Tales from the CD Changer

Yes, this might become a regular feature here on the 'Conductor. Here's what I've been listening to in the last couple of days:




Disc One:
Bruckner: Symphony No. 6, Bavarian RSO, cond. Eugen Jochum
My current Bruckner kick continues, with this durable performance of the under-performed Sixth. Last night, listening I noticed explicit references to the Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde as well as the "Confutatis" section of the Mozart Requiem. Underpinned throughout by the distinctive two-beat/three-beat Bruckner rhythm, this is a powerful, underrated symphony.



Disc Two:
Mahler: Symphony No. 4, Philharmonia Orchestra, cond. Giuseppe Sinopoli
This Mahler Fourth is something of a standout in Sinopoli's underrated, often erratic cycle of Mahler symphonies. This sharply played digital recording features a standout vocal performance from Edita Gruberova in the final movement. Sinopoli's slow tempos and rhythmic command do much to unveil the air of menace hidden in the pages of this deceptive symphony. One cachet: this recording is only available at the moment as part of a 15-disc box set chronicling all of Sinopoli's Mahler recordings with the Philharmonia.



Disc Three:
Buxtehude: Organ Works, Discs 1 and 2. Harald Vogel, Organ
Johann Sebastian Bach once walked 25 miles to listen to Buxtehude play the organ, This exceptional set of performances (which, I'll admit, I've just started to work my way through) shows why. Harald Vogel plays with beauty and precision, and the set is recorded in exceptional, clear digital sound. If you love Bach organ music, you will need to hear this.



Disc Four:
Brahms: Symphonies Nos. 3 and 4, Wiener Philharmoniker, cond. Karl Bohm
Bohm was an outstanding conductor whose recorded output has benefited recently from a slew of budget DGG box sets in the last couple of years. His Brahms is not quite on the same level as Karajan's, but these are powerful, individual performances of the last two symphonies. The Third is exceptional. The Fourth glows in all of its intricacy, especially in the final chaconne movement.



Disc Five:
R. Strauss: Ein Alpensinfonie, Bavarian R.S.O., cond. Sir Georg Solti
I have a glaring weakness for this biggest of Strauss tone poems, a 22-movement graphic aural account of the ascent and descent of an Alp, based on a climb the composer made in his youth. This gorgeous recording, featuring Georg Solti in command of this very difficult score, features exceptional brass and organ, with a full, wide aural spectrum that can make your windows rattle.

Five Femme Fatales of Opera

Delilah (Samson et Dalila, Saint-Säens) Shear Madness

This scissor-wielding Philistine seduces Samson, only to give him the most famous haircut in history. She gets hers in the end though, perishing in a temple collapse when a shorn, blinded Samson gets his strength back and brings down the house--literally.

Salome, by Aubrey Beardsley.

Salome (Salome, R. Strauss): The Girl Who Wanted It All

All she did was demand that Herod, her stepfather, give her the head of John the Baptist in exchange for doing the Dance of the Seven Veils . At the climax of Richard Strauss' shocking one-act opera, the princess sings a final, bloodthirsty ode to the now-severed head. Disgusted by her, Herod orders his guards to crush her to death beneath their shields in the opera's final, crashing bars.

Carmen (Carmen) She's not bad, she's just composed that way.

The cigarette-smoking Gypsy captured the heart of Don Jose in order to get out of a prison sentence for slashing another girl who worked in the cigarette factory. Unfortunately for Jose, he followed Carmen into the smuggling business, seethed with rage as she ditched him for a bullfighter in tight, glittery pants, and then finally killed her outside the bullring.

Kundry (Parsifal, Wagner) The Worst of Both Worlds

The only female character in Wagner's final opera leads a complicated double life. In between stints serving the Knights of the Grail as a messenger, she acts as the agent of the diabolical mage Klingsor, luring the Knights to their doom in a seductive flower garden of evil. It turns out that she's cursed--payback for laughing at Jesus Christ as he suffered on the cross.

Lulu (Lulu, Berg) Death on Two Legs

This bisexual vixen tears through Berg's second opera like a hot knife through gouda, destroying the lives of almost every other character she encounters in the course of her sexual adventures. She finally becomes a prostitute in London, and is murdered by her last client, who turns out to be Jack the Ripper.

On the Road to Redemption: Strauss' Friedenstag

Richard Strauss and bass Hans Hotter, who
sang the premiere of Friedenstag.

