Fine Ein Heldenleben
Joseph L. Howlett | Saranac Lake, New York | 06/13/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Fritz Reiner and his Chicago Symphony Orchestra were renowned interpreters of the music of Richard Strauss. This is a wonderful recording of the exciting work "Ein Heldenleben", performed in 1954 and digitally remastered for this release. I recommend this CD to anyone who wants to hear Richard Strauss conducted the way it was meant to be by a conductor who was a brilliant musician, if greatly disliked by his peers, because of his nasty persona. He was known to have a very small beat and one day an orchestra member in the back of the orchestra brought a telescope with him, to better see the conductor's beat. He was fired on the spot. But boy could Reiner get results, to the listener's benefit."