Search - Richard [1] Strauss, Georg Solti, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra :: Richard Strauss : Vier Letzte Lieder Four Last Songs and 13 Songs with Piano Accompaniment

Divine!

05/05/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To listen to this kind of music is like floating on a cloud. The great master of Strauss himself, Sir Georg Solti, does an amazing job of playing the piano himself at the ripe age of over eighty. His influence on Kiri Te Kanawa is apparent. She sounds completely at home and sings with conviction and feeling. Her voice sounds sublime and the recording is an absolute favourite. This is a must for any Kiri fan and indeed for anyone who appreciates the genious of Sir Georg Solti and Rikhard Strauss."

Gorgeous & Glorious Singing!

Scriabinmahler | UK | 03/09/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
Four Last Songs are a miracle of man's creative inspiration, and every time I listen to them, it never loses freshness of the first hearing. If you love this music, Karajan/Janowitz, Tennstedt/Popp, Szell/Schwarzkopf versions are must, each one very different yet with some magical moments.



Solti/Kanawa version may not have the other-worldly quality of Popp or Janowitz versions, but it is outstanding in its own right, with her richly expressive and mature singing and Solti's intimate accompaniment with orchestra.



Other Lieder with the conductor at the piano are even better. Unlike those accompaniment specialists, Solti's playing is more articulate and the piano is not treated as mere accompaniment, but as orchestra. The soprano sings each song with admirable subtlety and much warmth."

An enjoyable, generous Strauss recital, but not a match for

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

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Kiri Te Kanawa was as ever-present in Strauss operas in her prime as Schwarzkopf was in hers. Like Schwarzkopf she made two recordings of the ineffable Four Last Songs. The Gramophone lists this second version as being from 1991, which would make Solti 79. It's a collaboratoin from the heart. Solti clearly adores his soloist and later sits down at the piano to accompany her in 13 additional songs.



I've owned both recordings of the Four Last Songs, and I find myself disagreeing with the Gramophone reviewer, who said that the first is 'not a patch' on the second. He discounts how gloriously fresh and alluring Te Kanawa's voice was on the CBS recording, and how much more energetic Andrew Davis's tempos are than the aging Solti's. In fact, even if you don't mind the slight fraying of the voice here, Solti's accompaniments, both with the wonderful Vienna Phil. and at the piano, are rhythmically staid and musically lackluster. It's true that Te Kanawa had grown as a musician, but only once in a lifetime does a singer have the gift of owning a perfect Strauss soprano, and that's what we hear on the earlier recording, not this one."