Vier Letzte Lieder/12 Orcheste

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Composer : Richard Strauss
Conductor : George Szell
Orchestra : Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra
Orchestra : Robert Heger
Performer : Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Performer : Edith Peinemann

Product Details

Binding : Audio CD
EAN : 0724356696020
Label : EMI
Number of Discs : 1
Product Group : Music
Release Date : 1998-11-03
Running Time : 65minutes
UPC : 724356696020

ASIN : B00000GCAE

Track Listings for

Disc-1
1. Four Last Songs, Op. Posth.: Fruhling
2. Four Last Songs, Op. Posth.: September
3. Four Last Songs, Op. Posth.: Beim Schlafengehem
4. Four Last Songs, Op. Posth.: Im Abendrot
5. 12 Songs: Mutterandelei, Op. 43, No. 2
6. 12 Songs: Waldseligkeit, Op. 49, No. 1
7. 12 Songs: Zueignung, Op. 10, No. 1
8. 12 Songs: Freundliche Vision, Op. 48, No. 1
9. 12 Songs: Die Heiligen Drei Konige, Op. 56, No. 6
10. 12 Songs: Rube, Meine Seele, Op. 27, No. 1
11. 12 Songs: Meinem Kinde, Op. 37, No. 3
12. 12 Songs: Wiegenlied, Op. 41, No. 1
13. 12 Songs: Morgen, Op. 27, No. 4
14. 12 Songs: Das Bachlein, Op. 88, No. 1
15. 12 Songs: Die Rosenbande, Op. 36, No. 1
16. 12 Songs: Winterweihe, Op. 48, No. 4

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Editorial Reviews

From Amazon.com

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf was one of those singers whom one either loves or hates. She was a "stylist," who inflected every phrase, every note in her urge to communicate what she considered to be the meaning of the text. Others feel that the only thing she communicated was her own need to impress people with her ability to communicate, and I believe she often forgot the difference between art and artfulness. Be that as it may, she was an outstanding Strauss singer, and her performance of the Four Last Songs, in particular, is legendary. Of course, having George Szell on the podium doesn't hurt either. He insures that the music shows the singer in the best possible light. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews

a classic? if so then a very mannered one... (2004-06-08)

what to write about this recording that hasn't been written already? it has been hyped as probably THE recording of the four last songs ever since its initial release ... an opinion i strongly disagree with. true, szell and his orchestra weave the most delicate textures and its hard to fault them on that account - but i find it hard to be moved either. elisabeth schwarzkopf seems to be a 'monstre sacree' nowadays (i mean this ironic!), where criticism feels like starting a feud. on her account i have to say that she is more artist than an artist can ever hope to be, but i often find myself wondering where the singer is behind all the interpretation! i do adore the young schwarzkopf (mid 1940's up to the mid to late 1950's ... probably with around 1958 the breaking point) and her earlier recording of the four last songs under ackermann is truly magical. but by the mid 60's her singing was all about art and not so much about music anymore. her inflections, even if carefully weighed, can seem mannered in a way that defeats the flow of the music itself - and the strange coloration of the vowels will always be an acquired taste. to sum it up, in this version it all seems coldly calculated and presented but not lived. it's pretty (and frau legge can still float a gorgeous line ... but sometimes her cooing comes close to cats meowing as well!) but in a synthesized way, where the emotion is fake and not real.

if you want a really great recording of the four last songs, go for della casa, isokowski, norman, janowitz, fleming or mattila ... or indeed jurinac (although one has to get used to very dimn orchestral accompaniment), or if it has to be schwarzkopf (and in general schwarzkopf is a good choice!) then do choose the earlier version under ackermann!

THE DARKEST INTERPRETATION (2004-02-22)

Again Elisabeth Schwarzkopf's singing offers the best interpretation regarding the Composer's intentions. Of course her singing was accused as over-detailed because people just think that music is for entertainment. Schwarzkopf's singing was the most complex and difficult to understand in the 20th century. It wasn't her fault she was such an Intelligent person and thus her Art demands a higher IQ and a higher musical culture from the listener's point of view (for that she was the favorite singer of many directors and musicians not to mention she was Richard Strauss' Muse)Schwarzkopf' Art was not meant for inexperienced and musically neif listeners.Jessye Norman also gives a Legendary interpretation of the 4 last songs with Regal Legato, Unbelievebale Breath Control and Beauty of Sound that actually melts your heart. But interpretively she is a youngster when compared to Elisabeth. Fleming also has managed so soon to climb up along with the top 5 best interpreters of the 4 last songs. Her interpretation is the most idiomatic and personal I have ever heard. Where others sing beautiful sounds, Fleming talks with her soul...But the 4 last songs represent an ending... (Schoenberg should have killed something else instead of tonality... maybe his cat!!! It would have been a crime we would have forgiven him for).That ending is perfectly expressed with Scwharzkopf's dark tone... Yes Beauty of Voice is Divine but Interpretation is sheer Genious!!!!

Classic Schwarzkopf (2004-02-07)

The songs of Strauss are rich, melodic and passionate and no where else is there a better interpreter than the gifted Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. The detail and tenderness that are brought to the songs are a delight to listent to and the Four last songs are truly heavenly in this version. Szell allows the music to speak and never swamps Schwarzkopf. The addition of the other lesser known Strauss songs are a bonus rather than the early symphonic Death and Transfiguration and suit the mood better. Recording is a bit thin but nevertheless truly historic.

Delightful (2003-09-17)

I don't speak German, nor do I know much about the composer, nor am I musicalogist. But this is one of the fine music that I can listen over and over, and never get tired of. Absolutely beautiful. I've also purchased similar Gundola Janowitz version. Janowitz has more gifted voice, but Swartzkopf's voice is much more mature.

sehr schön (2002-09-06)

This is a gem of a disc. The Four Last Songs are among the most beautiful things Strauss ever wrote, and Elizabeth Schwarzkopf gives a heartfelt and poignant rendition of these apopemtic lieder. The other songs on the disc are fine as well, especially Morgen. Other sopranos (Jessye Normam, Rene Fleming) have added their signature to the Four Last Songs, but you cannot go wrong with this recording.

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