Search - Dietmar Schwalke, Wilfried Strehle :: Schoenberg: Verklärte Nacht; R. Strauss: Metamorphosen

Richard Strauss originally intended his 1945 Metamorphosen to be for string septet, yet ultimately opted for 23 solo strings in response to Paul Sacher's commission for a work with larger forces. A draft score of Strauss's septet version came to light in 1990, and its reconstruction by Rudolf Leopold receives its first recording here. The lush harmonies and busy yet functional counterpoints gain definition and transparency when pared down to chamber dimensions. It's easier to ascertain motivic and timbral interplay from register to register, due in no small part to the sensitive ensemble blending. Strauss's wistful Capriccio prelude and Schoenberg's Verklarte Nacht are also beautifully balanced and packed with enough nuance to warm a thinking romantic's heart. A handsome, gorgeously engineered release. --Jed Distler