R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben

1. Ein Heldenleben (A Hero's Life), tone poem for orchestra, Op. 40
Composed by Richard Strauss
with Steven Staryk , Toronto Symphony Orchestra

Tracks:

Death And Transfiguration, Op.24
A Hero's Life, Op. 40: The Hero
A Hero's Life, Op. 40: The Hero's Adversaries
A Hero's Life, Op. 40: The Hero's Wife
A Hero's Life, Op. 40: Certainty Of Victory
A Hero's Life, Op. 40: The Hero's Battlefield
A Hero's Life, Op. 40: War Fanfares
A Hero's Life, Op. 40: The Hero's Works Of Peace
A Hero's Life, Op. 40: The Hero's Withdrawal From The World
A Hero's Life, Op. 40: Renunciation
Salome, Op.54 - Dance Of The Seven Veils

Customer Reviews:

Great Strauss, Great Price.......2003-06-08

This is a budget-line CD of Richard Strauss' Orchestral Works by the great Rudolf Kempe and the Staatskapelle Dresden. These works have previously been available on disc, and are collected along with Kempe's other brilliant Strauss recordings on a very affordable EMI box set. However, if all you want is a few of Strauss' better known pieces, this is a great place to start.

Mahler: Symphony No. 6; R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben

Average customer rating:

Very expansive performances by Barbirolli, ( that's code for very slow, in case you didn't know )
slow; relentless; well played; well recorded

Mahler: Symphony No. 6; R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
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Ancerl Gold Edition 33: MAHLER Symphony No. 9
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Mahler: Symphony No. 9
Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G
Mahler: Symphony Nos. 10 (Reconstruction Barshai) & 5

ASIN: B000HWZANS
Release Date: 2006-11-21

Tracks:

The Hero - London Symphony Orchestra
The Hero's Adversaries - London Symphony Orchestra
The Hero's Companion - London Symphony Orchestra
Certainity Of Victory - London Symphony Orchestra
The Hero's Battlefield - London Symphony Orchestra
War Fanfares - London Symphony Orchestra
The Hero's Work Of Peace - London Symphony Orchestra
The Hero's Retirement Form The World And Fullfillment - London Symphony Orchestra
Renunciation - London Symphony Orchestra
I. Allegro Energico, Ma Non Troppo. - New Philharmonia Orchestra

Tracks:

II. Andante Moderato - New Philharmonia Orchestra
II. Scherzo - New Philharmonia Orchestra
IV. Finale (Allegro Moderato) - New Philharmonia Orchestra

Customer Reviews:

Very expansive performances by Barbirolli, ( that's code for very slow, in case you didn't know ).......2007-03-31

Richard Strauss' Ein Heldenleben takes 50 minutes 34 seconds under John Barbirolli, played by the London Symphony Orchestra. The typical runtime for this tone-poem is in the neighborhood of 45 minutes. Then the Mahler 6th, played by the New Philharmonia Orchestra runs just over 84 minutes, that's without the first movement exposition repeat. Here are the timings of the movements, 21:19 for the first movement, remember without the repeat! Barbirolli takes 5 long minutes to get through the exposition, so if he repeated it, the whole first movement would take over 26 minutes, giving you a near 90 minute symphony! Mama mia! Thank God, he didn't do the repeat! Karajan and Bernstein are much faster. Barbirolli places the Andante moderato second, it comes in at 16:03, then the scherzo 13:59 and the finale 32:47. This is an expansive performance alright and it sounds like it, but does it work? Yes and no, the opening of the first movement, that march is very grim, very dark, just what you Mahler fans hope for but the movement takes a while to warm up, there is a lot of plodding going on in the Andante and Scherzo too. Karajan's Andante is even slower but he instills such beauty in it that you forgive him but Barbirolli doesn't reach such heights. In the finale, Barbirolli gives every episode it's weight but man don't you just miss the propulsive quality that Solti injected into this movement?

Barbirolli's Mahler 6th is still a must own for Mahler fanatics, ( I'm not a fanatic ), yet don't put Barbirolli above the likes of Karajan, Bernstein, Solti. I also like Szell's version with the Cleveland Orchestra, it is not histrionic but more along the lines of clarity and objectivity which this symphony rarely receives. Szell could be a bit cold for most, that's why Karajan, Bernstein or the relentless Solti are there to turn up the temperature so to speak.

