# Great Richard STrauss Recordings



## socksband101

Hello everyone at Talk Classical. I am currently seeking Christmas gifts for someone who is very much a classical music afficianado. So no like, best of albums or user friendly recordings. I am searching for great recordings of Also Sprach Zarathustra, Till Eulenspigel, Ein Alpinesinfonie, Domestic Symphony, Don Juan, Don Quixote, heck . . . I'm searching for pretty much great recordings for all of Richard Strauss's major tone poems, althrough argueably the Alpine Symphony and Domestic Symphony aren't major. Nonetheless, I am a firm believer that Richard Strauss is one of the greatest composers that ever lived, and I wish to find good recordings. My first though was Karajan, but sometimes his recordings aren't very good, so perhaps like Mariss Jansons or Addado . . . I don't have any idea who are good Strauss conductors. ANy thoughts would be welcomed.


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## World Violist

Karajan is said to be very good with R. Strauss, but I know Fritz Reiner made some of the best Strauss records ever. And they're for the most part remastered in SACD. So my advice would be to look for those.


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## opus67

There is a box from EMI which has all the orchestral works by Strauss. Kempe conducting Dresden Staatskapelle. While I'm no fan of Strauss' music, I've seen this set praised by many. Moreover, you get Strauss' most famous musical output, more or less, for a relatively small price.


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## david johnson

reiner.
there are also recordings of strauss himself conducting.

dj


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## Chi_townPhilly

World Violist said:


> Karajan is said to be very good with R. Strauss


He is.


World Violist said:


> but I know Fritz Reiner made some of the best Strauss records ever.


He did. It's hard to get the major review texts to agree about anything, but Reiner's Strauss has been as close to uniformly praised as anything I can summon from memory.

Let me also note in passing that, when Reiner was in his 20s, he was an associate of Richard Strauss in Dresden- so you _do_ get that "tablets-received-from-the-master" feeling (c.f.: Walter with Mahler).


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## Atabey

Kempe-Dresden is a no weak-link cycle.
Karajan-Berlin EMI set which includes a great Don Quixote with Rostrpovich soloist,a wonderful Symphonia Domestica and an even better Ein Heldenleben but packacing is flawed Symphonia Domestica is cut in two!


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## ErFurtwanglert

My favorites are Strauss himself conducting and the recordings of Clemens Krauss. Krauss's Don Juan and Don Quixote are awsome.


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## BuddhaBandit

Definitely check out André Prévin's recordings on Telarc. While he hasn't recorded all the tone poems, there's a great four-CD box set that has most of the major ones (including a sublime performance of the Alpine Symphony).


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