Strauss: Friedenstag, Op. 81, TrV 271 (Recorded Live 1960)
Walhall Eternity Series
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Jan 01, 2012
Classical Music
Strauss: Friedenstag, Op. 81, TrV 271 (Recorded Live 1960)
$10.99
CD
Walhall Eternity Series
Jan 01, 2012
WLCD0357
Strauss: Orchestersuite, Op. 60, "Der Bürger als Edelmann"
Profil
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$24.99
Oct 29, 2013
Classical Music
Strauss: Orchestersuite, Op. 60, "Der Bürger als Edelmann"
$24.99
CD
Profil
Oct 29, 2013
PH12018
Strauss, R.: Heldenleben (Ein) / Tod Und Verklärung
Coviello
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Oct 04, 2008
Import Hybrid-SACD pressing.
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Strauss, R.: Heldenleben (Ein) / Tod Und Verklärung
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Coviello
Oct 04, 2008
COV30806
Straus: Der Tapfere Soldat (The Chocolate Soldier) / Kohler, Kranzle, Dickie, Stein, Borst, WDR
Capriccio
Available as
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$22.99
Jan 31, 2012
STRAUS Der Tapfere Soldat • Siegfried Köhler, cond; Caroline Stein (Nadina); Johannes Martin Kränzie (Bumerli); Martina Borst (Mascha); John Dickie (Alexius); Gertraud Wagner (Aurelia); Helmut Berger (Popoff); WDR RO; Händel Collegium Köln • CAPRICCIO C5089 (2 CDs: 88:06)
The irascible playwright and man of letters George Bernard Shaw seems to have had a gift for producing stories that were ripe for adaption as light musical comedy. Shaw did not live to see his Pygmalion turned by Lerner and Loewe into the megahit My Fair Lady and make superstars of Rex Harrison, Julie Andrews, and Audrey Hepburn. The British pundit (and one-time opera critic) was front and center, however, as his little antiwar drama Arms and the Man was turned by Oscar Straus and his Viennese librettists into the operetta Der Tapfere Soldat (The Valiant Soldier) and became an international hit. In fact, Shaw worried about his satirical play being turned into bad musical comedy. He agreed to let the story be used only if (1) none of his dialog or character names were used, (2) the operetta were to be advertised as a parody of his work, and (3) no remuneration was to be made. Never widely popular in the pre-World War I Germanic countries where soldiers were heroes and the military a revered institution, Der Tapfere Soldat went on to become a smash hit in New York in 1909 as the more aptly titled Chocolate Soldier, and then one year later scored another triumph right under Shaw’s nose in London. The old man publicly denigrated Straus’s popular operetta but lived to regret his lack of share in its box-office success.
The story involves a likeable young soldier in the Bulgarian army who, to avoid the fierce raging battle outside, climbs up the drainpipe and into the home of a mother, daughter, and another young friend, whose menfolk are also off at the war (actually, he drops right into the daughter’s bedroom). When threatened by his own gun by daughter Nadina, the soldier, Bumerli, laughs and tells her his cartridge case is full of chocolates; he has no bullets for his weapon. In spite of his not being the type of romantic hero she has been dreaming of, Nadina falls for her little chocolate soldier, as do the two other women. They hide him when soldiers come searching and provide him civilian clothes to aid his escape. Trouble comes when Nadina’s father and fiancé return with the regiment. Bumerli also turns up, ostensibly to return the clothes, but he is in love with Nadina. Outrage and hurt feelings ensue, but Alexius, Nadina’s intended, shows a marked preference for the young friend, Mascha. The typical operetta muddle is eventually sorted out and the parents are made happy when it turns out the chocolate soldier is the son of a wealthy Swiss businessman. So much for true love.
