Strauss: Ein Heldenleben - Four Last Songs / Auger, Previn

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
The late Arleen Auger sings the Four Last Songs very touchingly, but this disc is really a showcase for André Previn and the Vienna Philharmonic. Previn has always been a fine Strauss conductor, and he is on record as saying that the four-disc set of Strauss tone poems that he recorded for Telarc is his personal favorite among his many recordings. It's easy to see why. The playing is alive with character. Previn keeps matters moving smartly, and Telarc lets nothing come between the listener and this magnificent orchestra. Strauss, for all his skill as a dramatic composer, has a weak sense of musical timing. He frequently never knew when to stop. With playing of this quality, you almost wish he never would. --David Hurwitz

Tracks:

A Hero's Life, Op. 40
Fruling (Hesse)
September (Hesse)
Beim Schlafengehen (Hesse)
Im Abendrot (Eichendorff)

Amazon.com

The late Arleen Auger sings the Four Last Songs very touchingly, but this disc is really a showcase for André Previn and the Vienna Philharmonic. Previn has always been a fine Strauss conductor, and he is on record as saying that the four-disc set of Strauss tone poems that he recorded for Telarc is his personal favorite among his many recordings. It's easy to see why. The playing is alive with character. Previn keeps matters moving smartly, and Telarc lets nothing come between the listener and this magnificent orchestra. Strauss, for all his skill as a dramatic composer, has a weak sense of musical timing. He frequently never knew when to stop. With playing of this quality, you almost wish he never would. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Auger's and Previn's soaring Strauss.......2007-02-12

I bought this CD primarily for Arleen Auger's version of the Vier Letzte Lieder and I was not disappointed. She sings them simply and allows her highly feminine voice to get right to the heart of the poetry and music. You will weep after listening to it! I did!

Another Last Songs for your collection........2003-05-12

Previn is understandably proud of his Strauss recordings. This recording includes Ein Heldenlaben and it compares favorably with the famous Reiner/CSO album from the '50's. The real show stopper here is the Songs, and I'm sure it'll be compared with the Karajan/Janowitz performance. For one thing,Auger's voice isn't as powerful(Some people call it "creamy",whatever that is.)as Janowitz's. Auger's voice has a more tender, human quality that's a pleasure to hear. For another,Previn's tempos are different than Karajan's. Im Adendrot,for instance,is a full minute slower than Karajan's But, you're gonna love that extra minute! It's truly majestic. The recorded sound is up to Telarc's high standard. There's something about it that makes you want to TURN IT UP. I'm not trading in my Karajan CD,but this one stays as well.

One of the best Four Last Songs on CD.......2002-06-30

The Ein Heldenlieben is a fine recording, but I am primarly recommending this disc because of the wonderful performance of the Four Last Songs. Previn and the Vienna Philharmonic achieve an incredible orchestral beauty and intensity, and Auger doesn't fudge a single note. I frequently play this recording multiple times in a single sitting just to make sure I am not dreaming. Very highly recommended.

Fine Heldenleben, profoundly beautiful Four Last Songs.......2000-09-08

Although perhaps not as known as Herbert von Karajan or Georg Solti for interpretations of Richard Strauss, Andre Previn also specializes in music by the late German Romantic composer. Although his interpretation of "Ein Heldenleben" (A Hero's Life) does not quite play with nuances in quite the same way as Karajan and Solti, Previn conducts a very fine interpretation with dedicated playing from the Vienna Philharmonic and an atmosphere of grandeur befitting this piece. Unfortunately, there are no track cues for the separate sections of Strauss' quasi-autobiographical, but ultimately tongue-in-cheek, tone poem.

As a side note, many people mistaken "Heldenleben" for an ego trip. Actually, it is Strauss' ironic play on the whole idea of artist as hero. (Strauss was into irony and self-parody long before it became popular among my contemporaries.) Although he considered himself as worthy a musical subject as "Napoleon or Alexander the Great," Strauss told his friend Romain Rolland, "I am not a hero. I haven't got the necessary strength; I am not cut out for battle; I prefer to withdraw, to be quiet, to have peace..." (For more, see Michael Kennedy's excellent 1999 biography "Richard Strauss: Man, Musician, Enigma.") Perhaps he intended most of "Heldenleben" to be ironic, but the pastoral conclusion may have resonated more deeply with him.

