Favourite Strauss family records

[Barbirollians]

As New year is upon us ( and happy New Year to you all ) and I hope a better one for those who have been rather in the wars and tomorrow the New Year's Day concert arrives again I wondered what were forumites favourite Strauss family records .

Predictable ones from me - Barbirolli's superb Pye and EMI accounts of many of the most famous waltzes and ( of course a legendary Gold and Silver by Lehar) how I envy those of you who may have heard him conduct this repertoire in concert (in fact I envy you all - if Doctor Who ever turns up at my house a Barbirolli concert is where I will ask the Tardis to go )

Carlos Kleiber's light as air New Year's day Concerts from 1989 and 1991 stunningly musical . Herbie's goodbye in 1987 and an old VPO/Boskovsky complilation I had on a Decca Ovation LP .

[mikealdren]

I've got lots of disappointing CDs including the EMI Boskovsky box, good for the repertoire but not engaging enough for me. The Karajan NYD concert was famous but doesn't really do it for me but I do like Kleiber and Reiner and also Christopher Warren Green's CD. I thought Janson's NYD concert was excellent too but I don't have the CD.

Mike

[pastoralguy]

I have to be honest and say that it's a long time since I put on a cd of anything by the Strauss family. I don't dislike it by any means but occasionally hearing it on the radio is enough for me.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Predictable ones from me - Barbirolli's superb Pye and EMI accounts of many of the most famous waltzes and ( of course a legendary Gold and Silver by Lehar) how I envy those of you who may have heard him conduct this repertoire in concert (in fact I envy you all - if Doctor Who ever turns up at my house a Barbirolli concert is where I will ask the Tardis to go )

They were indeed memorable. Most of the great concerts I have attended were conducted by Sir John.
On a related issue, there was the Halle Ball each year. It must have been rather special, but I was too young at the time.

[MickyD]

I'm very fond of the two Harnoncourt discs of 2001 and 2003 - a good selection, fast pieces go with a hell of a lick but no irritating Harnoncourtisms! Though his facial expressions on the DVD are rather alarming.

Being a HIPster, I highly recommend Jos Van Immerseel's Strauss selection on ZigZag - it got good reviews even from those not normally into period instruments.

[EdgeleyRob]

I haven't got any,sorry folks.

[Roehre]

I haven't got any,sorry folks.

That makes two of us then

[cloughie]

Barbirolli's certainly - there was a nice one on a DG LP with Bohm and the VPO but the old 1960s Decca Boskovsky compilation 'World of Johann Strauss' SPA10 in the pale blue cover is probably the one I know and love best. I can't say I play much these days I prefer R to J!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I have the Karajan New Year's Day CD and a two-disc set of historical recordings from the VPO 100th Anniversary issues (conductors including Furtwangler, Kripps, Schuricht and others). But, as cloughie says:

I can't say I play [them] much these days I prefer R to J!

[Petrushka]

As a Strauss family fan of long standing I'm somewhat surprised at some of the decidedly sniffy comments here as if this music is beneath the dignity of true music lovers. This is strange as Johann Strauss was greatly admired by, amongst others, Brahms and Wagner. However, as any true Strauss fan will tell you the real master of the craft was not Johann but his younger brother, Josef. His waltzes have greater memorability and sheer beauty as well as being masterfully orchestrated. Rumours have persisted for years that Josef actually wrote some of those attributed to Johann. One good candidate is Wo die Zitrohnen Blühn in my opinion.

Josef's great waltzes, Dynamiden, Delerien, Dorfschwalben aus Osterreich and Sphärenklänge are masterpieces, miniature tone poems of great beauty and far better, in my view, than those of Johann.

No Strauss enthusiast should be without the Decca recordings made by Willi Boskovsky and the Vienna Philharmonic: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Strauss-Fami...ords=boskovsky

Boskovsky seemed like a relic of the old Vienna and led the New Year's Day Concert from 1955 to 1979. I saw the concerts on TV from 1972 and Boskovsky was incomparable. His EMI recordings with the Johann Strauss Orchestra of Vienna are less successful largely owing to the muddy sound but have much fascinating repertoire. May I recommend Carl Michael Zieher's waltz Faschingskinder on this set: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Waltzes-Marc...kovsky+ziehrer

Of later conductors of the New Year's Day Concert it is, surprisingly, the Austrians, Harnoncourt and Welser-Möst who are the least successful while I really like Muti and Mehta in their concerts while I know that Alison likes Pretre. Muti in 2000 and Mehta in 2007 are superb while the best ever was Karajan in 1987.

It's all much better music than many on here are prepared to credit. It's wonderful and life-enhancing. Tune in tomorrow to see why!

[EdgeleyRob]

Nothing snooty on my part Pet.
It's clearly very fine music that means a lot to many people,it just does nothing for me.

[verismissimo]

... I can't say I play much these days I prefer R to J!

Maybe that's why they are to play the opening of Capriccio, cloughie - just for you and mates.

[Roehre]

.... Johann Strauss was greatly admired by, amongst others, Brahms and Wagner. However, as any true Strauss fan will tell you the real master of the craft was not Johann but his younger brother, Josef. His waltzes have greater memorability and sheer beauty as well as being masterfully orchestrated. Rumours have persisted for years that Josef actually wrote some of those attributed to Johann. ....

whoever wrote this music, it's generally great and very often inventive indeed.

That doesn't mean however that I feel that I should add much of it to my collection (apart from the Schönberg/Berg/Webern arrangements).

The main works which everybody recognizes within 2 seconds are readibly available anytime, and the whole output of the Strauss-waltz-clan has been recorded and issued on Marco Polo. No need to rush therefore, and the New Year's concert is a tradition we watch anyway, but I don't feel the need to see it more than once.

[Alison]

I have bought the CD of the concert for the last ten years or so. I have tried one or two of the Marco Polo issues but fine them a little dull in comparison to the marvellous Vienna Philharmonic performances.

Overkill is always a possibility and I limit myself to just the occasional - once every 5-6 months- audition of a previous New Year concert.

It still feels like quite an event when I take out Muti, Mehta or Pretre.

[silvestrione]

As New year is upon us ( and happy New Year to you all ) and I hope a better one for those who have been rather in the wars and tomorrow the New Year's Day concert arrives again I wondered what were forumites favourite Strauss family records .

Predictable ones from me - Barbirolli's superb Pye and EMI accounts of many of the most famous waltzes and ( of course a legendary Gold and Silver by Lehar) how I envy those of you who may have heard him conduct this repertoire in concert (in fact I envy you all - if Doctor Who ever turns up at my house a Barbirolli concert is where I will ask the Tardis to go )

Carlos Kleiber's light as air New Year's day Concerts from 1989 and 1991 stunningly musical . Herbie's goodbye in 1987 and an old VPO/Boskovsky complilation I had on a Decca Ovation LP .

The Karajan 1987 is one of my favourite CDs, it just has such a special feel to every note (and firecracker and triangle tingle!). Apparently he spent the weeks before immersed in the scores (and coping with back pain), memorising them all. When he stepped on the podium, the back pain went. It's admittedly a one-off, with some of the intros to waltzes done, as somebody said, as mini-Bruckner symphonies! But there's an extraordinary joy there, for me, and plenty of vigour and invention too

I have one of the Carlos Kleiber ones too, but I admit nothing on it comes near matching that legendary Lehar Gold and Silver from Barbirolli.