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Strauss: Four Last Songs | 
| Creators: Antonin Dvorak, Jules Massenet, Richard Strauss, Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky, Giuseppe Verdi, Christian Thielemann, Christoph Eschenbach, Georg Solti, Yves Abel, Bordeaux Aquitaine National Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Renée Fleming, Larissa Diadkova, Walter Berry
Label: Decca
Category: Music
Buy New: £21.49
New (17) Used (2) from £11.17
Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 25879
Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Running Time: 119
Discs: 2
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 5.5 x 5 x 0.5
UPC: 028948013203
EAN: 0028948013203
ASIN: B001D27GKQ
Release Date: September 16, 2008
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | Frühling | | • | September | | • | Beim Schlafengehen | | • | Im Abendrot | | • | Ach! Wo war ich? Tot? ... | | • | Ein Schönes war | | • | Es gibt ein Reich | | • | Verführung, op. 33 no. 1 | | • | Freundliche Vision, op. 48 no. 1 | | • | Winterweihe, op. 48 no. 4 | | • | Zueignung, op. 10 no. 1 | | • | Zweite Brautnacht! |
Disc 2
| • | Eugene Onegin--Letter Scene | | • | Rusalka--Song to the Moon | | • | Otello--Willow Song...Ave Maria | | • | Thaïs--Ah! Je suis seule...Dis-moi que je suis belle | | • | Capriccio--Moonlight Music & Final Scene |
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| Customer Reviews:
A modern interpretation by a voice born to sing Strauss September 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Many people will be surprised by the negativity of the comments by bert1761, the first and previous reviewer of this disc on Amazon.com. First, let me say that I deplore the practice of some Amazon readers who give another revewer a negative vote simply because they do not agree with the opinion expressed. I think "bert" writes honestly, more in sorrow than in anger, and that his is a thoughtful, intelligent, sincerely held opinion that deserves careful consideration. I know what he means by the overt expressiveness of Fleming's interpretation but I do not agree that it is obtrusive or excessive. The voice is in wonderful condition and she is able to sustain the line with apparently effortless ease - except when she clearly chooses to disrupt it deliberately for emotive effect. The lower register is rich and characterful - you can hear its development just from the resonance of Renne's speaking voice in the publicity interviews on this website - and the top soars as creamily and amply as ever; I hear no strain anywhere. Her German is of course impeccable and her breath control a thing of wonder. I, too, am a great fan of Janowitz's and Te Kanawa's (earlier version with Davis) more restrained, classical interpretations, but Fleming's "Im Abendrot", for example, still works its magic for me. She is perhaps delivering here on record more of what you might hear in a live performance, when your communicative gestures can be more emphatic than in a recording - but little, idiosyncratic instances of vocal colouring and verbal inflection can on repeated listenings, become a little quirky and irritating. Nonetheless, this is an immediate, heartfelt interpretation of these inexhaustibly moving songs and very much a performance for the modern listener who needs and expects more individuality to distinguish one version from another. Furthermore, the recorded sound is technicallymarvellous; I have never heard so much detail in the orchestration of these songs.
The subsequent Strauss arias and songs are a glorious addition to her discography; Fleming was born to sing this composer - and just as she would opt to sing Strauss over any other composer for the voice, I would choose Fleming to interpret him. I cannot hear any inadequacy in her lower register in the first extended "Ariadne" excerpt and I rank this disc with her earlier selection of Strauss "bon-bons" with Susan Graham and Barbara Bonney. The bonus arias on the second disc in the Deluxe Edition are testament to her versatility and supremacy in other composers, especially Tchaikovsky's Tatyana.
So I respectfully beg to differ from the previous reviewer's judgement - but would fiercely defend and welcome his right to express it, prompting, as it does, civilised debate.
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