Strauss: Till Eulenspiegel – Zemlinsky: Die Seejungfrau

Albumbeschreibung

Orchestral works by Richard Strauss and Alexander von Zemlinsky are paired on this Alpha CD as examples of the late-Romantic tone poem, a form of that both composers found congenial for developing musical narrative. Of course, Strauss' Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche (Till Eulenspiegels Merry Pranks) has been one of the most popular classical pieces for over a century, but Zemlinsky's Die Seejungfrau (The Mermaid) was considered lost until 1976, when it was reassembled and eventually published in 2013. Emmanuel Krivine and the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg play Till Eulenspiegel with great charm and familiarity, as befits a work they have likely played many times before. Perhaps because of its obscurity, the performance of Die Seejungfrau is a harder sell, and though the orchestra plays with intensity and feeling, some scrappy passages and the density of the orchestra's blend, compounded by Alpha's curiously boxy audio, suggest that this might not be the first recording newcomers should try. Even so, Die Seejungfrau is a spectacular piece that deserves a place in the concert repertoire.

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