Search - R Strauss, Krauss, Richard Strauss :: Richard Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, Don Juan, Till Eulenspiegel / Mengelberg, et al.

Better-sounding on Naxos and Pearl

Ralph J. Steinberg | New York, NY United States | 02/22/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I don't understand why the companies who originally recorded such historic performances generally fail in maintaining high standards in reissuing them. The sound on this disc is rahter muffled and lacking presence. Naxos recently came out with a far superior sounding "Heldenleben" (coupled with the most harrowing "Tod und Verklaerung" imaginable), although there is some room for improvement here, too. Pearl has a superb transfer of "Don Juan", coupled with the Phiharmonic "Heldenleben." The performances on the present disc are great, but are sonically represented in much better condition elsewhere."

A leap in the past

08/24/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mengelberg is widely acknowledged as a major Strauss interpreter, and the recordings that are to be found here are also pretty well known : his 1938 'Don Juan' is certainly the most daring interpretation ever and it is all the more recommendable as it has been superbly transferred to CD. No tape hiss, no cracks : musical detail is not optimal but still very good for a 1938 recording. Curiously, his 1941 'Heldenleben' is not so well recorded, but also quite listenable. And Mengelberg's fiery interpretation largely makes up for a less precise sound.However, what really makes this CD exceptional is the rare but compelling interpretation of 'Till Eulenspiegel' by another less known great Straussian (and also one of his friends) : Clemens Krauss. His 1938 recording is also pretty well recorded for its age, and the interpretation ranks among the best references such as Karajan, Reiner or Kempe.I strongly recommend this CD, even for those of you who are not die-hard audiophiles : try it, you'll be surprised !"