Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra, Don Juan / Karajan

List Price: $11.98
Our Price: $6.12
You Save: $5.86 (49%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.47 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases

Music CD Cover

Free Music Notes for Strauss: Also Sprach Zarathustra, Don Juan / Karajan

Free Music Review: Highly Recommended for Straussians and Strauss Novices
Hit: 5 Stars

Unfortunately, due to its fame, the very familiar introduction of "Also Sprach Zarathustra" overshadows other wonderful sections of Strauss' grand tone poem, including the waltz-like "Tanzlied." Although the introduction is (of course) played with appropriate grandeur and majesty, Karajan and the Berliners make the rest of this work equally memorable.

This recording also features two of Strauss' most famous tone poems, including the impish "Till Eulenspiegel" and passionate "Don Juan." Although the former runs the inherent risk of forced humor (the chaos Till creates at the marketplace, the "gross grimace" Till makes at self-important scholars), I've found that a less literal listening of the work makes it more enjoyable; one does not feel compelled to laugh, sit-com like, at canned humor. Barring these personal reservations about this aspect of the work, Karajan and the Berliners play wonderfully. They particularly work best in the sections when Till feels full of himself after the merriment, misery, and mischief he has created, followed immediately by his trial and execution; in this recording, the judges all sound like humorless, fascistic bullies next to poor Till's pleas; that he was "having a little fun."

A perennial favorite of Karajan's, and featured in his first-ever professional concert at the age of 20, the Berliners give a rapturous account of "Don Juan." In this work, Karajan has few peers (Rudolf Kempe's unaffected approach, recorded at approximately the same time, provides some of the closest competition). Horns thrust, kettledrums pound, strings sigh sweetly... The orchestra climaxes many times, with moments of profound sensual languor... I can think of no other compelling explanations to recommend this interpretation of Strauss' first major masterpiece. Worth the price of the recording alone.

Also worth the price of the recording is the "Dance of the Seven Veils" from Strauss' infamous opera "Salome," another favorite of Karajan's. This is a work lodged firmly between syrupy Romanticism and cruel Modernism, a dichotomy that melds into a truly special musical experience. For those unfamiliar with the rest of Strauss' revolutionary opera, this dance that Salome performs for her stepfather may whet the appetites of potential lovers of the opera (as it did for me). Karajan's sinewy interpretation of this orchestral piece builds to a wondrously frenzied climax, though with less feline sensuality than his 1960 recording with the Vienna Philharmonic.

The combination of Karajan and Strauss creates a dangerous magic. So, without reservation, I highly recommend this recording to hardcore Straussians, as well as novices to the composer's aural wonders.

Classical Music CDs

• Music > Styles