strains round the banister for a glimpse of the princess. Herodias’ page, who is just as obsessed with him, echoes his body language in trying to get his attention. Salome, in contrast to the prevailing darkness in the chamber, wears a glittering white evening dress with jewels. Nadja Michael is a marvellous actress here: far from being a sex-obsessed harpy, she begins the evening as a bored girl who throws chairs around like a petulant child. It is only after being exposed to the dark force of nature in Jokanaan that she becomes sexual and full of desire. Her singing is superb. She is entirely girlish at the start, developing a powerful edge to her voice only when necessary, such as in her cursing of Jokanaan’s body and hair. In fact the moments when she is not singing are almost as exciting as her big scenes: she gazes into the cistern, transfixed by its murky gloom, with a morbid fascination.

She seems vulnerable rather than icy after her encounter with John, clearly distressed by his curse on her, but still fixated. Equally, during the squabble of the Jewish factions, staged excitingly and comically, she merely gazes out at the audience, clearly milling over her new obsession with Jokanaan. Her hypnotic stage presence is one of the great strengths of this DVD.

Michael Volle’s Jokanaan also exerts a powerful charisma too. He emerges from the cistern as a victim of torture, blinking after the darkness of solitary confinement, yet the presence he exerts is so palpable as to stop Narraboth in his tracks as he goes to strike him. He sounds fantastically resonant as his voice echoes from the cistern, and he is really hair-raising at the top and middle of his range during his long scene with Salome. He is weaker at the bottom, however, and some of his lower notes can turn into growls. Tellingly, most of the servants avert their eyes during Salome’s attempt to seduce John, a clear indication of how depraved their encounter is as not even these desensitised regulars can bear to look at it.

One of the production’s strengths is the way McVicar picks up on the eroticism of death, so apparent in Wilde’s text. Salome barely notices Narraboth until after his suicide - to which no-one pays the blindest bit of attention - when she become fascinated with his corpse. Intriguingly, the same is true for Herod whose first action upon noticing the body is to caress it with his hand and gaze on it longingly. The sexual free-for-all in Herod’s house is also apparent in the all too sensuous way in which he caresses his favourite (male) servant. As Herod, Thomas Moser fits into McVicar’s vision a little awkwardly. His acting is decidedly of a lower level than the others, though it picks up during the Dance of the Seven Veils. Moser’s voice is also a bit thin compared to the others, understandable, perhaps, in such a demanding role, but disappointing against the high standards elsewhere. Michaela Schuster sounds good as Herodias, but her acting too is rather tame. Her relationship with Herod does not carry the venomous loathing suggested in the text, and she seems bored rather than vicious, though perhaps that is McVicar’s point.

The most striking and controversial element of McVicar’s vision is the Dance of the Seven Veils. This is a private dance for Herod, not the party guests, and as it begins the scene melts away and we are taken on a psychological journey rather than a display of choreography. McVicar’s idea is to take us through seven rooms, each one representing an aspect of Salome’s emotional state, each one taking us deeper into her interior self and suggesting that Herod has been, in McVicar’s words, a "specifically unhealthy influence" on her. We start seeing Herod "grooming" her with children’s toys, enticing her to sit on his knee, and touching her suggestively. Through each room the closeness of their contact increases and their dance intensifies, until the final room where she desperately splashes herself with water in an attempt to clean herself from the dirt of her stepfather’s abuse. Not everyone will approve, but I found this an inventive, challenging and deeply unsettling interpretation of the dance. Here the power to shock goes far deeper than a mere striptease.

The final scene shows us both the most and least successful aspects of the production. Visually speaking this is the peak to which the whole performance has been leading. On Herod’s order the executioner, who has been prowling the stage all evening long, just in case anyone needs to be killed, is stripped of his coat and descends naked into the cistern carrying only his huge blade. He then emerges covered in blood, holding the head which has blood oozing from its severed neck. Salome, by now wearing only a plain white night-dress, rubs herself against him and grabs the head; the blood slowly spreads to all over her night-dress and face, representing a steady descent into the utmost depravity as she sings her bizarre song of lust. The colour, imagery and movement of this scene are genuinely stunning and they make for a jaw-dropping tableau which fits Strauss’s music perfectly. Michael’s acting is superb here, and she makes us believe that Salome has fulfilled not just her desire but her life: hypnotised by her own passion, death is the only natural response after such consummation. It is in her singing, however, that this scene falls down. The exertions of the long evening have taken their toll and there is a distinct feeling that she has run out of steam by the time we get to this most demanding, climactic moment. Too many notes go flat and her sense of vocal line begins to fragment, a real pity considering her achievements earlier in the evening. That said, the eroticism of the kiss itself is spellbinding and I can forgive the vocal imperfections in the face of the way she so fully inhabits the character.