Straus wrote many catchy melodies for the early Viennese silver-age work, the most famous of which is Nadina’s solo “Komm, komm, Held meiner Traume” (Come, Come, Hero of My Dreams). Also popular was the humorous duet between the two leads, “Ach, du kleiner Praliné-Soldat” (Ah, You Little Praline Soldier). This recording was made for WDR radio in Cologne in 1993 and features clear, pure-voiced, light soprano Caroline Stein in the lead role of Nadina. She sings very well both alone and in ensemble and is much the best singer on the recording. Baritone Johannes Martin Kränzie sings Bumerli in a pleasant voice but has a noticeable wobble when he pushes his upper range. He blends in well in the ensembles, of which there are many in this light work. The second romantic couple of tenor John Dickie and mezzo Martina Borst sing well in this style of music, as do Mom and Dad, contralto Gertraud Wagner and bass-baritone Helmut Berger.
As far as I am aware, this is the only recording of Der Tapfere Soldat in German. The Ohio Light Opera Company recorded it in English in the late ’90s on the Newport label, where it is still available. A 1958 recording of highlights in English on RCA features much the best voices led by mezzo Risë Stevens and baritone Robert Merrill. That recording is out of print but can be obtained as a facsimile CD-R from ArkivMusic. Capriccio sadly does not provide a libretto, but there is a more than adequate synopsis and some brief bios. If, like me, you want these operettas in their original language, this is the one to buy. It will provide you an hour and a half of very enjoyable, frothy light music. Recommended.
FANFARE: Bill White
-------
Oscar Straus (note the spelling of Straus – only one ‘s’ at its end) was born in Vienna on 6 March 1870 but was not related to the famous Strauss dynasty.
He began his career emulating the satirical Offenbach, with Die Lustigen Nibelungen (The Merry Nibelungs). Richard Traubner in his excellent book, Operetta, A Theatrical History, suggests that it was “too musically advanced for Viennese ears” and national-socialist pro-Wagnerians were not amused. Those who relish the idea of lampooning of The Ring might like to know that Capriccio have a one-CD Köln recording of Oscar Straus’s The Merry Nibelungs again conducted by Köhler (C5088). Noticing the great success of Lehár’s The Merry Widow, in 1905, Straus decided to capitulate to public taste and entered the comfortable dream world of sentimental Viennese operetta with his smash success - in Austria and Germany if not in America and England - of Ein Waltztraum (A Waltz Dream) of 1907.
Straus’s The Chocolate Soldier (German title: Der tapfere Soldat or Der Praliné-Soldat) followed in 1908. It was based on George Bernard Shaw's 1894 play, Arms and the Man and the libretto was by Rudolf Bernaur and Leopold Jacobson. G.B. himself was not at all keen on such an adaptation of his play which had been successful in its Viennese run and only accepted the situation provided that Straus’s operetta was promoted as an unauthorized parody of his play and that he received no royalties for it. A bad mistake - because the show was a big hit in London and New York - but not quite so in Europe because of political sensitivities surrounding the Balkans where the action of the story was set. Later, Shaw tried to recoup some of his financial losses when M-G-M approached him for the film rights for The Chocolate Soldier. Louis B. Mayer refused Shaw’s exorbitant demands and the film went ahead with a mix of Straus’s and other’s music but to a different plot based on Ferenc Molnár's play Testor . The 1941 film starred Nelson Eddy and Risë Stevens – although Jeanette MacDonald had originally been pencilled in to star with Eddy.
There’s a very good Wikipedia article on Straus’s The Chocolate Soldier that also details all the songs. Briefly the story is set in Bulgaria in 1885 during the war between Serbia and Bulgaria. Nadina, her friend Mascha and her mother are missing their menfolk away at the hostilities. Suddenly a soldier, handsome and charming bursts into her bedroom. He is Bumerli, a Swiss mercenary serving in the Serbian army. He is an ordinary soldier quite unlike her supposedly heroic fiancée Alexius. Bumerli carries chocolates in his pouch instead of ammunition! His charm captivates the ladies and as Act I closes all three are smitten. They all give him photographs of themselves inscribed with loving messages. He puts all three in his great coat and promptly forgets them. But he cannot forget Nadina. Six months later he returns for her but the three photographs are produced. Jealousy flare up between Nadina and Mascha, Bumerli is thought to be fickle and faithless and comic complications ensue. All is happily resolved at the end.
