Strauss - Don Juan · 4 Letzte Lieder · Tod und Verklärung / Voigt · NYP · Masur

Richard Strauss (Artist), Kurt Masur (Artist), Deborah Voigt (Artist), New York Philharmonic (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 8, 1999)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Teldec
• ASIN: B00000J7BR
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #236,216 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Here is a portrait of the composer in his buoyant youth and his melancholy old age. Strauss wrote the tone poems in his twenties, the songs 60 years later. Don Juan, in a bright major key, bursts with vigor, confidence, and exultant passion, but ends with a short, subdued, spooky coda in the minor. Death and Transfiguration opens in dark minor and ends in radiant major; along the way, the music dreams, sings, rebels, soars to an ecstatic climax, and subsides into serene resignation. This is death envisioned by a young man: idealized, remote, unreal. The songs, on the other hand, are suffused with an old man's premonition of death's inexorable reality; evoking fragrant gardens and trilling birds, the music ends in peaceful acceptance. Masur, in this live recording, inspires his splendid players to unbridled, superb performances; they revel in Strauss's glittering, luscious orchestration with ravishing solos and a glorious sound. Deborah Voigt's soprano, with its shimmering radiance and vibrant intensity, can blend into or soar above the orchestra; a renowned Strauss interpreter whose effort here compares favorably with the legendary account by Elizabeth Schwarzkopf, Voigt approaches the songs in a deeply felt, simple, direct, and outgoing manner, and she gives the composer's arching melodies a riveting, thrilling ecstasy. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Generous vocalism, February 2, 2002

By	C. EGBUNIWE "chukwu" (West Hollywood, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Grand gorgeous gorgeous vocalism and subtle interpretation. I think other listeners have mistaken the fussy, over-done performance of Fleming for musical intelligence (hence, tasteful singers are seen as boring). Voigt finds meaning in the music instead of over-acting each word phrase. Regarding Voigt's sound, listen to early Strauss interpreters such as Ursuleac and Jeritza to get an idea of a real Strauss soprano sound - a sound that Voigt has in spades

That said, I can't give the recording 5 stars for three reasons:

1. the Norman/Masur version is the very very best

2. I was present at the performances from which the recording was made and the recording does not do full justice to her voice and interpretation

and

2. the NY Phil's "Death and Transfiguration" is god-awful (bland, dull sounding, no sparkle, no power, no colors, NO depth, no meaning, etc.)

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Four Last Song, November 28, 1999

By	Yung Kuang Chan "trustysound.com" (Oakland, CA U.S.A.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I own more than 20 Four Last Song recordings and this is one of the best. Ms. Voigt's voice is so free and radiant, not to mention her impaccable German diction. The tempo seems to be the fastest among all the recordings in the market, but I find to be absolutely perfect. In my opinion, Lucia Popp/Klaus Tennstedt, and Jessye Norman/Kurt Masur are the other two excellent recordings that everyone should have.

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good, but......, March 12, 2004

By	Good Stuff "noreasonableofferrefused" - See all my reviews

A nice CD. The orchestral work throughout is, of course, exemplary.

Deborah Voigt is a major artist. She possesses a voice of formidable power. She is also a very intelligent artist.

This is a nice performance of Strauss' Four Last Songs. I find no fault.

However, frankly, admire Ms. Voigt though I do, there are simply more involved performances. Several, in fact. I'm not much of a fan of the recent Fleming recording, again, admire her though I do. There are times you want to tell her to trust herself and "just sing it!".

I have two personal favorite recordings of these songs. 1. Janowitz/Karajan, which is almost universally praised, and, especially, Te Kanawa/Solti, which for some reason that simply illudes me, is seldom spoken of. Dame Kiri was in simply unbelieveable voice for these sessions. Her voice absolutely shimmers. And Solti, seemingly in a rare mood of introspection (at least for him), lets this glorious music work its' magic on its' own terms. It is, to my taste, one of the greatest recordings Solti ever made.