Alpensinfonie - Stille vor dem Sturm (Calm before the Storm)
Alpensinfonie - Gewitter und Sturm, Abstieg (Thunderstorm, Descent)
Alpensinfonie - Sonnenuntergang (Sunset)
Alpensinfonie - Ausklang (Conclusion)
Alpensinfonie - Nacht (Night)
Macbeth - Allegro, un poco maestoso; Presto
Macbeth - Moderato maestoso
Macbeth - Allegro, un poco maestoso
Richard Strauss's gift for evocative musical description was uncanny, to the point where it was joked he could set even a grocery list or a pint of beer to music. In fact, his various tone poems--the form with which he fir... more »st gained fame as a composer--actually develop an orchestral vocabulary to depict topics ranging from Nietzsche's Superman to a fierce storm on the Alps and a day in the life of a nuclear family. This set gathers Lorin Maazel's interpretations from the last few years (with perhaps the greatest tone poem of the whole canon, Don Quixote, still to come in a planned future recording). Maazel--currently music director of the Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio, an ensemble of high-powered soloists modeled on Toscanini's famous NBC orchestra--is returning to some of these works for his third take, and his vision seems to have clarified in particular for the vistas of Ein Heldenleben and the Alpine Symphony as for the idealistic poetry of Death and Transfiguration and Don Juan. While these accounts don't achieve the degree of narrative thrust of Kempe's indispensable versions or the astonishing ensemble opulence of Karajan's Strauss, Maazel highlights his orchestra's solo prowess at every possible moment, and textures are often given a marvelous clarity. The feeling such technical perfection imparts can be distant, as in what should be the most fevered passages of Zarathustra. But Maazel brings a loving touch to the much-dismissed Domestic Symphony as well as conviction to the early Macbeth. And the orchestra's wizardry--particularly the winds--gives much pleasure, especially in the deftly humored account here of Till Eulenspiegel. Both Zarathustra and the Sinfonia Domestica are still available as single-CD issues, as well. --Thomas May« less
Richard Strauss's gift for evocative musical description was uncanny, to the point where it was joked he could set even a grocery list or a pint of beer to music. In fact, his various tone poems--the form with which he first gained fame as a composer--actually develop an orchestral vocabulary to depict topics ranging from Nietzsche's Superman to a fierce storm on the Alps and a day in the life of a nuclear family. This set gathers Lorin Maazel's interpretations from the last few years (with perhaps the greatest tone poem of the whole canon, Don Quixote, still to come in a planned future recording). Maazel--currently music director of the Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio, an ensemble of high-powered soloists modeled on Toscanini's famous NBC orchestra--is returning to some of these works for his third take, and his vision seems to have clarified in particular for the vistas of Ein Heldenleben and the Alpine Symphony as for the idealistic poetry of Death and Transfiguration and Don Juan. While these accounts don't achieve the degree of narrative thrust of Kempe's indispensable versions or the astonishing ensemble opulence of Karajan's Strauss, Maazel highlights his orchestra's solo prowess at every possible moment, and textures are often given a marvelous clarity. The feeling such technical perfection imparts can be distant, as in what should be the most fevered passages of Zarathustra. But Maazel brings a loving touch to the much-dismissed Domestic Symphony as well as conviction to the early Macbeth. And the orchestra's wizardry--particularly the winds--gives much pleasure, especially in the deftly humored account here of Till Eulenspiegel. Both Zarathustra and the Sinfonia Domestica are still available as single-CD issues, as well. --Thomas May
CD Reviews
Overall, the recordings well worth it!
