Ferenc Fricsay was the resident workhorse at Deutsche Grammophon in the postwar period, cranking out LP after LP with the RIAS-Symphonie Orchester of Berlin.
Fricsay's work was of such consistent and outstanding quality that in posterity, his name has attracted a following he never knew in his short life. However,
Fricsay is known best for his interpretive skills with the composers of his time --
Béla Bartók, Werner Egk, Karl Amadeus Hartmann, and others. This entry in the French Deutsche Grammophon series Collection du millénaire reintroduces an album that
Fricsay recorded of music of the Strauss family in 1961, as unlikely a showpiece for this conductor as one can imagine. However, these are excellent performances. Each piece is performed scrupulously intact, with Geschichten aus der Wienerwald running over 13 minutes and including both zither solos.
Fricsay is a little slower than the norm with
Johann Strauss II, although his Trisch-Trasch Polka is quite exciting, and all of these performances have the benefit of faultlessly clear orchestral detail. This non-lush Strauss emphasizes musical content over the storied grandeur of the genre of the Viennese waltz, and for that reason, it might not be to all tastes. However, for listeners who are deep into the music of Johann Strauss and his family,
Fricsay's recording may prove a refreshing change from the norm owing to its clarity of texture, careful pacing, and attention to musical detail. All of the titles and program notes are in French, however.