Search - Richard Strauss, Andrew Davis, Kiri Te Kanawa :: Kiri Te Kanawa - Strauss: Four Last Songs, Orchestral Songs / A. Davis

Stunning for the sheer beauty of Te Kanawa's young voice--sh

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 07/12/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Kiri Te Kanawa and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf overlapped in all their opera roles by Richard Strauss, and both happened to make two recordings of the Four Last Songs. In either case the first recording was not as deep so far as interpreatation and conducting went, but the ravishing quality of the voice swept all before it. Schwarzkopf sang her second version under George Szell, and even though her voice had faded, the combination of musical depth and orchestral excellence made for a classic of the gramophone.



In the case of Te Kanawa, I'd give the nod to this early CBS recording under Andrew Davis. He is certainly as good as Otto Ackerman on Schwarzkopf's first effort, but thanks to good stereo sound, no one can better Te Kanawa's bewitching voice. As another reviewer states, she uses it as a pure instrument, not paying much attention to the words--in that regard she cannot match Schwarzkopf. But as with other vocally gorgeous accounts of these songs (from Jessye Norman, Renee Fleming, and Gundula Janowitz) the thrill of the voice is enough. On second thought, when she's at her best, Te Kanawa puts more into the poetry than Isobeski, Popp, and Auger among more recent recordings.



In her remake on Decca from 1991 under Solti, we also get 13 songs with piano accompaniment to fill out the recital. The Gramophone preferred Solti and the older Te Kanawa for their mature musicality, not to mention that this earlier CD is stingy--it supplies only 6 extra orchestral songs. I'm not out to disagree, but the later Te Kanawa, as well as she managed her voice, cannot match her first, pristine beauty."

Technically superior but not the best interpretation

Kathleen McSharry | Riverside, RI United States | 06/28/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm the last person to criticize the amazing Te Kanawa, whose technical prowess is impressive here as elsewhere, but I disagree with those who consider her rendition of Strauss' Four Last Songs the best. Gundula Janowitz takes that honor. Although she's not as technically proficient as Te Kanawa, her singing of Four Last Songs with Karajan's orchestra is the high mark for this work. Janowitz is not a showy singer, which means that Americans need to slow down to hear her sublime voice. Te Kanawa's interpretation also suffers from a tempo that is just a tad too fast--which makes her sound a bit hysterical in some of the ascending passages. But this is a four-star recording, in part because Te Kanawa's singing of Strauss' other orchestral songs included on this disc is swoon-inducing. I especially recommend her "Befreit"."

Superlative Kiwi

thisisgibbie | Indianapolis | 12/31/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Like Thomas Lapins, I first became aware of Dame Kiri's Strauss version through the film "The Year of Living Dangerously", which I think incorrectly named the song "September", which was actually "Time To Sleep" or "Beim Schlafengehen" in the original.



The piece aforementioned certainly assisted the dramitic apex of that film, which made it a classic.



Personally, I much prefer her version to Elisabeth Schwarkopf's, but that is merely my taste and when you hear something through experience, you tend to prefer it. Still, her voice is superlative.



Also, I highly recommend Jane Eaglen's more recent Sony version. She has a wonderful voice, too."