# # 14 - Haitink conducting LPO - Strauss - Ein Heldenleben



## Lord Lance (Nov 4, 2013)

Haitink - one of the greatest conductors alive, in my opinion. With a mastery over the central German repertoire and much more and not to mention his innumerable fantastic discs. And lastly, the wonders of modern technology - 'tis truly a great time to be alive.

Today I played this:










They say that Britain lacks a world class orchestra - hogwash! If the listener didn't knew about the orchestra, they probably wouldn't guess "a lowly British orchestra". The playing is decent enough and the hall while not the best is respectable. Haitink is of course a master of all things German and it shows. The notes are punchy, the sound - fantastic, the players playing at their level best, the live atmosphere intact. And like a lot of other live performances - the joy shows. Also like many live performances - the playing is zealous.

Of particular interest is "The Hero's Field of Battle" a glorious movement. And accordingly, the players play. You could feel the environment. Almost jealous you didn't attend the actual concerts.

If the CD covers are to believed, the entire performance is from a single date only: 29th August, 1986. I doubt if it wasn't corrected later on. Also, no coughs.... Good!

Overall, fine performance. No major complaints and if it were my performance, I'd probably be satisfied.

RECOMMENDED PERFORMANCES:

The finest performance of this work in my opinion is of Ka.... what? No! Not a Karajan fanboy. I do not pledge my allegiance to him. Even if his performance may sometimes be my favorite. OK, yes, I do. [Reviewer bias; readers beware!]

Truth is until I hear Karajan's Ein Heldenleben, my favorite performance of the work is:










Sublime is how I would describe the recording. Bohm was a strict disciplinarian and in this recording it shows. The finesse of the players, the perfection in the playing and how the minutest of details could be picked up. Bohm was one of the great Strauss experts and his swathe of remarkable performance of Strauss' music stand as a testament to that fact. To truly understand my love for this recording, listen to it yourself and judge for yourself:


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)

Bohm doing Strauss... omg, I don't like it much at all.

von Karajan and Dudamel do it for Strauss for me.


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## Lord Lance (Nov 4, 2013)

albertfallickwang;bt3364 said:


> Bohm doing Strauss... omg, I don't like it much at all.
> 
> von Karajan and Dudamel do it for Strauss for me.


Fine. I'll hear Dudamel. Bohm was a true Strauss-ian. No doubt about that. Knew Strauss well too.


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## science (Oct 14, 2010)

"They say that Britain lacks a world class orchestra - hogwash!"

Who says that?


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## Lord Lance (Nov 4, 2013)

science;bt3385 said:


> "They say that Britain lacks a world class orchestra - hogwash!"
> 
> Who says that?


I have read that several times in reviews - most certainly from non-British sources - and articles. I'll link an article the next time I see it.


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