A masterful new Heldenleben, graced with spectacular sonics
Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 02/12/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Herbert von Karajan, who turned the Berlin Phil. into the almost superhuman ensemble it remains today, conducted Strauss all his life but avoided Mahler until near the end. Simon Rattle has done the opposite, so it's significant that he decided to tread on sacred ground and record one of Karajan's most famous showpieces. The result is a triumph: this is totally committed conducting that crackles with more excitement than any of Karajan's analog or digital versions and never runs the risk of being over-inflated.
EMI has given Rattle superbly detailed sonics across a huge dynamic range; there is no comparison with the boomy bass and shrill violins found in Karajan's classic 1959 account on DG. (It must be admitted, however, that Christian Thielemann's version for DG has even better sound -- it makes this one feel a bit hollow and lacking in sensual splendor.) The multi-miking may offend purists, since no inner detail is left out--if you still want to hear th second flute while the brass is blasting away, here you go. I for one find the impact of this CD almost unbearable. The flood of sound comes close to the shivering excitment of the real thing (Rattle recently overhwlmed the New YOrk critics and public with this same Heldeleben performance in Carnegie Hall, which I attended).
My chief objection to Rattle's conducting has been its fussiness, and in the long, enraptured section devoted to the hero's beloved, Rattle dawdles self-consciously over every sugary bar. But elsewhere he uncovers so much new detail that I was won over; this is a Heldenleben that underlines every expressive stroke from Strauss rather than being embarrassed by excess. The generous filler is a graceful, sensitively small-scale reading of the Bourgeois Gentilhomme Suite that Strauss concocted to resuce a pastiche of 18th-century music from the original, unworkable version of Ariadne auf Naxos. Both readings are from 2005, the Heldenleben recorded at a live concert, the Bourgeois Gentilhomme in the studio.
Without a doubt this CD sets a new standard in performance for one of Strauss's most extravangant tone poems. It's hard to imagine another orhestra that could duplicate it (if you have doubts, there's a new live Heldenleben from the Royal Concertgebouw under Mariss Jansons to put beside this one)."
Here Is My Illuminating Review Of This Album
dv_forever | Michigan, USA | 09/22/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Simon Rattle is a conductor I passionately want to champion. He is a very talented guy who's crazy about music and he always manages to convey that enthusiasm. He also is not afraid to engage with the public and be a spokesman for modern works and offbeat repertoire. He's got the kind of cheerful, pleasant, warm personality that we haven't seen in barely any conductors since Leonard Bernstein. Now Simon is at the helm of possibly the deepest, most virtuosic orchestra in the whole wide world, the Berlin Philharmonic. I think Rattle's achievements back in Burmingham were sizable but hardly extraordinary when you get down to it, I mean how many works of music has Simon recorded where you feel it might be the definitive performance of a piece? Not many I should say. I do however think in his Berlin Philharmonic appointment as chief conductor Rattle will ultimately surpass the achievement of Claudio Abbado, but he will not approach the glory days of the godlike masters Herbert von Karajan and Wilhelm Furtwangler.
Let's begin then, already this past year Rattle has deluged the market with interesting CDs, for instance Dvorak's Late Symphonic Poems, a Schubert 9th that many hate, Messaien's Illuminations of the Beyond, ( a work I find tedious compared to Messiaen's Turangalila Symphony ), a Debussy La Mer and various pieces, Brahms' 1st Piano Concerto and so on. Apart from Debussy, Rattle has not tried to invade Karajan's territory until this recording of Richard Strauss' Ein Heldenleben.
Down below, you have two opposing perspectives on this recording and the quality of sound it receives. One reviewer says great, another says atrocious. Let me be the voice of reason. The sound on this CD is pretty good for the most part. Compared to the thin, muffled sound of Rattle's Vienna Philharmonic Beethoven cycle, ( see my review ), this Ein Heldenleben sounds splendid, but I have heard more lush, wide-ranging digital engineering from the likes of Decca and even EMI in the 70's. Are all the great sound guys dead at EMI these days? They used to be exceptional. Altogether, the sound is close up and highlights the orchestra from many angles. It does not sound like it was recorded in a closet, that is a gross exaggeration! The sound is good, it's just not state of the art, however that's not a deal breaker, the performance stands up to it's competitors. Overall I would say the aural engineering is on par with many of it's competitors.
As a performance, this is mostly a riveting good time, the opening Hero section is passionate and full of vigor, the critics are sharp and nasty, the Hero's Wife section is where Simon Rattle starts to sag a bit, especially in the rapturous second portion where the orchestra takes up the Strauss couple's ecstasy and contentment with one another. Here Rattle slows the music down a tad and seems to try and wallow in it instead of letting the musical line take it's natural direction as Karajan always did on his records. The Battle Section is fierce and involving with plenty of inner detail and spotlighting of the instruments, which some people won't take to. The later passages follow up an altogether terrific interpretation. I would have loved to hear this in concert! The sound on the recording as I mentioned above is not as lush or expansive as in the best sounding Heldenlebens, for instance Karajan's outstanding EMI version from the 70's and Blomstedt's version with the San Francisco Symphony on Decca, ( a note, Blomstedt's Denon version is lame and tame by comparison ).
