Customer Reviews

R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben, etc.

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Minnesota Orchestra had hig hopes for Eiji Oue and a recording contract with Refrence that promised state of the art sonics. The latter part of the bargain came to wonderful fruition. Ein Heldenleben has been a sonic blockbuster since Reiner's great Living Stereo recording on RCA from the mid-Fifties golden age. This recording easily surpasses it in clarity and naturalness, with every section blossoming realistically and a spacious acoustic for the music to swoon in.

As for Oue, he departed rather quickly, and I doubt we will hear much from him in the future. Actually, for such a pedestrain conductor, he had good technique and this emerges as one of his best interpretations. You won't hear genius at any point, but everything is solidly in place, and the Minnesota Orchestra sounds totally up to the task of this demanding score.

Musically, the thing to rejoice over is the suite made from all the interludes in Strauss's mammoth opera Die Frau Ohne Schatten. Oue gives an explosive, almost hysterical reading that pulls us to the edge of our seats, and the sonics are just as spectacular as in the Heldenleben. Five stars for this part.

Great recordings of Ein Heldenleben are difficult to find. Of course, there is Reiner-Chicago from the 50's, and that has stood the test of time. Apart from this recording, I can think of no other to recommend. The advantages that the Reiner recording has over this is that he was a master Strauss interpreter, plus he had worked the Chicago Symphony Orchestra into a world-class ensemble. That is not to say that Oue or the Minnesota Symphony are not up to the task, in fact they excel, as is the case with all their recordings. First, the engineering is exceptional and sounds better than many SACDs released today. The orchestra is wonderful and Oue leads them through this extremely difficult music very well. The above review stating that there is "no genius to be found here" is probably correct, but I doubt one is going to find it. I love this recording, but you should compare it to the only other version in this league (Reiner-Chicago) and judge for yourself. Needless to say, you won't be disappointed.

The MN orchestra really comes through on this CD. Absolutely blows the Chicago Symphony recording out of the water. Both better playing, and better quality recording. If you like brass, buy this CD!!!