What a terrific collection of classic English interpretations of the orchestral music of
Richard Strauss! Three of the four recordings here are from the postwar period with
Thomas Beecham leading the
Royal Philharmonic, while the fourth is from 1967 with John Barbirolli leading the
New Philharmonia. But whomever and whenever they come from, the performances here are all consistently impressive.
Beecham's
Strauss is brave and bold, but also urbane and even a bit ironic.
Beecham's 1958 Ein Heldenleben is dashing but also debonair, while his Don Quixote with cellist
Paul Tortelier and Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme from 1947 are brilliantly polished, brightly colorful but also a tad insouciant. While the young
Tortelier plays his part with all sincerity,
Beecham's accompaniment seems subtly to undermine the work's protagonist with barbed remarks from the winds and pointed comments from the brass.
On the other hand, there's nothing ironic about Barbirolli's harrowing 1967 Metamorphosen. With the string of the
New Philharmonia sounding vastly larger than the 23 players called for in the score, Barbirolli's Metamorphosen transforms
Strauss' hymn to all that was lost and destroyed in the last great European war into a universal hymn to all that has been lost and destroyed through the continued crimes and follies of humanity. Although EMI's sound is variable -- the late-'40s recordings are clean but sometimes harsh, the late-'50s recording is rich and lush, and the late-'60s recording is huge and enveloping -- the performances should be heard by anyone who enjoys
Strauss and anyone interested in the work of the great English postwar conductors.