Strauss, R: Don Quixote, Op. 35

Strauss’s ‘Fantastic variations on a theme of knightly character’, as Don Quixote is subtitled, is one of the composer’s most popular tone poems, principally because of the beautifully drawn central characters of the Don (performed by a solo cellist) and Sancho Panza (viola). These roles are luxuriously cast in this new recording, being taken by Hyperion artists Alban Gerhardt and Lawrence Power. The merry tale of Till Eulenspiegel completes this release.

The Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, the very orchestra which gave the premieres of both works in the 1890s, is conducted by Markus Stenz, who has held the position of Principal Conductor since 2003. He visited China with the orchestra in early 2008 and conducted their first ever BBC Prom at the Royal Albert Hall in August 2008. In September 2010 he returned to China with the Gürzenich Orchestra and the Opera of Cologne to conduct the first ever production of Wagner’s ‘Ring’ in Shanghai. Among other posts he is Chief Guest Conductor of the Hallé.

Jonathan Darlington was music director of the Duisburg Philharmonic until 2011 having graduated from Durham University and the Royal Academy of Music. He began his career as a freelance pianist and he made his conducting debut in 1984 at the Parisian Theatre de Champs Elysees. He remains a Laureate of the RAM and also holds the position of Fellow of the RAM and here conducts the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra in this stunning performance of Richard Strauss’ tone poem, Don Quixote.

Paul Tortelier had the lean, ascetic look of an El Greco saint, yet possessed the turbulent idealism of Don Quixote, whom he portrayed so memorably in Richard Strauss’s tone poem. Tortelier was born in Paris in 1914, months before the outbreak of the Great War. Though the family knew poverty, it was his mother’s dream that her son should be a cellist. He started to learn the instrument at the age of six and at 12 he entered the Paris Conservatoire where he won several prizes before leaving at 16 to play freelance in cafés and cinemas in the days of silent films. A year later he made his professional debut playing Lalo’s Concerto at the Concerts Lamoureux. In 1935 he went to the Monte-Carlo Orchestra as principal cellist and two years later played Don Quixote under Strauss’s own direction. He began his solo career in 1938 in Boston, but this was interrupted by the war, during which he remained in Paris. In 1947 he played Don Quixote in Beecham’s Richard Strauss festival in London to great acclaim. This effectively relaunched his international career and he went on to become one of the world’s most distinguished cellists. He died suddenly in 1990 at the age of 76.

Bach’s solo Cello Suites were always an integral part of Tortelier’s repertoire and CD 1 opens with the first three movements of Suite No.1 in G. Following this is another Baroque work, the Cello Concerto in D by Vivaldi, in which Tortelier also directs the English Chamber Orchestra. Next comes the finale from Haydn’s Cello Concerto No.2 in D recorded with Jörg Faerber conducting the Wurtemburg Chamber Orchestra in Heilbronn. We then hear movements from Beethoven’s Cello Sonata No.4 in C with the French pianist Eric Heidsieck, and Brahms’s Cello Sonata No.2 in F in which the pianist is Tortelier’s daughter, Maria de la Pau. The CD ends with Tortelier’s third EMI recording of his signature work, Don Quixote by Richard Strauss with the Staatskapelle Dresden under Rudolf Kempe.

CD 2 begins with the first two movements of another of the works central to Tortelier’s repertoire, Elgar’s Cello Concerto, a performance of which won him a prize while he was studying at the Paris Conservatoire. This is followed by an extract from the Walton Cello Concerto conducted by Paavo Berglund and then Paganini’s variations on an operatic aria by Rossini to show off Tortelier’s technical skill as a virtuoso of his instrument, this recording conducted by Tortelier’s cellist wife, Maud Tortelier. Next comes a group of encore pieces, including the inevitable ‘Flight of the Bumblebee’ and ‘Le Cygne’, culminating in Three Miniatures for two cellos composed by Tortelier himself and played here with his wife Maud as the second cellist. The programme finishes with a spirited performance of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Rococo’ Variations with the Northern Sinfonia of England conducted by Tortelier’s son Jan Pascal Tortelier.

Rudolf Kempe’s excellent reputation as a conductor of Richard Strauss is justly deserved. In this recording, he is joined by the inimitable Paul Tortelier in Strauss’ whimsical Don Quixote. He conducts the Berlin Philharmonic in a superb recording of Till Eulenspiegels lustige Streiche and the CD also features the same orchestra in an unjustly neglected performance of Don Juan conducted by Fritz Lehmann.

‘This is one of the great classics of the gramophone........... Highly recommended.’ Gramophone of Don Quixote and Til Eulenspiegels

Beginning with two rascally characters - the deluded Don Quixote and the prankster Till Eulenspiegel, this set includes remarkable recordings from the catalogues of Philips and Deutsche Grammophon, with some recordings appearing on CD internationally for the first time - Haitink's "Don Quixote", Jochum's blazing "Till Eulenspiegel" and shimmering Rosenkavalier Waltzes (both sets) and Munchinger's recording of the sextet from Capriccio. Sinopoli's "Metamorphosen", previously coupled with Bruckner's Eighth symphony and long unavailable, finds its rightful place in this Strauss collection. In addition to the Rosenkavalier and Capriccio moments, we have other orchestral music from Strauss's operas, all conducted by Sinopoli and concluding with one of the most exciting and thrillingly-recorded versions of the Dance of the Seven Veils.