David A. Hollingsworth | Washington, DC USA | 12/17/1999
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Lorin Maazel is not a neurotic conductor (nor was Richard Strauss the composer). Strauss had a tremendous gift of imaginative invention, vividness, and portrayal of the subjects and the heroes behind his symphonic poems. There's no doubt that Strauss took the ideas of Franz Liszt (the father of symphonic poems) and developed the genre further. Lorin Maazel and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra managed to achieve the balance in their performances and they sound as if they played the works out of admiration rather than anything else. Vividness, excitement, and commitment are all present in these recordings, especially of Eine Alpinesinfonie. However, Strauss, though not a neurotic, was a composer of drama. Therefore, performances with drama will tend bring out more effectively the vividness, imaginative, and the descriptive ever so characteristic aspects of Strauss symphonic poems (and his operas). Maazel and the Bavarian were able to bring out those aspects of Strauss' works to some effectiveness. Their main drawback included too much emphasis on balance and not much on daringness. The climax of Death and Transfiguration, for example lacks the element of surprise Rudolf Kempe or Herbert von Karajan were able to portray. It is as if Maazel's performance with the Bavarian, though distinguished, conscientously tried to ignore the ruggedness so much a part of Strauss' tone poems (such as Ein Heldenlaben). Forget the meticulousness for a while, just tell us the story that will keep us awake and excited. This set (or separate CDs previously issued) is recommendable. But if you're the one that needs to feel compelled and/or pumped up, go for the recordings of Herbert von Karajan or Rudolf Kempe, or even Sir George Solti (the best conductor of Strauss' operas by the way!)."
Boring and over rated
Zachary S. Jackson | Las Vegas, Nevada United States | 05/10/2000
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I am a Lorin Maazel fan. I had no idea, however, that his R. Strauss tempi and balances were so boring. I was completely let down by these recordings. the only bonus was the recording technology they chose to employ, but overall, it was a total waist of time and money."
Very Good But Not Great Richard Strauss from Maazel
John Kwok | New York, NY USA | 12/28/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Perhaps I'm a bit jaded, having heard exceptional accounts of some of Strauss's tone poems from the likes of Karajan and Sawallisch, but Maazel's Strauss tone poem cycle is simply a very well recorded, brilliantly performed set that offers few new insightful thoughts into either Strauss's musical intentions or Maazel's. Maazel does a great job emphasizing the rich orchestral textures of Strauss's scores, but rarely is it played with much conviction and warmth; notable exceptions include brilliant performances of Ein Alpensinfonie - although among the best, I still prefer Solti's glistening account with the Bavarian Radio Symphony - and Macbeth. However, fans of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra will not be disappointed by their exquisite playing that is just as splendid as their peers in Berlin and Vienna. Yet if you are interested in profound, riveting accounts of Strauss's scores, I recommend listening to recordings by Previn and the Vienna Philharmonic, and Blomstedt and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, as well as those from Sawallisch and Karajan."
Kempe Vs. Maazel is closer than one would think
Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 10/01/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"There are two competing sets at mid-to-budget price of the major orchestral works of Richard Strauss, this RCA set and the much more complete one from Kempe on EMI. Although the Kempe has been a darling of critics for decades, he wasn't in truth a major interpreter of these works, just a solid, unintrusive Kapellmeister type. None of his readings, with the possible exception of Don Quixote with Paul Tortelier as collo soloist, would rank as a first choce, but none are eccentric, either. Kempe's specialty was to find delicacy and refinement in works that often come off blantantly.
With Maazel we have a very intrusive interpreter who is ocnstantly fiddling with the details of Strauss's writing and who is apt at any moment to deliver a little shock by turning a phrase unexpectedly. At first I found this intrusiveness irritating, but Maazel is quite a technician. There is no doubt that he has ideas, agree with them or not. His Bavarian forces sound to me about as virtuosic as the Dresden Staatskepelle for Kempe. Maazel's set is in much better sound than Kempe's, demonstration quality, in fact. That counts for a lot in these splashy works. If only Maazel had given his musicians free rein to go over the top in climaxes, but the orgiastic isn't his style; being in total control is.
In the end, as the owner of both sets, I find about equl rewards in them, even though critics greatly favor the Kempe, a choice that doesn't seem completely valid to me unless you happen to want all the esoterica of Strauss's output."
Track Listings (11) - Disc #1