Favourites,
Richard Strauss
The Strauss discography is so vast that I couldn't possibly attempt anything even vaguely comprehensive, so I've mainly limited myself to the more popular works, with one or two lesser-known pieces thrown in for good measure.
I've tried to select as wide a range of conductors and singers as possible, including some old favourites as well as choices that are perhaps more unexpected. Of course tastes vary, and no doubt some will disagree with my choices, but I believe that all of the discs below show off the wonderful music of Strauss to the fullest.
Operas
This may strike some as a somewhat unusual choice, but I love hearing Montserrat Caballé in repertoire not usually associated with her. She brings a youthful vigour to the role, and her extraordinary breath control and legendary pianissimo are used to astonishing effect, especially in the final scene.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Set in a debauched palace in Nazi Germany, David McVicar's controversial, blood-spattered production doesn't shy away from the opera's more gruesome moments. Nadja Michael offers plenty of manic intensity, and there are impressive performances from Thomas Moser as Herod and Michaela Schuster as Herodias.
Available Format: 2 DVD Videos
What a cast this recording has! Deborah Voigt as Ariadne and Ben Heppner as Bacchus are ideal choices, with Natalie Dessay's Zerbinetta as the perfect foil, and Anne Sofie von Otter splendid in the role of the Composer, all scintillatingly conducted by Giuseppe Sinopoli.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Birgit Nilsson is at the top of her game in this searing performance. Georg Solti conducts with drive and ferocity, with the explosive passages in the score suiting him well, and there's a chilling contribution from Regina Resnik as Elektra's unhinged mother, Klytämnestra.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Die Frau ohne Schatten includes some of the most demanding vocal roles that Strauss ever wrote, and Georg Solti's cast are more than up to the task: Hildegard Behrens as the Dyer's Wife and Julia Varady as the Empress dominate, but I chose this recording for the casting of Plácido Domingo as the Emperor. He certainly won't be to everyone's taste in this music, but personally I just revel in the sumptuous singing he treats us to!
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf sings the role of the Countess in this charming recording of Strauss's final opera, conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Nicolai Gedda play the parts of her competing suitors to perfection as they debate which is superior: words or music?
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Orchestral Works
Bernard Haitink and the LSO give us a gripping, masterfully-paced account of this Alpine adventure. The climax of the storm is so shattering that it almost sounds as if parts of the Barbican are collapsing! Brass playing is stunning throughout: the trombones' pedal G as the protagonists reach the summit is worth the price of the disc alone!
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
Fritz Reiner made many classic recordings of Strauss's music, and I think one of the best is this dramatic, fiery performance of Tod und Verklärung with the Vienna Philharmonic. With biting brass and radiant strings, it's an exhilarating experience.
Available Format: 2 CDs
Pierre Fournier is the solo cellist in this recording conducted by Herbert von Karajan. The Berlin players clearly enjoy the orchestral effects Strauss calls for, including the bleating wind and brass in the episode where Don Quixote encounters a flock of sheep and mistakes them for an approaching army. Fournier treats us to some incredibly moving playing in the final section as Don Quixote dies.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC, Hi-Res FLAC
David Zinman conducts the Tonhalle Zurich in this marvellous recording of Strauss's semi-autobiographical tone poem. The horn parts of this piece are notoriously fiendish, but the Zurich players despatch every single bar with fearless aplomb.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
Top-notch recordings of the two Horn Concertos from Barry Tuckwell (with István Kertész conducting the LSO) and a lovely, sweet-toned performance of the Oboe Concerto from Gordon Hunt are the highlights of this collection of the complete concertos.
Available Formats: MP3, FLAC
I've already chosen CD versions of both of these works, but I just couldn't leave out this DVD of Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the London Symphony Orchestra: this is quite simply a phenomenal performance. As you would expect from the LSO, the brass are electrifying from start to finish, and leader Alexander Barantschik delivers the virtuosic violin solos with effortless ease.
Available Format: 2 DVD Videos
Songs
So many superb performances of these songs to choose from, but in the end I always find myself coming back to Jessye Norman. Kurt Masur's tempos are often dangerously slow, and yet Norman's unfailingly creamy tone and her ability to sing seemingly endless phrases translate into performances of utter beauty and conviction.
Available Formats: CD, MP3, FLAC
James Longstaffe - Head of Retail
