Zinman/Tonhalle 7-CD Box of Richard Strauss Orchestral Music

[Scott Morrison]

Much to my surprise and pleasure, the newish 7-CD, super-budget-priced collection of most of Richard Strauss's orchestral music by David Zinman and the Zürich Tonhalle is fully the equal, in some cases even superior, to the storied collection by Rudolf Kempe and the Dresden Staatskapelle. And the sound is superior. My review is here: http://snipurl.com/g5jb

[pizza]

I've generally had good experiences with Zinman's recordings, especially those he made with the Baltimore SO. He is quite a versatile conductor, bringing his expertise to classic, romantic and modern works with equal insight, charm and vigor. I recently found a deleted Argo recording he made of Copland's Rodeo, El Salon Mexico, Danzon Cubano and Billy The Kid which turned out to be the finest of any of these works that I've heard.

I'm not familiar with the Tonhalle Orchestra but it isn't at all surprising that he would raise the quality of any basically competent orchestra to such high performance standards.

[CharmNewton]

For awhile the Arte Nova discs disappeared but now have U.S. distribution again, so I'll be looking for these. I have his Beethoven and Schumann cycles and they are first rate both as interpretations and recorded sound. The Beethoven does use a new edition of the scores and has details one will not find in older sets, but the readings are generally vigorous.

I first heard Zinman when he took over the Grant Park concerts in Chicago in 1976, the last year of the old bandshell. His impact was immediate and the orchestra looked more alert than I'd ever seen them. He concluded that season of concerts with a Beethoven 9th that attracted thousands of listeners, the crowd overflowing the bandshell seating and lawn area and spilling across the street.

From the player roster listed in the Beethoven recordings, the Zurich Tonhalle looks to be made up of young musicians from all over the world. From what I hear on the Beethoven and Schumann discs, this core group sounds as fine as any in the world, the clarity and articulation being breathtaking at times.

John

[Scott Morrison]

As a thirty-year attendee at concerts at the Aspen Music Festival each summer, I can attest that David Zinman has done wonders since he took over as the music director there. I had heard him conduct Metamorphosen there and knew that the performance on this new set would be wonderful, but I was simply not prepared for how excellent, overall, this set is. And the budget price -- less than $6 per disc -- makes it all the better.

[Ralph]

I bought these discs singly at Tower before the boxed set came out. They compare well to the EMI Kempe set I acquired very long ago and haven't heard lately. As with all Arte Nova releases recording quality is high.

[Kwoon]

How does Zinman's Till Eulenspiegels compare to Kempe's excellent rendition? It's my favorite R. Strauss piece!

[Ralph]

How does Zinman's Till Eulenspiegels compare to Kempe's excellent rendition? It's my favorite R. Strauss piece!

*****

It compares favorably in performance and much better in sonics.