Letter V Classical Radio this week

Wednesday, June 11 is the 150th anniversary of the birth of Richard Strauss. This week’s show marks the sesquicentennial with vintage and modern recordings of works by Strauss, plus several samples from his now dimly remembered parallel career as one of the most accomplished conductors of the early 20th century – and not just in his own music . . .

June 12
noon-4 p.m. EDT
1600-2000 UTC/GMT
WDCE, University of Richmond
90.1 FM
www.wdce.org

Past Masters:
Strauss: “Also sprach Zarathustra” –
introduction (“Dawn”)
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Fritz Reiner (RCA Victor)
(recorded 1954)

Strauss: Horn Concerto No. 1
in E flat major
Hermann Baumann, horn
Gewandhaus Orchestra, Leipzig/
Kurt Masur
(Newton Classics)

Strauss: “Le bourgeois Gentilhomme” Suite
Berlin Philharmonic/Simon Rattle (EMI Classics)

Past Masters:
Strauss: “Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks”
Staatskapelle Berlin/Richard Strauss
(Deutsche Grammophon)
(recorded 1929)

Past Masters:
Strauss: “Ein Heldenleben”
Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam/Willem Mengelberg (Dutton Laboratories)
(recorded 1941)

Past Masters:
Strauss: “Salome” – “Dance of the Seven Veils” & final scene
Inge Borkh, soprano
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Fritz Reiner (RCA Victor)
(recorded 1954-55)

Past Masters:
Beethoven: Symphony No. 5 in C minor
Staatskapelle Berlin/Richard Strauss
(Deutsche Grammophon)
(recorded 1928)

Past Masters:
Strauss: “Der Rosenkavalier” – waltzes
Chicago Symphony Orchestra/Fritz Reiner
(RCA Victor)
(recorded 1957)

Past Masters:
Wagner: “Tristan und Isolde” Prelude
Berlin Philharmonic/Richard Strauss
(Deutsche Grammophon)
(recorded 1928)

Strauss: “Four Last Songs”
Karita Mattila, soprano
Berlin Philharmonic/Claudio Abbado
(Deutsche Grammophon)

Past Masters:
Strauss: “Death and Transfiguration”
Vienna Philharmonic/Wilhelm Furtwängler
(EMI Classics)
(recorded 1950)