Search - R. Strauss, Szell, Cleveland Orchestra :: Strauss: Tod und Verklärung, etc

George Szell seemed to avoid Strauss's most splashy tone poems-- Zarathustra and Heldenleben--perhaps out of his natural dislike of kitsch, or possibly because Columbia (now Sony) had Eugene Ormandy and Philadelphia covering that territory. It's our gain, because while there are lots of great recordings of these latter two works, how many great performances of the Sinfonia domestica can you point to? Granted, it's a tough piece to bring off--a day in the life of the composer's family, complete with bathing the baby and a really graphic sex scene. But it's also one of the few works by Strauss that actually ends at the end, and not 20 minutes before. In any case, this is the performance to have, and Death is just as good. --David Hurwitz