David Zinman and the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra's seven-disc set of Strauss' orchestral works covers all the greatest hits plus the usually B-sides along with a couple of bonus tracks and odd-ball choices thrown in. The first big hits are here, the libidinous Don Juan through megalomaniacal Also Sprach Zarathustra, plus the later hits, the massive Eine Alpensinfonie, and tell-all Sinfonia Domestica, along with the very early Aus Italien with its unintentional swipe from Denza's Funiculì Funiculà and the very late ...
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David Zinman and the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra's seven-disc set of Strauss' orchestral works covers all the greatest hits plus the usually B-sides along with a couple of bonus tracks and odd-ball choices thrown in. The first big hits are here, the libidinous Don Juan through megalomaniacal Also Sprach Zarathustra, plus the later hits, the massive Eine Alpensinfonie, and tell-all Sinfonia Domestica, along with the very early Aus Italien with its unintentional swipe from Denza's Funiculì Funiculà and the very late Metamorphosen, with its wholly intentional homage to Beethoven's Marcia funebre. As a bonus, the producers have added Strauss' four final hits, the aptly named Vier Letze Lieder. These performances are not, however, the original performances by the Strauss conductors you have come to trust over the years -- Strauss, Kraus, Böhm, and Reiner et al. -- but cover versions. Zinman, a conductor with a refined technique and impeccable taste, sounds out of his element with Strauss' vulgarities: the...
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