Richard Strauss - Also sprach Zarathustra; Ein Heldenleben (Fritz Reiner)

Information

Composer: Richard Strauss

• (01-09) Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30
• (10-15) Ein Heldenleben, Op. 40

Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Fritz Reiner, conductor

Date: 1954
Label: RCA

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 9

Can these magnificent-sounding, scintillatingly executed 1954 benchmarks in the annals of recorded Strauss really be a half-century old? They haven’t dated a bit, except for the jacket photo of Fritz Reiner posing with a cigarette in hand, plus an organ slightly out of tune with the orchestra in Also Sprach Zarathustra–as if anyone really cared, then or now. Because the original master tapes for these sessions were two-track stereo recordings (as opposed to three-tracks used for many sessions), this release does not take advantage of SACD surround-sound’s full capabilities. However, in one important respect it sounds better than RCA’s 1993 Living Stereo reissue: The latter’s bright treble levels resulted in a piercing, sometimes strident edge to string tuttis and loud trumpets; the SACD’s more judicious equalization allows Reiner’s extraordinary aligning of Strauss’ complex textural strands to emerge more naturally, with added richness (as opposed to mere volume) in the bass register. These sonic differences also manifest themselves when playing the SACD on a standard audio-CD changer. Even if you haven’t yet invested in surround-sound equipment, buy the SACD if you want these performances. And how can you not want them? [10/25/2004]

-- Jed Distler, ClassicsToday

More reviews:
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2004/Nov04/Strauss_Reiner.htm
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2004/Dec04/Reiner_Strauss.htm
http://www.amazon.com/Strauss-Also-Sprach-Zarathustra-Heldenleben/dp/B000003FE9
http://www.amazon.com/Also-Sprach-Zarathustra-Ein-Heldenleben/dp/B0002TKFQI

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Richard Strauss (11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a leading German composer of the late Romantic and early modern eras. He is known for his operas, lieder, tone poems and other orchestral works. Strauss was also a prominent conductor throughout Germany and Austria, enjoying quasi-celebrity status as his compositions became standards of orchestral and operatic repertoire. Strauss made a large number of recordings, both of his own music as well as music by German and Austrian composers. Along with Gustav Mahler, Strauss represents the late flowering of German Romanticism after Richard Wagner.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Strauss

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Fritz Reiner (December 19, 1888 – November 15, 1963) was a prominent conductor of opera and symphonic music in the twentieth century. Hungarian born and trained, he emigrated to the United States in 1922, where he rose to prominence as a conductor with several orchestras. He reached the pinnacle of his career while music director of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in the 1950s and early 1960s. Despite having a very wide repertory, Reiner was especially noted as an interpreter of Richard Strauss and Bartók. His conducting technique was defined by its precision and economy, in the manner of Arturo Toscanini.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Reiner

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