The big hit of the show is the well-known and popular waltz song, ‘Komm, komm, Held meiner Träum’ (‘Come, come hero of my dreams’). Here it is sung most beguilingly by sweet-voiced Caroline Stein as Nadina. She is singing about her Alexius in Act I, her fiancée and imagined hero, who turns out to be nothing of the kind. The lower tenor timbre of Kränzle makes Bumerli sound just that little bit too mature for Nadina. However the charm of their duet ‘Weill’s Leben suss und herzlich ist’ (‘Because life is sweet and beautiful’) cannot be diminished. Much of the music comprises ensemble writing - quartets, quintets, and sextets and soloists with choir. The Act I ensemble song with comic material for the soldiers searching for Bumerli and an interpolated stirring patriotic song lustily sung by Nadina is a highlight – so, too, is the following charming waltz-song trio for Nadina, Mascha and Aurelia They sing ‘Tiralala’ as all besotted, they dream of their Chocolate soldier. This number has some lovely orchestral felicities in the strings and woodwinds. Kränzle’s wistful Act II song ‘If one can, as one wants’ has an introduction that echoes the ‘Tiralala’. Kränzle has another charming if argumentative duet ‘Es war einmal ein Fräulein’ (‘There was once a maiden’) with Nadina before Act II’s exuberant finale closes with a ringing reprise of the big number, ‘Komm, komm, Held meiner Träum’ (‘Come, come hero of my dreams’). Conductor, Köhler consistently delivers telling sentimental and witty accompaniments to all the numbers. Mention should be made of the delicious irony of the orchestral accompaniments to the waspish numbers of Act II like the bickering between Nadina and Bumerli in ‘Pardon, pardon pardon! Ich steig ja nur auf den Balkon’ (Pardon, I rise only on the balcony)
A charming recording of a delightful operetta.
Ian Lace, MusicWeb International
Straus: Der Tapfere Soldat (The Chocolate Soldier) / Kohler, Kranzle, Dickie, Stein, Borst, WDR
$22.99
CD
Capriccio
Jan 31, 2012
C5089
Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59, TrV 227 (Live)
MYTO Historical
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Apr 01, 2009
Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59, TrV 227 (Live)
Richard Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59, TrV 227 (Live)
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CD
MYTO Historical
Apr 01, 2009
MYTO00176
Strauss: Enoch Arden, Op. 38, TrV 181
Haenssler Classic
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$19.99
Aug 04, 2017
At the time he wrote Enoch Arden, Strauss was known primarily as a composer of tone poems, having made a name for himself with works such as Macbeth, Don Juan, Death and Transfiguration, Til Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks and Thus Spoke Zarathustra. The brilliantly orchestrated symphonic work From Italy was written at about the same time as Enoch Arden. It took Strauss a while to develop a reputation as an operatic composer: his opera Guntram was a critical failure. Of his 16 operas, Salome was the first to achieve any kind of fame, albeit of a rather scandalous and even infamous nature. Pianists have often deplored the fact that the gifted painter of orchestra colour wrote so little music for their instrument. Apart from the early Piano Sonata in B minor, Op. 5, the Five Piano Pieces, Op. 3, the Funf Stimmungsbilder, Op. 9, and Theme, 15 Improvisations and Fugue, there are only the highly demanding piano accompaniments for the lieder and, of course, the piano part in Enoch Arden. Despite its rarity, the 50-minute work in two parts has remained more or less at the fringes of mainstream repertoire. Yet no less than the eccentric Canadian musician and Bach specialist Glenn Gould recorded it, although it ''clearly contains some of the most sentimentally unbearable music that Strauss ever wrote''.
