Search - Richard [1] Strauss, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra :: Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie

Richard [1] Strauss, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie
Genre: Classical

Track Listings (23) - Disc #1
1. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Nacht
2. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Sonnenaufgang
3. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Der Anstieg
4. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Eintritt in den Wald
5. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Wanderung neben dem Bache
6. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Am Wasserfall
7. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Erscheinung
8. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Auf blumige
9. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Auf der Alm
10. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Durch Dickicht und Gestrupp auf Irrwegen
11. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Auf dem Gletscher
12. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Gefahrvolle Augenblicke
13. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Auf dem Gipfel
14. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Vision
15. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Nebel steigen auf
16. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Die Sonne verdustert sich allmahlich
17. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Elegie
18. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Stille vor dem Sturm
19. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Gewitter und Sturm, Abstieg
20. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Sonnenuntergang
21. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Ausklang
22. Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64: Nacht
23. Der Rosenkavalier-First Sequence Of Waltzes

CD Details

All Artists: Richard [1] Strauss, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Title: Strauss: Eine Alpensinfonie
Members Wishing: 1
Total Copies: 0
Label: Ondine
Release Date: 10/23/2001
Genre: Classical
Style: Symphonies
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaCD Credits: 1
UPC: 761195097625

Synopsis

Amazon.com

Strauss's Alpine Symphony is really a tone poem of 22 episodes translating a mountain-climbing trip into music both poetic and dramatic. It opens under the dark blanket of night. A bright sunrise climax leads to the ascent, wandering lost on a glacier, attaining the peak, a cataclysmic storm, and then the peaceful safety of night. The arc of the narrative and the music suggest it's also a journey through life itself, but the work has more often been seen simply as a workout for a virtuoso orchestra. All those elements are present in Ashkenazy's superb version with the great Czech Philharmonic, whose luscious strings, powerful brass, and unparalleled winds are ideal. Ashkenazy previously recorded a good Alpine with the equally fine Cleveland Orchestra, but this one's preferred. The playing is a bit more tangy and the engineering brings remarkable clarity to the dense score. The Rosenkavalier Waltzes are an enjoyable filler to an Alpine Symphony that ranks with the best. --Dan Davis

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CD Reviews

The Best.

Alan Olshan | New York, NY United States | 08/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Of the 29 Alpines I currently own, this is the best. When a conductor makes you think that the present work is the most important piece of music ever written, it comes through -- and that's what strikes me about this performance, which I keep coming back to. I love this piece, and am intrigued by its relationship to Mahler. You can't go wrong with this recording."

Strauss in a most unusual combination ,but does it work??

P. J. Ross | uk | 03/17/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This,the most unusual combination of a Finnish record company,a Czech orchestra and a Russian conductor have here combined to produce just about the best recorded performance to have appeared in years.The opportunities of the beautiful acoustics of the Czech Philharmonic's home,(the Rudolfinum in Prague),have here been used to their full advantage by the recording engineers in capturing this interpretation in sumptuous sound.

This is Ashkenazy's second attempt at this work,his first with the Cleveland Orchestra on Decca,does not really compete either as an interpretation or in terms of sound.His real challenge in this work comes from Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra on DGG.This combination was almost always unbeatable in the music of Richard Strauss,and so it proves here.The one thing that let it down was the sound.That has been improved in the latest "Karajan Gold" reissue,making it far more comfortable to listen to,and also making easier to appreciate what a riveting interpretation it was.It would,however, be wrong of me to give the impression that I am "damning with faint praise" this magnificent new perfomance of Ashkenazy's.It is only in comparison with Karajan that it falls slightly short.Taken on its own terms it is a winner and I recommend it highly.

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