# Strauss family waltzes recordings



## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

I’m looking to get a good recommendation on recordings of the waltzes of the Strauss family. Of course vienna new year concerts are suitable but in studio recorded performers are also fine. In particularly I would love a really good recording of The blue Danube. I imprinted on André Rieu and although I really like the recording I want to go with something maybe a little more authentic


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## Monsalvat (11 mo ago)

I know Karajan recorded a bunch of these with the Berlin Philharmonic; according to my notes, these were recorded in 1966, 1969, and 1980, variously. More specifically to your question, he recorded _An der schönen, blauen Donau_ twice that I know of: in 1966 and in 1980. Fritz Reiner also recorded it in 1957 with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Karl Böhm in 1971 with the Vienna Philharmonic. I'm no expert, though; I don't listen to these too often, though I've gotten a decent level of familiarity from New Years' concerts and the like over the years.


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## Lisztianwagner (2 mo ago)

@Monsalvat has already given very good suggestions; otherwise, there's Boskovsky's box set _Strauss Waltzes, Polkas & Marches_, which is superb and includes many of the greatest works of Strauss Family, as well as a beautiful recording of the Blue Danube. The recordings of the Viennese New Year's Concert are always excellent choices too, but it's worth reminding those are live recordings, with claps and other some audience noises.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

The problem with actual NYD concerts is that you get another Blue Danube with each one and quite a few more overlaps. That said, one should get the Kleiber 1989 and 1992? (or whenever it was) and the Karajan 1987. For the latter it is important to get a more recent issue because the older ones do not include Kaiserwalzer (1980s CD afraid of 80 min playing time). Two other worthwhile ones are Abbado's with interesting mix of repertoire (1988 and 1991). Note that until the mid-1990s or so they usually only did a slightly cut version of the concert to fit all on one CD but then started issuing double discs with everything.
A great studio disc is Fricsay's from the early 60s (appeared on resonance or other DG cheapo series).
The most recent NYD concert was quite extraordinary as there was only one well-known piece included (in addition to the compulsory encores), namely "Aquarellen" by Josef Strauss.


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

There are many excellent recordings of this music. The classic collections that are well worth the layout:
Reiner/Chicago on RCA.
Fiedler/Boston Pops on RCA.
Omandy/Philadelphia on Sony. 
Karajan/Berlin on DG.

If superb sonics are important, Erich Kunzel made a fantastic disk for Telarc in Cincinnati that is really great to listen to. 

Then there are various collections made in Vienna - the Boskovsky recordings are spot on. They're on Decca and EMI.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

The Maazel/VPO/DG 2CD set is one that I've somehow noticed for being special and engaging.








Johann & Josef Strauss - Waltzes & Polkas


Johann & Josef Strauss - Waltzes & Polkas. DG: 4530522. Buy download online. Wiener Philharmoniker, Lorin Maazel



www.prestomusic.com





There are of course purists, who just want Austrian soloists all the way through in these works & consider only that 'authentic'.
However, the Austrians/Germans have had different approaches to the music too, naturally. And Maazel was very popular at the New Year concerts, returning there many times.


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## feierlich (3 mo ago)

In terms of Strauss family, Krauss is a must-listen. He is, after all, the guy who started this new-year Strauss concerts tradition.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

The Maazel DG are from a bunch of the first NYD concerts in the early 1980s after Boskovsky. IMO they are solid but not as special as Karajan or Kleiber. IIRC Maazel did all of them 1980-86 and then they decided to have another guest star every year beginning with Karajan 1987, Abbado 88, Kleiber 89, Mehta 90, Abbado 91, Kleiber 92, Muti 93 and so on.

Krauss was the one to start the tradition but the sound is unfortunately dry and not attractive in the ones I have heard (not all, only about one LP's worth as a filler for his Fledermaus). Another nice (but partly even more historical sounding) collection was by DG for the 150th Anniversary of the Vienna Philharmonic, a double disc.
ASIN B00000E52B ‏ : ‎


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## Monsalvat (11 mo ago)

joen_cph said:


> The Maazel/VPO/DG 2CD set is one that I've somehow noticed for being special and engaging.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


And this brings up a good point. "Authenticity" is somewhat subjective, anyway. Karajan made two recordings of _Die Fledermaus_, one in 1955 with the Philharmonia Orchestra (British) and one in 1960 with the Vienna Philharmonic. I would argue that the 1955 recording is at least as "authentic" as the 1960 recording, despite not being made with a Viennese orchestra. After all, Karajan was Austrian (if not Viennese himself, he was educated in Vienna and was the director of the Vienna State Opera by the time he made the 1960 recording). The Philharmonia Orchestra has the _élan_ and _schwung_ to prove they can play this music idiomatically. And it's arguably a better expression of the internal darkness and melancholy of the operetta (at some level reflecting the empty façades of _Ringstraße_ Vienna, lacking its own identity, hiding behind its own pomp and circumstance even as Austria declined) whereas the 1960 recording is splashier and more superficial. My point is that "authentic" performers might deliver a less "authentic" or idiomatic performance than one would expect. What matters ultimately is the recorded sound, _not_ who directed or performed it, and those seeking an authentically Viennese sound can also find it in recordings made by non-Viennese musicians, contradictory as that might sound.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Maazel returned in 1994, 1996, 1999, 2005.