Strauss: Enoch Arden, Op. 38, TrV 181
$19.99
CD
Haenssler Classic
Aug 04, 2017
HC16048
J. Strauss Jr: Die Gottin Der Vernunft / Pollack, Kumpfmuller, Cortez, Mittermeier, Fodinger
Naxos
Available as
CD
$29.99
$20.99
May 31, 2011
Set in the town of Chalons near the German border at the time of the French Revolution during the Reign of Terror in 1794, Johann Strauss II’s final operetta The Goddess of Reason languished for 111 years until this 2009 in-concert revival. Its light-hearted mockery of the aristocracy, morality and the army, somewhat controversial at the time, seems as harmless now as that of Bernstein’s ebullient opera Candide and its humour stands the test of time. Abounding in waltz tunes and marches, its exuberant music is vintage Strauss. For this recording Christian Pollack has reconstructed the score as it would have been heard on its opening night with additional items that Strauss added for its 25th performance.
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J. Strauss Jr: Die Gottin Der Vernunft / Pollack, Kumpfmuller, Cortez, Mittermeier, Fodinger
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Naxos
May 31, 2011
8660280-81
Waldmeister (Operetta)
CPO
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$18.99
Jan 30, 2026
Just in time for the 200th birthday of Johann Strauss II on 25 October 2025, cpo is releasing the complete recording of a comedy that will itself celebrate it's 130th anniversary on 4 December. In Waldmeister, the undisputed king of the waltz once again pulls out all the stops and delivers a delightful comedy whose scandalous mix-ups ultimately dissolve in a high-proof punch. It's distinctive taste features a hero with a botanical title (Galium odoratum) and a series of evergreens - above all, the leitmotif and proverbial "Trau schau wem" ("Trust, but check"), which is enthusiastically taken up by friend and foe alike. This live recording was made during the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz's guest performance in Vienna and whose new production contributed to this year's Austrian Strauss celebrations.
Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, 4 Last Songs / Roschmann, Nézet-Séguin, Rotterdam Philharmonic
BIS
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Jul 01, 2011
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.
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Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, 4 Last Songs / Roschmann, Nézet-Séguin, Rotterdam Philharmonic
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BIS
Jul 01, 2011
BIS-SACD-1880
Strauss & Mahler: Transcriptions by Clytus Gottwald; Schoenb
Carus
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$15.99
Oct 18, 2024
Clytus Gottwald possessed the special gift of translating the most diverse vocal-soloistic-instrumental compositions into pure, polyphonic choral sound. He was rightly apostrophised by the press as the father of modern choral singing. At the centre of this recording with the Kammerchor Stuttgart under the direction of Frieder Bernius are ten songs by Richard Strauss, to which Gottwald breathes a choral soul with seemingly infinite creativity. The recording is complemented by Gottwald's 16-part transcription of Gustav Mahler's "Adagietto" from the 5th Symphony - a true miracle of sound. And the recording also includes an original composition: Friede auf Erden (Peace on Earth), one of the few choral works of the Second Viennese School, is performed on the 150th anniversary of Arnold Schonberg's birth. With this programme, the Kammerchor Stuttgart once again proves itself to be one of the best ensembles of it's kind.
