Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier / Schwarzkopf · Ludwig · Karajan [Box set, Original recording remastered]

Richard Strauss (Artist), Herbert von Karajan (Artist), Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Artist), Christa Ludwig (Artist), Anny Felbermayer (Artist), Karl Friedrich (Artist), Nicolai Gedda (Artist), Paul Kuen (Artist), Otto Edelmann (Artist), Erich Majkut (Artist), Kerstin Meyer (Artist), Franz Bierbach (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 11, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 3
• Format: Box set, Original recording remastered
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: EMI Classics
• ASIN: B00005NW0B
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #176,460 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Der Rosenkavalier, opera, Op. 59 (TrV 227): Act 1.: Introduction

2. Der Rosenkavalier, opera, Op. 59 (TrV 227): Act 1.: 'Wie du warst! Wie du bist!'

3. Der Rosenkavalier, opera, Op. 59 (TrV 227): Act 1.: 'Lachst du mich aus? ... Lach' ich dich aus?'

4. Der Rosenkavalier, opera, Op. 59 (TrV 227): Act 1.: 'Der Feldmarschall sitzt im krowatischen Wald'

5. Der Rosenkavalier, opera, Op. 59 (TrV 227): Act 1.: 'Quinquin, es ist ein Besech'

6. Der Rosenkavalier, opera, Op. 59 (TrV 227): Act 1.: 'Selbstverständlich empfängt mich Ihro Gnaden'

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Der Rosenkavalier, opera, Op. 59 (TrV 227): Act 2.: 'Ein ernster Tag, ein großer Tag'

2. Der Rosenkavalier, opera, Op. 59 (TrV 227): Act 2.: 'In dieser feierlichen Stunde der Prüfung'

3. Der Rosenkavalier, opera, Op. 59 (TrV 227): Act 2.: 'Mir ist die Ehre widerfahren'

4. Der Rosenkavalier, opera, Op. 59 (TrV 227): Act 2.: 'Hat einen starken Geruch wie Rosen'

5. Der Rosenkavalier, opera, Op. 59 (TrV 227): Act 2.: 'Wo war ich schon einmal und war so selig?'

6. Der Rosenkavalier, opera, Op. 59 (TrV 227): Act 2.: 'Ich kenn' ich doch recht wohl'

See all 18 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Der Rosenkavalier, opera, Op. 59 (TrV 227): Act 3.: Introduction

2. Der Rosenkavalier, opera, Op. 59 (TrV 227): Act 3.: Pantomine

3. Der Rosenkavalier, opera, Op. 59 (TrV 227): Act 3.: 'Hab'n Euer Gnaden noch weitre Befehle?'

4. Der Rosenkavalier, opera, Op. 59 (TrV 227): Act 3.: 'Nein, nein, nein! I trink' kein Wein'

5. Der Rosenkavalier, opera, Op. 59 (TrV 227): Act 3.: 'Die schöne Musi!'

6. Der Rosenkavalier, opera, Op. 59 (TrV 227): Act 3.: 'Macht Sie der Wein leicht immer so?'

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Strauss from London and another Time, July 18, 2004

By 

Mike Birman (Brooklyn, New York USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier / Schwarzkopf · Ludwig · Karajan (Audio CD)

There are two dozen or so Reference recordings in the glorious (and odd) history of recorded Opera. A Reference recording is one in which all elements coalesce to produce such obvious perfection that, even unseen, the Opera assumes legendary status: influencing (even terminating) subsequent recording efforts of the same work. The stunning Callas - Gobbi Tosca, now in it's second half-century, is the undisputed example of a perfect recording. Opera mavens who demur must keep it to themselves. Opera's a tough gig.

Der Rosenkavalier has been doubly blessed. This 1956 recording has enjoyed Reference status since its release (in glorious mono). Recently, a remastered Erich Kleiber effort with Maria Reining as the Feldmarschallin has resurfaced and assumed Reference status for many, as well. If you awoke this morning craving a truly Golden-Age performance of this perfumed homage to fin-de-siecle decadence, you will not go wrong purchasing either one. If, however, you (like me) ARE an example of fin-de-siecle decadence you must have both.

Recorded in London's Kingway Hall (you can hear the underground trains rumble in the distance if you crank-up the subwoofer) and originally mastered to mono to appease Producer Walter Legge's legendary hatred for stereo, EMI's house band of the era, The Philharmonia Orchestra, has never sounded silkier. The closest contemporary example of how this Orchestra once sounded is The Met Orchestra under Levine before his recent illness. Strings are plump sounding yet elegant. The horns forceful with perfect intonation: this score is horn and string driven. A failure here is fatal! The woodwinds and percussion perfect as well. Karajan and Klemperer evoked wonders from this orchestra, yet two more disparate personalities cannot be conceived. Orchestra's are not usually so democratic so I suspect Legge's influence at work. Luckily, the original multi-channel master was not destroyed and, unlike the great Sawallisch led Capriccio, a stereo version of Rosenkavalier is available. The record's soundfield is narrow yet deep, typical of early stereo. Some compression and tape hiss is inevitable but is not bad enough to detract from enjoyment.