Tracks:

Don Juan, Op.20 - Rainer Kuchl
Introduction/Variation I/Variation II/Variation III/Variation IV/Variation V/Variation VI/Variation VI/Variation VII/Variation VIII/Variation IX/Variation X/Finale - Rainer Kuchl

Tracks:

Introduction/Of The Dwellers In The World Beyond/Of The Great Yearning/Of Joys And Passions/Funeral Song/Of Science/The Convalescent/Dance Song/Sight Wanderer's Song
Largo/Allegro Molto Agitato/Meno Mosso/Etwas Breiter/Appassionato/Tempo 1. Sehr Breit/Tempo Der Einleitung/Allegro, Molto Agitato/Moderato/Tranquillo - Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

Tracks:

Nacht/Sonnenaufgang/Der Aufstieg/Eintritt In Den Wald/Wanderung Neben Dem Bache/Am Wasserfall/Erscheinung/Auf Blumigen Wiesen/Auf Der Alm/Durch Dickicht Und Gestrupp Auf Irrwegen/Auf Dem Gletscher/Gefahrvolle Augenblicke/Auf Dem Gipfel/Vision/Nebel....

Tracks:

A Hero's Life: The Hero/The Hero's Adversaries/The Hero's Helpmate/The Hero's Battlefield/The Hero's Works Of Peace/The Hero's Retreat From The World And Fulfillment
Fruhling (Hesse)
September (Hesse)
Beim Schlafengehen (Hesse)
Im Abendrot (Eichendorff)

Customer Reviews:

To Previn or not to Previn?.......2005-10-18

The attraction here is twofold: the magnificent Vienna Philharmonic and the equally magnificent Telarc sound. If both appeal to you so much that you don't need to worry about Previn's conducting, this set is self-recommending. But there are many great recordings of all these Strauss tone poems, along with the Four Last Songs, and therefore the question of whether to buy them in a box set under Andre Previn will be important to many listeners.

Let me give a thumbnail for each work:

Also Sprach Zarathustra (1987): Nobody ever labelled Previn a volatile conductor, and here he is at his most comfortable and middle-of-the-road (his overall timing is almost 35 min. compared to Reiner's 32 min. with the Chicago Sym. on RCA). There are no startling thwacks on the timpani, searing trumpets or ear-floodig organ in the famous opening. Previn quickly finds fairly slow tempos and a relaxed sense of phrasing that diminishes the impact of this work quite a bit. On the other hand, the orchestra is to the manner born in Strauss, and the sonics are big and natural. To find a competitive version of Zarathustra with Vienna, one would have to go back to the Karajan performance on Decca/London from 1959--probably his greatest Strauss CD.

Coupled with he Zarathustra is a fairly lusty Death and Transfiguration (1987)that has a few patches of slack phrasing but is on the whole quite good.

Alpine Symphony (1989): Probably the very best thing in the whole set, this performance is caught in even better sound, more detailed than the Zarathustra. Previn isn't as stirring as Karajan with Berlin (DG) or Blomstedt with San Francisco (Decca), and he doesn't have a great feeling for mountain atmopshere, but in this case the playing by the Vienna Phil. is so glorious that simply staying out of their way, as Previn does, makes for a thrilling musical experience. Karajan excels in this work as an interpreter but is plagued with shrill early digital sound that is improved on the latest reissue by DG without becoming beautiful, as the sound for Previn certainly is.

Ein Heldenleben (1988): The story is getting familiar by now. This is a large-scaled, gorgeously played reading, with Previn supplying a generalized approach. Still, he avoids bombast, and this potentially embarrassing bit of self-glorfication on Struass's part sounds like real music. Previn takes 46 min., in line with Karajan, but of course Karajan finds much more to say.