Of the fifteen operas in Richard Strauss' catalogue, some of them have enjoyed incredible popularity on the stage. His twelfth Friedenstag ("Day of Peace") is not one of these. Despite that, this is a powerful one-act drama, with a muscular score that pushes the orchestral envelope.

Like his other one-act operas, the score of Friedenstag is not always easy listening. Strauss captures the atmosphere of war and fear with dark, menacing tonalities, heavy brass chords, and a thundering chorus. The dramatic contrast between the baritone lead and his wife is offset by the tenor role, a Piedmontese messenger whose vocal lines are a ray of light in this gloomy opera.

At the finale, the whole work moves into C Major and an uplfting choral finish, in a conscious tribute to Beethoven's Fidelio.. Considering the modest price of a one-disc recording and the power of this work's message in times of war, this is an opera that Strauss lovers should consider listening to.

Unfortunately, history has not been kind to Friedenstag. It belongs to that list of operas that Strauss wrote during the early years of the Nazi regime. It also marks the untimely end of his collaboration with Jewish librettist Stefan Zweig. In 1935, Zweig's credit was stripped from the opening night program of Der Schweigsame Frau by Nazi censors. Strauss objected to this act of censorship and wanted to continue working with Zweig on Friedenstag, but the political situation at the time made it impossible. So, starting with Friedenstag, Strauss worked with the writer Josef Gregor. The team wrote three operas together. The other two are Daphne and Die Liebe der Danae. All three are rarely performed.

Friedenstag was conceived as a strong anti-war statement in the midst of a nation preparing for war. Although the opera specifically urges peace in the face of the madness of war, this positive message has been interpreted as yet another version of the Nazis' so-called "pacifist" policies (by which means they annexed Austria and the Sudetenland.) Even though the intentions of Strauss and Gregor were sincere, the "peace" message of the opera was seen as ironic and underhanded, and the opera's reputation suffered. The fact that Hitler attended the 1938 premiere in Munich did not help.

In the last fifteen years, this opera has been recorded three times. The first, on Koch Classics, featuring soprano Alessandra Marc, was unavailable for review. The second, released in 2002 on EMI, features the Bayerische Rundfunks Orchester and the excellent conducting of Wolfgang Sawallisch. The cast features the sometimes piercing soprano of Sabine Hass. Other standouts on this recording are the excellent Kommandants: a military face-off between baritone Bernd Weikl and bass Kurt Moll.

The second set, on Deutsche Grammophon, features the Dresden Staatskapelle under the baton of Giuseppe Sinopoli in one of his last recordings. Even better, this set features Deborah Voigt in the key role of Maria. She is simply incandescent in her two arias, singing Strauss' extended vocal lines with a powerful, dramatic thrust tempered by gorgeous tone. Johan Botha, currently singing Otello at the Met, makes a fine contribution as the Piedmoneses messenger. Both recordings feature excellent, modern orchestral sound, but the edge goes to the Sinopoli.

Gift Shop Hell

or--My Andy Rooney Moment

So here I am having a quiet evening at home, working my way through the Colin Davis 2001 recording of Berlioz' Les Troyens--the one recorded with Deborah Voigt, Ben Heppner and the London Symphony Orchestra. Research for what may be an upcoming Berlioz column. When what do I find on line? The following gift ideas, which reminded me of why some people wince at the mention of Classical Music.



Beethoven Rubber Duck
Rub-a-dub-DUB! Rub-a-dub-DUB. Bring the composer of the Ode to Joy into your most intimate space--the bathtub!--with this quality inflatable, squeezable effigy of the great composer.




Wagner Action Figure
Good for killing wabbits. Comes with its own beret and baton. Self-designed Festspielhaus playset is still in development, following the release of the Mad Ludwig Neuschwanstein build-your-own-castle kit and a matching Cosima doll.



Bach "Little Thinker" Plush Toy
Because it's not enough to be the composer of the Well-Tempered Clavier--now you can give this to your short-tempered toddler. Comes with a wind-up key that makes the doll play the Minuet in G Major. Wonder if it's in the Musician's Union?



"Carmen" Finger Puppets
Because you've always wanted to tell Don Jose where to stick it. For some reason, it includes a bull. A bull?! Wouldn't a doll of Zuñiga or Micaela make it easier to tell the story of this opera? Maybe a deck of cards? A free set of castanets? Some broken dishes?


Composer Coasters
Brahms, Bach, Mozart and Beethoven, available for you to set your drinks on. Probably less absorbent than the score of the St. Matthew Passion or the Requiem. Not available in Berlioz.


OK. Back to the Trojans at Carthage. I think things are going to work out for Dido and Aeneas....