Richard Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra, etc.

Rudolf Kempe, Staatskapelle Dresden. EMI 7243 5 74756 2 4.

If you are a devoted fan of Richard Strauss, you already have Kempe's three boxed sets of most of the composer's orchestral material, all of it recorded with the Dresden Staatskapelle in the early to mid seventies. Kempe was a master Strauss interpreter, and his performances, uniformly well recorded, are indispensable.

If, on the other hand, you never invested in the full-price box sets, here's your chance to get a few of the conductor's most famous recordings at a cut-rate price. This single EMI Encore disc contains not only the audiophile favorite "Also sprach Zarathustra" (1894), but "Till Eulenspiegel's lustige Streiche" (1895), "Tod und Verklarung" (1889), and the "Dance of the Seven Veils" from Salome (1905). In total you get over seventy-eight minutes of great music for a pittance.

Kempe's "Zarathustra" emphasizes the thematic qualities of the work rather than its overt showiness, and listeners used to more extroverted readings may be disappointed. In other words, this "Zarathustra" is for folks who listen to more than the opening fanfare. But there's no lack of animation in "Till Eulenspiegel." The merry prankster was never more lusty or mischievous or his comeuppance more deserved. "Death and Transfiguration" is taken very seriously, as it should be, and the result is exceptionally profound and uplifting. Finally, the album closes with the "Dance of the Seven Veils" in an appropriately exotic, sensuous, and luxuriant style.

EMI's audio varies slightly, "Zarathustra" sounding a bit more sedate and withdrawn than the other pieces. The two shorter works, "Till" and "Seven Veils," come off the most vibrantly. Deepest bass is perhaps wanting and overall transparency not always observed, but mostly the sonics hold up well over the years and sound better than a lot of stuff produced today. This is a bargain of a disc.