Strauss: Tod und Verklärung, etc

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
George Szell seemed to avoid Strauss's most splashy tone poems-- Zarathustra and Heldenleben--perhaps out of his natural dislike of kitsch, or possibly because Columbia (now Sony) had Eugene Ormandy and Philadelphia covering that territory. It's our gain, because while there are lots of great recordings of these latter two works, how many great performances of the Sinfonia domestica can you point to? Granted, it's a tough piece to bring off--a day in the life of the composer's family, complete with bathing the baby and a really graphic sex scene. But it's also one of the few works by Strauss that actually ends at the end, and not 20 minutes before. In any case, this is the performance to have, and Death is just as good. --David Hurwitz

Tracks:

Tod und Verklarung op. 24
Sinfonia domestica op. 53: Thema I. Bewegt - Thema II. Sehr lebhaft - Thema III. Ruhig
Sinfonia domestica op. 53: Scherzo. Munter - Wiegenlied. Massig langsam
Sinfonia domestica op. 53: Adagio. Langsam
Sinfonia domestica op. 53: Finale. Sehr lebhaft
Tanz der sieben Schleier

Amazon.com

George Szell seemed to avoid Strauss's most splashy tone poems-- Zarathustra and Heldenleben--perhaps out of his natural dislike of kitsch, or possibly because Columbia (now Sony) had Eugene Ormandy and Philadelphia covering that territory. It's our gain, because while there are lots of great recordings of these latter two works, how many great performances of the Sinfonia domestica can you point to? Granted, it's a tough piece to bring off--a day in the life of the composer's family, complete with bathing the baby and a really graphic sex scene. But it's also one of the few works by Strauss that actually ends at the end, and not 20 minutes before. In any case, this is the performance to have, and Death is just as good. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

excellent.......2002-06-11

this is a great recording of one of Strauss' operas. it brings out the intensity of Strauss' composing.

Track Listings: