Herbert von Karajan - Strauss, R.: Ein Heldenleben / Wagner: Siegfried-Idyll (1996/2016)

You have to hand it to Strauss: using his success as the basis for a 40-minute tone poem suggests no limit to confidence. It was, of course, the end of the century (1898) and a self-celebratory mood was in the air. Yet there's no lack of conviction in the music either. From a powerful opening depicting "the hero" (the composer), we move through a vicious scherzo–the critics!–to an extended love scene with the hero's companion. After a lengthy battle scene, during which all adversaries are vanquished, the hero surveys his achievements–cue for quotations from earlier works–before retiring into the golden sunset of immortality. This last section is among Strauss's finest music, merging his unlimited gift for beauty in sound with a rarely-felt sincerity. Without sacrificing any of his legendary control, Karajan is at his most visceral here, while Michael Schwalbé performs his own heroics in the concerto-like violin role. The 1959 sound has been excellently remastered, and there's room for Wagner's Siegfried Idyll, too, luxurious as only Karajan knew how. –Richard Whitehouse

TRACKLIST
1. Ein Heldenleben, Op.40, TrV 190: Der Held (4:14)
2. Ein Heldenleben, Op.40, TrV 190: Des Helden Widersacher (3:27)
3. Ein Heldenleben, Op.40, TrV 190: Des Helden Gefährtin (13:01)
4. Ein Heldenleben, Op.40, TrV 190: Des Helden Walstatt (7:14)
5. Ein Heldenleben, Op.40, TrV 190: Des Helden Friedenswerke (6:04)
6. Ein Heldenleben, Op.40, TrV 190: Des Helden Weltflucht und Vollendung (11:44)
7. Siegfried Idyll, WWV 103 (19:39)