The Ein Heldenleben under Barbirolli is also impressively grand and has beautiful playing but one listen to this version is probably plenty, you'll be running to your Karajan recordings pretty fast. I recommend the Karajan EMI version from 1974, the greatest Ein Heldenleben in my opinion, with the most thrilling Battle Scene ever recorded. Barbirolli focuses too much on the lush aspects of the score while negating a lot of the drama because of the slow speed but the drum at the outset of war sounds outstanding, you have to admit! However, Karajan easily superceeds Barbirolli in this Strauss epic because of Karajan's focus on both the warmth of the orchestral sound as well as the maddening frenzy of the action parts. Simon Rattle has recently released his version of Hero's Life, ( see my review ), and Rattle is also clearly ahead of Barbirolli.

The sound by EMI for this release is very good with plenty of ambience and detail. The sound and remastering is the exact same thing as in the previous Double Forte series. The Strauss was recorded in September of 1969 at Abbey Road Studios and it sounds wonderfully rich. The Mahler was recorded in August of 1967 at Kingsway Hall, a venue known for it's great acoustics and it all sounds superb.

If you are a hardcore Strauss or Mahler fan, then yes you should own these versions by Barbirolli since they are so different from the more mainstream fare of Karajan, Bernstein, Solti, Abbado, etc. Just understand that you'll ultimately be more satisfied in the long run with the more traditional interpretations of these pieces. Let me put it this way, if you were to own one Ein Heldenleben, this Barbirolli version should not be it, if you were to own one Mahler 6th, this Barbirolli version should not be it. But if you are a collector and want to own at least 5 or 6 versions of these works, then these Barbirolli versions are definite must haves. Here they are at absolute bargain basement price. This EMI Gemini series of double CDs is an absolute winner for all collectors.

slow; relentless; well played; well recorded.......2007-01-11

To know if this old Barbirolli Mahler 6th is for you, all you have to do is click on the Windows Media excerpts above. The first movement takes over 21 minutes, and that's without an exposition repeat! Barbirolli was among the first to record the sixth Mahler in andante/scherzo order, which has put him in good standing with today's Mahler "scholars". Since his scherzo is no slower than his first movement, I think this performance works either way: andante/scherzo, or scherzo/andante. The scherzo is a bit over 13 minutes (rather normal), while the slow movement is proportionally correct sounding at 16-something (in other words, not too slow). The finale reaches out to almost 33 minutes. In short, this is one of the slower M6's out there. Yet, the whole thing has a very rhythmic and persistant quality about it. To make matters better, the Philharmonia of old - possibly the best orchestra in Europe in those days - plays exceedingly well, and EMI's sound quality is better than it is on many of their newer digital recordings. If you like the sound and playing on any of the old Walter Legge produced, Philharmonia Orchestra recordings (Klemperer; Maazel; Karajan, etc.), you'll like the sound on this. Considering the fact that EMI also throws in a decent "Ein Heldenleben" (slow but clarified during the famous and dense sounding battle episode), this is an absolute steal at $12.

This wouldn't be my first choice for a Mahler six recording, but it would make a good supplement for those days when you want to hear something truly grim (yet, tonal).

Sir Thomas Beecham / R Strauss: Ein Heldenleben + Liszt Orpheus Psalm 13 (EMI)

Average customer rating:

A note about avilability
ALL THE NOTES THAT MATTER

Sir Thomas Beecham / R Strauss: Ein Heldenleben + Liszt Orpheus Psalm 13 (EMI)

Manufacturer: EMI Studio DRM
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B00000DO4A
Release Date: 1993-01-12

Customer Reviews:

A note about avilability.......2006-12-30

I agree with Mr. bryson about the uniqueness of this recording, which Beecham made in stereo in 1958. It's not to be confused with an earlier, more famous mono recording from 1947 with the same orchestra. That reading can be found in remasterings on several labels, including biddulph and Testament but is in dodgy sound. This stereo reding, long out of print, can be found now on a budget twofer from EMI, coupled with Beecham's Don Quixote, another mono recording he made in 1947.

ALL THE NOTES THAT MATTER.......2005-03-17

There is a story that Beecham and a companion whiled away the time on a long train journey of several days by going through the score of Ein Heldenleben and removing all notes they thought superfluous. According to the story they reached the end of the journey before they reached the end of the score, but in that time they had removed 15 thousand notes. I'm quite sure I couldn't tell whether there has been any tinkering with the score here (although I know of nothing to suggest it), but this is the version I love best of a score I love greatly.