Schwarzkopf was born to the part of the Marschallin. Aristocratic authority coupled with wistful sadness, her keynote for the role, must be delicately balanced. I think she is incomparable. Her voice has unusual heft in this recording. Again, I suspect Legge's influence. He was her husband, after all. Oh to be a fly-on-the-wall.... Otto Edelmann as Baron Ochs bellows beautifully, never yielding to mere vulgarity. Christa Ludwig, a favorite of mine, is wonderful as Octavian. Eberhard Wachter a fine Faninal. The truly stunning cast also includes Teresa Stich-Randall, Ljuba Welitsch and Nicolai Gedda. My praise for this glorious assemblage is utterly superfluous. Such casts are just a half-forgotten dream now. But this is what it takes to make a Reference recording. If you don't own it (or have never heard it) and you are even remotely receptive to Strauss, I urge you to wallow in this Grand Viennese confection. Three years after this Opera's premier, the world it so lovingly depicts was skewered by the sword and died in the Trenches. What was wistful becomes tragic. What once glistened now fades. This Opera is all that is left of that poor silver rose.

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Famous, sumptuous, moving... and yet..., January 3, 2002

By 

Jay Dickson (Portland, OR) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier / Schwarzkopf · Ludwig · Karajan (Audio CD)

For years and years and years there was no other recording of ROSENKAVALIER to compare with this one, and many people were introduced to the opera by dint of this recording (done originally in both mono and stereo). Indeed, it still it still makes many people's lists of the alltime greatest opera recordings period, and when you listen to the gorgeous conducting of von Karajan especially in the prelude you'll instantly hear why (there is still yet to be a better conductor for this opera than Karajan). Elizabeth Schwarzkopf's portrayal of the Marschallin is in and of itself equally praised, and yet here I think the kudos have been heaped over-high. Schwarzkopf is indeed very moving, and she's magnificent in the great Time aria and in the splendid closing trio, but her highly mannered responses to her lover often get on your nerves: there's a little too much cooing and gurgling going on. (Was perhaps her Marschallin influenced not a little by the public antics of the Gabor sisters at the time?) Christa Ludwig is in fine voice but never seemed the right choice to play Octavian (she's not nearly masculine enough). Teresa Stich-Randall is in glorious voice as Sophie: although she has often been faulted for lack of warmth here, her underplaying seems to counterbalance Schwarzkopf's coyness.

The opera itself is almost irrresistible. Susan Sontag once infamously listed it as a defining work of camp, which should say more about Sontag's chilly aesthetic sense than it should about the opera itself, which is magnificent: ravishing melody piled upon ravishing melody. This is not the most challenging opera Richard Strauss wrote, nor even the most moving, but it certainly is the most beautiful. Idiosyncracies of performance notwithstanding, this is still a highly recommended recording--although prospective buyers might want to check out closely the Kiri Te Kanawa version as well before buying.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Elisabeth Schwarzkopf: Ave Atque Vale, August 4, 2006

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Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Strauss - Der Rosenkavalier / Schwarzkopf · Ludwig · Karajan (Audio CD)

It seems almost impossible to believe that Elisabeth Schwarzkopf is gone. She died recently at age 90, remaining the prototype of many of the roles she defined, having lived a life of scholarly musicianship, gifted acting ability, beauty of presence, and a voice considered by many to be one of the finest ever created. She was blessed and we in turn were fortunate to have her enormous gifts captured for posterity on both recording and film.

Will anyone ever come close to matching the stature of commitment to the role of the Marschallin in 'Der Rosenkavalier' Schwarzkopf possessed and continued to stun audiences throughout her life on the stage? I think not. Though there are reigning divas who deliver this role with great power, there was something about Schwarzkopf's intuitive delivery that truly made her own the role. Her Marschallin was credibly beautiful, convincing us she could be the lover of a teenage lad, while have the grace and dignity to look into that infamous mirror during her Act 1 monologue and speak to every aspect of aging and the passage of time that touched the hearts of opera lovers for years. Another moment that is unforgettable is the final lines as she has leaves Sofie and Octavian to their new love, soaringly singing in the trio, then quietly and with profound dignity walking off stage, looking back with her inimitable 'Ja, ja', spoken in perfect Viennese dialect. Breathtaking!

This recoding of Strauss' masterpiece remains, for this listener, the finest ever made. Joining the luminous Schwarzkopf are Christa Ludwig as Octavian, Teresa Stich-Randall as Sofie, and Otto Edelman, Eberhard Wachter and even Nicolai Gedda in the brief but glorious role as the Italian Singer! Herbert von Karajan conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus in a rousing, waltzing, zesty, and profoundly moving performance. Everything is in place and perfect.

There are many CDs of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf that have been re-mastered and are available readily (another of her treasures is her rendition of Strauss' 'Four Last Songs' which will never again be so meaningful as they are now at her departure). For posterity all opera lovers should hasten to purchase this well re-mastered CD set before it becomes a collectors' item. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf may be gone but her memory and her supreme musicality and commitment are eternal. Grady Harp, August 06