Search - Richard Strauss, Rudolf Kempe, Staatskapelle Dresden :: Richard Strauss: Ariadne auf Naxos

Why Isn't This Recording Better Known?

Good Stuff | 04/24/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a stunning performance. Other than, perhaps, Karl Bohm, no conductor has as complete an understanding of this deceptively complicated score as Rudolf Kempe. Because he allows the music to exist in an almost Mozartian realm of delicacy, everything is heard in a dramatic and musical balance almost always missing. And he allows the great climaxes to pour out in all their Straussian grandeur.His handling of the final duet is almost overwhelming in it's dramatic intensity. Yet one never loses the sense that Herr Strauss is in charge here, not Herr Kempe. A greater tribute to a great conductor cannot be made.The soloists are uniformly superb. Surely there is no other soprano on record who negotiates Ariadne's musically and dramatically difficult role with the security, fearlessness and simplicity as does the famed Gundula Janowitz. She is unfailingly musical here. Her voice allows her music to soar into the clouds.Teresa Zylis-Gara is a wonderful composer. She is a soprano, as Strauss intended, and sounds appropriately youthful, impassioned, and impetuous. This was such a beautiful voice and such a wonderful artist.And, finally, I must comment on the vastly underrated American tenor, James King. Bacchus is, for all intents and purposes, impossible. It lies treacherously high for a dramatic tenor, yet contains many passages only a dramatic could sing. It also contains passages of quiet lyricism. Quite a test for any tenor. I'm told Jon Vickers, who sang the role early on and only occasionally, was a magnificent Bacchus. So is James King, who sang the role often throughout his career, and with great success. His performance here is roof-raising, to say the least. The microphones found him, in 1968, to be at the absolute pinnacle of his remarkable powers. He actually seams to revel in the impossibility of the music, knowing he is making the impossible possible.Hearing is believing. This is a magnificent recording."

Everyone Should Own Two-This is One of Two

Bertrand Stclair | new york, new york United States | 12/22/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This and Karajan's '54 recording share first place, in my mind. It can be a toss, but you're better off owning both and reveling in their wonderful differences. Kempe's is a much better sound (there is a fifteen-year difference) and, in spite of Karajan's instantly recognizable touch, Kempe just may take home the gold, not only for clarity and sharpness, but also for conveying the chamber-ensemble sound, which was what Strauss wanted (read the history of the making of "Ariadne" and you'll see why), whereas Karajan indulges in the "wall of sound" orchestral effects.

One is almost tempted to say that Karajan's cast wins hands-down, but it isn't quite that easy. Rita Streich is a superior Zerbinetta, but, although I adore Irmgard Seefried (Karajan), I must admit that the otherwise unknown to me Teresa Zylis-Gara (Kempe) brings a vulnerable subtlety to the "Composer" that stands its ground opposite Seefried's straight-out furious male. Conversely, while James King is an appropriately forceful Bacchus for Kempe, Rudolf Schock is a sweeter one for Karajan: both are valid; after all, these characters are supposed to be ridiculous, bullies and overdramatic phonies, and Strauss's trick consists in a smooth transition from the egotism and vulgarity of the actors to the unexpected depth of emotion of the characters they embody in the final scenes, which he achieves, of course, through his superb music.

For what it's worth, the secondary roles are also equally spread over the two recordings: even the speaking role of the Majordomo is done very differently on each recording, and so interestingly as to actually engage the listener - Karajan's Majordomo is rather obtuse, or perhaps slyly malicious, while Kempe's is coldly domineering and one can't help but want to kick him.

That brings us to Ariadne, who, in my case, would be the deciding point if I had to choose between the two recordings. Well, I'd have a very hard time. Some dislike Elisabeth Schwarzkopf's mannerisms, others are not fans of Gundula Janowitz's "white voice." That said, one can hardly imagine two singers of higher caliber, and both are Ariadnes without compare. Schwarzkopf does her (soon to come) Marschallin: she is all wounded melancholy, tremulous regret. Janowitz, less subtly but with spectacular effect, goes from the obnoxious diva of the prologue to a woman perhaps ten years younger and hoping for a resolution through death with almost eerie conviction. It is interesting to compare them in specific places, such as the final scene with the Naiads. Schwarzkopf, of whom we would expect to always be prominent, is recorded very much "inside" the choir, thus contributing nicely to the impression of Ariadne's giving in to her fate, be it death or be it love. Janowitz, on the other hand, clearly leads the choir and, since her voice is a natural for religious polyphony, here obtains the effect of a gorgeous "heavenly choir."

Your pick - or not.

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