Many years ago I remember reading some absurdly stuffy British comment to the effect that the composer was a bit of a bounder to write a great grandiose piece about himself. This was met with equally ridiculous waffle suggesting that the work may not be autobiographical after all but rather refer to some hypothetical hero. The section entitled `the hero's works of peace' contains half a dozen quotations from Strauss's earlier compositions, so if anyone is still taking bets on who the hero of Ein Heldenleben may be I know which way I'll place mine. I adore Strauss and I don't want him any different. Quite apart from his marvellous orchestral scoring he was, along with Elgar, virtually the last lyric melodist in the Brahmsian tradition, and he never succumbed to the post-Wagnerian disease by which the tempo of most music was reduced to a near-uniform andante. Heldenleben is the last of his symphonic poems, and I suspect he knew and intended that when he wrote it. Hence the theme, hence the quotations from his earlier work. It calls for a huge orchestra, no member of which is called on to play any notes that I would sooner have removed, and it ends with a section purportedly about the hero's retirement and fulfilment. In fact Strauss had another 50 years to go, and he may have thought ruefully about his vision then when he contemplated reality in the immediate backwash of the second world war.

Beecham was a perfectionist, and unlike Toscanini he inflicted his perfectionism not only on his players but on his technical collaborators in making recordings. There was simply no point in trying to argue with him or tell him that something he wanted wasn't feasible, but the effect was that he obtained recordings that were well above the average for the time. Nothing in the technical quality here stands between me and the Heldenleben of my own dreams. I don't approach this performance in any `comparative' frame of mind. It has special authority and significance through being the work of a friend of the composer and is also, from my point of view, an addition to my library of the conductor whom I hear as the greatest orchestral magician of the entire 20th century. I recommend it to absolutely everyone, whatever fine modern versions may be around. I have managed to live without them for a good many years now. I could never have lived without this.

Average customer rating:

Very Expansive Performances By Barbirolli, ( That's Code For Very Slow, In Case You Didn't Know )
The heart and soul of Musical expression
Post Romantic Heroic Visions.
Beloved by some, Barbirolli's Sixth is too deliberate and relentless
excellent and terrific

Mahler: Symphony No.6/R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben

Manufacturer: Angel Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
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Ancerl Gold Edition 33: MAHLER Symphony No. 9

ASIN: B000002SE8
Release Date: 1997-01-21

Tracks:

Held, Der (Ein Heldenleben Op 40 No 1)
Helden Widersacher, Des (Ein Heldenleben Op 40 No 2)
Helden Gefahrtin, Des (Ein Heldenleben Op 40 No 3)
Thema Der Siegesgewissheit (Ein Heldenleben Op 40 No 4)
Helden Walstatt, Des (Ein Heldenleben Op 40 No 5)
Kriegsfanfaren (Ein Heldesleben Op 40 No 6)
Helden Friedeuswerke, Des (Ein Heldenleben Op 40 No 7)
Helden Weltflucht Und Vollendung (Ein Heldenleben Op 40 No 8)
Entsagung (Ein Heldenleben Op 40 No 9)
I. Allegro Energico, Ma Non Troppo, Heftig, Aber Marking

Tracks:

II. Andante Moderato
II. Scherzo (Wuchtig)
IV. Finale (Allegro Moderato)

Customer Reviews:

Very Expansive Performances By Barbirolli, ( That's Code For Very Slow, In Case You Didn't Know ).......2006-09-25

Richard Strauss' Ein Heldenleben takes 50 minutes 34 seconds under John Barbirolli, played by the London Symphony Orchestra. The typical runtime for this tone-poem is in the neighborhood of 45 minutes. Then the Mahler 6th, played by the New Philharmonia Orchestra runs just over 84 minutes, that's without the first movement exposition repeat. Here are the timings of the movements, 21:19 for the first movement, remember without the repeat! Barbirolli takes 5 long minutes to get through the exposition, so if he repeated it, the whole first movement would take over 26 minutes, giving you a near 90 minute symphony! Mama mia! Thank God, he didn't do the repeat! Karajan and Bernstein are much faster. Barbirolli places the Andante moderato second, it comes in at 16:03, then the scherzo 13:59 and the finale 32:47. This is an expansive performance alright and it sounds like it, but does it work? Yes and no, the opening of the first movement, that march is very grim, very dark, just what you Mahler fans hope for but the movement takes a while to warm up, there is a lot of plodding going on in the Andante and Scherzo too. Karajan's Andante is even slower but he instills such beauty in it that you forgive him but Barbirolli doesn't reach such heights. In the finale, Barbirolli gives every episode it's weight but man don't you just miss the propulsive quality that Solti injected into this movement?

