Four Last Songs/Metamorphosen: Richard Strauss: Amazon.ca: Music

1. Tod Und Verklarung Op. 24

2. Metamophosen: Metamorphosen

3. Veir Letzte Leider: Fruhling

4. Veir Letzte Leider: September

5. Veir Letzte Leider: Beim Schafengehen

6. Veir Letzte Leider: Im Abendot

Product Description

From Amazon.com

Gundula Janowitz had a very beautiful voice that critics like to describe as "creamy," whatever that means. Strauss had a life-long love affair with the soprano voice. He even married one--not just the voice, the whole woman, of course. His Four Last Songs constitute his dying tribute, and they are probably the most hedonistically gorgeous vocal works in existence. Herbert vo Karajan was a Strauss specialist, as was Janowitz, and together they contrive to perform the songs about as perfectly as they ever have been. The couplings, two orchestral works from the beginning and end of Strauss's career, are quite appropriate: the last of the Four Songs quotes the "Transfiguration" theme from the tone poem. --David Hurwitz

Un Essentiel amazon.fr

Durant son exil helvétique, Richard Strauss se voit offrir par son fils, en 1948, un recueil de poèmes de Hermann Hesse. Après les avoir lus, il en choisit quatre et compose ces Quatre derniers LiederElektra ou Salomé. La voix de Gundula Janowitz, égérie de Karajan, brille de tous ses éclats dans ses partitions émouvantes et brillantes. La direction du chef autrichien est souple, presque calme. Karajan enveloppe la voix suave et radieuse de Janowitz. Par son recueillement et son apaisement, ce testament musical appelle à l'élévation spirituelle. Après le dernier lieder, il faut quelques longues secondes de silence pour se remettre d'une beauté musicale aussi parfaite. --Jeanne Semprin

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Customer Reviews

26 Reviews

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

4.6 out of 5 stars (26 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars This is the best, Feb 15 2004

By

Mr. Daniel M. Townsend "dantee" (UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Four Last Songs/Metamorphosen (Audio CD)

This recording of Strauss Four Last Songs has to be the best I've ever heard (including Renee Fleming and Kiri Te Kanewa).

Janowitz's voice must be THE voice for these (all) soprano pieces (roles) that Strauss wrote.

Her voice expresses depth, contentment, love and extasy and satisfaction without losing any beauty of tone.

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5.0 out of 5 stars An emotional volcano!, Jun 4 2003

By

Serowka Tim (Antwerp Belgium) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Four Last Songs/Metamorphosen (Audio CD)

I think that everyone who loves the soundworld of Wagner,Mahler and of course Strauss should have this disc.This disc is 78 minutes of a volcano that errupts emotional melodies one after the other.Very impressive(not only this disc but all the recordings of Richard Strauss with Herbert von Karajan.)
For me Herbert is one of the all time great conductors.Not always Mr.Nice Guy but all his recordings are done with a commitment that I barely hear with other conductors.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Incredible orchestral sound, less impressive Last Songs, May 31 2003

By

C. Dyer (Washington, DC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Four Last Songs/Metamorphosen (Audio CD)

This is a wonderful recording of both the Metamorphoses and the Death and Transfiguration. Quite simply, the sound of the the Berlin PO under von Karajan is off the scale. The strings are especially memorable in the emotionally complex Metamorphoses. My one complaint here is that the density of the sound at the climaxes results in an flat, opaque texture on the recording that is hard to penetrate with the ear (I'm not sure if any clever recording technique could solve this problem). Still, these works belongs in any collection: they are truly remarkable, the dying embers of the Romantic era stirred up by a composer who had glimpsed the future. The BPO is a perfect fit, too.

These first two works deserve 5 stars, but I was less impressed by Janowitz's Four Last Songs, where I felt that her sound and interpretation did not match the richness of the scoring (although I am generally a fan of hers). For a sound that is as rich and beautiful as the Strauss orchestration, try Eschenbach/Houston/Fleming.

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Most recent customer reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Great singer but....
Janowitz has a beautiful voice but Karajan elongates everything, sapping propulsion. Pretty dreadful Metamorphosen as well. Read more

Published on May 22 2004 by H. Stokar

3.0 out of 5 stars Oversold
Despite all the legend out there about the dynamic duo of Karajan and Strauss, I think the recording of these songs made by Szell and Schwartzkopf was more enjoyable. Read more

Published on Nov 27 2003 by Bob