Customer Reviews

Strauss: Til Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks/Don Juan/Death And Transfiguration

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Yet another great Szell/Cleveland recording. It seemed that everything George Szell touched in the recording studio turned to gold, and this fabulous recording is no different. Along with Reiner's 1954 'Zarathustra' and Karajan's 1959 'Heldenleben' and 1976 'Don Quixote,' this is one of the truly essential Strauss tone poem recordings. Szell, who was an assistant to Strauss himself, removes the usual bombastic interpretive dust and lets the music speak clearly and articulately. Everything that is marvelous about this music Szell simply gives you--no show, nothing overdone. And this makes the music all the more effective. For instance, in Death and Transfiguration, the first three statements of the 'Transfiguration' theme are much faster than usual. This may lead some to say that Szell is being cold and unemotional. But where Szell's genius lies is that he realizes the truly climactic statement of this theme is at the end of the piece. When Szell reaches the final, orgasmic statements of the theme, he then drastically slows the tempo down. This makes the moment 100 times as effectice, moving and powerful as usual. Just one among many marvels that listeners will find in these great recordings.

George Szell was not a conductor much given to bombast. Clarity, precision and directness were his watchwords, and his overall approach serves the music of his onetime boss very, very well. Strauss' lushly (not to mention densely) scored tone-poems are creamy enough without the conductor upping the cholesterol count, and this Szell does not do. What he does is present the music straight, letting it speak for itself, and the Cleveland Orchestra--which Szell turned from an okay provincial ensemble into one of the world's great orchestras (which it still is)--responds brilliantly. The sound quality is dated and a little constricted, but that's a minor complaint.

In general, I don't think you can go wrong with Szell's magnificent accounts of these perenial Strauss favorites. The Columbia sound of the 60s was in many ways far superior to modern recorded sound, warmer and much more live. And Szell was a great conductor for this kind of music. It doesn't require an extreme personality, and in fact, doesn't respond well to that kind of conducting. Szell was nothing if not workmanlike...just what Strauss' tone poems need.

This recording of three of Strauss' greatest tone poems is truly magnificent. I downloaded it for only 3 dollars. The sound is great and the performances are as close to perfection as anybody could ever wish for. Under George Szell, the Cleveland became one of the world's finest orchestras. The performances here have real spontanaiety, they sound incredibly natural. The recording was made almost 50 years ago but still sounds clear as a bell. If you enjoy classical music, I would definitely download this one.