01. Also sprach Zarathustra, op.30 [32'50]
02. Salome, op.54 - Dance of the seven veils [9'30]
03. Der Rosenkavalier, op.59 - Act I. Introduction and Act II. Letter scene and Waltz* [10'16]
04. Der Rosenkavalier, op.59 - Act III. Introduction and Waltzes (Supper scene)* [13'14]
05. Feuersnot, op.50 - Love scene* [7'43]
London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Norman Del Mar
EMI Classics for Pleasure 5734422 (recorded January 1977 and January 1979*; CD issued 1988)
(digital download - flacs, no booklet, cover scan only)
Recording venue: Walthamstow Assembly Hall, London
Engineer: Not stated and Mike Clements*; Producer: Anton Kwiatkowski and Barry McCann*
This CD managed to combine most of the contents of two separate LP issues with only the Schlaogobers and Munich Waltzes omitted from the second LP.
The recent first release (by First Hand Records) of a spectacularly fine stereo recording of Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche, made in July 1954 with Norman Del Mar conducting the London Symphony, sent me back to listening to these other Strauss recordings made by the man who, literally, wrote the book on the composer (three large volumes) and knew the music better than most conductors.
One of my still vivid concert experiences was attending a Norman Del Mar concert (with the Philharmonia Orchestra, I think) in the 1960s at London's Royal Albert Hall. Seated in the cheap choir seats behind the orchestra, the organ pedal note at the beginning of Zarathustra made all the seats vibrate and it really felt as though we were going to be blasted into space.
Unfortunately, this recording of Zarathustra has nowhere near that impact and is, unusually for Classics for Pleasure, slightly disapointing - not bad but just a bit grey. The recorded sound for the Rosenkavalier and Feuersnot orchestral excerpts is noticeably more vibrant. But the sound for Zarathustra is no match for the 1954 Till Eulenspiegel and 1983 recording of Zarathustra by Georges Pretre and the Philharmonia, let alone for Edward Gardner's recent recording for Chandos.
But the performances are the thing and these are all very fine with great care for inner details in the orchestration. And both Rosenkavalier suites offer substantially more music than most such confections, conducted with great wit. The selections were presumably made by Del Mar.
Unfortunately, the digital download came with no documentation. I have therefore included sleeve scans of the two LP issues, sourced from the interweb, which have excellent notes by William Mann.
Download from MEGA.