So why should you listen to my opinion exactly? Well, I am a huge fan of Richard Strauss, everything from his tone poems, operas, songs, concerti, even his outlandishly neglected choral music! He is one of the supreme masters of composition even if his music many times lacks the profound nature that can be found in Bach, Beethoven and Wagner, Strauss is still one of the most brilliant musicians who ever lived. I have listened to many Ein Heldenlebens. Let me count them and give quick insights on each version I either own or heard. Here goes, Reiner/RCA from 1955, ( good but a tad mechanical ), Karajan/DG from 1959 ( terrific but Karajan would go on to do even better ), Eugene Ormandy/Sony Essential Classics, ( a rollicking good time, certainly a garish account, it's a shame that the sound sucks compared to the best versions ), Barbirolli/EMI from the late 1960's, ( incredibly expansive, even slow reading, but engaging and interesting in it's own way ), Solti/Decca from the 1970's, ( intense, fierce, brilliant, but lacks inner qualities ), Karajan/EMI from 1974, ( this EMI Karajan is the best Heldenleben in my opinion, awesome performance all the way through with the most thrilling Battle Scene ever recorded! Sound is lush and expansive, A must own. ), Rudolf Kempe/EMI, also from the 70's, ( good work but not first class ). Haitink/Philips, 70's again, ( fine account but somewhat understated in Haitink's typical vein ). Karajan/DG Karajan Gold from the early 1980's, ( another monumental performance but the sound can be a bit rough, early digital edge, you know! ). Blomstedt/Denon, ( this earlier Blomstedt account with the Dresden orchestra is too tame for it's own good, I was sleepy and not involved ). Blomstedt/Decca, ( Blomstedt's second go at Hero's Life with the San Francisco Symphony is much better and has terrific sound! Still, he's no Karajan! ). Wolfgang Sawallisch/EMI, from the 1990's ( good, classy playing by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Sawallisch uses Strauss' original, quiet ending, where the music just fades away, no massive fortissimo like in every other version. Guess what, that fortissimo is great and I sorely missed it! Oh well, still a decent record ). Simon Rattle/EMI 2005, ( the one I'm reviewing, braniac! This is a damn fine job by Rattle, a good choice but not the best ). Christian Thieleman/DG 2003, ( this Vienna Philharmonic performance is Rattle's most inspired recent competitor. It's massive, perhaps slightly over emphatic and bloated but nonetheless very satisfying and perceptive, great sound ).
Well, there you have it! I just gave you a rundown of over a dozen Heldenlebens, I hope you were taking notes! Isn't this the best review ever? Hahaha! Simon is strongly competitive overall in this music but the honor goes to Herbert von Karajan in the end, anyone who disagrees with that simply doesn't have a clue!
1st place, Karajan on EMI from 1974, available in the Karajan Edition or Karajan Collection, same remastering by the way! 2nd place is Karajan on DG Karajan Gold from the 1980's or the early 1959 version, both great but the digital one has the edgy sonics as I mentioned. 3rd place, take your pick, Rattle/EMI, Reiner/RCA, Solti/Decca, Thielemann/DG or Blomstedt/Decca, any of these versions is a winner but not a champion. If you want a more historical perspective, you can seek out Thomas Beecham or Clemens Krauss, ( Strauss' main conductor back in the day ), or even the master Richard Strauss himself conducting Heldenleben, I haven't heard Strauss himself, but it must be good!
Did I mention that Rattle also conducts the suite Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme on this CD? This is not a favorite of mine by any measure, how can the composer of Ein Heldenleben, Salome and Elektra also fashion together this pedestrian bourgeoise score? The modernists must have had a field day ripping Strauss a new one over this music, although some composers like Stravinsky would be guilty later of similar stylings in his neo-classical phase for instance. All in all this is one of the many different facets of Strauss' persona, the fire-breathing hero on the one hand and the middle class dork on the other. If you want a great performance of Le Bourgeois Genhilhomme, go to Fritz Reiner, this Simon Rattle version doesn't measure up, it's too dull. It was recorded in the studio and the sound is tame compared to the vibrancy and immediacy of the coupled Heldenleben performance which was recorded live!
Has this been the longest review you've ever read? If you have read it, I hope it was worth your time. I'll just go now and listen to Karajan's great performance of the sadly neglected masterpiece Sinfonia Domestica. Later I'll listen to some of Solti's version of Die Frau Ohne Schatten, one of the most heavenly operas ever composed by the way! Why am I wasting so much time writing this review then? Right, I'm going now, at least I'll know this was helpful to all you Strauss fans!"
Weak "Ein Heldenleben," Decent "Bourgeois Gentilhomme"
Nimrod79 | 04/28/2008
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Rattle is a fine conductor in many respects, but this recording of "Ein Heldenleben" is simply not good. The pace is dull, the interpretation uninspired, and the balance is atrocious. Rattle has cast in shades of gray one of the most colorful and vibrant works in the repertoire. The opening growl in the lower strings and horns is muddled and lacks vigor, and Rattle takes the "Hero's Retirement" at an agonizingly slow pace. The "Hero's Battlefield" is also tame and uninspired. Rattle achieves something remarkable here: he manages to make the brass section sound inaudible. I am sure this is precisely what Strauss was looking for when he scored the work for 8 horns, 5 trumpets, 3 trombones, a tenor tuba, and a tuba.
The "Bourgeois Gentilhomme" is a different matter. The nature of the music means that if mostly plays itself, and thus the Berliners turn in a fairly solid performance bereft of Rattle's odd interpretative flourishes. If you're looking for a decent digital recording of this delightful piece, you might want to have a look. But unless you like your Strauss limp, muddled, and uninspired, avoid "Ein Heldenleben.""
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1