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Strauss & Mahler: Transcriptions by Clytus Gottwald; Schoenb
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Carus
Oct 18, 2024
CAR83526
Tristan und Isolde
C Major Entertainment
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$51.99
$38.99
Apr 17, 2026
Semperoper Dresden presents an historic performance of Tristan and Isolde, directed by Marco Arturo Marelli and conducted by world-leading conductor Christian Thielemann. The sound he obtains from the Wagnerian score "fills the room with elegiac longing, drawing listeners into the emotional depths of the famous lovers." (Opera Online) Klaus Florian Vogt, in his debut as Tristan, is "fully present and convincing with natural phrasing and clear diction" (Opernmagazin), while Camilla Nylund as Isolde "convinced with her still incredibly lyrical, light soprano" (Sachsische Zeitung). At the zenith of his career, Christian Thielemann manages to set a new standard with his permeation of this difficult score and leads the Staatskapelle Dresden to new heights of artistic expression. "It would be most wonderful if this Tristan never ended." (Opernmagazin). "Brilliant performances that bring you to your knees". (Sachsische Zeitung)
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Tristan und Isolde
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C Major Entertainment
Apr 17, 2026
770708
Henze: Der Prinz von Homburg / Meister, Stuttgart State Orchestra
Capriccio
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$29.99
$22.99
Jun 05, 2020
“But tell me, who could have written a better libretto than my friend Heinrich von Kleist. When I was searching for a language in combination with which my music could produce something new, a diction targeted by my music, I hit on the Prince. . […] The tension between the life of the individual and raison d’état, issues as to the disregard of law and order, man’s quivering before the might of ruling authorities and the courage to resist it, all of that might happen today or might have occurred one or two thousand years ago. […]Many of my endeavors in works of recent years appear through this drama to have reached a new point, i.e. a new polyphony and its concomitant, freely chosen rigor.” (Hans-Werner Henze) This production of The Prince of Homburg is presented by the Staatsorchester Stuttgart and Cornelius Meister.
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Henze: Der Prinz von Homburg / Meister, Stuttgart State Orchestra
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Capriccio
Jun 05, 2020
C5405
Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Macbeth / Gerhard Markson, Et Al
Naxos
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$19.99
Jul 01, 1999
STRAUSS, R.: Heldenleben (Ein) / Macbeth
Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Macbeth / Gerhard Markson, Et Al
$19.99
CD
Naxos
Jul 01, 1999
8554417
Strauss: Lieder
Capriccio
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$16.99
Feb 28, 2012
On his fourth recording in two years, tenor Daniel Behle performs Strauss’ lieder: “I am a lyrical Tenor and as such, one just gets introduced to the Schöne Müllerin, later to the Dichterliebe and eventually to the Winterreise (although I allow myself more time for that one) in the course of one’s studies. At the moment I am quite happy to have opened another page besides the lightly lyrical: to dip into the late romantic era and to discover the outgoing, active and hands-on aspects of the period.”
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Strauss: Lieder
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Capriccio
Feb 28, 2012
C5110
Christmas in the Dresden Frauenkirche / Kopp
Carus
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$15.99
Aug 01, 2006
Carus continues to bring previously unrecorded--and often unpublished--music to renewed life in distinguished performances and authoritative printed scores. In this case, with the disc's title and musical program the label capitalizes on the attention given to the event of the re-opening of the historic Dresden Frauenkirche, recently re-consecrated after a 10-year, multinational restoration project, returning the church (Bach played its Silbermann organ on at least one notable occasion) to its former glory following its complete destruction in the firebombing of the city near the end of World War II. In fact, this wonderful recording, filled with gorgeous, inexplicably neglected music, was made at another Dresden church, the Lukaskirche, before restoration at the Frauenkirche was complete. The point, however, is that the program--four church cantatas for Advent, Christmas, and New Year's Day--leaves nothing to be desired from a musical standpoint. These compact, expertly written works are not only functional (their primary purpose), but are enormously, immediately appealing (not a bad thing for church service music!), with grand, lively opening choruses, vibrant orchestral accompaniments, and strong, perfectly singable arias where even the brief formulaic stuff sounds absolutely right and natural.
From 1742 Gottfried August Homilius (1714-1785) was an important figure in the vital 18th-century Dresden music scene, spending most of his career as organist at the Frauenkirche and Kantor of the Kreuzschule, during which time he composed a couple of hundred church cantatas. Although he was a pupil of Bach, and some of his music retains significant (and well-learned) elements of that style, most of the works on offer here--all world-premieres--demonstrate aspects of the developing "classical" style, especially in the choral writing and use of the orchestra. And yet throughout each work, there's an interesting and invariably effective mix of baroque and classical mannerisms that makes for absorbing listening.
