Strauss: Josephs Legende [Legend of Joseph]

Richard Strauss (Composer), Giuseppe Sinopoli (Conductor), Staatskapelle Dresden (Orchestra) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Orchestra: Staatskapelle Dresden
• Conductor: Giuseppe Sinopoli
• Composer: Richard Strauss
• Audio CD (August 8, 2000)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B00004T766
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #161,711 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. The Legend Of Joseph: An Immense Pillared Hall In Palladian Style

2. The Legend Of Joseph: The Slave With Precious Stones The Slave With The Carpet, The Slave With The Greyhounds

3. The Legend Of Joseph: A Train Of Three Litters Comes Out Into The Loggia...

4. The Legend Of Joseph - Dance Of The Women: First Dance Figure

5. The Legend Of Joseph - Dance Of The Women: Second Dance Figure

6. The Legend Of Joseph - Dance Of The Women: Third Dance Figure

7. The Legend Of Joseph - Dance Of The Women: Sulamith's Dance: The Most Ardent Desire

8. The Legend Of Joseph: A Procession Of Men Appears Above....

9. The Legend Of Joseph: The Boxers Break Into A Sort Of Round Dance

10. The Legend Of Joseph: A Golden Hammock Appears In The Loggia...

11. The Legend Of Joseph - Dance Of Joseph: First Dance Figure: The Shepherd-Boy's Innocence

12. The Legend Of Joseph - Dance Of Joseph: Second Dance Figure: The Leaps

13. The Legend Of Joseph - Dance Of Joseph: Third Dance Figure: Searching And Wrestling After God

14. The Legend Of Joseph - Dance Of Joseph: Fourth Dance Figure: The Glorification Of God

15. The Legend Of Joseph: Just As Joseph Is Touched By Two Mulattos, Potiphar's Wife Starts As Though In A Dream...

16. The Legend Of Joseph: Potiphar Signals The End Of The Festivities

17. The Legend Of Joseph: Evening Falls

18. The Legend Of Joseph - Joseph's Dream: He Sees A Guardian Angel Approaching His Bed

19. The Legend Of Joseph: The Door Opens And Potiphar's Wife Steals In...

20. The Legend Of Joseph: Naked From His Shoulders To His Hips, Joseph Stands Before Her...

See all 28 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Make Room on Your Shelf..., March 29, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Strauss: Josephs Legende [Legend of Joseph] (Audio CD)

Bought this CD on a whim. After all, I've never walked around with snippits of "Josephs Legende" in my head. After listening to this recording, I was left to wonder why. It is vintage Strauss, pacing through turns lyrical and dramatic, and brimming with orchestral color. The late/great Sinopoli was in full command here, and what an army the Staatskapelle Dresden continues to be!

Strauss is not to everyone's tastes. However, if you have a soft-spot in your heart for Heldenleben, Don Quixote, Alpensinfonie or the sentimental strains of Zarathustra, you will find much to explore and enjoy in this outstanding recording. Highly recommended

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elegant Performance from Sinopoli and the Staatskapelle Dresden of this lesser known Richard Strauss ballet, April 18, 2007

By 

John Kwok (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Strauss: Josephs Legende [Legend of Joseph] (Audio CD)

Richard Strauss's "Josephs Legende" may be the most neglected of his major works, and that's truly a shame, since it is replete with elegant melodies and harmonies from the opening notes to a glowing, truly magnificient, conclusion. Among these include several riveting dances devoted to Joseph and his affair with Potiphar's wife which form the latter half of the ballet. Regrettably, one of the reasons why this major ballet score has remained obscure is due to its relatively dark subject matter, namely that of the Biblical prophet Joseph and the events leading to his rescue by an angel, that involve not only adultery, but also madness and suicide. The late Giuseppe Sinopoli's interpretation with the Staatskapelle Dresden is absolutely riveting, and one that should have caught fire with critics and fans alike. This was among the last, if not the last, in a series of recordings which Sinopoli and his orchestra made for Deutsche Grammophon of Richard Strauss's scores. I personally think that it's as fine as the others, made more remarkable by the fact that this was a live concert recording, and yet, the sound quality is absolutely as exquisite as any from a Deutsche Grammophon studio recording made in the late 1990s. Hopefully one day this recording will be regarded as a classic of this little known work. If you are a great admirer of the Dresden Staatskapelle, Giuseppe Sinopoli and Richard Strauss, then I can assure you that you won't be disappointed.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Neglected Ballet That Deserves Better, December 27, 2000

By 

D. A Wend (Arlington Heights, IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Strauss: Josephs Legende [Legend of Joseph] (Audio CD)

Josephs Legende is a work that may not be classed among the best of Richard Strauss but it is among his most interesting works. The music contains elements of Salome and something of his next opera Die Frau Ohne Schatten. It was a chore for the composer to write with a wordy and symbolic scenerio by Hoffmannsthal and Count Harry Kessler, but he managed to overcome these hurdles his objections to write a work conveying great passion.

The ballet was written for the Ballet Russe, and Nijinsky was to dance the role of Joseph and choreograph the dances. By the time the music was ready, Nijinsky had been fired by Diaghilev and replaced by Massine.

The ballet is definately something for Straussians. It is not a good introduction to Strauss's music but will be interesting to anyone who has heard Salome, Elektra and the earlier tone poems. The performance by Giuseppe Sinopoli and the Dresden Staatskapelle is marvelous and brings out the seductive magic of the music.