What are you listening to?

[Jared]

I would personally put von Karajan before Kempe in Strauss. Kempe is excellent but von Karajan has the essence of the music. Either way you will not go wrong Seán....I will be watching this spot!

Speaking personally, I've never heard the Reiner, but I feel you couldn't put a blade of grass between the offerings by Karajan and Kempe in terms of quality. If you don't own the Kempe and are looking for one comprehensive survey of Strauss' works which are consistently near the top of the tree, then this is the set to go for.

When it comes to Karajan, as a general rule (although not always) his late 60's/ early 70's output is slightly better than his mid 80's fare (covered in this 5CD box set) when he was past his prime, however the sound quality in the latter is superlative. His Don Quixote with Fournier is meant to be remarkable and better than the Meneses version, likewise the Four Last Songs with Janowitz is probably more powerful than the later ones with Sintow. That said, his earlier Metamorphosis is a little thin and he improved on the textures later on.

I suppose the point I was making is that for the price, this 5CD set of Karajan's later interpretations would still be a very fine purchase; he really did have a very good understanding of Strauss' music.

[Jared]

'Taverner Day' has started, over at chez Butcher...

[Jose Echenique]

Alas, I don't have much to spin, I will have to fix that.

Sean, all of Karajan's 80's output (and some of his earlier work) has recently been released in this 5CD set at a budget price:



If you own very little on here, then it would certainly be worth the purchase.

Anna Tomowa-Sintow´ s performance of the 4 Last Songs is ample reason to buy the set, it´s my favourite version. She is far warmer and introspective than the cool but gorgeous sounding Janowitz. Besides the Capriccio last scene is a treat.

[Jared]

Anna Tomowa-Sintow´ s performance of the 4 Last Songs is ample reason to buy the set, it´s my favourite version.

well, I am surprised... I think the Janowitz is superb and probably still my favourite.

[Jose Echenique]

Here is the Gramophone review:

It must be infuriating for the collector who may have just acquired one of the above-listed versions of the Four Last Songs now to be told that maybe he should have waited for this new one. But I have to say that the new performance seems to me even closer an ideal than any of the other three. In Lieder on record (CUP) out this month, Michael Kennedy makes out a strong case for Karajan's previous recording with Gundula Janowitz (DG 2530 368, 12/74—nla) commenting that she has the "Straussian voice par excellence, carrying in its tone and timbre echoes of Strauss opera heroines". Precisely the same can be said of TomowaSintow and, like Janowitz, she captures the "sensuous overtones" in the passage starting "Und die Seele" in the third song. Indeed, I find her altogether more communicative than Janowitz and perhaps even more lovely in tone, more vibrant and appealing. Her closest rival in that respect among available versions is Te Kanawa on CBS, but somehow Dame Kin i is less idiomatic, more cautious in her rapture.
Eliette and Herbert von Karajan, GUnter Hermanns (Balance Engineer), Dr Andreas Holschneider (President of Deutsche Grammophon Production) and soprano Anna Tomowa-Sintow present the new recording of Richard Strauss vocal music to the public in Salzburg during July this year.
Another relevant comparison both between the earlier Karajan and the current readings is in the matter of speeds. I was astonished to find that in almost every case Karajan is a good deal swifter than his rivals and his earlier self except in the final song where the speed is virtually the same. That is all gain and gives these pieces an added urgency, less of the portentousness and self-regard that is found on the Norman/Masur Philips recording, which has certainly worn less well than I expected.
The voice is beautifully recorded, but the orchestra sometimes has that curious digital feeling of being in a no-man's-land, though the playing itself is glorious. As an interpretation the Karajan comes nearest to the Tennstedt (EMI), both glowingly tense. I would not be without either, specially as Popp is a mite more spontaneous than Tomowa-Sintow, though not so full and creamy in tone. By comparison with either, the Marton/ Davis is nowhere, the CD issue not altering my views at all, but offering an orchestral rarity in the fragment from Die Liebe der Danae.

[Jose Echenique]

Karajan only recorded 2 recitals with singers: the famous Christmas Album with Leontyne Price and the Strauss recital with Anna Tomowa-Sintow. That should tell you something about her standing with the maestro. Ah, he also said she was "much" better than Schwarzkopf. I totally concur.

[Jose Echenique]

This is another lavish product and presentation in every way. The performances from both the singers and musicians are once again wonderful in this assertive but not driven performance.

This was the first recording of a Mozart opera by René Jacobs and I think it´s still his best. First of all he´s blessed with a very good cast, especially the women. Veronique Gens and Bernarda Fink meet all the demands put on them and can stand their ground among the greatest sopranos who have recorded the work. But most important, René Jacobs show that a period performance doesn´t have to be cold, faceless and impersonal. Whereas Simon Rattle conducted his version with strict, unvaried tempi, Jacobs allows himself certain freedoms that pay handsome dividends, like in the "farewell quintet", taken at such a slow tempo that could make Klemperer blush. It works though, because Jacobs understands the whole structure and relates the piece to what comes before and after.
Of course this is only possible because of the stupendous playing of the Concerto Köln, who are at one with Jacobs.
The discography of Cosi Fan Tutte is one of the glories of the gramophone. Last time I counted I had 38 recordings, probably 40 now. The Jacobs is still the best in period instruments.

[Jared]

beautiful music, wonderfully performed.

[Jose Echenique]

This "little" 80 minute intermezzo was a subplot to be played in the intermissions of the larger Paisiello opera L´Osteria di Marechiaro. What a pity that OPUS111 didn´t record the main opera too, but we rest content wit this totally delightful Neapolitan divertimento. Of course no one but the Cappella de´Turchini could do justice to this music. To hear these singers in the Neapolitan dialect is a joy in itself. This is a marvelous treat.

[Ciaran]

This "little" 80 minute intermezzo was a subplot to be played in the intermissions of the larger Paisiello opera L´Osteria di Marechiaro. What a pity that OPUS111 didn´t record the main opera too, but we rest content wit this totally delightful Neapolitan divertimento. Of course no one but the Cappella de´Turchini could do justice to this music. To hear these singers in the Neapolitan dialect is a joy in itself. This is a marvelous treat.

Sounds interesting. And it has Roberta Invernizzi!