The singing and playing is first rate--Homilius could not have asked for better advocates of his music!--and there's a variety of scoring from cantata to cantata, ranging from double choir with soprano and tenor soloists, to single choir with SATB soloists. The cantata for Christmas Day, Ein hoher Tag kömmt, contains a wonderful trio for two sopranos and tenor, and there are excellent solo arias in each work. As mentioned, the choruses, which serve as the cantatas' opening movements, are outstanding and ideally convey the celebratory mood of their respective texts and occasions. After all of this, it probably goes without saying that the sound engineering is top-notch--full and dynamic and faithful to the Lukaskirche's space and ambience. Highly recommended. [11/15/2005]
--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com
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Christmas in the Dresden Frauenkirche / Kopp
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Carus
Aug 01, 2006
CV83170
Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel - Ein Heldenleben
ICA Classics
Available as
DVD
$41.99
$31.99
Jun 28, 2011
Michael Tilson Thomas conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in this 2 DVD set of performances of Strauss works. Also included is extensive rehearsal footage and educational insight from a master communicator.
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Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel - Ein Heldenleben
$41.99
$31.99
DVD
ICA Classics
Jun 28, 2011
ICAD 5031
Richard Strauss: Rosenkavalier Suite; Till Eulenspiegel; Vier Letzte Lieder
BR Klassik
Available as
CD
$19.99
$12.99
Aug 31, 2010
R. STRAUSS Der Rosenkavalier: Suite. Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks. 4 Last Songs • Mariss Jansons, cond; Anja Harteros (sop); Bavarian RSO • BR 900707 (63:33)
In the program notes, Mariss Jansons is quoted as saying in reference to Richard Strauss that “His music has accompanied me all my life and still stirs me very deeply.” Despite that, his interpretations are curiously understated. The Rosenkavalier Suite is beautifully, almost reverentially played, but is surprisingly subdued. The explosive opening and buildup to Octavian’s grand entry in act II lack passion, exhilaration, and breathless anticipation. Jansons’ pacing is consistently slow to the point where the “Presentation of the Rose” sequence almost loses momentum. The same is true of the waltzes. They sound lovely, but all of this lyrical and slow music tends to drag and lack dynamic contrast, especially in this suite (as opposed to Antál Doráti’s version with its well-positioned and more extensive inclusion of the comical music that opens act III). The Trio is gorgeous at the by now expected very slow speed (how can it not be?). The temptation to linger over this sublime music must be nearly irresistible. However, this Marschallin, Octavian, and Sophie sound like they are on Valium.
Till Eulenspiegel is similarly relaxed, slow, and finely nuanced. The overall effect is light and balletic (not a bad thing). Jansons’s Till is a very lighthearted prankster. In this case, ample contrast is provided by some incisive and powerful bass drum thwacks. It is a pleasure to hear the flawless horn and woodwind soloists in this incredibly refined orchestra.
If you are sympathetic toward the Jansons/Anja Harteros interpretation of the Four Last Songs, this will be for you because they do it really well. Harteros is unfailingly pitch-perfect and her approach is almost operatic. Jansons’ tempos are middle of the road, but the general impression is that they are swifter. In contrast to Der Rosenkavalier, he doesn’t linger here. The execution of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra is truly amazing throughout this recording. I can’t remember hearing Strauss’s remarkable orchestration being presented with this degree of clarity that sounds more cool and transparent than dense and lush.
The sound is solid without ever being overtly flashy. Audiophiles may complain that this is the wrong way to record Strauss, but the engineering does successfully complement the laid-back performances. There is a good compromise between realistic orchestral balance and fine instrumental detail. Harteros is miked very closely and appears to be in a brighter acoustic setting than the orchestra.
