Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, David Zinman - Richard Strauss: Orchestral Works (7CD) (2003) CD-Rip

You will notice the lack of the word "complete" in the title of this boxed set, and not all the included works fit the title. The "Four Last Songs" don't match the title, but personally, I will listen to this set of orchestral Lieder anytime; this is one of Strauss' finest works.And the Op 7 Serenade in E flat for 13 wind instruments is an anomoly.

It appears that there is no complete set available, although there have been traversals of Strass' works which have been released in single volumes at a time. You may be able to assemble all issues in such a set, but I doubt they would cover all works, and, as far as I can find, these releases are not recent.

If you are after a representative collection of the Orchestral works of Strauss, there are only two choices: this 7-disc set, recorded and released individually betwwen 2000-20002, then as a boxed set in 2003, (this issue has now been discontinued, but BMG under their subsidiary Arte Nova label have re-issued it in 2006, so I am placing this review there as well); and a 9-disc set with the Dresden Orchestra under Kempe, made back, as I recall, in the 70s. Kempe and his musicians produced a top-class series, superby played, recorded with analog technology, and the sound still bears up well. At the time of their release they were hailed both for the standard of performance and recording quality, with particular comment on the standard of the Dresden players.

However, if you want a modern recording, you will not be let down by this set. The track listing is full of errors, omitting some works, so I will append a list of works at the end of this review.

We are so taken by the "name" orchestras, that many have not noticed that the overall standard of performance from many modern well-known orchestras is not quite what it was a few decades ago. There is such an emphasis on technical standards, and a fear to give a slightly different reading in case it doesn't sell, that many modern recordings are of high technical standard, but a degree of musicality has been lost. Meanwhile, in Europe, there are quite a few orchestras that have risen to quite high standards AND not lost touch with musicality.

The Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich is one such ensemble, and under Zinman have produced a set of Strauss works well able to stand up against the old Kempe recordings. It would take too long to discuss each work: suffice to say this is a well-chosen collection of superbly interpreted and played works, recorded with very high-quality, full-bodied, rounded sound. The set has been giving me much pleasure and in the time I have been listening to it I am finding that Zinman's readings are more clearly defined than Kempe's, and the wider dynamic range of the CD format allows him to give better expression to the dynamics of the compositions. So I am pleased to be able to give this set a very definite thumbs up in all aspects. You can probably hunt and find individual performances of each work that you think marginally better. But that is a lot of hunting for small gains. It is a close call between this and the Dresden set, but after some listening, this is the choice for me. And it is such a bargain, with no compromises in any department. So I can recomend the set without reservation.