The coupling is a lovely Four Last Songs with Arleen Auger in radiant voice. Her light lyric soptano probably wouldn't carry over the orchestra in a live setting, unlike Jessye Norman or Kirsten Flagstad, who premiered the work. On a CD that's no problem, and Auger is considerably more human than Janowitz for Karajan and less self-conscious than Renee Fleming. There are lots of great versions of this sublime song cycle; hers is one of the most natural and appealing. Previn takes his time compared to Ackermann or Szell in the two classic Schwarzkopf recordings for EMI, and the engineers sometimes swamp the singer, making it hard to udnerstand her words. But Auger isn't paying that much attention to the poetry anyway, just to producing gorgeous, sensitive sounds. Overall, this CD is almost as satisfying as the one with the Alpine Symphony.

Don Quixote (1990): It's refreshing when conductors pull their cello and viola soloists from the orchestra for this work rather than importing a celebrity cellist who inevitably uses the part of Don Quixote as a personal showpiece. The Vienna Phil., needless to say, is gifted with first-desk musicians who embody every ounce of Viennese style. That's certainly true here. The unanimity between soloists and orchestra is remarkable, and even though Previn makes a warm bath of the accompaniment and misses a lot of Strauss's scene painting, this Don Quixote emerges with genuine feeling, from wistful to satiric, ending in sweet melancholy. If you don't need excitment in this work, Previn's aproach is satisfying.

The coupling here is Don Juan, which starts off terrifically but lapses into Previn's familiar easy-going phrasing and lack of dramatic tension. I would rate this CD behind the Alpine Symphony and Heldenleben. There are much more dynamic readings of both pieces to be had, especially from Karajan, Szell, and Reiner.

I hope this overview wasn't an exercise in futility--Previn doesn't reveal any major triumphs or failures here, and the orchestra and sonics don't change much from year to year. As a Strauss conductor in the mid-price range, Previn is nowhere as bland as Ormandy or Sawallisch, and I prefer him to the brusque Karl Bohm. On the other hand, Haitink is excellent in Strauss, far more imaginative than Previn, and he's given excellent sound by Philips--he's a very good direct competitor if you don't demand the Vienna Phil. In terms of having the best readings all around, Karajan is sitll my favorite by quite a bit, but Telarc's set has its own virtues.

Mostly Essential R. Strauss.......2000-02-19

With the exception of a few other "must have" orchestral pieces, this box set does represent the essential Richard Strauss---as far as orchestral music goes. I wish that Metamorphosis was on this set. Regardless, this box set is a fine set of recordings. Previn is considered by many critics to be one of the best living R. Strauss interpreters. Teamed up with the Vienna Philharmonic, great performances are produced. Listening to Don Juan, it is detectable that he takes the piece a little faster than Herbert von Karajan, but the results are incredible. In this set, Arlene Auger sings the four last songs. I have to wonder if this is her best performance. Her voice is perfect for these songs. Subtle, sublime, full of passion and feeling, and great control. These are the true highlights of the package but by no means the only thing great. It is a highly recommendable compilation. The performances are great, and the sounds is spectacular. All recorded in digital Telarc sound, this set is a welcome addition to anyone's R. Strauss collection.

Track Listings:

Track Listings

track listings

Track Listings

C'mon Let's Pretend [Enhanced]

Giuseppe Becce: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Music for the Silent Movie)

Fakebook

Duke Ellington and His Great Vocalists

Blacken My Thumb [CD-single] [Import]

Main Ingredient

Gunmetal Blues (1999 Laguna Cast) [Cast Recording]

Great American Marches II - John Philip Sousa

Frame By Frame V.1 1969 - 1974 [Box set] [Import]

Ignis

Jazzlore: At the Frankfurt Jazz Festival, Vol. 30 [Live]

Eterna Voz Del Bolero

Energia

Witness: Got the Saint Louis Blues - Classical Music in the Jazz Age

Red Planet (2000 Film)