The star of this opera is the orchestra, and the Covent Garden forces play at the peak of their form. What’s more, the sound engineering and the balance mean that we can hear everything in Strauss’s astonishing orchestration. For an example, try the spiky moment when Salome curses John’s hair as being "like a crown of thorns" and the prickly harps play some discordant top notes by way of illustration: we hear these perfectly rather than their being subsumed into the orchestral fabric. Philippe Jordan’s is a hard-driven view of the score. He keeps his foot on the pedal through the most exciting moments, such as the Dance, and perhaps misses a little of the subtlety in this marvellous score. He does spotlight detail well, though. Top marks, too, to the video director who always places our eyes where our ears tell them that they want to be, with appropriate uses of close-up as well as the bigger picture.

In spite of its flaws I found this Salome compelling, exciting and visceral. As a film it probably takes a back seat to Götz Friedrich’s 1974 version with Teresa Stratas and Karl Böhm, though the comparison is a bit unfair as Friedrich’s version was conceived as a film rather than a stage production. Nor is it entirely satisfying as sound: Solti’s classic performance for Decca with Nilsson, Waechter and Stolze (an astonishing Herod) contains more consistent performances, as does Sinopoli’s more recent version, most notable for a disarmingly girlish Cheryl Studer. If you want a current version in digital sound, however, this DVD has a lot to offer. Even if the vocal performances aren’t all they could be, the consistency and originality of McVicar’s vision make this an unforgettable experience, if only for the sheer, raw power of what you see. I keep using the word "visceral", and that’s exactly what this is: it blows apart your preconceptions of the work and puts them together in a profoundly disconcerting way. Unnerving as it is, this is a DVD I’ll be coming back to again and again.

-- Simon Thompson, MusicWeb International

Desire. Brutality. Lust. Slyness. Anxiety. What a fascinatingly menacing thematic melange is seething in this Salome. Richard Strauss, the “nervous contrapuntalist,” had immediately recognized the potential of Oscar Wilde’s play, and had proceeded to add to it a musical meta-plane, which resulted in Salome becoming the scandalous new point of departure for opera in the 20th century. In its vivid psychological depiction of a corrupt world, Salome is, at the same time, both child of and witness to the dawning of the 20th century – a reflection of a moribund late-bourgeois era, captivated by its own putrefaction. The opera hit the nerve of the times. Strauss poured the Salome catastrophe into a one-act opera lasting a mere 100 minutes. However, these are 100 highly condensed minutes, which demand the listener’s full and uninterrupted attention without any break; first torturing him emotionally and then trickling the venom of sweet, seductive music into his ears and mind; laying his nerves bare, then making him tremble in aroused expectation. The new Pentatone album featuring the young, up-and-coming conductor Andres Orozco-Estrada leading the hr Symphony Orchestra (formerly Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra) is a live recording of a concert given on September 10, 2016 in Frankfurt.

-----

REVIEW:

Orozco-Estrada’s approach is unrushed and often expansive. Magee’s Salome spits out her words as part of a characterization of the Judean princess that’s compellingly real and convincing. An unusually persuasive aural drama and a deeply musical account of the score – a compelling listen featuring a fine cast and expertly conducted. It’s a set that can be warmly recommended.

– Gramophone

The Hungarian conductor Ferenc Fricsay was considered to be the man for modernism when, in 1948, he was appointed Chief Conductor of the RIAS Symphony Orchestra that had just recently been founded. Thus it was only logical for him to focus on the latest works by Richard Strauss: the Oboe concerto and the Duet concertino for clarinet, bassoon and strings, both of which the composer created after World War II. Despite their retrospective musical language, these pieces at that time belonged to the most topical works of contemporary music production. Also, the small instrumentation presented the opportunity for Fricsay to train the soloistic potential of his musicians. The remarkable level that Fricsay, in such a short time, was able to guide his young orchestra to is also to be heard in the recordings of Till Eulenspiegel and the Burleske where Fricsay's unsentimental, anti-romantic interpre­tation is astonishing. This production is part of the series “Legendary Recordings" and bears the quality feature “1st Master Release.” This term stands for the excellent quality of archival productions at audite.

