Strauss: Four Last Songs / Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra

Richard [1] Strauss (Composer), Herbert von Karajan (Conductor), Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Gundula Janowitz (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Gundula Janowitz
• Orchestra: Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Herbert von Karajan
• Composer: Richard [1] Strauss
• Audio CD (January 23, 1996)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B000001GQF
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #16,390 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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  #3 in	Music > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Janowitz, Gundula
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Gundula Janowitz had a very beautiful voice that critics like to describe as "creamy," whatever that means. Strauss had a life-long love affair with the soprano voice. He even married one--not just the voice, the whole woman, of course. His Four Last Songs constitute his dying tribute, and they are probably the most hedonistically gorgeous vocal works in existence. Herbert vo Karajan was a Strauss specialist, as was Janowitz, and together they contrive to perform the songs about as perfectly as they ever have been. The couplings, two orchestral works from the beginning and end of Strauss's career, are quite appropriate: the last of the Four Songs quotes the "Transfiguration" theme from the tone poem. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A remarkable set from two unsurpassed Straussians, August 21, 2000

By	"cdsullivan" (Cambridge, Massachusetts United States) - See all my reviews

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.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A truly LEGENDARY recording. Timothy Andrew Mikolay, July 8, 2000

By	Timothy Mikolay (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars LETZTE UND BESTE !!, June 22, 2001

By	J. C. Bailey (East Sussex United Kingdom) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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.