169.00 PLN

LP-180G 33rpm:

Nr kat.: MS6627
Label  : SpeakersCorner

Convinced of his own historical importance, Richard Strauss introduced himself to American soldiers as the "Composer of the Rosenkavalier" when they knocked on the door of his villa in Garmisch-Partenkirchen at the end of the Second World War. Already more than 40 years earlier, Strauss considered himself as interesting as Napoleon and Alexander the Great and defended his egocentric Opus 40 ("Ein Heldenleben") by saying that he didn't see why he shouldn't write a symphony about himself. The "Symphonia Domestica", op. 53 is a musical tribute to family life in the living room, at the dining table and in the bedroom, in which Strauss expresses in a strikingly lyrical tone. George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra conjure up a picture of a happy family life, and the harmonious relationship between father, mother and son, which is sometimes filled with 'joie de vivre', gallantry, jubilation but also sometimes filled with disputes. Looking more closely at Strauss and his "Symphonia Domestica", listeners will find – alongside a familiar late-romantic musical language – clear echoes of his unique personal style. Wide intervals, a bold and vivacious treatment of the themes, surprising harmonic changes and not least exuberant melodiousness are unmistakable characteristics of this exhilarating music, which reflects the colossal ego of its composer. This Speakers Corner LP was remastered using pure analogue components only, from the master tapes through to the cutting head. "My own preference in Sinfonia Domestica has always been for the 1964 recording from the Cleveland Orchestra under George Szell, a performance so remarkable for its driven energy that one begins to suspect that Frau Strauss may have been crushing pep pills into the family's morning muesli. Leading an orchestra that he had trained to consistently outstanding levels of virtuosity, Szell concludes the work in a total overall time of 41:25 as well as clocking up the fastest speeds in each individual movement. Szell's propulsive account is, however, entirely appropriate as a depiction of the composer as an ambitious young family man, utterly convinced of his own talent as he strives energetically to establish his rightful place in the world." - Rob Maynard, MusicWeb International