Also available on Blu-ray

The city of Dresden and the Staatskapelle Dresden have a special relation to Richard Strauss. Many of his compositions had their world premiere in Dresden and the composer dedicated his Alpine Symphony to its orchestra. The program on this DVD, led by Christian Thielemann, includes Strauss’s aforementioned Alpine Symphony as well as his Four Last Songs and Wolfgang Rihm’s Ernster Gesang, sung by soprano Anja Harteros, as well as the German premiere of the last completed Strauss song "Mallows" in an orchestral version, arranged specifically for Dresden by Mr. Rihm.

Also available on Blu-ray

Conducted by Christian Thielemann, this performance was the sensation of the 2010 Baden-Baden Festival. A one-act masterpiece inspired by Greek mythology, it is a dense, jagged cry for justice and vengeance. With its powerfully expressive chords, spooky waltz rhythms and mad dance of triumph, it shakes the audience to the core. Herbert Wernicke’s legendary production for the Bayerische Staatsoper stands out for its clear lines, classical structural elements and striking colour contrasts. Linda Watson, one of the great Wagnerian sopranos of today, superbly masters her role debut as Elektra, one of opera’s most demanding roles.

Elektra – Linda Watson
Klytämnestra – Jane Henschel
Chrysothemis – Manuela Uhl
Aegisth – René Kollo
Orest – Albert Dohmen
Orest's Tutor – Andreas Hörl
A young servant – Jörg Schneider
An old servant – Carsten Sabrowski
An overseer – Irmgard Vilsmaier

Vienna Philharmonia Chorus
Munich Philharmonic Orchestra
Christian Thielemann, conductor

Herbert Wernicke, stage director

Recorded live at Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, 29 January, 1 and 4 February 2010.

Bonus:
- Cast gallery

Picture format: NTSC 16:9
Sound format: LPCM Stereo 2.0 / DTS 5.1
Region code: 0 (worldwide)
Menu language: English
Subtitles: English, French, German, Spanish
Running time: 100 mins
No. of DVDs: 1

Also available on Blu-ray

The last production staged by Patrice Chéreau, this Elektra will remain as the main and most striking lyrical event of these last years in Aix-en-Provence.

In 1903, Richard Strauss attended a performance of Elektra, a play by the Viennese poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal based on the tragedy by Sophocles. Three years later, Strauss came to an understanding with Hofmannsthal on a lyric adaptation of the play. Even though tepidly received at its premiere on 25 January 1909 in Dresden, Elektra quickly won over audiences and today occupies an enviable place in the repertoire of opera houses the world over. With its clear-cut contrasts and telluric power, it is one of the most scathing masterpieces of the whole lyric repertoire.

Elektra comes in the wake of Salome with the same dimensions (a single act lasting approximately an hour and three-quarters), a story taking place in ancient times, extreme feelings, and devastating violence. Frenzied unity of place, time and action, with the drama unfolding in the courtyard of the palace in Mycenae, in real time. It tells how Electra, daughter of King Agamemnon, keeps alive the memory of her father, murdered upon his return from Troy by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover, and dwells only on vengeance. And how this vengeance finally comes about.

This production is leaded by three amazing singers: the German soprano Evelyn Herlitzius gave a tremendous, never-to-be-forgotten account of the title role, Waltraud Meier portrays a human and chilling Clytemnestra and Adrianne Pieczonka is a fantastic Chrysothemis.

Everyone’s loneliness and intimate struggles are Patrice Chéreau’s favorites theatrical themes. With Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the Orchestre de Paris, this production of Elektra becomes an unforgettable experience.
.

Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949)
Elektra

Elektra – Evelyn Herlitzius (soprano
Klytämnestra – Waltraud Meier (mezzo)
Chrysothemis – Adrianne Pieczonka (soprano)
Orest – Mikhail Petrenko (baritone)
Aegisth – Tom Randle (tenor)
Tutor – Franz Mazura (bass)
Coro Gulbenkian
Orchestre de Paris/Esa-Pekka Salonen
Stage director: Patrice Chéreau
rec. live, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, July 2013

Region Code: 0 (all)
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Image: NTSC, colour, 16:9 Sound: Dolby 2.0 Stereo, 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: French, English, German, Italian, Spanish
Timing: [110:00 (opera) + 23:00 (bonus)]

This Blu-ray Disc is only playable on Blu-ray Disc players and not compatible with standard DVD players.

