Customer Reviews

Strauss: Four Last Songs / Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Strauss's Vier Letzte Lieder are some of the most beautiful music ever; no one can be without at least one set of them, and I think that this recording leads a crowded field by a considerable amount.

Gundula Janowitz had a gorgeous, silvery-toned voice that could easily soar over Strauss's dense orchestration. In effect, she was a lyric soprano with volume close to that of a spinto or heroic soprano, and this makes her ideal for Strauss. She illuminates every word of the songs with understanding while phrasing with a long breath and a seamless legato. Excepting a couple of harsh low notes, her vocal quality is always unstrained and silvery, and her understanding of this music is unparalelled - except by the conductor, Karajan. He conjures up a gleaming, glorious carpet of sound from the Berliner Philharmonic, expressing all the autumnal serenity of these songs. The two instrumental solos (the horn postlude to "September" and the violin interlude in "Beim Schlafengehen") are gorgeously played but also emotionally charged, and the prelude and postlude to "In Abendrot" have unsurpassed passionate beauty.

Also on this disc are an electrically intense Tod und Verklärung and a poignantly autumnal Metamorphosen. These couplings are very appropriate: the transfiguration theme from the former is quoted near the close of "Im Abendrot" and the latter is from the same period in Strauss's life and career as the songs (his "Indian summer"). With the inexpensive price and the generous playing time (77 min.+), this is a disc that almost certainly will never be surpassed.

I used to think the classic Schwarzkopf/Szell recording of R. Strauss' "Vier Letzte Lieder" (Four Last Songs) could never be surpassed. However, the perfect clarity and legato of opera star Gundula Janowitz brings to life this set of metaphysical ruminations from the twilight of the composer's life.

Others have noted that Janowitz doesn't have the keenest dramatic ear, but I can only say that the overall effect of Karajan's unusually sensitive accompaniment and Gundula's heartbreakingly poignant vocal performance leaves me breathless. The classical lieder of Schubert was sometimes more about characterisation than beauty. In contrast R. Strauss was all about beauty. He was the ultimate tone poet - the meaning is in the music itself rather than what the performer brings to it. He once said his musical language was sufficiently precise to depict (without words) a person picking up a fork and laying it down on the other side of his plate. Moreover, he disliked overt histrionics - he used to conduct an entire orchestra sitting down with tiny delicate moevements of his baton. More physical show was in his eyes just exhibitionism.

Thus Gundula's gift to his music is to have restrained her natural expressiveness as a dramatic soprano, and to have pushed the composition itself to the forefront. The effect is devastating. To look for dramatic rawness in these songs is like looking for Hamlet in a haiku. Just let them wash over you, and inspire you to grow old gracefully.

As you begin to listen to the opening bars of the first of these 4 vocal masterpieces, it at first does NOT sound like a typical, late-era, Karajan recording. Does anyone remember his dreadful account of Mussorgsky-Ravel's "Pictures" with the Berlin Philharmonic? Or his even more pathetic "Planets" by Holst? Well, his account of the 4 Last Songs is a triumph. His accompaniment of Janowitz and the superior depth he got the Berliners to play with are astounding. Otto Ackerman's reading with Schwarzkopf pales in comparison.

And since I have always loved, as well as many others, the voice that Janowitz gave us during her career, her efforts on this disc know no bounds. Recordings like these make me, if not most people, wonder why these songs were not before, and since, ALWAYS recorded in this manner. The flow and meaning she gives to these songs is so moving and Karajan doesn't miss a chance to embellish her execution with his own masterful conducting. The Berlin Orchestra plays flawlessly as well.

This recording is a winner and I highly and singly recommend it!

This was the my first introduction to 'Four Last Songs' and it will be the one I return to most often. Having heard Janowitz I personally felt Schwarzkopf to be stagey; over-doing the annuciation of the words and losing the flow of Strauss' gorgeous soprano lines. The singing is immensely serene, secure, moving, direct and profound and Karajan's accompaniment is subtle with the BPO'a contribution remarkably sensitive - almost self-effacing. My personal favourite song is number three - it is absolutely exquisite. Strauss seems to aim for transcedence through sheer aetheticism - the beauty of the music is of such a level that listening to this music becomes akin to a religious experince. Try the simple but profound violin interlude in this song. Not since Mozart had music of such simplicity but such profound beauty been written. As you can probably gather I love this music and the recording. The other two performances are excellent but it is 'Four Last Songs' which makes this disc special.

This recording of the four last songs has rightfully taken its place among the greats. Janowitz's accurate pitch, her effortlessly soaring voice, and her beautiful and even tone seem made for Strauss.