Barbirolli's Mahler 6th is still a must own for Mahler fanatics, ( I'm not a fanatic ), yet don't put Barbirolli above the likes of Karajan, Bernstein, Solti. I also like Szell's version with the Cleveland Orchestra, it is not histrionic but more along the lines of clarity and objectivity which this symphony rarely receives. Szell could be a bit cold for most, that's why Karajan, Bernstein or the relentless Solti are there to turn up the temperature so to speak.

The Ein Heldenleben under Barbirolli is also impressively grand and has beautiful playing but one listen to this version is probably plenty, you'll be running to your Karajan recordings pretty fast. I recommend the Karajan EMI version from 1974, the greatest Ein Heldenleben in my opinion, with the most thrilling Battle Scene ever recorded. Barbirolli focuses too much on the lush aspects of the score while negating a lot of the drama because of the slow speed but the drum at the outset of war sounds outstanding, you have to admit! However, Karajan easily superceeds Barbirolli in this Strauss epic because of Karajan's focus on both the warmth of the orchestral sound as well as the maddening frenzy of the action parts. Simon Rattle has recently released his version of Hero's Life, ( see my review ), and Rattle is also clearly ahead of Barbirolli.

The sound as remastered by EMI for this double forte release is very good with plenty of ambience and detail. The Strauss was recorded in September of 1969 at Abbey Road Studios and it sounds wonderfully rich. The Mahler was recorded in August of 1967 at Kingsway Hall, a venue known for it's great acoustics and it all sounds superb.

The question you have to ask yourself is, should you buy this 2CD package, when it's becoming less and less available and various marketplace sellers are asking over the top prices for it? If you are a hardcore Strauss or Mahler fan, then yes you should own these versions by Barbirolli since they are so different from the more mainstream fare of Karajan, Bernstein, Solti, Abbado, etc. Just understand that you'll ultimately be more satisfied in the long run with the more traditional interpretations of these pieces. Let me put it this way, if you were to own one Ein Heldenleben, this Barbirolli version should not be it, if you were to own one Mahler 6th, this Barbirolli version should not be it. But if you are a collector and want to own at least 5 or 6 versions of these works, then these Barbirolli versions are definite must haves. I'm glad I bought these recordings more than a year ago and all it cost me was a measly $15!

P.S. March 2007. This 2CD album has been re-released again at bargain basement price in the EMI Gemini series, if you're on the look out for it, you can get it now for the tiny price of $12! Just search for Mahler Barbirolli and you'll find it. So, if you missed out before, don't miss out again if you want these recordings.

The heart and soul of Musical expression.......2006-08-15

This is my favorite of all my Mahler recordings, and possibly my favorite orchestral recording of all time. Yes, there are problems with the interpretation. Yes, not all the details and colors are realized as fully as in other recordings. But this is beside the point. Simply put, in my entire life I have never heard an orchestra get this heavy, or play with this level of intensity. I always thought Mahler was the Heavy Metal of his time, and this recording leaves no doubt about why that is. In every bar, you can hear string players crushing the bows into their strings, and brass players blasting their hearts out. It's a wild, brash, and decidedly 'immature' performace on behalf of Mr. Barbirolli and the Philharmonia, and thank God for that, because it's one of most exciting things I've ever heard in my life.

Post Romantic Heroic Visions........2006-08-01

I can add nothing to the reviews praising the musical and technical excellence of this release. Let me add that the programming of two contrasting post romantic views of the the hero in an un-heroic age is inspired. Strauss and Mahler were colleagues, if not the closest of friends, and they did conduct each other's music. Strauss' music was generally adored when not despised; Mahler's music was despised generally, and adored by a select few.

