# Richard Strauss Burleske anyone?



## clavichorder (May 2, 2011)

I heard this piece live a few months ago and found it really enjoyable. Nice early Strauss. Very demanding of the pianist, to say the least. 

Have any favorite recordings?


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## Vaneyes (May 11, 2010)

View attachment 41461
Argerich/BPO/Abbado (rec.1992)


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## Animato (Dec 5, 2013)

It's a pity that this is the only work for piano and orchestra by Richard Strauss. You are lucky finding any recording at all of this marvellous work.


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## Aramis (Mar 1, 2009)

This piece is like poor man's _Totentanz_.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

The _"Burleske"_ is one of the Richard Strauss works I tend to listen to, together with _Metamorphosen_, _4 Letzte Lieder_, the _Piano Quartet _and _Till Eulenspiel_.

Among the interesting ones, there´s also a good Barry Douglas/Slatkin recording, a Janis/Reiner, a Richter/Rozhdestvensky live and a Gould/Golschmann, but the Argerich is the best, IMO. The liveliest, most sophisticated and nuanced, I think.

Strauss also wrote a "_Parergon_" and "_Panathenäenzug_" for piano left hand & orchestra, definitely not to my taste though.


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## Marschallin Blair (Jan 23, 2014)

_Argerich all the way!__ ;D_. . .

It's kind of an open and notorious fact that those who'd gratuitously disparage such a light and fun piece are really only burdens--- no, not to "_us, few; us 'hap-py' few_"-- but rather to themselves.

Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.

-- It's Friday, I can't help it.

Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha. Ha.


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## geralmar (Feb 15, 2013)

Music critics are contemptuous of the work; when they condescend to review a performance at all they make sure to impress upon the reader what martyrs they are for suffering through it. Nevertheless, I enjoy the piece immensely. I'm particularly loyal to the Janis/Reiner recording, but I am sure that there are other fine versions.


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

The version I have is with Hamelin at the piano, with Volkov
[Can't link the pic, but it's an album from Hyperion's Romantic Piano Concerto series, Reger's Piano Concerto and Strauss' Burleske]

I like the work. It's fun to listen to, though I always half expect it to be lighter in tone considering it's a Burleske. I don't think it's a good pairing with the Reger, however, because both are too heavy and dramatic to listen to at once. Otherwise, I enjoy it. It's a shame Strauss didn't write more for Piano and orchestra


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

^^^
I see what you mean regarding the pairing (I have the Barry Douglas/Janowski RCA album with the same pairing, which I don't mind much). That said, Burleske is a very fun piece to hear, very much in the neighborhood of some of his more famous pieces written around that early period, like Don Juan and Till Eulenspiegel's Merry Pranks. I can't decide which playing I prefer, either Douglas' or Hamelin's, since each of them has its own virtues. But I do like Janowski's Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France a tad more in that work (and of Reger's come to think of it). Too bad that RCA disc is deleted.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

^^^
Yes, my mentioning of a Douglas/Slatkin earlier was wrong. It´s with Janowski as a conductor though, coupled with the Reger piano concerto; I just had to check the CD ;-).


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

^^^
A mix-up (I meant Janowski, although how I ended up with Jurowski? Was I thinking of his recording of Manfred a while back?). My bad. Thanks for correcting me.


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## mikey (Nov 26, 2013)

Great piece, played it with orchestra a while back. Think I gave the timpanist a bit of a fright!



Aramis said:


> This piece is like poor man's _Totentanz_.


Nothing of the sort! Not quite sure how they compare in the first place...One is mock serious, all frivolity; the other I find deadly serious in an awesome way of course.

As for recordings, I personally don't like the Argerich. There was a recording of Byron Janis which I didn't like at first but am curious to here again now my perception of the piece has altered.


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## Janspe (Nov 10, 2012)

I like the Burleske a lot! There's a fantastic video of Argerich playing the piece on YouTube, I recommend watching that one wholeheartedly. Other than that, I've only listened to Hélène Grimaud's recording - I discovered this piece just a few months ago. I wonder why it isn't more popular? Perhaps due to the very difficult piano part...


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