Kempe Conducts Richard Strauss Volume 2

R. Strauss (Artist), Kempe (Artist), Staatskapelle Dresden (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 29, 1992)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B000002S3M
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #345,225 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Violin Concerto in D minor, Op.8: Allegro

2. Violin Concerto in D minor, Op.8: Lento

3. Violin Concerto in D minor, Op.8: Rondo

4. Sinfonia Doimestica, Op.53: Bewegt - Thema I - Thema II - Thema III

5. Sinfonia Doimestica, Op.53: Scherzo (Munter)

6. Sinfonia Doimestica, Op.53: Wiegenlied - Massig langsam

See all 8 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Salome, Op.54: Dance Of The Seven Veils

2. Le Gourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: Overture

3. Le Gourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: Jourdain - Minuet

4. Le Gourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: The Fencing Master

5. Le Gourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: Entrance And Dance Of The Tailors

6. Le Gourgeois Gentilhomme - Suite, Op. 60: Minuet Of Lully

See all 12 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Also sprach Zarathustra, Op.30

2. Tod und Verklarung, Op.24

3. Der Rosenkavalier, Op. 59

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential recording

By the time he reached the twilight of his life, in the 1940s, Richard Strauss was viewed as a throwback, a conservator of the German romantic tradition. But that was hardly his reputation as a young man, when each new symphonic poem to issue from his pen seemed more extreme and outlandish than its predecessor. Certainly that was the case with the 32-year-old Strauss's mammoth meditation on Nietzsche's Also sprach Zarathustra, famous for its opening (used in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey) and enigmatic final cadence. This was modern music in 1896, its profligate orchestral effects about as far out as anyone thought music could get. Strauss even said he wanted to subtitle the piece "Symphonic Optimism in Fin-de-siècle Form, Dedicated to the 20th Century."

How different the 20th century turned out to be. Yet this music has certainly become one of its icons. It is heard to great advantage here, along with a remarkable array of other Straussian concoctions, some quite familiar, some not. Of the world's great orchestras, none has a more distinguished Strauss tradition than the Staatskapelle Dresden. As the pit orchestra of the Dresden Court Opera, it gave the premieres of Feuersnot, Salome, Elektra, and Der Rosenkavalier between 1901 and 1911; later, with Karl Böhm conducting, it played the premiere of Daphne.

Most of Strauss's major tone poems have been in the Dresden orchestra's concert repertory since the day they were written. Back in the 1970s, EMI was able to capitalize on this fact when it reunited the Staatskapelle with Rudolf Kempe--a native of Dresden, one of the master conductors of the 20th century, and an absolutely authoritative Straussian--for an integral recording of Strauss's orchestral works and concertos. The cycle was warmly received when it was originally released on LP, and it has become one of the treasures of the CD catalog since EMI reissued it whole, in three volumes, in 1992. Across the board, Kempe and the Dresdeners give magnificent readings of the music. Their Zarathustra is heroic and exultant, though it's the one recording in this set where EMI has allowed the somewhat veiled sound of its original digital remastering (done in 1987) to stand. Everything else on these discs was remastered in 1992, and sounds splendidly immediate and full-bodied. --Ted Libbey

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Quality review, January 15, 2012

By 

Jude - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kempe Conducts Richard Strauss Volume 2 (Audio CD)

I was amazed at the quality considering it was a second hand item, very good quality also a very fast delivery

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Finest collection of orchestral Richard Strauss Music, October 14, 2008

By 

W. Chiles "classical geek" (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Kempe Conducts Richard Strauss Volume 2 (Audio CD)

When these recordings were initially released in the early 1970s on EMI's quadraphonic LPs they were justifiably lauded as near definitive. Rudolf Kempe, trained in Dresden, had long been one of the finest interpreters of Strauss and had a wonderful relationship with this outstanding orchestra. The Dresden Staatskappelle or "State Orchestra" is the offical "Court" orchestra of Dresden, founded in the 16th century. They continue to play with an enviable standard as one of he world's finest orchestras, sounding instantly recognizable by the transparency of texture, burnished warmth and particularly bright and vibrato laden sound of their brass.

Strauss wrote many of his operas for premiere in Dresden under these players so they have the music in their blood. I've heard them play Strauss' "Ariadne auf Naxos", "Rosenkavalier" and "Frau Ohne Schatten" as well as Beethoven's "Missa Solemnis" within two weeks under three different conductors, all brilliantly, they are really & truly that good!

EMI has subsequently rereleased this former three volume set in a new 8 disc boxed set that drops many of the weaker pieces such as the "Parergon on Sinfonia Domestica" or violin concerto and it's highly recommended, but if you want the complete orchestral works of Strauss, seek out used copies of this three volume set issued in the early 90s.

Of those three four-CD volumes, this one contains the popular tone poems "Also Sprach Zarathustra" and "Tod und Verklärung" and the underrated "Sinfonia Domestica" along with a superb account of the "Le Bourgois Gentilhome" Suite and the famous "Dances of the 7 Veils" from "Salome". You can find the "Zarathustra" recording on an EMI seraphim disc and Kempe's definitive "Tod & Verklärung" on an EMI Recordings of the Century disc with his equally outstanding "Heldenleben". Kempe's excellent Sinfonia Domestica is however, unavailable on a separate disc.

I found a DVD-Audio version of "Zarathustra" with Kempe's "Alpine" symphony in the original 4 channel sound recording remasterings but you need a DVD-A player to decode the high resolution recordings, or a home theater system to playback the compressed DD5.1 versions on the flipped side.

That leaves this set as the sole source of these tone poems along with the violin concerto and the rare ballet score "Josephslegende" composed for the Diagliev Ballet Russe. I would highly recommend this used set if you can find it. The price is typically well discounted and gives great value.