Strauss sees his hero from the outside in, and he is clearly looking in the mirror! He likes what he sees, this turn of the century man, urbane, successful, married (also hen-pecked), and beset by critics, who are Phillistines to be defeated by the end of the show. Strauss was on the verge of becomming a man of the theater, an opera composer to rival all but his beloved Mozart.

Mahler's hero is seen from within -- no need for mirrors, the paintings of Munch and Klimt, the writings of Kafka, the revelations of Freud reflect the hero's image far better than any glass. The natural world is this hero's saving grace; the love of nature, the clang of cowbells, the distant horns gleaming in the andante's great song, and Alma. Her theme is bittersweet, bright but full of longing for a happiness never realized. The blows that hammer this hero, more fundamental than the sniping of critics, will prove fatal.

There is more to this than the contrast of extravert and introvert, for each composer -- in strictly musical terms -- bears certain characterstics of the other. All of this is brought out in these two, well-paired recordings. Get them while you can.

Beloved by some, Barbirolli's Sixth is too deliberate and relentless.......2006-07-29

This is one legendary performance that I find unconvincing. In 1967 Barbirolli faced a Berlin Phil. that didn't know the Mahler Sixth, and as he applied his serious, slow pacing, they seemed to respond without inspiration. Literalists have complained aobut faults in the execution, but that's never the point with Barbirolli, who always tried to involve the listener in the same emotional journey he was taking. Here the journey is a relentlessly sad one.

All the movements are very deliberately paced, and with the crunching bass line of the opening march we are made aware that the conductor considers this symphony tragic in every bar. I think that shortchanges Mahler's dramatic contrasts. Even the lyrical Andante comes off with touches of a dirge. The Scherzo is so slow and heavy that it feels worn out after sixteen bars, and the apocalyptic finale ends the world with too much weary hesitation. The accompanying Strauss Ein Heldenleben seems just as heavy and sad.

Note: Although this two-fer is absurdly priced on the used market here, it remains in print at normal EMI midprice at most online CD stores.

excellent and terrific.......2006-06-05

Two historic recordings from one of the greatest English conductors. Sir John Barbirolli is marvellous in both works. Made in 1960's, sound quality is very good, and performances are in high cult status.

Richard Strauss and his Ein Heldenleben recorded with London Symphony Orchestra. This gorgeous symphonic poem, as you know, is an autobiographical work of composer, so, The Hero (of course) is himself and his enemies are music critics (of course!).
This work was scored for large orchestra: quadruple woodwinds, 8 horns, 5 trumpets (2 E-flat, 3 B-flat), 3 trombones, 2 tubas, timpani, cymbals, snare drum, tenor drum, bass drum, 2 harps, strings. In other words: approx. 110 musicians...

The performance is excellent, the violin solo (imagine that Composer's Wife) is amazing and the solo of E-flat Trumpet (in 4th movement) is very good. The War Scene is terrific, amazing. And, I think, the most impressive movement of this work is the last movement - The Retreat of Hero and his Death. In last seconds, there is a noble finale -crescendo to reach to Fortissimo and then a diminuendo to reach to Pianissimo- of all winds, which tells that, the last breath and the death with peace of mind.

Mahler's Sixth Symphony called "Tragic" recorded with New Philharmonia Orchestra. This performance is very majestic, not so flamboyant as Bernstein, but this reading is powerful and impressive. Real Mahlerians should have this recording, I think. Even so this symphony sounds like a sountrack of a horror film! As you know, Sixth Symphony is Mahler's most pessimist work and however written in his happiest years of his life (1904). Because, Mahler married to Alma Schindler, and they had a new girl, named Maria. Even so, this is a propethic work (!). Mahler, used hammer blows (in last movement) explains that his three Fate strokes which will to be in next years of his life. And these Fate strokes are: his daughter's sudden death in 1907 (at age 4!), his departure from Vienna Opera Court and his heart disease!... And then, the composer used cowbells in offstage, too. This explains the Alpine landscapes that impressed Mahler, and extreme loneliness and a mystic atmosphere. Even so, this is only symphony which finishes with dark atmosphere, not with a glory scene. And the last sudden exploding chord of music (in last seconds) usually scares me. The music finishes like a iron curtain falls in scene...

The orchestra is huge (as usual in Mahler): 5 flutists, 5 oboists, 5 clarinettists, 5 basoonsists, 8 horns, 6 trumpets, 4 trombones and a tuba, huge percussion includes bells, gong, hammer, 2 set timpani, 2 harps, celesta and about 50 - 60 strings.

