Album DescriptionStrauss: Ein Heldenleben; Don Juan; Til Eulenspiegel / Eugene Ormandy, George Szell
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Strauss Ein Heldenleben Don Juan Til Pic
Strauss Ein Heldenleben Don Juan Til Photo
Strauss Ein Heldenleben Don Juan Til Image
Strauss Ein Heldenleben Don Juan Til Image
Strauss Ein Heldenleben Don Juan Til Image
Strauss Ein Heldenleben Don Juan Til Pic
Most helpful customer reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful.
 a great budget recording
By Ray Barnes
I have not heard the CD but have enjoyed this cassette for a long time. My only minor reservation is that the sound is not quite as sumptuous as some of its more expensive competitors, but it remains very good. The body of tone produced by the Philadelphia Orchestra is heard to very convincing effect in Ein Heldenleben. The strings in particular play with fervour and passion, and this is a very involving performance. Earlier in his career as a concertmaster, Eugene Ormandy played the violin solos of this score I believe in 48 performances at the Hollywood Bowl. His commanding authority stems from long experience. His reading, from the very opening bars, is not as aggressive as Solti but still carries plenty of drama and excitement. This performance alongside that of Fritz Reiner with the Chicago Symphony remains my favourite of this work ever made in North America. The couplings are very generous and, typical of George Szell’s work, are marked by very meticulous attention to detail and virtuoso playing from the Cleveland Orchestra. Again, the sound is not in the very top drawer, but is more than acceptable, and the performances are impeccable. Those who enjoy Szell’s recordings of Wagner should not miss this disc. Overall, this is a very fine record for a modest price. Most strongly recommended.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
A no-brainer bargain budget bonanza
By Ralph Moore
I am echoing Amazon.com reviewer Doug Haydn Fan in voicing my attachment to this disc. I am not sure why we should feel the need to sound mildly apologetic in our advocacy as it has been a real “gramophone classic” for fifty years, featuring superb playing by two of America’s finest orchestras – with especially opulent string sections – directed by two acknowledged masters in Richard Strauss’s most energised tone poems.
In my days as a footloose young blade living on the Upper West Side in New York, I would play the cassette over and over; there is a kind of release and abandon in the playing here that bespeaks a combination of New World excitement and Old World sophistication that lends itself ideally to Strauss’s autobiographical extravaganza. The drive and momentum of Ormandy’s conducting never risks losing sight of the over-arching shape of what is, after all, a rambling, picaresque and episodic work. Szell is equally taut and brilliant in the two shorter works; Sony knew what it was doing when it compiled this selection. The sound is terrific, too; few apologies need to be made despite some thinness and a bit of hiss – it is extraordinarily immediate.
This is a perfect introduction for the novice to Strauss’s sound-world and having once encountered it I have found no need to supplant it with a more modern version – but then, I am probably imprinted with it because of my emotional loyalty. Nonetheless, I find it hard to imagine anyone being disappointed by its Schwung.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful.
Magnificent ein Heldenleben!
By Scriabinmahler
Ormandy’s reading of Hero’s life is fairly straightforward without vulgar exaggeration, as usual he lets the music speak most eloquently. Characterisation of each imaginative part is brilliant, especially the wind and brass sections done as vivid and vibrant as possible. The price of the CD is low, but the performance is 1st class and, I think, it’s the best recording of all Strauss tone poems Ormandy recorded with CBS.
I don’t think sound is second class either. It has the warmth and naturalness of early stereo recording with enough details, plus the dynamic range is enormous! I had to rush towards amplifier when the music reached climax.
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