These performances will appeal to anyone who wants immaculate and well-controlled orchestral and vocal execution. Clearly, this is not an interpretive approach to Strauss that will appeal to everyone. It works best in the Four Last Songs, which are indeed very special. Even though the Rosenkavalier Suite sounds a little cool and sedate, you still get the opportunity to hear Harteros and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra work their magic in music that is clearly in their blood.
FANFARE: Arthur Lintgen
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Richard Strauss: Rosenkavalier Suite; Till Eulenspiegel; Vier Letzte Lieder
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BR Klassik
Aug 31, 2010
900707
Strauss: Zwischen Himmel und Erde
Haenssler Classic
Available as
CD
$20.99
Jan 17, 2025
Monika Abel is a versatile soprano, and her great passion is classical singing. Together with pianist Kathrin Isabelle Klein she creates and presents a distinctive repertoire in which she juxtaposes works from the Romantic period and classical modernism alongside pieces of contemporary music. Her debut album 'Zwischen Himmel und Erde' (Between Heaven and Earth) is also a project close to her heart, a work that emphasises her preference for 20th-century music and which is particularly suited to her warm, lyrical voice.
Strauss: Zwischen Himmel und Erde
$20.99
CD
Haenssler Classic
Jan 17, 2025
HC23075
Strauss: Four Last Songs, Arias / Anne Schwanewilms
Orfeo
Available as
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$20.99
Nov 13, 2012
"Anne Schwanewilms is one of the leading Strauss sopranos of our times. Here she offers some plums from the composer’s huge output for the soprano voice.
The trio from the last act of Der Rosenkavalier is one of the most sumptuous passages in all Strauss. It’s very well sung here - and, not for the first time on the disc, the Gürzenich-Orchester is inspired by Markus Stenz to some gorgeous playing. My only complaint is that the extract is tantalisingly short. Given the short playing time of the disc could not the remainder of the closing scene have been included, even if Miss Schwanewilms would not have been involved?
There’s ample compensation, however, in the form of the closing scene from Capriccio. There’s some wonderful singing here, especially during the rapturous music to which Strauss sets Olivier’s sonnet when the Countess reads it. Miss Schwanewilms is particularly passionate in tone at ‘Du wirst geliebt und kannst dich nicht’. Then, as the scene draws to a close she’s rapt at ‘Du Spiegelbild der verliebten Madeleine’, spinning a delectable vocal line. From this point until the end of the track the orchestral playing is notably distinguished.
She’s also excellent as Arabella. At the start of the solo her singing is touching and with a hint of vulnerability to it. Later, from ‘Dann aber, wie ich Sie gespürt’, she becomes more impassioned, as the music and the sentiments of the text demand."
-- John Quinn, MusicWeb International
Strauss: Four Last Songs, Arias / Anne Schwanewilms
$20.99
CD
Orfeo
Nov 13, 2012
ORF-C858121
Brass Hommage / German Brass
Berlin Classics
Available as
CD
$20.99
Aug 03, 2018
When you read the name German Brass, you know just where you’re at: here are musicians who can conjure up the most finely-honed degrees of timbre, volume and pitch that it is humanly possible to produce on brass instruments. It rings true: German Brass represents the hallmark of the highest quality brass music made in Germany – or as Concerti magazine put it: “Trailblazers of the Brass scene”. The ensemble’s last album was all about pre-Christmas anticipation, joyful messages and everything that revolves round Bach, Telemann and Handel. Brass Hommage takes us to the opposite end of the calendar spectrum. Things are colorful, rhythmic, exotic even. After a bombastic introduction by way of Strauss’s Thus spake Zarathustra it’s off to the south and the west, armed with a sun hat and shades with classics ranging from Black Bottom Stomp, via Quien Sera, As Time Goes By, Tico Tico to Oye Como va. This is the perfect programme for hot days and balmy nights. With their virtuosity, their brilliant musicality and their own special charm, they have definitely placed their stamp/made their mark on brass culture. Their declared goal is to reproduce the grand-scale resonant sound of an organ. That’s what inspires German Brass’s arrangers and members to produce that sound which has given this top-flight ensemble an inimitable edge for decades. They have been making German brass history now for more than 40 years. Founded in 1974, they seem not to have grown a day older since then. Proof of that can be seen in their full concert schedule. The fact that the ensemble recruits musicians from Germany’s top orchestras means that they can offer outstanding quality, and their collaboration over decades still has audiences gasping, wide-eyed and perking up their ears to hear this musical cornucopia.