Wikipedia has a conductor/year list



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_New_Year%27s_Concert


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## RobertJTh (Sep 19, 2021)

The two Harnoncourt NYC's are recommendable too, a refreshing HIP-infused take on the familiar repertoire, but no less "authentic".


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## Monsalvat (11 mo ago)

The New Year's Concerts are good. I always found this video of the 2014 Radetzky-Marsch funny, as Barenboim shakes every member of the orchestra's hand and even bangs on the snare drum as they play! Certainly music that this orchestra knows very well and they can listen to each other and stay together even without a conductor.


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## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

Kreisler jr said:


> The Maazel DG are from a bunch of the first NYD concerts in the early 1980s after Boskovsky. IMO they are solid but not as special as Karajan or Kleiber. IIRC Maazel did all of them 1980-86 and then they decided to have another guest star every year beginning with Karajan 1987, Abbado 88, Kleiber 89, Mehta 90, Abbado 91, Kleiber 92, Muti 93 and so on.
> 
> Krauss was the one to start the tradition but the sound is unfortunately dry and not attractive in the ones I have heard (not all, only about one LP's worth as a filler for his Fledermaus). Another nice (but partly even more historical sounding) collection was by DG for the 150th Anniversary of the Vienna Philharmonic, a double disc.
> ASIN B00000E52B ‏ : ‎


I don’t know if you know the YouTube channel called “Classical Music/Reference Recordings” but it’s a channel that picks out their favourite recordings for classical pieces and then newly remasters them. Some of the differences in sound quality between the official cd and their remastered version is astounding especially on older recordings like the Krauss. Best thing is for some of the recordings they put them on the major streaming services like Spotify but also Qobuz. Today actually I saw this video in my recommendation page, they picked the Krauss recordings you mentioned as a reference recording and they recorded it. I’ll link the video below and you can make out for yourself if it makes a difference.


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## Becca (Feb 5, 2015)

...and then there is ...










_"Viennese Night was a staple feature of Hallé programmes during Sir John Barbirolli’s era, not only at Belle Vue and in the Free Trade Hall but in many of the other towns and cities where the orchestra played and particularly, of course, at the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts in the Royal Albert Hall. There, especially during the 1960s, it rivalled the Last Night as a relaxed and enjoyable occasion, with JB presiding over the audience’s revels in a benevolently avuncular manner. If they were going to sway to the waltzes, they had to do it in time with the music; and if they were going to stamp their feet during some of the polkas, that too had to be done in tempo and accurately. The performances on this disc eloquently illustrate Barbirolli’s way with the music of the Strausses and others such as Lehár who comprise what we call the Golden Age of Vienna, although not all were Vienna-born but became adopted sons of the city. This English conductor of Italo-French parentage could be almost more Viennese than the Viennese. He had the secret of just how much rubato the waltzes could take without tipping over into sentimentality. He also acknowledges their rhythmic vitality and the brilliance of the scoring, not just for strings but for solo piccolo, oboe and percussion. What made his conducting of these Viennese bon-bons so satisfying was that he recognised that they were not just bon-bons but in several cases masterpieces of their genre."_


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Reiner/CSO - Vienna disc


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Only one can be the best, there is also a box om EMI/ Warner


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## bavlf (Oct 4, 2020)

Not just the Strauss family, but a beautiful box set:


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

I think I have only one of the Harnoncourt but he has a nice selection in both cases, with a few not too common pieces included, like the grand-uncle of concert waltzes, Weber's *Invitation to the dance* (originally piano only but orchestrated by none less than Hector Berlioz for the use of additional ballet music in his French version of Weber's *Freischütz*)

Stolz was one of the last composers of Viennese dance and operetta himself and made these recordings at an advanced age (> 80) when he was a bit of a living legend. I think they are a bit straight and rough (could be the recording), not the most poetic.
But the series gives a great history (I don't have the box but a few of the older single issues) from Lanner and Strauss senior (both mostly neglected by NYD concerts) via Johann junior, Josef and Eduard up to the 20th century latecomer like Lehar and Stolz himself.


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