Richard Strauss - Don Quixote; Cello Sonata (Steven Isserlis; Lorin Maazel)

Information

Composer: Richard Strauss

• (01) Don Quixote, Op. 35
• (14) Romance in F major
• (15) Cello Sonata in F major, Op. 6

Steven Isserlis, cello
Stephen Hough, piano (14-17)

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra
Lorin Maazel, conductor (1-13)

Date: 2001
Label: RCA

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Review

ARTISTIC QUALITY: 10 / SOUND QUALITY: 10

This survey of Strauss cello works includes one of the finest Don Quixotes since Pierre Fournier’s matchlessly aristocratic Berlin and Cleveland accounts. Steven Isserlis first met Cervantes’ “Knight of Rueful Countenance” a decade ago when he recorded the work for Virgin with the Minnesota Orchestra under Edo de Waart. You could take absolute technical command for granted, but what was doubly impressive was the way Isserlis brought out the Don’s internalized conflicts (an old man’s obsession with chivalry nullified by failing physical powers) so vividly. His insights emerge even more potently in this remake with Lorin Maazel and the Bavarian RSO. It’s impeccably delivered, with outstanding solo playing from Isserlis and his equally fine (but un-credited) Sancho Panza (viola) and also from the orchestra’s concertmaster.

Maazel’s Bavarian RCA Strauss survey has been censured for its often highly indulgent approach (that’s an issue with Karajan’s EMI “Don” with Rostropovich, too), but here there are no such concerns. Maazel’s characterizations of the adventures of the “Dynamic Duo” (as Isserlis dubs the main protagonists in his humorous program notes) are exemplary. Hear the cranky muted trumpet fanfares in the introduction (as our heroes set out on their quest), or try out Variation II’s bleating sheep. Alternatively, savor the drab ecclesiastical dialogue between bassoons masquerading as monks in Variation IX, or the solo oboe’s presentation of Lady Dulcinea’s theme, which is most beautifully done. Similarities between Isserlis and Fournier in the main solo part are many, and of newer “Dons”, John Sharp’s lively portrayal with fellow Chicago Symphony principals under Barenboim (Teldec), and Franz Bartolomey’s Previn/VPO version (Telarc) each yield to Isserlis. There are inspired moments, many of them, in his RCA performance; one of the best of all comes in Variation V, where not even Fournier and Szell conjured up the image of the elderly knight’s vigil over his rusty armor and slumbering servant more movingly. The other works here are also superbly realized, and demonstration sound quality completes the deal. Outstanding. [8/2/2001]

-- ClassicsToday

More reviews:
BBC Music Magazine  PERFORMANCE: ***** / SOUND: *****
http://www.musicweb-international.com/classRev/2001/Sept01/Strauss_Quixote.htm

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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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Steven Isserlis (born 19 December 1958 in London) is a British cellist. At the age of 14, he moved to Scotland to study under the tutelage of Jane Cowan. From 1976 to 1978 he studied at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music with Richard Kapuscinski. Isserlis is distinguished for his diverse repertoire, distinctive sound deployed with his use of gut strings and command of phrasing, and is a staunch advocate of lesser-known composers. Isserlis plays the De Munck Stradivarius, on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation. He also part-owns a Montagnana cello from 1740 and a Guadagnini cello of 1745.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Isserlis

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Lorin Maazel (March 6, 1930 – July 13, 2014) was an American conductor, violinist and composer. As a conductor, Maazel was well-regarded in baton technique and possessed a photographic memory for scores. He was music director of the Cleveland Orchestra (1972-1982), Orchestre National de France (1977-1991), Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra (1988-1996), Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (1993-2002), and the New York Philharmonic (2002-2009), among other posts. Maazel's catalogue contained over 300 recordings of works by Beethoven, Brahms, Mahler, Schubert, Richard Strauss and others.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorin_Maazel

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