Search - Strauss, Gourari, Rickenbacher :: Unkown Richard Strauss II: Piano Concertos

Forgotten Great Strauss!

Wayne A. | Belfast, Northern Ireland | 12/28/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's probably the name that killed it and that's a tragedy of the first order; Strauss's Panathenaenzug--a nearly half-hour long Passacaglia for orchestra and left-hand soloist--is complex, dazzling, wonderful, magical, and a total joy to listen to. It's been solidly in my top 50 list for decades and I've never tired of it. The preferred recording is Kempe's with Peter Rosel as soloist--it's a labor of love--but this one is fine too, and at this point any recording of this remarkable work is welcome--you'll note it's about dead in the catalogue. Why this piece has slipped by so many and not established itself solidly is a wonder, but again it's almost certainly due to the unpronounceable (if you don't sprach Deutsch) name and that alone. Honestly, one of Strauss's best works."