Brass Hommage / German Brass
$20.99
CD
Berlin Classics
Aug 03, 2018
0301067BC
Strauss Ii: Rosen Aus Dem Suden / Accelerationen / Schatz-Wa
Bella Musica
Available as
CD
$10.99
Jan 01, 1995
Classical Music
Strauss Ii: Rosen Aus Dem Suden / Accelerationen / Schatz-Wa
$10.99
CD
Bella Musica
Jan 01, 1995
BM312050
Classic Library - Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel, Etc / Maazel
Sony Masterworks
Available as
CD
$11.98
$7.99
Oct 12, 2004
TILL EULENSPIEGEL HELDENLEBEN
On Sale
Classic Library - Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel, Etc / Maazel
$11.98
$7.99
CD
Sony Masterworks
Oct 12, 2004
82876623132
Beethoven, Sibelius, R. Strauss: Conductors in Rehearsal - Mariss Jansons vol. 2 / Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
BR Klassik
Available as
CD
$39.99
$29.99
Jun 03, 2022
What does the work of a conductor actually involve? They move their hands, arms, and whole body; they make use of their eyes and facial expressions - and they also sing and speak (only during rehearsals, of course). Being able to follow a conductor's interpretation makes for an exciting process, and conveys the basic idea behind a work far more vividly at the same time.
"Conductors in Rehearsal" is a BR-KLASSIK series that takes a closer look at the “orchestral workshop”. One can experience first-hand how the conductor's wishes and instructions are implemented, how their explanations and temperament change the resulting sound, and what concepts lie behind the interpretation of the work. Thanks to this series - which also now being released on album - the special collaboration between Mariss Jansons and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra can be documented. The second box set presented by BR-KLASSIK documents four rehearsals for concerts in the Munich Philharmonie im Gasteig and the Herkulessaal der Residenz in Munich, taken from different phases of the collaboration between Mariss Jansons’ work with the BRSO.
On Sale
Beethoven, Sibelius, R. Strauss: Conductors in Rehearsal - Mariss Jansons vol. 2 / Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
$39.99
$29.99
CD
BR Klassik
Jun 03, 2022
BRK900934
STRAUSS: DER ROSENKAVALIER
IMPORTS
Available as
CD
$75.99
Feb 16, 2018
Japanese 3 x SACD pressing. Features 2017 remastering. Sony. 2018.
STRAUSS: DER ROSENKAVALIER
$75.99
CD
IMPORTS
Feb 16, 2018
IMT427640.2
Grosz & Gund: Be Still My Heart
Alpha
Available as
CD
$20.99
$15.99
Mar 28, 2025
Be Still My Heart presents works by two little-known Viennese composers. Robert Gund (1865-1927), born in Switzerland, a pianist, teacher and composer who was highly regarded in Vienna but whose works have since been forgotten, and his younger brother Wilhelm Grosz (1894-1939), who was writing highly successful songs for the cinema in Berlin at the time of Gund's death. Grosz then emigrated to the United States in 1939, when his music became influenced by both post-Romanticism and jazz. This programme, conceived and performed here by Christian Immler and Helmut Deutsch, both masters of the German Lied, includes many songs that are recorded for the first time. Grosz's New York songs have inspired many cover versions by such 20th-century musical greats as Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and the Beatles.
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