The 1st movement begins like a Nazi March! This "risoluto" and tragic opening continues with a apassionata "Alma" theme, so this movement has a full of drammatic atmosphere. Especially the moments between durations 15"00 - 17"00, the Alma theme comes again and this passage is may be the most romantic moments of whole symphony, you can weep when listen it... The 2nd movement is played as Andante, as Mahler himself decided later to choice as 2nd movement, not as a Scherzo. It is peaceful music and portrays a illusionary happiness. The 3rd movement is Scherzo, and it is I think not a Scherzo, but a "Dance of Death", with devil's laughters, but in Trio section, describes the games of children, but in finish section there is a drammatic explosion and this game melody sounds now when goes away and dying in a whimper... The amazing Finale is the prophetic movement. It begins as a nightmare - a silent terror, and then continues with a heroic-tragic march. This march portraits the hero (Mahler), but then the three hammer blows (by the way, in that rec. the Hammer Blows are really earth-shattering!), and then defeat and abandons himself to his doom...

This 2-CD set is marvellous. They are definitve readings and a must have for all Mahlerians and Straussians, and other music lovers.

Highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

Strauss played with delicacy and integrity
The reference Strauss
Kempe, Dresden, and Strauss were made for each other.

Ein Heldenleben / Tod Und Verklarung
R. Strauss , Kempe , and Staatskapelle Dresden
Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
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Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde

ASIN: B00006I0DG
Release Date: 2002-09-17

Tracks:

Tanz Der Sieben Schleier (Dance Of The Seven Veils)
Tod Und Verklarung, Op.24 (Death And Transfiguration)
Der Held (The Hero)
Des Helden Widersacher (The Hero's Adversaries)
Des Helden Gefahrtin (The Hero's Companion)
Des Helden Walstatt (The Hero's Battlefield)
Des Helden Friedenswerke (The Hero's Works Of Peace)
Des Helden Weltflucht Und Vollendung (The Hero's Withdrawal From The World And Fulfilment)

Customer Reviews:

Strauss played with delicacy and integrity.......2006-07-02

Rudolf Kempe gained his greatest fame with his EMI recordings of Richard Strauss, and here the main work, Ein Heldenleben from 1972, is generously filled out with Salome's Dance of the Seven Veils and Death and Transfiguration, a total of 75 min. The original LPs and earlier CD issues didn't have the best sound, but in this new remastering the old murkiness is cleaned up and they sound very good.

Salome's dance is played at the polar opposite of Karajan's sensuousness, which was drunk on its erotic allure. Kempe's way--and this is what his admirers adore--is to bring delicacy and integrity to Strauss, avoiding all excess. But I think avoiding eroticism in Salome's dance, of all pieces, is right. The Dresden orchestra plays with its usual refined understatement, totally in accord with Kempe.

Death and Transfiguration combines religiosity with a lurid deathbed scene that invites us to eavesdrop on every twitch and gasp of a dying man before he is filled with divine illumination at the end. Here, Kempe's chasteness seems more appropriate. Don't expect the tension and trhills of Karajan or Bruno Walter in his classic mono reading on Sony--we are closer to Haitink's style of Strauss playing.

If anything, the Heldenleben is even more low-key (the Gramophone's word is 'aristocratic') than what precedes it. British critics are embarrassed by Strauss's unalloyed paean to himself, but great recordings by Beecham, Karajan and, quiqte recently, Simon Rattle confirm that Strauss wnated the conductor to pull out all the stops--Heldenleben is one of Strauss's most exciting thrill rides. If you don't agree, neither does Kempe, whose hero has half the swagger and twice the reticence of any reading I've ever heard. BTW the remastering engineers worked the least magic with this recording, which has always been a little tubby and blurred.

Sadly, if you dare to criticize a recording that "everybody knows" is the best, Amazon readers slash you for it, but I'm giving my genuine response to these accounts, which I've known and lived with for thirty years.

The reference Strauss.......2004-04-13

At budget price, this is the best Strauss to grab. The other recordings I've heard are the brilliant and unheard Benjamin Zander with the New England Conservatory Orchestra and Karl Bohm's direction under the same orchestra. You can download the Zander recording at his website and this is another recommendation because the youth orchestra under Zander is unbelievable, particularly the ruthlessly ****ed up trumpet parts of The Hero's Battlefield. Karl Bohm's Ein Heldenleben is fine, but the Battlefield was severely flawed and the Dresden players could not cope with the movement until Kempe directs them again in this recording.

