BaL 21.09.24 - Strauss: Don Quixote

[silvestrione]

We may have got a bit distracted here. For what it's worth, I didn't react at all to the Quick Soat, and it annoys me mightily when Byron's poem is not pronounced Don Juan, i.e., anglicised.

I thoroughly enjoyed the programme, for the excellent chosen extracts, and the way they were introduced, and the very welcome tactful Sarah Walker. I admire Andrew McG, except in his attempts to join in BALs! The last three did not to me seem superior to the Kempe or Szell, but that's neither here nor there.

Which Karajan was it? I liked that (well, I liked them all).

[oliver sudden]

In the libretto I have (ENO Opera Guide 8), the Marschallin's lines are:
Gewiss! O sicherlich dem Vetter seine Kinder, die werden keine Don Quixotten [sein]!
The 'translation' (or rather the English version, by Alfred Kalisch; I've no idea if it's what ENO use, but I'd imagine so) makes no reference:
Of course. I'm sure no child of yours would ever find it hard to endure such consolation.

‘Quichotten’ in the score, at least in whatever edition Dover appropriated

[Wolfram]

We may have got a bit distracted here. For what it's worth, I didn't react at all to the Quick Soat, and it annoys me mightily when Byron's poem is not pronounced Don Juan, i.e., anglicised.

I thoroughly enjoyed the programme, for the excellent chosen extracts, and the way they were introduced, and the very welcome tactful Sarah Walker. I admire Andrew McG, except in his attempts to join in BALs! The last three did not to me seem superior to the Kempe or Szell, but that's neither here nor there.

Which Karajan was it? I liked that (well, I liked them all).

It was the recording with Fournier.

[Retune]

Makropulos and Hugo Shirley's enthusiasm for Zinman led me to his 7 CD set on Sony, 'David Zinman conducts Strauss' (aka 'Richard Strauss: Orchestral Works' in its previous Arte Nova release), currently £15.96 on Amazon (much less than the £38.99 they charge for the downloads alone, though they throw in 'AutoRip' downloads with the CDs). Don Quixote, however you choose to pronounce it, is included. This must be one of the bigger bargains in Strauss recordings at the moment.

[vinteuil]

Makropulos and Hugo Shirley's enthusiasm for Zinman led me to his 7 CD set on Sony, 'David Zinman conducts Strauss' (aka 'Richard Strauss: Orchestral Works' in its previous Arte Nova release), currently £15.96 on Amazon (much less than the £38.99 they charge for the downloads alone ... Don Quixote, however you choose to pronounce it, is included. This must be one of the bigger bargains in Strauss recordings at the moment.

... tempting, tempting - very very tempting!


.

[RobP]

Excellent choice, but Tortelier's first version with Kempe and BPO is just as good, indeed his playing is even more eloquent than Janigro.

Always amusing to hear a BBC presenter sounding perplexed that a reviewer would select a performance with 65 year old sound. You do wonder if they actually listen to the sound or make some ill-formed assumptions.

[richardfinegold]

Speaking of Strauss bargains several years ago the Blomstedt/SFSO multi disc set of Strauss tone poems was reissued on the Newton label for pennies. It’s a good set but I don’t think there was a Quixote included. I can check when I return home in a few days

[smittims]

There's an even earlier Tortelier, with Beecham. Sir Thomas had herd him play in Paris and invited him to Abbey Road to make the recording; it was the start of Paul's long and sometime s ambivalent relationship with Britain..

[edashtav]

We may have got a bit distracted here. For what it's worth, I didn't react at all to the Quick Soat, and it annoys me mightily when Byron's poem is not pronounced Don Juan, i.e., anglicised.

I thoroughly enjoyed the programme, for the excellent chosen extracts, and the way they were introduced, and the very welcome tactful Sarah Walker. I admire Andrew McG, except in his attempts to join in BALs! The last three did not to me seem superior to the Kempe or Szell, but that's neither here nor there.

Which Karajan was it? I liked that (well, I liked them all).

Yes, it was an enjoyable programme partly because the journey mattered more that the outcome.

[oliver sudden]

There's an even earlier Tortelier, with Beecham. Sir Thomas had herd him play in Paris and invited him to Abbey Road to make the recording; it was the start of Paul's long and sometime s ambivalent relationship with Britain..

Tortelier/Beecham might even be my favourite of all, as I think I mentioned upthread. Dennis Brain on first horn, Jack Brymer on first clarinet, and if the anecdotes are to be believed Norman Del Mar on second horn…

And more to the point just the right touch of Beecham swagger where it’s required (as indeed in his Heldenlebens), which is just the right contrast to the serious stuff.

[oliver sudden]

Makropulos and Hugo Shirley's enthusiasm for Zinman led me to his 7 CD set on Sony, 'David Zinman conducts Strauss' (aka 'Richard Strauss: Orchestral Works' in its previous Arte Nova release), currently £15.96 on Amazon (much less than the £38.99 they charge for the downloads alone, though they throw in 'AutoRip' downloads with the CDs). Don Quixote, however you choose to pronounce it, is included. This must be one of the bigger bargains in Strauss recordings at the moment.

This set has always been an excellent bargain. The only problem is if one happens to buy it in an access of FOMO and then forget it’s there for years, only realising one has it if it’s mentioned on a BaL thread…

[Nick Armstrong]

Yes a very enjoyable BAL, nostalgic too as I became slightly obsessed with the piece during my R Strauss phase (during which I was given the box of Del Mar biography volumes as a Christmas present). Since then I acquired the Zinman box (xeap as xips) and the Luisi… so I think I’d heard all the versions considered.

I wouldn’t disagree at all with the final choice; I do though retain huge affection for the Kempe/Dresden (the ‘soloists’ balance has never bothered me) and it’s probably the one I’d pick if I wanted to listen - the tenderness of the epilogue is unequalled imvvho.

I love this anecdote:

There is an anecdote concerning Del Mar conducting an orchestra including Jack Brymer on first clarinet. Supposedly Del Mar asked Brymer to do something different with the very last solo and asked why he was playing it the way he was. The response was “because Strauss told me to, and I’m surprised you’ve forgotten because you were playing second horn at the time”.

[Nick Armstrong]

X is still ‘sh’ in Catalan. I was pleased to see Xostakóvitx filed under X when I visited the Barcelona fnac many years ago.

When I first lived in Paris aged 18, I was foxed for a long time by the apparent absence of any Shostakovich at all from the fnac record shelves… until I noticed by chance that they were all under C for Chostakovich

[Barbirollians]

I enjoyed it especially the high rank of the Previn but as I own all the front runners a cheap one for me- sorry to hear no mention though of the Du Pre/Boult which i find extraordinarily moving . The concert for which this was a rehearsal after Klemperer withdrew from a recording was not recorded anywhere I assume . Bizarre, that EMI having heard that unexpectedly recorded run through didnt get du Pre and Boult to record it . They really were in thrall to Klemperer in those days - remarkable for example that when he proposed to butcher Bruckner 8 they tamely agreed.

[makropulos]

I enjoyed it especially the high rank of the Previn but as I own all the front runners a cheap one for me- sorry to hear no mention though of the Du Pre/Boult which i find extraordinarily moving . The concert for which this was a rehearsal after Klemperer withdrew from a recording was not recorded anywhere I assume . Bizarre, that EMI having heard that unexpectedly recorded run through didnt get du Pre and Boult to record it . They really were in thrall to Klemperer in those days - remarkable for example that when he proposed to butcher Bruckner 8 they tamely agreed.

My little comment about Boult/du Pré had to be cut during the broadcast as we were running short of time. But I agree with you completely about what a marvellous record it is!