Also available on standard DVD

Last production staged by Patrice Chéreau, this « Elektra » will remain as the main and most striking lyrical event of these last years in Aix-en-Provence. In 1903, Richard Strauss attended a performance of Elektra, a play by the Viennese poet Hugo von Hofmannsthal based on the tragedy by Sophocles. Three years later, Strauss came to an understanding with Hofmannsthal on a lyric adaptation of the play. Even though tepidly received at its premiere on 25 January 1909 in Dresden, Elektra quickly won over audiences and today occupies an enviable place in the repertoire of opera houses the world over. With its clear-cut contrasts and telluric power, it is one of the most scathing masterpieces of the whole lyric repertoire.

Elektra comes in the wake of Salome with the same dimensions (a single act lasting approximately an hour and three-quarters), a story taking place in ancient times, extreme feelings, and devastating violence. Frenzied unity of place, time and action, with the drama unfolding in the courtyard of the palace in Mycenae, in real time. It tells how Electra, daughter of King Agamemnon, keeps alive the memory of her father, murdered upon his return from Troy by his wife, Clytemnestra, and her lover, and dwells only on vengeance. And how this vengeance finally comes about.

This production is leaded by three amazing singers: the German soprano Evelyn Herlitzius gave a tremendous, never-to-be-forgotten account of the title role, Waltraud Meier portrays a human and chilling Clytemnestra and Adrianne Pieczonka is a fantastic Chrysothemis.

Everyone’s loneliness and intimate struggles are Patrice Chéreau’s favorites theatrical themes. With Esa-Pekka Salonen conducting the Orchestre de Paris, this production of Elektra becomes an unforgettable experience.

Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949)
Elektra

Elektra – Evelyn Herlitzius (soprano
Klytämnestra – Waltraud Meier (mezzo)
Chrysothemis – Adrianne Pieczonka (soprano)
Orest – Mikhail Petrenko (baritone)
Aegisth – Tom Randle (tenor)
Tutor – Franz Mazura (bass)
Coro Gulbenkian
Orchestre de Paris/Esa-Pekka Salonen
Stage director: Patrice Chéreau
rec. live, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, July 2013

Region Code: 0 (all)
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Image: NTSC, colour, 16:9 Sound: Dolby 2.0 Stereo, 5.1 Dolby Digital
Subtitles: French, English, German, Italian, Spanish
Timing: [110:00 (opera) + 23:00 (bonus)]

STRAUSS, R.: Heldenleben (Ein) / Macbeth

The first recording by Yannick Nézet-Séguin and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra for BIS centred on Berlioz' Symphonie Fantastique, a work which stands squarely on the threshold between Classicism and Romanticism. Nézet-Séguin's interpretation brilliantly demonstrated this ambivalence, as the reviewer in CD Review on BBC Radio 3 remarked: 'A Fantastic Symphony that relishes in the transparency and the delicacy of Berlioz's scoring while remaining true to its vivid imagination and dramatic punch'. On the follow-up to that exciting release is another work that straddles a musical divide, namely Richard Strauss' Four Last Songs. Composed in 1948, these late blooms of an unabashed Romanticism stood in the midst of a musical landscape which featured the twelve-tone serialism of the Darmstadt School, John Cage's prepared piano and the first examples of musique concrète. In accordance with Strauss's wish, it was the dramatic soprano Kirsten Flagstad who first performed the songs, but they also became closely associated with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. On the present recording, it is Dorothea Röschmann, one of today's foremost Mozart sopranos who lends her voice to what is often regarded as an expression of the composer's acceptance of death's inevitability, at the age of eighty-four. We meet Strauss in a completely different mood in the disc's opening work - the large-scale symphonic poem Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life) composed fifty years before the songs. By casting himself in the role of the Hero, Strauss managed to provoke generations of music-lovers for years to come. A study of aggressive egotism, the work has been called, as well as the most conceited piece of music ever written. But it is also widely regarded as one of the most brilliant, and virtuosic, orchestral scores in the history of music, displaying the possibilities of a large symphony orchestra to the fullest.