Kempe is a remarkable Straussian in his own right. While Reiner is about precision and control, Karajan with the lushness of Straussian tone and Bohm the fineness, Kempe, in my humble opinion, is possess the qualities of Reiner and Bohm. The Dance of Seven Veils is the best I've heard without middle-eastern exaggeration that other conductors employed, yet under Kempe, the Dance mesmerises still with sensuality. Ein Heldenleben is my least favorite of Strauss' compositions, because of it's too much excessiveness after the Hero's Battlefield. Suffice to say, Kempe directed Ein Heldenleben flawlessly.

The gem of this CD is one of the most emotional of Strauss' compositions, Tod Und Verlarung, seering with white-hot intensity. If you're contemplating your first Richard Strauss CD, make sure to pick this recording.

Kempe, Dresden, and Strauss were made for each other........2003-01-28

This is a re-release, remastered (but I can't hear much change in the sound from earlier versions), of these wonderful recordings. They truly are great performances. Kempe and the Dresden Staatkapelle seemed to have a way with Strauss that never failed him. If you don't have earlier incarnations of these performances, this is your chance to grab them at a bargain price.

Tracks:

Ein Heldenleben, Op.40: Der Held
Ein Heldenleben, Op.40: Des Helden Widersacher
Ein Heldenleben, Op.40: Des Helden Gefahrtin
Ein Heldenleben, Op.40: Des Helden Walstatt
Ein Heldenleben, Op.40: Des Helden Friedenswerke
Ein Heldenleben, Op.40: Des Helden Weltflucht Und Vollendung
Don Juan, Op.20: Tondichtung Nach Nikolaus Lenau - Willem Mengelberg/Concg O

Average customer rating:

R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben

Manufacturer: Biddulph Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Dances | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000007N8Z
Release Date: 1998-05-26

Tracks:

Ein Heldenleben, Op.40: The Hero - Oscar Lampe
Ein Heldenleben, Op.40: The Hero's Adversaries - Oscar Lampe
Ein Heldenleben, Op.40: The Hero's Companion - Oscar Lampe
Ein Heldenleben, Op.40: The Hero's Battlefield - Oscar Lampe
Ein Heldenleben, Op.40: The Hero's Works Of Peace - Oscar Lampe
Ein Heldenleben, Op.40: The Hero's Retreat From The World And Fulfillment - Oscar Lampe
Love Scene From Feuersnot, Op.50 - Sir Thomas Beecham/RPO
Interlude From Intermezzo, Op.72 - Sir Thomas Beecham/RPO
Dance Of The Seven Veils From Salome, Op.54 - Sir Thomas Beecham/RPO

R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben / Vier letzte Lieder / Haider

Average customer rating:

R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben / Vier letzte Lieder / Haider

Manufacturer: Nightingale Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music
ASIN: B00008FH2K
Release Date: 1996-08-20

Average customer rating:

Strong Strauss!

R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben / Macbeth

Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

4-for-3 Classical | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music

4-for-3 All Music | 4-for-3 Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000JMX7
Release Date: 1999-07-20

Tracks:

Macbeth, Op.23
A Hero's Life, Op.40: The Hero
A Hero's Life, Op.40: The Hero's Enemies
A Hero's Life, Op.40: The Hero's Companion
A Hero's Life, Op.40: The Hero's Field Of Battle
A Hero's Life, Op.40: The Hero's Works Of Peace
A Hero's Life, Op.40: The Hero's Withdrawal From The World

Customer Reviews:

Strong Strauss!.......2001-04-25

This CD was a real surprise to me. I wasn't aware of this orchestra or conductor but this is really strong Strauss with a lot of polish and a depth of feeling. Even with recordings by Szell and Reiner in my ears, this was very credible. The sound is excellent.

R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben; Chausson; Symphony Op. 20; Brahms: Violin Concerto; Sibelius: Violin Concerto

Average customer rating:

R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben; Chausson; Symphony Op. 20; Brahms: Violin Concerto; Sibelius: Violin Concerto

Manufacturer: Arioso
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD