Search - Johann II [Junior] Strauss, Herbert von Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra :: Johann Strauss An Der Schonen,Blauen Donau (The Blue Danube)

Karajan is a master in Strauss, and this CD can be had for p

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 11/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't know why this 1981 colleciton of Strauss waltzes is off the market (it can be had very cheap at Amazon Marketplace). One expects Karajan to be masterful in Johann Strauss -- his Blue Danube became a hit when it appeared in the soundtrack for 2001: A Space Odyssey --and that expectation holds true whether you sample recordings made with the Vienna Phil. in the late Forties or this CD, which I believe is the conductor's last Strauss disc before the acclaimed New Year's concert from Vienna in 1987.



Karajan's pacing and dynamics softened over the years, and this outing, although not as broad as the 1987 concert, doesn't have quite the same vitality as recordings from the previous three decades. That hardly matters, though. The orchestra plays sublimely, the digital sound is good (no screechy highs) and Karajan is to the manner born. My only disappoi9ntment was the Blue Danube Waltz, taken too slowly and underplayed. It wasn't nice of DG to include only 50 min. of music, either, even if all of it is delightful."

Classic music 3/4

Santa Fe Listener | 09/28/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Johann Strauss An Der Schonen,Blauen Donau (The Blue Danube).

What faults can one find in von Karajan? He conducts Strauss' works admirably, and this disc contains one/some of the best of the Master's efforts in The Blue Danube."