Customer Reviews

Vier Letzte Lieder/12 Orcheste

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

what to write about this recording that hasn't been written already? it has been hyped as probably THE recording of the four last songs ever since its initial release ... an opinion i strongly disagree with. true, szell and his orchestra weave the most delicate textures and its hard to fault them on that account - but i find it hard to be moved either. elisabeth schwarzkopf seems to be a 'monstre sacree' nowadays (i mean this ironic!), where criticism feels like starting a feud. on her account i have to say that she is more artist than an artist can ever hope to be, but i often find myself wondering where the singer is behind all the interpretation! i do adore the young schwarzkopf (mid 1940's up to the mid to late 1950's ... probably with around 1958 the breaking point) and her earlier recording of the four last songs under ackermann is truly magical. but by the mid 60's her singing was all about art and not so much about music anymore. her inflections, even if carefully weighed, can seem mannered in a way that defeats the flow of the music itself - and the strange coloration of the vowels will always be an acquired taste. to sum it up, in this version it all seems coldly calculated and presented but not lived. it's pretty (and frau legge can still float a gorgeous line ... but sometimes her cooing comes close to cats meowing as well!) but in a synthesized way, where the emotion is fake and not real.

if you want a really great recording of the four last songs, go for della casa, isokowski, norman, janowitz, fleming or mattila ... or indeed jurinac (although one has to get used to very dimn orchestral accompaniment), or if it has to be schwarzkopf (and in general schwarzkopf is a good choice!) then do choose the earlier version under ackermann!

Again Elisabeth Schwarzkopf's singing offers the best interpretation regarding the Composer's intentions. Of course her singing was accused as over-detailed because people just think that music is for entertainment. Schwarzkopf's singing was the most complex and difficult to understand in the 20th century.
It wasn't her fault she was such an Intelligent person and thus her Art demands a higher IQ and a higher musical culture from the listener's point of view (for that she was the favorite singer of many directors and musicians not to mention she was Richard Strauss' Muse)
Schwarzkopf' Art was not meant for inexperienced and musically neif listeners.
Jessye Norman also gives a Legendary interpretation of the 4 last songs with Regal Legato, Unbelievebale Breath Control and Beauty of Sound that actually melts your heart. But interpretively she is a youngster when compared to Elisabeth.
Fleming also has managed so soon to climb up along with the top 5 best interpreters of the 4 last songs. Her interpretation is the most idiomatic and personal I have ever heard. Where others sing beautiful sounds, Fleming talks with her soul...
But the 4 last songs represent an ending... (Schoenberg should have killed something else instead of tonality... maybe his cat!!! It would have been a crime we would have forgiven him for).
That ending is perfectly expressed with Scwharzkopf's dark tone...
Yes Beauty of Voice is Divine but Interpretation is sheer Genious!!!!

The songs of Strauss are rich, melodic and passionate and no where else is there a better interpreter than the gifted Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. The detail and tenderness that are brought to the songs are a delight to listent to and the Four last songs are truly heavenly in this version. Szell allows the music to speak and never swamps Schwarzkopf. The addition of the other lesser known Strauss songs are a bonus rather than the early symphonic Death and Transfiguration and suit the mood better. Recording is a bit thin but nevertheless truly historic.

I don't speak German, nor do I know much about the composer, nor am I musicalogist. But this is one of the fine music that I can listen over and over, and never get tired of. Absolutely beautiful. I've also purchased similar Gundola Janowitz version. Janowitz has more gifted voice, but Swartzkopf's voice is much more mature.

This is a gem of a disc. The Four Last Songs are among the most beautiful things Strauss ever wrote, and Elizabeth Schwarzkopf gives a heartfelt and poignant rendition of these apopemtic lieder. The other songs on the disc are fine as well, especially Morgen. Other sopranos (Jessye Normam, Rene Fleming) have added their signature to the Four Last Songs, but you cannot go wrong with this recording.

The "Im Abendrot" from the 4 last songs on this disk is quite simply the most heart-rending, delicate and sincere passage of singing I have ever heard. Szell's orchestral support is outstanding ... but it is Elizabeth Schwarzkopf singing that singles out this disk as indispensible. Richard Strauss's end was near when writing Im Abendrot (At Dusk), Schwarzkopf's was not, but yet she sings reflectively and calmly, as if her own personal dusk was days away. Simply Sublime.

This disc is surely one of the most heavenly, inspired recordings in the catalogue. And at mid-price!!

Most people adore Schwarzkopf, the light and shadow, subtle inflections of tone, her beautiful, radiant voice bringing them to raptures of delight. Some can't stand her, finding her over-interpreting everything and not letting the music speak for itself. I fall very firmly into the former category.

People will always argue whether this performance of the Four Last Songs or the one she made 12 years earlier with Ackerman is superior. Let me be very clear - both are sublime, both are different, and if you can afford it, get both, like you would two recordings from different singers. If you can't afford both, get either. The earlier recording is more impassioned, fresher voiced. The latter recording (here) is more intelligent - it is hard to imagine more insights being poured into every word. It has a restrained, elegant passion that can only come from the years of experience Schwarzkopf garnered in these songs.

