Composer: Richard Strauss
Orchestra: Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Marek Janowski
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Pentatone
Catalogue: PTC5186339
Release: 2009
Size: 1.19 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
01. Macbeth, Op. 23
Eine Alpensinfonie, Op. 64
02. Nacht (1)
03. Sonnenaufgang
04. Der Anstieg
05. Eintritt in den Wald
06. Am Wasserfall
07. Erscheinung
08. Auf blumigen Wiesen
09. Auf der Alm
10. Durch Dickicht und Gestrüpp auf Irrwegen
11. Auf dem Gletscher
12. Gefahrvolle Augenblicke
13. Auf dem Gipfel
14. Vision
15. Nebel steigen auf
16. Die Sonne verdüstert sich allmählich
17. Elegie
18. Stille vor der Sturm
19. Gewitter und Sturm, Abstieg
20. Sonnenuntergang
21. Ausklang
22. Nacht (2)
Strauss’ early symphonic poems Macbeth and Eine Alpensinfonie are long, loud, and banal, and so are these performances by Marek Janowski and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. The relatively rarely recorded Macbeth is dark and brooding, with flashes of color and violence, but it sounds both poorly constructed and poorly performed. Janowski’s interpretation makes the listener all too aware of the work’s discursiveness, and though the Pittsburgh musicians play well enough, they sound distinctly bored and even restless. Even less appealing is the relatively frequently recorded Eine Alpensinfonie. While the Pittsburgh musicians play well enough in this difficult score, the piece sounds interminable in Janowski’s interpretation, which lingers over details and rarely summons the kind of energy and fortitude it takes to effectively scale the 50-minute work. The super audio sound is clean, clear, deep, and vivid, and does help distract the listener’s attention from the otherwise lackluster music and performances.