“This is juicy. I’m sure that many music lovers have wished that Strauss had made a suite from Elektra. It is, after all, one of his most exciting scores, as well as one of his most symphonically cogent. Well, here it is, courtesy of Manfred Honeck and Tomas Ille, and it’s a doozy. You get all of the major bits: Elektra’s opening monologue, the entry of Klytaemnestra, the recognition scene, the two murders, and of course the final dance of death.… There is absolutely no reason why this arrangement should not become a repertory item forthwith–only it would be hard to imagine a performance played more brilliantly than this one. The Rosenkavalier Suite is the standard one, by Artur Rodzinsky, and it too sounds glorious on this smashingly recorded disc. Coupling the two works makes great sense: you get Strauss at his most expressionistic, and then Strauss in all of his schmaltzy, neoclassical splendor.… I don’t need to say anything more: if a disc like this is not self-recommending, then I don’t know what is.”—David Hurwitz, ClassicsToday
Labels: ClassicsToday, David Hurwitz, ElektraRosenkavalier, Manfred Honeck, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Review, Strauss