You will do well supplementing a Schwarzkopf four last songs with a larger voice like Norman or Studer, and a cleaner, purer, more silvery voice like Janowitz or Auger. But Schwarzkopf is the best place to start.

The vier letzte lieder aren't the only thing on this disc. The other Strauss lieder are just as delightful. Every time I return to this disc I'm struck afresh by just how indescribably beautiful her renditions are. Every time I see this disc in the CD shop I feel tempted to buy it again. I'm not normally that irrational but it's a reflection of how much I love this recital. This should be in every music-lovers collection. Obviously, you needn't hesitate!!

There are many recording of "Four Last Songs", but this one is considered as one of the best by critics (In Japan, this one is said to be the first choice of this song.) Yes, I agree with it. Yes, this is one of the best. It's natural that it should be said to be the best one. I like Schwarzkopf's singing, but compared with the first one with Ackerman (from EMI), I prefer the Ackerman to this one. But there are some advantages in this one. Schwarzkopf's interpretation is, as always, wonderful. And there are 12 other lieder such as "Zueignung" "Morgen!" and so on. (Both of them are my favorite!) You can enjoy the wonderful world of Richard Strauss lieder. This one must be the good introduction of Richard Strauss' lieder for you.

Elizabeth Schwarzkopf lived these songs and her poised tone and sensitivity to text and shading are what make this the greatest vocal interpretation. There are things to criticize otherwise, for example, the downward semi-tone transpostion of Fruling, and her non-interpretational shifting of vocal colors as she approaches the lower register.

Many prefer her earlier recording, but she, herself, prefers this version. I prefer this version also because she is more able to express the progression of life. The warm lilting tone, word inflection, breath control, and her facility in full support pianissimo singing create a vocal miracle. Never once are her soft passages given to mezza voce, they are all firmly set in the intercostals. Furthermore, the tone is never spread but consistently softly pointed. She must have been exhausted after she finished.

You may have Te Kanawa for a more generically beautiful delivery, Norman's version is more grand, I enjoyed Birgit Nilsson's singing of it, but here Schwarzkopf is in a class by herself. She could easily get ten stars.

This recording of Strauss's Four Last Songs is superb - for the most part. It should be said that this will not please everyone; in a way, it does not please me. But there is no truly perfect recording of these songs, and this is unquestionably one of the best. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf was fifty when she made this recording in 1965, so her voice is not as beautiful as on, say, her 1951 Beethoven Nine with Furtwängler. HOWEVER: this is only noticable in two aspects of her singing: her lower register, which has grown somewhat harsh and brittle, and her breath control, probably the most serious disappointment in this set - some of Strauss's long, long, phrases (e.g. end of September) have to be reworded so she can fit in a breath. Also, her interpretation is controversial: I think that sometimes she focuses so much on the little details in each word that we actually lose the whole picture. I think, though, that this is more of a problem in the other songs on the disc, and this problem doesn't interfere with the Four Last Songs. So for the most part, this is an outstanding performance. She is slightly brittle at the start of "Frühling," but she quickly improves. In some of the soaring, radiant phrases towards the middle, we hear her real voice come through: silvery, luminescent and soft-toned. She characterizes "September" most movingly; she pays attention to word-coloring in a way other singers seem unable to do, which makes up for not having the breath control of a Janowitz or a Norman. "Beim Schlafengehen" is excellent, but again we note the lack of breath control. "Im Abendrot," though, is the crowning glory of this recording. She is in radiant voice, and brings out all the poignancy of this astounding song. This song alone is worth the price of the set. The twelve orchestral songs also on this disc are for the most part not up to this standard. Exceptions include a hushed "Waldseligkeit," a powerful "Zueignung" and a gorgeous "Morgen." George Szell's conducting is inspired throughout, as is the playing of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra. The packaging is superb and the sound is excellent. But why put the Four Last Songs at the beginning of the disc? As the best songs Strauss ever wrote, shouldn't they be saved until the end of the disc? Many CD players, however, can re-order tracks, so this isn't too much of a problem. So of the three recordings of the Four Last Songs I have heard, here are my verdicts. Janowitz (Karajan/DG): heavenly, silvery singing, the most haunting recording. Occasionally, though, I feel her interpretation leaves stones unturned; her vibrato is also obtrusive at the top of her range; Karajan's accompinament is somewhat oily. Norman (Masur/Philips): the most gorgeous, unstrained singing, with astounding breath control. If only she and Masur hadn't decided to take "Im Abendrot" at a funereal pace! Schwarzkopf (Szell/EMI): not nearly as perfect vocally as the other two, but considerably better interpretatively, in addition to boasting the best conductor. So it all really depends on what you value most. If you want my advice, I suggest you buy all three! None of them is significantly "better" than the other, and their strengths and weaknesses complement each other. Pushed further, I would award the prize to Norman, for her gloriously rich, velvety singing. But you won't go wrong with Schwarzkopf.