Search - Richard [1] Strauss, Antoni Wit, Weimar Staatskapelle :: Richard Strauss: Symphonia Domestica; Metamorphosen

A Fine Symphonia Domestica; A Second-Tier Metamorphosen

J Scott Morrison | Middlebury VT, USA | 11/17/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Antoni Wit is a much under-rated conductor and the Weimar Staatskapelle an overlooked orchestra, for all its historical connection with Richard Strauss who was its assistant conductor early in his professional life. The performance here of what many consider to be Strauss's schmaltziest (but wonderful!) composition, Symphonia Domestica, is really quite good. They treat the sentimentality of the score with warmth and tenderness, avoiding any maudlin feelings that might arise. They bring out the tartness of Strauss's delineation of his wife, soprano Pauline de Ahana, a true-to-life portrait of this formidable woman. And there is humor aplenty. Still, my preferred versions of this gargantuan tone-poem are those of Rudolf Kempe and the Staatskapelle Dresden, available now, I believe, only in a large box set, and the surprisingly good version by Gerard Schwarz and the Seattle Symphony Richard Strauss: Josephslegende Suite/Symphonia Domestica, the latter available here currently at a pittance and coupled with the underestimated Josephslegende.



For me, there is one reading of Metamorphosen that stands above the rest. That is by Herbert von Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker Strauss: Four Last Songs / Karajan, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra which also includes Tod und Verklärung in a searing performance and Gundula Janowitz singing the Four Last Songs, all at mid-price. The Weimar Staatskapelle Metamorphosen is adequate but not incandescent, which is precisely what this late work of Strauss needs.



Scott Morrison"

Wit is pleasant and restrained -- not good enough for this b

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 03/07/2010

(3 out of 5 stars)

"When Naxos released Strauss's Alpine Symphony a few years ago with Wit and his Weimar orchestra, no one could have foreseen how good it would be, and for a label once notorious for bad sound, Naxos provided vivid sonics that supported a reading full of life. With that pleasant surprise in mind, I was rooting for round two, this time featuring the much-maligned Sinfonia domestica. Frankly, I find the score so gorgeously gaudy that I don't even pay attention to the banalities of household life chez Strauss. The trick with this score is to make it seem coherent from beginning to end, since it tends to lapse into disconnected episodes. After all, the composer called it a symphony for a reason, to indicate that despite its program, the score should be played for musical unity so far as themes and development go.



If you go back far enough, there's a great historical recording by Furtwangler to prove that a non-schmaltzy reading is possible, and with that as a touchstone, I've heard most of the major modern recordings. For a clear, dry-eyed, crisp account that brooks no nonsense, Szell's from Cleveland holds it own. For sweep and grandeur, Karajan's reading with the Berliners on EMI is suitably awe-inspiring, but the score feels overblown at times. Rudolf Kempe, as yo'd expect, does a more modest job but is thoroughly musical and for many the most satisfying modern account, even though EMI's sonics sound a bit thin and less than seductive tonally. Reiner's account with the Chicago Sym. in Living Stereo on RCA should have been an outright winner, but the conductor seriously underplays both the fun and th thrills. A reflection of personal distaste for the score? I have a personal distaste for the recordings by Zinman and Sawallisch; other than this roster, I know of no prominent modern recordings. Room is still wide open for a great successor to Furtwangler, but I never expect to see its appearance. DG seems to favor Christian Thielemann as their post-Karajan Straussian, so we can expect something from that quarter one of these days.



As for Wit, he doesn't duplicate is triumph. The sonics are fine, the orchestra plays well, but the conducting is as restrained as Kempe's without the instinctive eloquence. This is a polite Domestica except when baby is bawling, and the essential thing -- finding a way to hold the entire score together -- isn't present. Still, among budget issues, I'd easily put this one at the top of my list, although if you look on the used market, one of the versions recommended above is always around."