Search - Richard [1] Strauss, David Zinman, Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra :: R.Strauss: Don Quixote; Celloromanze; Bläserserenade

Yet another winner from Zinman & Zurich

JJA Kiefte | Tegelen, Nederland | 05/21/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The highly dissonant imitation of bleating sheep in Strauss's tone poem Don Quixote will surely have astounded audiences in 1898. Every premiere of a Strauss tone poem since "Aus Italien" in 1887 caused considerable outrage among conservative music lovers. Accused of putting effect over substance, Strauss's genius is still considered by some as a not quite fulfilled promise. Listening to this disc I could not help but notice how great Strauss's music is. This disc contains some wonderful music, indeed the very opening of Don Quixote is staggeringly beautiful. And how well the orchestra plays under the guidance of the splendid Zinman, and how well the engineers have captured every nuance of Strauss's brilliant orchestration (even noted composers as Paul Dukas and the normally acerbic Claude Debussy admitted that in this respect Strauss had very few rivals). I must admit that when I first encountered this CD in a shop in Düsseldorf (Germany) I harboured some misgivings on account of the booklet artwork looking so very cheap and uninspired, combined with the unbelievable price of Eur. 5.99 ($ 5 at the current exchange rate), but on returning home I discovered to my delight that in some cases the moon is indeed made of green cheese. As said, these are very well played and conducted performances in sparkling sound quality (the latter a lot better than the Kempe / Dresden sound on either Brilliant or EMI). Now, I'm not blessed with so acute an ear as to be able to dissect each and every performance in a technical sense, but on comparing Zinman's Quixote with that of the critically acclaimed Kempe, I feel compelled to express a strong preference for Zinman, for not only is the recorded sound much clearer, but I also find the playing much smoother (especially the all important cello part) and the orchestral balance doing more justice to Strauss's score. This disc also features Strauss's Cello Romance and the Wind Serenade (both composed when he was a teenager) which are lovely, dreamy works that are too seldom heard. So do not let yourself be put off by the artwork or misled by the budget-budget price and treat yourself to an hour-plus of fantastic music, performed by a state-of-the-art orchestra with ditto conductor and some sterling engineering. And look out for those other six discs as well (or the budget priced box that has been reissued of late)."

Brilliant

David Saemann | 03/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"My favorite Don Quixote has been the Naxos recording with Alexander Rudin, but upon listening to the Zinman again I'm not so sure. Zinman's first cello is the soloist, and he plays very well. Zinman's direction is wonderfully sympathetic, and the extraordinary sound engineering captures the whole thing with wonderful tone quality and dynamic range. This is undeniably the best sounding Don Quixote I've ever heard, and I include in that the classic Living Stereo with Reiner. The orchestra plays with scarcely believable panache. Tempos are moderate and sympathetic, and Zinman displays a wonderful sense of humor when appropriate. The other two works are well done, but you really buy this disc for the Don Quixote. If you have a first class stereo, this absolutely will tickle your fancy."