Here we see more than any other recording an understanding of the voice as an instrument, a member of the orchestra. Janowitz's voice fits into Karajan's Berlin forces like she's always been there, perhaps hidden among the woodwinds. The most similar rendition to this is Arleen Auger's with Previn & the Vienna Philharmonic on Telarc, which I marginally prefer, if only for an even greater love of the American soprano's voice, and Previn's more agreeable tempi.

For my only quibble with this recording is Karajan's eccentric speeds - I find it almost lugubrious in the Fruhling (the slowest of my nine recordings); slightly rushed in Im Abendrot (the fastest of my nine recordings!).

As with most things Karajan does, you can hear as much Karajan in this recording as Strauss. I don't mean that pejoratively in this case - Karajan made everything beautiful (even when it shouldn't be), so where the music should be beautiful, as in the Strauss pieces on this disc, the great man and the BPO come up trumps.

I would recommend this disc, and strongly to Janowitz fans. Auger fans should consider her rendition an alternative to this one. Then you should make sure you have one of Schwarzkopf's renditions for insight, and a larger Wagnerian-voiced rendition such as Jessye Norman's or Cheryl Studer's. With a triple treat of one from each category, you will be well on the way to truly understanding the many facets of these sublime songs - which in at least one music-lover's opinion represent the pinnacle of compositional history.

The Janowitz rendering of the Four Last Songs is among the best ever recorded, but I would hesitate to call it the definitive account. The Schwarzkopf record with George Szell conducting - recorded in London for EMI as I recall - is top-class too and can be recommended along side it. The Metamorphosen, a tone-poem for 23 strings, is one of the most somber and darkest works Strauss ever wrote, in memory of the bombing of the Dresden Opera House. The BPO strings play with great poignancy and tonal beauty. This is a great account of a difficult work. Anyone who admires Schoenberg's Verklarte Nacht should hear this. Tod und Verkarung is pretty electrifying, and this account can be recommended along with a dozen others as the best of the last century - among them Szell in Cleveland, Toscanini in Philadelphia, and Reiner with the VPO. The final climax has crushing power, surpassing what the listener expects to hear as the performance progresses. In comparison to Karajan's 1959 recordings with the VPO, the sound engineers in Berlin have produced a more forward balance to the brass and strings. This is not necessarily an improvement, whether or not one prefers it is a matter of personal taste. The transparency of the sound and documentation remain excellent. At medium price, this can be strongly recommended.

I find it hard to imagine a greater performance of any work than Janowitz and Karajan in the Four Last Songs. Her voice, instrumental and flute-like posesses a unique quality perfect for Strauss' idiomatic vocal writing. That music of such richness and emotional depth could come from a man of eighty years is astonishing.The coupling of Metamorphosen, also written in his final years following the end of WW II, and his youthful Death and Tranfiguration is poetic, making this a "desert island disc" for everyone.

This entire CD is music that every classical music lover should have in their collection---by a Straussian master, Herbert von Karajan. No one seems to have as good of a sense of balance and control in the music of Richard Strauss than Karajan. He blends the strings so well that the listener is subjected to some of the most beautiful sounds possible. The Four Last Songs are definitely my favorite pieces on this collection, but that's not discounting Death & Transfiguration or Metamorphosis. Gundula Janowitz gives a performance that truly is miraculous. Coupled with an incredible sounding orchestra, this recording of the Four Last Songs is one of those 'desert island' discs. However, I'd have to bring my Schwartzkopf and Auger recordings too if I were to go onto a desert island.

This recording of Strauss Four Last Songs has to be the best I've ever heard (including Renee Fleming and Kiri Te Kanewa).

Janowitz's voice must be THE voice for these (all) soprano pieces (roles) that Strauss wrote.

Her voice expresses depth, contentment, love and extasy and satisfaction without losing any beauty of tone.

This was the first version of the "Four Last Songs" I ever heard, and it's still one of my favorites. Despite outstanding renditions by Renée Fleming, Jessye Norman and others old and new, this one still garners special affection. Janowitz just sounds ravishing in this recording, with a magnificently sustained, slightly dark tone that suits these pieces perfectly. The orchestral sound is vivid yet never overpowers Janowitz, whose voice soars effortlessly, thrillingly.

The accompanying tone poems are equally gorgeous. "Death and Transfiguration" rises to a sublime, cathartic climax, with some of the most beautiful string playing you'll ever hear - until you hear "Metamorphosen," which glows like an autumn fire. The entire CD shows off the silken tone and precision of the Berlin Philharmonic when these superb musicians and von Karajan were in their prime, making spectacular music together. Of their many recordings, surely this is one of the finest.