A touchstone collection
This famous anthology of the orchestral works of Richard Strauss, recorded with Rudolf Kempe conducting in Dresden at the height of the Cold War, has been published many times. It first came out in the form of vinyl 33s, and then in separate releases. Rudolf Kempe's clear, precise, energetic and sensual style and the swirl of marvellous colours that he drew from the orchestra made it a milestone. They were re-released with the advent of the CD.
In 1992, EMI offered the three-volume series entitled Kempe Conducts Richard Strauss, and then in 1999, a single box set entitled Strauss: Orchestral Works. In 2006, Brilliant Classics would republish a dirt-cheap version named Richard Strauss Orchestral Works before integrating it into its monumental 35-disc Strauss collection in 2012. Finally, in 2019, this collection came out on Warner, with the inexact but tantalising name Complete Orchestral Works. This long list of previous publications doesn't reduce our pleasure at seeing that these recordings have been painstakingly remastered.
A tailor-made orchestra
The first thing that strikes one about this luxurious re-release is the sound of the Dresden Staatskapelle, excellently captured by contemporary engineers under the artistic direction of Claus Strüben, the famous Tonmeister responsible for some remarkable symphonies by Schumann, recorded in the same era under the incandescent baton of Wolfgang Sawallisch.
The Dresden musicians of the distant 1970s had the unique sound of an orchestra that was tailor-made for German music: with coherence, power and refinement from every stand. The collaboration between the Staatskapelle and Richard Strauss, as a conductor as much as a composer, is well-remembered. Many scores, written specially for the stage, were first performed by this orchestra, and shaped it in return.
Rudolf Kempe was the Dresden Staatskapelle's musical director between 1949 and 1953. The town was reduced to a shadow of its former self following turbulent years of war and the terrible bombing by the British in 1945 – a firestorm which completely destroyed "the Elbe's baroque pearl" and killed more than 25,000. Although he worked in Munich for many years, Rudolf Kempe would return to his hometown several times to direct the prestigious orchestra there. His first record, Ariadne auf Naxos by Strauss, was recorded at the Dresden Lukaskirche in 1968. Stunning and critically acclaimed, it gave rise to a series of 25 records which covered the lion's share of the German composer's orchestral output.
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